00:01.19 archpodnet Hello and welcome back to the cm archeology podcast episode 266 and we are hanging out with your solo host Andrew King Kella and I am just talking about my experiences in Crm and with this last bit here I'd just like to talk about. Sort of the good and the bad of crm what I learned and what helped me out and kind of ideas for all of us in terms of what to just make life a little bit better as you work in the world of Crm. So we can start we can start on top with the good you know and then we'll move to the bad which is the fun part. So what good things did I get out of out of serra out of my time in that I would say first and foremost a much better handle on. local archeology and local history that's huge unfortunately very difficult to find classes at a college level about that kind of stuff you know unless you live on the nile. Then you're like oh yeah I could find a class in egyptology but in terms of local like for us in in the United States like really focused local indigenous cultures right? to learn about that and then also really focused local. 01:32.24 archpodnet History of like the last two hundred years or that kind of thing that stuff I really value and I really feel like I got a leg up. You know, based on my time in serum on that stuff. Also. The friends man and the people you meet you you meet some really interesting people. It interesting in terms of wow this person is cool. This person is a lifelong friend also interesting in terms of like that person is weird and. What I mean by that is especially on jobs where it's out in the field. You know you'll meet people who obviously can't really have a 9 to 5 job in an office situation. They just can't they're just too wild. They're just too out there but it is a trip. You know meeting those people and just sort of experiencing them. So the the friends I've made you know the the people who I met that that part was great. Um, you meet people who are stone cold professionals you meet people who you want to use. As mentors or as models I think that's almost more important models for your own career like you meet people and you go oh they're doing it right? I should do it like that and so I remember meeting people like that that was awesome. Um, meeting. 02:58.30 archpodnet People in the local native community those those guys have been so cool to me over the years and I just have enjoyed my time with them. You know where we just hang out. You're both there at the site. So hey man it's better to become friends and I've always enjoyed just. Working with the native community. It's always gone. Great. It always adds such a nice bit to the job. Um, the other good is just learning a skill set in archeology that you don't necessarily get in the academic side working to a timetable The academic side tends to be not always but tends to be much more open in terms of time or in terms of when is the final report going to be written. Was there ever a final report written you know in crm it's very much like you have two weeks and then in week three we're going to do this. And then and by week five. We better have this, you know and so working to a timetable working in in an economical fashion I think is is a really really great skill set that that I enjoy and also I mean another part of the good is just the outdoorsy freedom. Working in Crm. Um, you know it's nice to be outside. It's nice when I think back to those projects. It's like I can feel it on my skin I can still smell it. 04:25.42 archpodnet You know what? I mean it's like when you take a breath look if I do it right now. If I think of a project when I like if I think of working out in Blythe and in yuma on the California Arizona border and I go like this if I go I can like smell it. You know when I think about it I can smell the desert in that case or I can smell the sort of Ocean air of camp pendleton you know that park's great and I mean I can smell the streets of l a too. So but that aspect of it is. Is really really nice and of course even on its worst day in crm, you can still label yourself as an archeologist I am an archeologist and I am doing archeology and that is very um. Positive you know it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like yeah I'm doing this thing that not everyone does so. That's some of the good and I'm sure there's more good, um, learning trying to learn I should say about ah writing final reports and that kind of stuff. You know that was that was also nice that was that was a good experience now the bad and actually speaking of final reports here's something I noticed a bad experience for me was people above me. 05:53.67 archpodnet Trying specifically to not give me certain skill sets because through those years I'm like finishing my master's degree then I have a master's degree then I'm starting to work on my Ph D like I'm obviously kind of doing well and then. I Know that there were people out there who thought hey I don't have a master's degree that guy does if I give him this knowledge Then? what do I have He has everything you know and I came up against that brick wall several times like I really wanted to learn the intricacies of like. Writing a final report which I did bits and bobs of I wrote like negative reports and stuff and I helped a little on some others but I wish I had much more experiences on that. Um the secret black art of. Bidding for a job. Oh They would never tell me that you know just because they didn't want me to start my own firm so that was the negative part. You know, sometimes there's that silly jealous infighting Crap. Um. 07:01.68 archpodnet I think what hurts people early on is that feeling of this is it that kind of rudderlessness where let's say you're a monitor and you're just going out every day and you're like man. Okay. Went to college I dreamed of being an archeologist now I am one and what that equals is sitting here in this dusty diesel fume construction site staring down at a hole where I know there's not going to be anything and I'm have to do this for a month you know that that's the hardest part There's like a depression that can kind of come in. You know now. Oh and after that I can now sit alone in this crappy hotel room. Ah and then just. Watch Tv for a while and then tomorrow more of the same That's the hard part. You know it can be There's a depressing aspect to it. Um, the pay can get you down. Although I've noticed that the pay is getting better. And I do think it will continue to get better in the next years the next decade or so so I'm guardedly optimistic about that. But man back in the day you know the pay was crappy and now it's slightly not as crappy as before. It's better. 