A virtual panel discussion about archaeological opportunities in public agencies.
MODERATOR: William A. White, III, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, UC Berkeley
PANELISTS:
• Darrin Andolina, Associate State Archaeologist, California State Parks
• David Cohen, Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, FEMA Region 9
• Linn Gassaway, Heritage Program Manager, Lassen National Forest, US Forest Service
• Starla Lane, Senior Cultural Resource Specialist - Environmental Management, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• David Price, Senior Environmental Planner, Cultural Studies Office, Caltrans
• Rylan Thomas, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Environmental Services Branch, Division of Integrated Science and Engineering, Department of Water Resources
• Susan White, Region 5 (Pacific Southwest) Heritage Program Manager, Forest Service
Here are some links and comments the panelists provided in the chat, marked with the recording time:
15:29:21 From William White (UC Berkeley) To Everyone:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=archaeology
15:37:05 From Rylan Thomas, Dept. Water Resources To Everyone:
https://www.thesca.org/serve/positions?combine=archaeology&start%5Bvalue...
15:52:34 From Starla Lane: PG&E To Everyone:
https://jobs.pge.com/
16:13:07 From David Cohen, FEMA To Everyone:
https://www.achp.gov/success-stories
16:15:07 From David Cohen, FEMA To Everyone:
https://www.achp.gov/training/elearning
16:16:41 From Linn Gassaway To Everyone:
Federal planning and historic places:the section 106 process by Thomas F King
16:19:52 From Meg Wonderly To Everyone:
I've been going through the ACHP elearning trainings David shared -I've found them really helpful for getting a better understanding of 106 and NEPA (As someone who never got that in school!)
16:20:35 From Eunice Ambriz To Everyone:
Do any of your agencies do lab work?
16:21:54 From Jesse Howard To Everyone:
There is a Veterans Curation Program that does lab work for any veterans out there.
16:21:55 From Darren Andolina: State Parks To Everyone:
Parks Lab is the State Archaeological Collections Research Facility
16:22:30 From Meg Wonderly To Everyone:
What drew you to Agency work as opposed to Academia or CRM?
16:23:02 From Alec Lebow To Everyone:
Does having a Master's Degree with a Field School make you a better candidate to work at the State Parks/Forest Service? Or is a Field School/Bachelor's Degree sufficient?
16:26:12 From David Cohen, FEMA To Everyone:
To plug...FEMA hires on-call reservists who are called up after disasters to review federal actions for Section 106 compliance, so it's an opportunity to be paid, travel, and gain federal regulatory experience: https://www.fema.gov/careers/position-types. There is a need for people with cultural resources experience.
16:34:54 From michael mansingh To Everyone:
What should students look for in a field school?
16:38:34 From Darren Andolina: State Parks To Everyone:
A field school that covers both survey and excavation is ideal but if you have to choose one, go for the excavation. Also, a field school that is held within the region that you hope to get a job so you have local experience with the archaeology/research questions.