Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for archaeological technicians in the United States
Are archaeological technician jobs in demand?
Archaeological technician job and salary trends over time
Archaeological technician jobs over time
Archaeological technician job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 957 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 950 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 975 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 912 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 918 | 0.00% |
Average archaeological technician salary over time
Archaeological technician salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $35,787 | $17.21 | +0.4% |
| 2024 | $35,632 | $17.13 | +3.2% |
| 2023 | $34,531 | $16.60 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | $34,023 | $16.36 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $33,051 | $15.89 | +2.7% |
Archaeological technician jobs by state
Most common states for archaeological technicians
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 102 | 14% |
| 2 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 156 | 12% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 60 | 10% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 545 | 8% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 75 | 8% |
| 6 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 407 | 7% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 405 | 7% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 366 | 7% |
| 9 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 240 | 7% |
| 10 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 226 | 7% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 94 | 7% |
| 12 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 50 | 7% |
| 13 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 740 | 6% |
| 14 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 646 | 6% |
| 15 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 511 | 6% |
| 16 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 487 | 6% |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 335 | 6% |
| 18 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 295 | 6% |
| 19 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 184 | 6% |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 65 | 6% |
Most common cities for archaeological technicians
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laurel | 1 | 4% | $36,821 |
| 2 | Germantown | 1 | 1% | $36,756 |
| 3 | Tallahassee | 1 | 1% | $29,951 |
| 4 | Boston | 2 | 0% | $47,182 |
| 5 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $39,372 |
| 6 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $31,321 |
| 7 | Sacramento | 1 | 0% | $41,542 |
Archaeological Technician job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of archaeological technician experts
University of California, Berkeley
Johns Hopkins University
Dickinson College
Oberlin College
What general advice would you give to an Archaeological Technician?
Prof. William White III: The best way to maximize your potential in archaeology is to have deep knowledge of some aspect of archaeology that is applicable in a lot of different regions while also having a sensible amount of knowledge in a lot of other areas.
What Archaeological Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Prof. William White III: 1) knowledge of historic preservation laws, 2) technical writing skills, 3) Analytical skills, 4) Research skills.
What will help Archaeological Technicians increase their earning potential?
Prof. William White III: I recommend a recent graduate begin looking for work in the cultural resource management industry, which is where most archaeologists work in the United States.
What general advice would you give to an Archaeological Technician?
Michael Harrower PhD: Here are some answers attached, see also
What Archaeological Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Harrower PhD: This is perfect! Thank you so much. We will be sure to feature your response in the article and send a draft over for your review before we promote it.
What will help Archaeological Technicians increase their earning potential?
Michael Harrower PhD: Alex I might be able to spare a bit of time, what questions would you like me to answer? Best Mike
What general advice would you give to an Archaeological Technician?
J. Andrew Dufton: Any hands-on, practical experience students can get during their degrees will be a big help. That could be a formal field school, an internship at a local historical society, opportunities on campus, or much more. Being able to demonstrate those skills when applying for jobs helps to move past the starting salary level. Specialists also often get paid more than starting fieldworkers. Developing a specialism early—like digital skills, finds analysis, mapping and spatial data, or even project management—can help you start at a higher salary scale or move up to better paid positions more quickly.
What Archaeological Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
J. Andrew Dufton: There is always a need for digital literacy, and this is only going to increase over the next 3-5 years. Demonstrable skills in spatial analysis and mapping (e.g. GIS), digital data capture on site (e.g. photogrammetry, drones), and digital data management (e.g. archiving, digitization, databases) are always a good way to get that first position or move up the ladder more quickly once you enter an organization. Colleagues and alumni of the Dickinson program where I teach have also flagged up an increasing need for project management skills for fieldwork-based positions (e.g. budgeting; workforce scheduling; client management; keeping projects to time/budget).
What will help Archaeological Technicians increase their earning potential?
J. Andrew Dufton: Flexibility is key and be sure to cast a wide net. Graduates in the field of archaeology can take a lot of career paths: cultural resource management (e.g. fieldwork, specialist/lab work, desk-based research); archives (e.g. historical societies, records offices); museum positions (e.g. conservation, recordkeeping and digitization, exhibitions, education); government work (e.g. National Parks). Graduates should think about what aspects of archaeology they most enjoy and target their search in those areas. There are also a lot of jobs that will require moving, sometimes for shorter contracts. A willingness to look outside of your region can be a big help in finding a good opportunity. Living in different places is a big part of the archaeological career adventure.
What general advice would you give to an Archaeological Technician?
Prof. Amy Margaris: Be open to traveling and stay flexible. Most importantly, make and keep connections with others in the field because this will help you learn about job and internship opportunities that will help you build your resume.
What Archaeological Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Prof. Amy Margaris: It’s very, very useful for college graduates interested in a career in archaeology to have some field experience under their belts. There are innumerable fieldwork opportunities throughout the world but they’re often expensive, partly because they tend to include tuition fees from the sponsoring institution. There are many reputable sources to look for good field schools, including the Institute for Field Research (IFR) and the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) AND scholarship opportunities that are advertised on these same web sites. If a field school just isn’t in the cards, try volunteer work: at a local dig site, or even at a local museum, since museums are generally where artifacts are housed once they’re uncovered from a dig site. Museums are often thrilled to have talented young people to help behind the scenes, and even a little experience can be a big leg up when applying for jobs and graduate programs. Ultimately an M.A. in archaeology or a related field is very useful for attaining a higher salary in a museum field or cultural resource management (CRM) field, which is where the majority of archaeologists land. A PhD is essential for most college professor positions, but to be honest, those are scarce and highly competitive. I don’t say that discourage PhD seekers – only to emphasize that there are many types of archaeologists and not all of us work in academia.
What will help Archaeological Technicians increase their earning potential?
Prof. Amy Margaris: Social and inter-cultural skills will only be more and more important in the years to come. Nowadays archaeologists do much more collaborating with the communities who are directly connected to the archaeological sites they are researching. Local residents, for example, or members of Indigenous communities who have ancestral ties to the area. And collaboration means working with these other stakeholders from the ground up, so to speak – deciding together what research question might we address, and how? Cultural sensitivity and openness to many ways of thinking and learning about the past are important for doing research that is strong both scientifically and ethically. The other skill I can recommend is GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software for dynamically mapping spatial data. It’s used in archaeology and lots of other sectors, too. The basics are not hard to learn and it’s a very desirable skill. And being able to manage databases, even just basic Excel spreadsheets, is critical!