What you need to know about the placement year
Whether it’s included in your course or not, most if not all, students are given the ability to choose to go on a placement year or a year abroad. A placement year essentially is a year between your 2nd and final year where you work in an industry that could be related to your course but not always and its usually paid. For me, as an archaeology student, I chose to take a placement year with the commercial archaeology unit at Durham University.
While it differs every year, the process tends to be similar. Towards the end of Michaelmas/start of Epiphany term, the department will organise a placement year talk/briefing with Archaeological Services staff and previous interns for students to learn about the placement and speak to interns about their experience. The application process begins sometime towards the end of the Epiphany term (usually), and interviews take place after Epiphany term/start of the final term, but it is subject to change. The number of positions does change depending on the year and how many applications they get but could be between 6-7 positions.
What to expect
As an intern, my placement started in the office, undertaking training modules in preparation for on-site work, which could range from health & safety to the CSCS training. Now, the key thing to know is that every year is different. You won’t necessarily be on-site from day 1 or even month 1, as it all depends on which sites are open and what jobs are suitable for interns. Interns get the opportunity to work on evaluation trenches, large-scale excavations (or SMR’s is what we call them), geophysics, site visits and more; also, sometimes only a certain number of interns/staff are required for a job, so you won’t all necessarily be sent out on site.
I was quite lucky as there was a large-scale excavation open when I first started so after completing my training within the first week, I was sent out to my very first SMR that lasted for 3 months! Our work hours are from 8-4 pm (except Fridays when it’s 8-1 pm 😊), and if you’re on-site, odds are you’ll be waking up earlier than that for pickup. If you don’t drive, usually a supervisor will pick you up from a suitable location in Durham that’s closest to your house. When you’re working on-site, you will always be required to wear full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), meaning your high-vis and hard hat, so it’s incredibly important you always pack it with you and don’t forget to double check before you leave the house!
The Highs and the lows
The best part about the placement for me personally was the digging and learning/experiencing something new. When I wasn’t digging and recording in -6 weather, I was in the lab processing soil samples or in the office writing up a report or digitizing. The placement gave me a well-rounded experience in archaeology and most importantly what happens pre and post excavation which I think is more important and interesting. Aside from that, it was also quite nice to change it up and take a bit of a break from Uni to figure out what I want to do and even how to make the most of my final year and the years to follow.
Adjusting to the 8-4 routine was quite difficult at first. There’s days when you wake up extremely early (6 am to be exact!) for early pickup to site and days when you get to sleep in a bit if you’re in the office or the lab. Still, once you get into the rhythm of things, the adjustment becomes easier.
Final thoughts
Although there were lows, the highs of the placement were truly some of the best. I was able to get hands-on experience in archaeology, make new friends and work with some amazing people, gain new skills as well as take a break from university and figure myself out. The memories made are memories I will cherish greatly and an experience I’m thankful for and will recommend if you’re interested in pursuing archaeology (whether it’s fieldwork or not) or even if you just want to figure out what you want to do.
Discover more
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