CRM Archaeology to Grad School?

[lightballsdeep]

Hi there!

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who took a break between undergrad and applications to work in contract archaeology?  Did you already apply?  Did it seem to help your applications even if your plan is academia? 

I'm curious about how/if CRM work had a positive effect on your portfolio. 

[Ajtz'ihb]

I have not worked in CRM. However, many of the students in my program did and I think it's fair to say that any and all field experience you bring to your application makes it stronger. Professors like to see that an applicant is (a) intellectually mature, (b) experienced enough to know what they're getting into, and (c) methodologically equipped for fieldwork. CRM experience will help a lot with the last two, and as long as you read during your time off you should be all set with the first as well.

Note too that CRM experience may be given more weight depending on where you want to work. If you intend to focus on the archaeology of North America or Europe, CRM experience will be huge. If you want to work in the Andes or East Africa, probably less so.

Hope that helps.

[Coatlicue]

I worked in CRM for 4 years before grad school and I think it had an overall positive effect on my application. Working gave me experience in the field, GIS, writing technical reports, and I was able to read quite a bit on state and federal regulations and SE/SW archaeology.

Ajtz'ihb is right that a program's response to your CRM experience will vary mostly depending on your region of interest, but I think you'll be on the right path if you can say something meaningful about your experience and how it's helped prepare you for grad school. For instance, my research interests are primarily heritage preservation in the Maya area, so although I'm not working in North America, I was able to apply my CRM experience to my research goals. I saw in another thread that you're interested in zooarchaeology, so any work you've done with faunal material during CRM would be promising to include in your statement.

Also, I think anthro programs are aware that many archaeology/anthropology majors will have to get jobs in CRM after undergrad to stay in the field. It definitely won't be held against you, but your application will be much stronger if your experiences reinforce your ultimate goals. Good luck!

[lightballsdeep]

I worked in CRM for 4 years before grad school and I think it had an overall positive effect on my application. Working gave me experience in the field, GIS, writing technical reports, and I was able to read quite a bit on state and federal regulations and SE/SW archaeology.

Ajtz'ihb is right that a program's response to your CRM experience will vary mostly depending on your region of interest, but I think you'll be on the right path if you can say something meaningful about your experience and how it's helped prepare you for grad school. For instance, my research interests are primarily heritage preservation in the Maya area, so although I'm not working in North America, I was able to apply my CRM experience to my research goals. I saw in another thread that you're interested in zooarchaeology, so any work you've done with faunal material during CRM would be promising to include in your statement.

Also, I think anthro programs are aware that many archaeology/anthropology majors will have to get jobs in CRM after undergrad to stay in the field. It definitely won't be held against you, but your application will be much stronger if your experiences reinforce your ultimate goals. Good luck!

Thank you for that advice!  I appreciate it.  I think it'll help to frame my CRM experience around my grad school goals.  

[AKCarlton]

Hi there!

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who took a break between undergrad and applications to work in contract archaeology?  Did you already apply?  Did it seem to help your applications even if your plan is academia? 

I'm curious about how/if CRM work had a positive effect on your portfolio. 

I can tell you just from those I've met in my cohort, the cohort above me and the cohort after me...a few actually worked in CRM for a year or more and they made it into the program. So, I guess it's positive! It's more to do with what you plan to study and if the program would be a good fit for you.

[RoseNenharma]

One of my fellow graduate students did CRM for two years after undergrad and is now in our grad program...she feels overwhelmed a lot, especially because she was a very good student in undergrad and is now struggling in grad school since she hasn't been exposed to academics in the past two years. Really just depends on the person and how well you retain information.

 

[bioarch_fan]

9 hours ago, RoseNenharma said:

One of my fellow graduate students did CRM for two years after undergrad and is now in our grad program...she feels overwhelmed a lot, especially because she was a very good student in undergrad and is now struggling in grad school since she hasn't been exposed to academics in the past two years. Really just depends on the person and how well you retain information.

 

I actually know someone from my undergrad who did CRM and is at Kent State now too. Think we might be talking about the same person actually. Lol.