As this question has come up about half a dozen times in the past few weeks, maybe I need to address it, if not for the inquisitors, at least for myself.

When people ask “Why did you become and archaeologist?”  is it wrong to say “It’s better than a real* job”?  For some people that makes total sense, for others, they think “WHA…!? you don’t make real money doing that!”  It’s tough to make the argument that you want to be educated and have knowledge for knowledge’s sake in a world that equates education to vocational training with the sole aim of making money.  If you are that type of person then please go no further here.  I would suggest you go read Forbes and try banking or insurance as a career.

The real answer as to why I am an archaeologist is, of course, more complicated than that.  First…