08:30.20 archpodnet But it's still you know it still should be more than it is so the pay can get you down and you'll see other people doing other things you're like dude what am I doing you know that can that can be tough and then finally I would say off top my head just it can ravage your body if you are not smart about things. You know if you're doing this for years and years and years you can mess up your joints. You'll be in the sun too much. You can totally mess up your skin just by getting sunburned not wearing sunscreen you know and so you do want to really take care of your body health wise. Just there in your hotel room and you're just going to like Mcdonald's all the time you know, just eating crappy food that that's a huge part that I think we don't talk about enough is how to kind of protect and preserve your own body and your own health both mentally what you're sitting alone in your hotel room and physically a huge thing. So those are some of the bet those when I think back the the worst bits as I go through my mind are like people who were trying to keep me down the pay and the rudderlessness of like is this it. So what to do. What can we do to help ourselves out you know, um in those times and here's some things that I thought helped me first talk to other people talk to other people on your crew make friends talk to people who work for other firms. 09:59.40 archpodnet Get a feeling for what it's like in other places because one of the big things about Crm is that you switch firm to firm to firm again in my time in cm god I probably worked for I don't know 8 firms nine I don't know I can't even remember all their names you know, but. Talk to people in other firms because chances are actually that you will feel like there's a glass ceiling in the firm you're at you're going to feel like okay I've gotten to this point. And it'll be they will define you as a certain thing you're like oh you are a digger or whatever it is. You know you are the surveyor. Whatever it is and then they just will never let you move up. You know what? I mean the only way to move up is the switch firms or or to just and give them just. Be honest, if you get another gig with a firm just be like look I have this other gig with this other firm I would love to stay with you but you need to give me this and if they say no screw them go to the next one. It's that simple and while I say it's that simple. It's also hard because we also have this feeling of like. We can't let the firm down you know which is like silly but we have this feeling of like we need. We need to we need to help them out. No, you don't it's a business deal if they're not giving you what you need and what you're worth um, leave. 11:27.18 archpodnet Now with that said, you also have to understand what you're worth. You have to be realistic I went in doubt I would say that people tend to underrate their skill set. But I've also seen the flip side especially with younger people where they overrate you're like dude now you don't have the skill set. Sorry man you are not a super human so be be really conscious of. What you're good at what your strengths are what your weaknesses are where you can improve where you can move forward organize your future a little bit and what I mean by that is all of this will be less depressing if you have a focus. Where do you ultimately want to go with this and don't just tell me I just like being an archeologist I just like working in the dirt that is not an answer you going to do that for 40 years like you want to think as you know okay, 5 years from now where do I want to be. 10 years from now where do I want to be it's that cliche hack meed stuff but it totally is worth thinking about write it down I used to do this kind of stuff and it really helped keep a journal. 12:51.12 archpodnet So helpful in this stuff but right down what do you want? What do you want with the serum because you can't just blame crm for your problems. You know what? I mean it's a twoway street that it can suck I mean the pay can suck. They can like be jerks but you are an active person too. You can help yourself out right? Um, keep learning. About local culture the more you learn the better. That's where you can really really beat the people in the academic world because so often they don't learn learn their own. Ah so often they don't learn the local culture. You do it. You will be better than them be so good that they have to deal with you. I love that line not a week goes by way I don't think about that when I want to be successful in my own archeology stuff just be so good that they have to deal. You know that they need you right? And if they don't scroll and go somewhere else like. Be that good. It's up to you um, be active in all this right? I think you can get that from what I'm saying you can't just be passive like well they'll they'll ah they'll raise my they'll raise my hourly pay at some point. No, they won't not unless you complain. Why would they? um, learn though right read the local reports read books watch out for your health as I talked about before and that takes time read books on health you know. 14:24.62 archpodnet Read books on nutrition um, learn things about how to protect your skin and protect your joints in your body when you have an outdoorsy kind of job. Um and have a focus that's really. All this to wrap it up. You know have a focus that's something that I did reasonably kind of sort of well I knew I always wanted to be a college professor in the more community college world I knew I wanted to be. Someone who interacted with the public right? underneath it all who had an audience who interacted with the public then there are even portions of Crm where you can do that and that can even you can fill that void even if you're giving giving local lectures at with at local meetings or even like with the. Local city groups and stuff that you might have to deal with a lot if you have that skill set. You might be really good in terms of dealing with local city planners and city officials and stuff and stuff in the crm. Um world. So think about that focus of your life right? You got one life like think about the focus. Think about where you want to be think about what you can get out of crm. What can you get out of it think if you want to stay in it for your career or not you know or you want to keep it as like a side hustle you want to do it Mondays and Wednesdays only you know that kind of stuff those are choices that can work for you. 15:59.44 archpodnet So with that I hope this has been helpful for you guys? Um, you can always get in touch with me. Ah, if you have any questions on Crm um or questions on my experiences actually the I find the best way to get in touch with me is. Is to leave a comment on my Youtube channel ah kinkela teaches archaeology because I see those comments all the time and I can just easily type back to you in that world. He'll leave a comment on any of the videos. It doesn't even matter like I'll just see the comment and that's cool, but um, with that again i. Hope this is helpful. Um I've enjoyed my time in crm I learned a lot and I'm thinking that one of these days I might be back with that have a good day. My friends. 16:56.58 archpodnet And now for the rollout. Let's see. 17:08.98 archpodnet Thanks to everyone for joining me this week thanks also to the listeners for tuning in and we'll see you in the field goodbye. 17:27.60 archpodnet Um.