Are you interested in writing for the niche sustainability media, perhaps with a glamor-job focus on archaeology for the documentary, niche, media or even video? If so, internships, fellowships, or on-call jobs in sustainability are increasing in Sacramento. Check out the Odin Jobs site, with the listing, "Archaeologist-on call." It lists a job as an "on-call archeologist" opening at ICF International.
Check out local jobs, internships, fellowships, and on-call positions in fields such as sustainability and 'green' resources. Check out the book, The Anthropology of News and Journalism. You'd be surprised how many journalism and photojournalism majors gravitate toward jobs in anthropology and archaeology if it has a connection to the media that also links to the sustainability trend in Sacramento
ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI), a global professional services firm, partners with government and commercial clients to deliver professional services and technology solutions in energy and climate change; environment and infrastructure; health, human services, and social programs; and homeland security and defense markets.
Since 1969, ICF has been serving government at all levels, major corporations, and multilateral institutions. More than 3,500 employees serve these clients worldwide. The firm, according to the Odin Jobs site, is currently seeking On-call Archaeologists to be based out of its Sacramento, CA office. But check first as the Odin Jobs site has no date listed. If you have a temporary stint in archaeology, it's exotic enough to write about it for the niche media or to link to eventually making your own documentaries. You never know where it may lead you in the field of sustainability communications.
Please note that these are project-based positions. Work may be carried out throughout the western United States and is predominantly occurring in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Total assignment length typically lasts a few weeks to several months, though there is no guarantee as to duration or frequency of projects.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities: Literature review Archival research Pedestrian survey Site recording and mapping Archaeological excavation Construction monitoring Assistance with documentation and writing tasks such as completing site forms, creating site graphics, writing inventory and evaluation report sections, and writing management and treatment plan sections. Required Qualifications: A minimum of a B.A. in anthropology (emphasis in archaeology) 2+ years of recent experience conducting archaeological fieldwork.
Ability to travel to project sites around the Western U.S. (mostly California, Oregon, and Washington) Excellent verbal and written communication skills. ICF International is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer-M/F/D/V. Requirements: Level of Job Mid-Level (5-7 Years), Mid-Level (3-5 Years) Site Corporate Area(s) of Interest Archaeology, Consulting, Cultural Resources Type of Job Variable Part-Time/Hourly Work Location(s) California - Sacramento.
Fellowships and Internships When Full-Time Jobs are Scarce
Are short-term fellowships helpful when you can't find a full-time job? Some students do several internships while in school because full-time jobs are scarce. Others do full-time professional fellowships. There's a blog called The Eternal Intern. As long as you keep taking a college course, you can do most types of internships. But what happens when you graduate?
Nonprofit organizations and government agencies can hire interns without paying them. But for-profit companies must pay workers unless the internships meet a specific legal criteria, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
If you're working for a for-profit firm, ask to be paid. Some companies will get around the loophole by hiring "senior volunteers." This is one way of giving work to older adults, usually retired, who have income from other sources and want to stay busy or do humanitarian work. But if you're just graduating from college, you want an internship or fellowship that pays. Internships go to students still taking courses. Fellowships usually go to graduates doing post-degree work, such as research. They usually get paid.
While in school internships allow you to experiment with a variety of careers. If there's a question, the Dept. of Labor can tell you whether the company you're interning with is supposed to be paying you or whether it meets specific legal criteria. One way to get an archaeology or archivist internship with the government is to seek out an internship while in college, including graduate school.
Some students even do an internship with a local high school as a school social worker, if they are in a related major. Journalism students can intern with the communications division of for-profit or non-profit companies or agencies. There's a link between anthropology and journalism. See the blog, AnthroBlogs: Anthropology Journalism?
Also check out the book, The Anthropology of News and Journalism / Indiana University Press. And to see the similarities and differences between anthropology and journalism, see the site, Journalists and their Sources: Lessons from Anthropology. You might look at this paper. It his paper challenges journalists’ relationship with their sources by comparing it with the relationship between anthropologists and their informants, according to the paper's abstract.
