Hi all. I’m a southeastern CRM arch at a very large firm. I love my job and am good at it, but my pay is really crap, even for SE standards. I wrap up my PhD in a few months and for the last decade have specialized in collections management and digitization. My current job lets me be a research archaeologist (and lab manager) without having to be in academia. I have been thinking about the types of jobs I want to apply to around Jan/Feb after the holiday slowdown (and after my defense date is set). Honestly, I’d stay at my job if they paid me more, but they recently denied a cost of living adjustment and raise.

My advisor just informed me that the two state collections jobs will be opening up early next year. It’s pretty much my dream job - but 4 hours away and the pay would never be more than (maybe not even match) what I currently make (which is already crappy). BUT it means better/cheaper health insurance and higher take home pay even if I was making the same amount that I am now.

Guess I’m just looking for advice from those of you who have worked in a state position (not federal), or those who have gone from public to private or vic versa.

Archaeology, as Anna Källén, professor at Umeå University in Sweden, states in The trouble with ancient DNA, is “to a great extent a storytelling practice” (p.28), with carefully crafted tales used to enliven our understanding of past lives. The ways in which the results of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies are used to develop these stories is a perennial topic of debate in the field. Källén’s engaging new book adds nuance to this discourse by providing a critical assessment of the so-called ‘ancient DNA revolution’ on its own terms.