Archaeologist job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Master's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$70,770

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Anthropologists and Archeologists (O*NET-SOC 19-3091.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents. importance 4.6 of 5
2. Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology. importance 4.4 of 5
3. Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences. importance 4.4 of 5
4. Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings. importance 4.0 of 5
5. Train others in the application of ethnographic research methods to solve problems in organizational effectiveness, communications, technology development, policy making, and program planning. importance 4.0 of 5
6. Identify culturally specific beliefs and practices affecting health status and access to services for distinct populations and communities, in collaboration with medical and public health officials. importance 3.9 of 5
7. Lead field training sites and train field staff, students, and volunteers in excavation methods. importance 3.7 of 5
8. Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments. importance 3.6 of 5
9. Develop and test theories concerning the origin and development of past cultures. importance 3.6 of 5
10. Research, survey, or assess sites of past societies and cultures in search of answers to specific research questions. importance 3.5 of 5
11. Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research. importance 3.5 of 5
12. Organize public exhibits and displays to promote public awareness of diverse and distinctive cultural traditions. importance 3.4 of 5
13. Develop intervention procedures, using techniques such as individual and focus group interviews, consultations, and participant observation of social interaction. importance 3.4 of 5
14. Enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary curricula and classroom interactions in collaboration with educators and teachers. importance 3.3 of 5
15. Study archival collections of primary historical sources to help explain the origins and development of cultural patterns. importance 3.2 of 5
16. Formulate general rules that describe and predict the development and behavior of cultures and social institutions. importance 3.1 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Analyzing Data or Information and Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Record the exact locations and conditions of artifacts uncovered in diggings or surveys, using drawings and photographs as necessary.
• Assess archeological sites for resource management, development, or conservation purposes and recommend methods for site protection.
• Gather and analyze artifacts and skeletal remains to increase knowledge of ancient cultures.
• Compare findings from one site with archeological data from other sites to find similarities or differences.
• Describe artifacts' physical properties or attributes, such as the materials from which artifacts are made and their size, shape, function, and decoration.
• Collect artifacts made of stone, bone, metal, and other materials, placing them in bags and marking them to show where they were found.

Knowledge areas: Sociology and Anthropology, English Language, History and Archeology, Foreign Language and Education and Training.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: ESRI ArcGIS software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word, ESRI ArcGIS Survey 123, Geographic information system GIS systems. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an archaeologist.

The most common answer among O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation is a doctoral degree (40%).

Job title: Archaeologist
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Archaeologist to study the origin, development, and behavior of human beings.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents.
- Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
- Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences.
- Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings.
- Train others in the application of ethnographic research methods to solve problems in organizational effectiveness, communications, technology development, policy making, and program planning.
- Identify culturally specific beliefs and practices affecting health status and access to services for distinct populations and communities, in collaboration with medical and public health officials.
- Lead field training sites and train field staff, students, and volunteers in excavation methods.
- Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a master's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in writing, speaking and reading comprehension
- Working knowledge of Sociology and Anthropology and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. ESRI ArcGIS software or Microsoft Excel]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $70,770 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $34.02. BLS estimates about 8,990 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Anthropologists and Archeologists to grow 6.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full archaeologist salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real archaeologist posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Collect information and make judgments through observation…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only archaeologist work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (writing and speaking).