Transcript
Speaker: You're listening to the Archaeology Podcast Network. Welcome to Profiles in CRM, Episode 76. I'm your host, Chris Webster. Profiles in CRM asks CRM professionals nine simple questions. The answer is very wildly depending on their education and experience. Because of the nature of contract archaeology and how small this field really is, some people choose not to reveal their name or the company they work for.
Speaker: All right. Welcome to the profiles and serum podcast. And here is the first question. What is your name and who do you work for? My name is Lincoln Harshlip and I work for Boone arc out of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Okay. And what's the highest degree you've earned? The highest degree that I've earned is a bachelor's. I am currently all but thesis for my master's, but yeah, so technically I've earned my bachelor's. Come on, get that thesis done. All right.
Speaker: Alright, how long have you been working in Sierra? It has been two years. Okay, two years. And where have you worked? What states have you worked in? Mostly New Mexico. I've done a project over in Winslow, Arizona, beautiful Winslow, and I also did a summer up in Minnesota.
Speaker: So, but you know, mostly New Mexico. There you go. Yeah. New Mexico, Minnesota is quite a bit different than New Mexico, but that was a shock. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So what is the position you usually have in CRM and what is the highest position you attain? So, you know, field tech crew chief, what do you usually do?
Speaker: I have always just been a field tech. I actually have my hours for permitting in New Mexico on state and BLM in the Southeast, but just a field tech thus far. Okay. Yeah, New Mexico has got a pretty detailed system of hours you need to have for certain things, doesn't it? It's pretty crazy. Yeah, it's all regional too, so it's kind of complicated.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. Okay, so those were the setup questions. Now we're going to the kind of fun questions. What is the best thing that's happened to you that's related to being a CRM archeologist? And this can be personal or professional. I agree with all your previous guests. As in, you know, the people you meet, we archeologists are, you know, we're a peculiar bunch. And so,
Speaker: So I've met a lot of very interesting people. I've made a lot of good friends through the networking that comes with CRM. And so I would definitely say the people, but I think the obvious thing and maybe the more selfish thing is the things that I found, the things that we as archaeologists find out in the field, I think that is another super important thing that
Speaker: draws us to the field. So I would definitely say the people, the things we find, and then obviously the places we go, I think our field affords us an opportunity to see places that most people have never seen. Okay, great. A little long winded, I apologize. That's no big deal. What is the biggest thing that you would change that would make being a Sierra professional better? And only one thing.
Speaker: This is a difficult one. I actually ended up polling some of my friends and had a little more CRM experience than myself. One suggestion that really stuck out to me was better mentorship and investment in people so they can move up in the archaeological world later down the line.
Speaker: In particular, teach your field text more about site evaluations and making a case about site significance and integrity. We all know what an artifact is, but what is the bigger picture? What's the impact of the proposed project? Stuff like that. And so I think a more active approach to educating field text about the appropriate guidelines and laws would be enormously beneficial and help field archaeologists
Speaker: understand how the fieldwork translates into the final report and final recommendations. So yeah. Yeah. No, that's a good answer. All right. What is your career goal in CRM? Where do you see yourself in 10 years besides having finished your thesis? Finishing my thesis of course, is the number one thing. This is a, this is another kind of difficult one. I really have no idea where my career is going to be sending me. Um,
Speaker: maybe own my own CRM firm or maybe get a nice position in a Fed or state agency. Yeah, it's hard to say. I do know, I can say with certainty that I would like to do archeology for the rest of my life. As long as I can do field work, I wanna do field work. So, 70 years down the line, when I'm 70 years old, I hope I'm still out in the field. So, undecided, I guess.
Speaker: I know. I think a lot of people say they want to do fieldwork, especially people who are new ish in the field. And when I say new, I mean like less than five years. Yeah. And, uh, uh, but then again, you're, you're kind of what I think your thesis, uh, not your thesis, your master's degree is, uh, a lot of people say, Oh, it's, I want to get better pay and I want to get different positions, but really it's a hedge against the bets that your body's going to fail you at some point. And you need that master's degree so you can work inside.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Right. I mean, I entertain ideas of, you know, going for my PhD, but I, you know, I kiss that dream goodbye. I can barely finish a thesis. Yeah, we'll see. Okay. Final question. If you could give an undergrad thinking about a career in CRM one piece of advice, what would that be? That piece of advice would be make sure you
Speaker: Love what you're doing. Make sure you are passionate about, you know, archaeology. You know, this is it's not a it's not a super comfortable or easy career path. You know, we're walking through deserts and, you know, and, you know, slogging through, you know, marshes and stuff like that. So it's not easy. So you got to make sure you you really love it and you really want to, you know, give it 100 percent. So, you know, make sure you sure you love it.
Speaker: This show is produced and recorded by the Archaeology Podcast Network, Chris Webster and Tristan Boyle, in Reno, Nevada at the Reno Collective.
