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  2. Funding Envy, Not Physics Envy

Funding Envy, Not Physics Envy

By aardvarchaeology on July 9, 2007.

Dave over at The World's Fair is asking a few questions about interdisciplinary envy. Do biologists wish they were physicists? Or do physicists dream of biology? And what about archaeologists?

1. What's your current scientific specialty?

I'm an archaeologist specialising in Scandinavian Prehistory, mainly the 1st Millennium AD.

2. Were you originally pursuing a different academic course?

Nope, I've concentrated on this subject since day one at the University of Stockholm back in 1990 when I was 18. I chose between archaeology and astronomy, but went for the field where I could dive straight into the source material without studying a lot of maths and physics first. Incidentally, the two fields that interested me (basically fantasy vs. science fiction, you know) are among the least practically useful ones known to humankind.

3. Do you happen to wish you were involved in another scientific field?

Yes and no. I wish I were involved in a well-funded field where there was a demand for my skills and knowledge. On the other hand, I also wish that Scandinavian prehistoric archaeology were such a field. Lovely discipline, crap labour market. But that, Dear Reader, you already know if you've followed my scribblings for any length of time.

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I'm happy as I had a successful grant application last week, however things aren't too great in the long term. Construction from the London Olympics has taken (apprently) money away from AHRC which funds a lot of Pleistocene work (from the archaeological side). Sigh.

Congrats, Steve! Let's hope the Olympic construction business leads to a lot of unintentionally interesting contract archaeology.

Paddy, thanks, I will be so thrilled to know that my job opportunities are on a distant planet... (-;