Career Opportunities

Collage of archeology graduates on the job

With a degree in Archaeology our alumni have successfully gotten jobs in the following areas:

  • Archives
  • Art Galleries
  • Arts Management
  • College & University Academics
  • College Admissions
  • College Student Life
  • Conservation
  • Cultural Resource Management
  • Department of Natural Resources
  • Department of Transportation
  • Educational Media
  • E-Resources
  • Foreign Service
  • GIS Data Analysis
  • Historic Preservation
  • Law
  • Libraries
  • Museum Collections
  • Museum Outreach Programs
  • National Guard Collections Management
  • National Park Service
  • Non-Profit Organizations
  • Peace Corps
  • Public Education
  • Publishing
  • State Historic Sites
  • US Intelligence Services

Alumni Journeys to Success – What will yours be?

Anna Ahrens (’18): Cultural Research Management Field Technician

  • Graduated with a BA in Archaeology in 2018
  • Moved to New Orleans right after graduation to work part-time with the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Education Department
  • After a few months found a full-time job with a Cultural Resource Management firm (R.C. Goodwin)
  • Currently she is working on a large-scale survey in a Northern Louisiana forest

Kaman (Law) Hillenburg (’12): Collections Manager

  • While at UE interned at the Children’s Museum of Evansville, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
  • While at UE held several part-time paid positions at the Evansville Museum
  • Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology and Art History and a Business Certificate in 2012
  • Hired full-time at the Evansville Museum working closely with the curatorial department assisting with care of the collections along with exhibit preparation and installation
  • Founded a regional professional development organization called Southwestern Indiana Collections Connection Association (SICCA) in 2013
  • For two years also worked as a contract Curator and Registrar for the Freedom Heritage Museum (currently known as Evansville Wartime Museum)
  • Named the Evansville Museum’s first Collections Manager in 2016
  • Currently is leading an IMLS grant-funded inventory project of over 20,000 of the museum’s historical collection and serves on the board of the Society of Indiana Archivists

Lisa Dretske (’08): Museum Manager and Staff Archaeologist

  • Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology in 2008
  • Earned a Master of Arts in Historical Archaeology from Illinois State University in 2013.
  • Held assistantship positions in the archaeology lab for 2 years
  • Worked on archaeological excavations during the summers - Cahokia Mounds, a site in Tennessee, and a job in Alaska
  • Applied for many archaeology and museum jobs with little luck
  • Continued to work retail at The North Face in Chicago and Milwaukee
  • Offered a post-grad unpaid internship at The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
  • After 6 months was offered her first museum position at Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee as Assistant Manager of Visitor Services (part-time)
  • Then offered a consultant position at the Kenosha Public Museum as their Planned Giving Coordinator and the Weekend Manager position at the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee (part-time)
  • Not long after, quit Betty Brinn since it was not in line with her future goals and continued part-time at The North Face
  • Started volunteering at the Milwaukee County Historical Society on a big photography cataloging project
  • This led to being offered a part-time Museum Assistant position
  • Worked 4 part-time jobs, 3 in different museums for over a year
  • Finally offered a full-time position as the Executive Director at the Kemper Center, Inc., a cultural center in Kenosha, WI
  • Continued to take college certification courses in Fund Development and Non-profit Management
  • After a year she was offered the position as Development Manager and on-staff archaeologist at the Kenosha Public Museums

Christopher Parr (’05): National Guard Archaeologist and Collections Manager

  • While at UE participated in Washington University archaeological field school at Cahokia Mounds
  • This led to a job as a Research Assistant for Dr. John Kelly and the Central Mississippi Valley Archaeological Research Institute
  • Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology and History in 2005
  • Married his wife Micki Blue Parr (UE Class of 2006, History)
  • Earned a Master of Arts in Classics (Archaeology) from the University of Arizona in 2008
  • Moved to Columbus, Georgia, and worked as a Cultural Resources Site Monitor at Fort Benning, Georgia, through a contract with Panamerican Consultants, Inc. for three years
  • Designed and managed an inspection program for the Installation’s archaeological sites to ensure the military did not impact them during construction or training activities
  • Participated in government-to-government consultations with federally-recognized tribes with a traditional claim to the Fort Benning area
  • Along the way, was assigned responsibility for the Fort Benning Archaeology Collection.
  • Moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 2011 to assume his current position: the Archaeologist and Collections Manager for the Virginia Army National Guard
  • Currently administers the Virginia National Guard Curation Facility at Fort Pickett, which houses two separate collections, and coordinates government-to-government consultation efforts with state- and federally-recognized tribes
  • Recently his program was recognized by National Guard Bureau and the US Department of the Army as the Top Cultural Resources Program in the “Small Installations” category