Histarch folks, thanks for all the posts to this thread and the others about
What Is An Archaeologist. Certainly good training is important to the
formation of a competent archaeologist. Similar to complaints going back to the early
1990s, the consensus here appears to be that academic programs have generally
fallen down on the job of training good technicians for a career in Cultural
Resource Management (CRM). A few notable exceptions to that idea were mentioned
and we are all glad they are out there. Trade schools, however, are not
necessarily linked to academic ones.

Back in the 1980s my friend and I did not propose a university based field
school. We proposed a Vocational-Technical (Vo-Tech) program modeled off of
training programs available in those days for auto mechanics, truck drivers, hair
stylists, etc. Of course our professor took offense to a proposal that he
erroneously perceived reduced the profession to a neanderthal level. The name
vo-tech is not used much any more but the business of training people for various
careers is everywhere in the US. Maybe the time has come to seriously revisit
the idea.

In the early 1980s the industry of CRM was smaller and there were no trade
associations. In those days the number of wandering field techs equated to a few
bands of hunter gathers. Today, CRM dominates American archaeology and
architectural history. It is a quarter billion dollar industry that cannot get
through its growing pains. Currently, there is a whole army of techs who need
help--who need an alternative as an entryway into the upper ranks of the industry.

Change is inevitable and it is time to think-out-of-our-square units. If the
pillars of academia cannot move collectively to provide the well trained
technicians needed in the CRM industry then the industry needs to fill the void.
Create our own educational  programs that meet industry needs, have the trade
organization of ACRA bless them, and grow the industry.

Over on the Arch-L list there was a recent post that stated that the average
entry level salary for an assistant professor in archaeology was $50,000 US
currency. Sounds good when the average tech makes about half that. Help them
achieve their dreams of rags to riches. Leverage their efforts to grow your
business and the industry.

Imagine, a brain dead high school drop out working as a waitress becomes
ambitious, pays her money, takes her classes, passes her test, gets a certificate
in computer programming, and gets a job with a $50,000 salary. If her
competency is average, she will have plenty of opportunity for promotions, leading to
much, much, higher income.

Waiting for the academics to come through and solve the tech training problem
is unproductive. Actions speak louder than words--collectively, they are not
interested.