Steve Boxley in part wrote:
>    I have a question, and bone to pick.  When, and why, did the
> educational requirements to be hired in this field start?  I can
> understand it to a degree, but it seems as if it has become totally
> inflexible....Doesn't anyone remember the apprenticeship era?  It
> seems to me that years of practical experience are far more valuable than a pi
ece of paper.
 
Steve: Academia and practical experience each have their place in our
society.  If you want the "big bucks" you have to have the degree,
otherwise you remain just a digger.  I am fortunate to have both a
degree and pratical experience - while going to school, I worked in the
real world during the summers.  I "learned" my profession during the
summer months while I read about it during the school year.
 
Generally, I feel that a majority of our academic institutions
inadequately prepare their students for the real world (there are
exceptions).  I too have had to take archaeological graduate students by
the hand and show them the difference between a manson's trowel and a
garden spade, how to walk transect on a compass bearing, or how to read
a topographic map.
 
Personally, I would prefer a person with a lot of field experience, but
at the same time I expect degreed people to be able to compile and
write reports, it is ideal to have both.  Now that I make the big bucks,
it seems that I spend too much time writing and not enough time digging
or in the field.  Having a degree, at times, does have its
disadvantages.
 
Just some feedback on the "bone to pick".....ww