How To Become A Principal Archaeologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a principal archaeologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

William Farley PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a principal archaeologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.55 an hour? That's $55,230 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a principal archaeologist?

William Farley PhD

Associate Professor of Anthropology, Southern Connecticut State University

Make sure to find out the real story when it comes to careers that are available to people studying what you are passionate about and what you are majoring in. Don't read those terrible lists of "worst majors for your career" because they generally traffic in pure stereotypes and involve zero research. Besides the obvious answers that tons of employers are looking for the skills you get with a degree in something like Anthropology or Sociology or Philosophy - oftentimes those disciplines have their own industries that can be lucrative on their own. Case in point, I'm an archaeologist. There is a whole archaeology industry called Cultural Resource Management that is in a desperate labor shortage and will be for at least the next decade. Folks with a master's degree can earn $100k or more in that industry, and state and federal government agencies hire lots of archaeologists for jobs with good pay and great benefits. Get to know the faculty who might have contacts in those industries, because there are probably internships, paid work, or grant-funded projects that will make you a desirable candidate for those jobs. Find out what skills that industry needs and think about how you can start developing them before you graduate, or where you can get them in entry-level jobs after graduation.

ScorePrincipal ArchaeologistUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $55,230

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.15%

Asian 5.89%

Black or African American 3.88%

Hispanic or Latino 10.20%

Unknown 6.61%

White 72.27%

Gender

female 16.67%

male 83.33%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a principal archaeologist

Explore principal archaeologist education requirements

Most common principal archaeologist degrees

Bachelor's

57.1 %

Master's

42.9 %

Start to develop specific principal archaeologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Research Design	37.71%
State Agencies	34.82%
Shpo	27.47%

Complete relevant principal archaeologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principal archaeologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a principal archaeologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principal archaeologist resumes.

Research principal archaeologist duties and responsibilities

Manage contracts for curation of museum items, propose actions to repatriate NAGPRA materials and resolve curation problems.
Conduct geomorphologic and soils investigations in support of archaeological surveys and excavations.
Work extensively with office personnel to prepare reports derive from fieldwork that correspond to SHPO obligations.
Assist in report production and maintain field specimen catalogues for several sites; water screen and process artifact flotation samples.

Apply for principal archaeologist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a principal archaeologist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams