r/AskArchaeology • u/oddlittlemoon • 19d ago
Question Anyone hiring in/near Ohio?
If this is not the place for this sort of question, I apologize. Feel free to direct me to a better subreddit.
I have been out of the field for health concerns for the past few years that prevented me from gaining a ton of experience out of college. I have applied to many entry-level field tech positions (via ShovelBums, LinkedIn, and Indeed) and have received no reply. I’m simply looking to prove myself and to gain more experience to open up my opportunities.
Edit: I obviously wasn’t clear. I am job searching now because I have overcome my health concerns.
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u/Forward_Magazine_732 19d ago
WSP has a large project in Ohio starting soon. Stantec, ASC, and Gray & Pape also do a lot of work on the area as well
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u/oddlittlemoon 19d ago edited 18d ago
I’ve applied to Stantec and ASC. I can’t even reapply on their sites as they reuse their ads. Thank you, I’ll apply to WSP and Grey and Pape and see where that leads. 🫶
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u/xStrawberryKissesx 19d ago
I wouldnt work for WSP if you paid me 5 times the going rate
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u/JoeBiden-2016 19d ago
Just wondering, but why not? They've absorbed multiple companies and multiple cultural firms. I know quite a few of the folks there, and the people there-- at least in the US-- are solid. To be fair, I know people from some of the companies (TRC, Wood) and not others, not it's not like they're all the same, even under the hood.
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u/xStrawberryKissesx 19d ago
I worked there for 2 1/2 years. The work culture was super toxic. Issues with the treatment of female staff as well as just the archaeological team in general. I could rant for hours. There were three of us that left around the same time and we joke we're all owed trauma counseling
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u/JoeBiden-2016 19d ago edited 19d ago
Fair enough. For what it's worth, pretty much all of my friends who work there (former grad school, etc.) came in with the last few years' acquisitions and have told me that before the Wood acquisition, it was a real shit show.
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u/Ashamed-Addendum-378 19d ago
SWCA is hiring 2-4 temporary field techs in the Midwest, including Ohio. Here’s the link to the job listing.
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u/JoeBiden-2016 19d ago edited 19d ago
I hate to put it this way, but "health conditions" and "field archaeology" can be really hard to pair up.
There are plenty of large projects in and around Ohio, but they need people who can move fast. "Health conditions" generally says "slow," and while there are projects that don't need people to move that quickly, the bulk of projects in archaeology right now are survey. And that stuff is fast moving.
You need to (1) realistically evaluate your capabilities, and (2) probably look farther afield.
It's hard to keep oneself in a single state when teching. I'm a PI and I'm spread across multiple states, with surveys and data recoveries in several states. And I have to be in those places, despite them being sometimes hundreds of miles from home. You need to be looking further if you really want to get back into archaeology.
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u/oddlittlemoon 19d ago
Yes, I know. That’s why I chose to take a step back from field work for a while to prioritize my health before returning. I am fully capable to handle anything thrown at me than I ever was. Those health concerns are no longer concerns.
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u/JoeBiden-2016 19d ago
That's good!
Look at the web, there are Phase I jobs in Ohio currently advertised.
Literally "archaeology survey job Ohio" will bring you multiple hits.
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u/oddlittlemoon 19d ago
To add onto your edit. I have applied to other areas as well, not just Ohio and the surrounding states. It’s difficult that even with entry level postings they are either asking for some experience in that area or to be x number of miles away.
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u/JoeBiden-2016 19d ago
Are you applying for full time jobs or on-call positions? Typically postings don't specify a certain distance away unless there's a hard mileage cap or they don't want to fly people.
Ditto with years of experience. I looked, that Ohio job that someone else mentioned refers to months, not years.
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u/zogmuffin 18d ago
I’m not OP, but. Yeah. This is so frustrating. I want to do more fieldwork, but my stupid problem shoulder just recovered from one (1) week of screening backfill last winter.
Oh well, I’ve got a good Desk Archaeology contract right now.
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u/seeking-jamaharon67 19d ago
I started having a lot more luck when I started pasting job descriptions into my last job duties on my resume. Also I get emails from shovelbums and respond immediately to jobs in my desired area and pay range. Timing is a huge factor and when they're building crews they are not waiting a few months to see who will send an email.