Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Tracking and processing all finds and samples coming off site.
Organising specialists to compile reports.
Assembling and depositing archives.
General office work.
Prioritising workloads.
Re-ordering stock as required.

Occasional finds identification at local museums.

There is no typical day - I'm involved with so many different projects at different stages.

Activities I do include:

Contacting museums to obtain guidelines, accession numbers and organise deposition of archives.

Washing, sorting, weighing, bagging, marking and boxing finds.

Supervising field staff when they are in the office processing finds.

Obtaining landowner consent to deposit finds.

Compiling OASIS forms.

Assembling archives to museum standards.

Entering and maintaining the finds and archive databases.

Keeping track of all finds and sample transmittals between offices/specialists.

I enjoy the sense of closure in depositing archives with museums. Also there is quite a backlog of material which I am looking forward to the challenge of clearing over the next few years.

All the different museum guidelines - ensuring that museums get the material in the way that they want it. e.g. marking/storing and packing.

Having spent a number of years in the field I was eager to be office based. I began doing finds work out in Qatar a few years ago and really enjoyed the work. It takes a very organised approach to keep track of so many different projects and job roles.

Organisation, IT & database use especially Microsoft Office Suite. Telephone skills and English literacy e.g. writing emails/composing letters.

In house training, H&S training.

Various Archaeology units, including Wessex, Oxford, Cotswold, Network, English Heritage etc. in both an archaeologist and Project Supervisor role. All across the UK and Ireland since 2003.

Finds registrar with the Qatar Museums Authority, including illustration of the finds.

Weston Park Museum front of House as a visitor assistant for 1 year.

I have wanted to do a masters for a while but without the funding am not in a position to undertake this. I've had a place at Sheffield to do the Archaeological Materials MSc for the last few years. I have only just begun in my role as Finds and Archives Supervisor with Wessex and I foresee staying in the role indefinitely - having spent so long (over 10 years) in the field I count myself very lucky to be in the office (In Sheffield too!) doing a job I love.

Keep at it - it really is about the contacts you make and being in the right place at the right time.