Whereas anthropology and journalism use similar methods and, many times, produce a similar kind of knowledge, the two professions have significantly different views of their sources. Like all social sciences, anthropology is subject to the federal regulation for research with human subjects.
This regulation requires the assessment of costs and benefits, the informed consent of informants, and, in general, researchers’ protective and responsible attitude towards them. Citing the First Amendments and arguing that news is non-generalizable knowledge, journalism exempts itself from this regulation.
According to its abstract, this paper shows that both arguments for exemption are unsustainable and analyzes three other possible incompatibilities between journalism and the federal regulation: the watchdog role of the press, the apparent conflict between confidentiality and credibility, and journalists’ reluctance to take responsibility for the consequences of what they publish.
It concludes that news professionals’ understanding of truth in terms of facticity and of their job as the mere transmission of such truths impairs their sense of ethical responsibility. Maybe what you want to read is explained in plain language without arguments pitting the consumer watchdogs of journalism against the social scientists of anthropology who are supposed to focus on social responsibility and preserving the traditional conscience, customs, and culture of a group or tribe.
The term facticity is defined as the quality or condition of being a fact: historical facticity is an example. You could be talking about contingency or factuality. See, Ontology: The Hermeneutics of Facticity. But then again, maybe you want to speak in plain language when you write about sustainability for most folks.
Another branch is genealogy journalism which is related to creative genealogy writing, for example the writing of memoirs, autobiography, and biography....or anthropology as science fiction. All focus on anthropology as documentary entertainment with fact that emphasizes history as connection.
What this all boils down to is whether you can find an internship or fellowship in a field such as anthropology, genealogy, working with public history archives, or contributing to a university library's collection of oral history and related topics. It branches into jobs and fellowships or internships in conservation and preservation of documents, photos, and books and into museum or library work.
How do you make yourself marketable in Sacramento in fields such as anthropology? You could do short-term fellowships with the government or with various corporations that do archaeological research and excavations, surveys, and write environmental reports.
Sacramento and Davis area universities have internship centers that are open to students. The big question is what do you do after graduation if jobs are scarce in most majors other than the health care fields, tutoring in math, or engineering and technology? You try to specialize while getting a diverse background and experience to make yourself marketable. Check out the April 13, 2010 Sacramento Bee article, "For Sacramento-area students, internships aren't just for summer anymore," by Laurel Rosenhall.
Most students don't realize that their internship is for the benefit of the employer, not the student. If you wonder whether you should be paid, in Sacramento, the Dept. of Labor's Wage and Hour Division may be of help. The Sacramento Bee article lists the phone number of the Sacramento office. If you're a student looking for an internship, try SimplyHired or Indeed, according to a suggestion from Sacramento State.
You'll notice that this year students are staying in internships all year 'round instead of working in internships for summer breaks. With the economy still slow, after graduation, finding a job in anthropology if that was your major, or related fields may be more difficult to find at first than moving into year 'round internships, if you still qualify by continuing to take courses or getting into a graduate school. Otherwise, post-graduate professional fellowships are helpful, if you get paid enough to remain financially independent.
The important consideration is to find out whether you're supposed to be paid for the work you do. This year students in their twenties are competing with senior volunteers in their 70's in some types of unpaid work that focuses on meeting people, creativity, or giving information.
The field that brings young and old together most right now is journalism, especially innovative freelance writing. For more information, there's an upcoming conference at Stanford for those in mid-career, called, the Seventh Conference on Innovation Journalism, Stanford, June 7-9, 2010.
Going Green and checking out "green corporations" is one way to get into the field of archaeology, anthropology, and environmental-related fields with internships and fellowships. Here are some sites where the action takes place in everything from green business to green government. See what's on the ICF site.
Try some internships, fellowships, or on-call jobs in sustainability. The field of sustainability is great for accumulating experience in the marketability of many of your other skills. Basically, sustainability media is one way of communicating about culture. You could write about green government, green business techniques, or green media.
Resources
Green Government
Green Business Strategies
ICF Energy Breakfast Series
Meet the June Deadline for SSPPs
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