Changing Course

Certainly, the field of archaeology has evolved in recent decades, reacting to changing environments not only in higher education in North America but also to challenges “on the ground.” Shifting political climates in the Middle East and Mediterranean have impacted the field and so have the numerous new tools and methods for fieldwork, research, publication, and training. Career trajectories in archaeology, like other academic fields, have become less straight forward, with practices adjusting to new institutional and administrative structures and also to the needs of new generations of students. These developments are well documented and much discussed in various venues; in this Forum, I focus on the implications of these developments and my reaction to this climate—the manner in which I adapted and applied skills acquired through archaeological training and professional experiences beyond a traditional academic trajectory.

Until recently, I remained focused on a traditional career path in archaeology. I was fully engaged in a full-time academic job search, teaching, and conducting research and field work in Cyprus and Greece (Figs. 1–2). After completing my PhD in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College, I had three great one-year post-docs at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens; in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; at the Getty Research Institute, followed by a year as a Visiting Scholar at the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture and adjunct positions in history and art history departments.

At various points in graduate school I had reassessed my trajectory and researched different opportunities, but it was not until I was faced with diminishing tenure-track options and the need to balance my career opportunities with those of my spouse (i.e., to secure a full-time position in the same geographic region) that I began actively seeking alternative directions.

Fig 1.

The author at the Getty Research Institute in 2012.

(Courtesy of S. Lepinski.)

The process of changing trajectories took time, and it was informed primarily by my experiences after graduate school in large national museums and research centers in the United States. Opportunities to work in these institutions provided invaluable resources and the chance to reflect and “branch out.” In these settings, I engaged with my research in new contexts, with new objects and collections, and had opportunities to interact and collaborate with colleagues whose expertise and professional and institutional perspectives were distinct from my own. These experiences enriched my intellectual sensibilities and augmented my understanding of museums and research institutions, their changing roles in light of cultural interests and needs, and their impact for stewardship, training, and education.

I also benefitted tremendously from the exhilarating—and, at times, humbling—work involved in planning and teaching courses that extended beyond my specializations and expertise, and in different institutional types and sizes, and cultures. Throughout this time, I sought advice from many colleagues—those in traditional academic positions and those working in various capacities in museums, foundations, government agencies, and cultural and heritage management firms. These conversations helped me pinpoint specific areas and positions that interested me and suited my training. In the end, I focused my search on program officer positions in grant agencies and foundations and administrative roles in museums and research institutes.

Engaging in this new job search was surprisingly exciting. Armed with information from earlier investigations and contacts, I researched websites of foundations, agencies, museums, research institutes, and other online sources, bookmarking and returning to these pages periodically. This is how I found the posting for my current position.

Applying to positions outside academia required transforming my academic curriculum vitae into a résumé. While seemingly clear-cut, this process was important for reframing my professional history and skills, and it helped me think about the full range of my professional work more holistically.

For instance, in this new format, my early (i.e., pregraduate school) experiences in museums, galleries,

Fig 2.

The author excavating at Tel Miqne-Ekron, Israel.

(Photo by I. Sztulman and E. Kessel...