Happy Friday, Xplorers!
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that there are many different facets of CRM work. We’ve talked about GIS and how crucial our mappers are when it comes to researching and planning for our projects. We’ve checked out the laboratory and learned more about what our lab technicians do. We’ve dug deep into historical research with our environmental history and genealogy experts, and we’ve even explored the world of geophysics and how we can use techniques like GPR and magnetometry to find unmarked graves, ancient pathways, and other important archaeological features.
Today, we’re asking a very important question: Are you ready to join us?
As we’ve tried to show, Cultural Resource Management is a wide world, and it truly takes a village to successfully complete a project! That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re hiring.
TerraX has an incredible opportunity to welcome some new members to our family. We’re growing fast, and we’re looking forward to bringing on some new team members to share the wealth. Ready to dig deeper?
But wait — there’s more! Not only are we excited to be adding to our team, but we’re incredibly proud to offer a whole new working model for our field crews. We’re offering benefits. That’s right — our vision is to build permanent field crews. Archaeological field directors and technicians work hard, and we think they deserve to be compensated for it. Sound interesting? We thought so!
Writers — The Back-End Bread and Butter
Listen up writing whiz-kids — we’re looking for writers! At the end of the day, one thing we know every single project will require is a report. Creating clear, beautiful, and accurate technical reports is our bread and butter, and it’s one of the most important parts of what we do. After all, without accurate reporting, we can’t actually do CRM!
Not to get too in-the-weeds, but archaeological research, now and in the future, depends on thorough reporting of what we’ve discovered in the past. We could go out and dig shovel tests all day, but without technical reports, we’d have no way of keeping track of what we discover. We know, we know — this all sounds pretty obvious. But to us, it’s worth reiterating — writers are essential to our work — we need them on the back end making sure we have accurate information. That’s why we need smart, savvy writers on our team.
Do you think you have what it takes to be a writer on our team? Well …
Do you enjoy performing research tasks?
Can you interpret maps accurately?
Can you keep track of multiple sets of requirements for reporting in different states?
Do you love history and/or archaeology? Can you write about both with clarity, accuracy, and creativity?
Are you a team-player with a positive attitude?
If you answered “yes” to those questions, then you’re likely a perfect fit for us! Writing archaeological reports isn’t easy, and it does require a lot of research and detailed writing on sometimes tight deadlines. But if you have a passion for the field and you’re ready to show up each day with a smile and team mentality, you’ll fit right in.
If all this sounds appealing to you, please check out the writer job posting on our site. Take a look at our list of qualifications, and if you’d like to apply, fill out the form conveniently located at the bottom of that page. Make sure to include a Google link to your resume or CV, and if you have any writing samples you’d like us to see, make sure to include those in the “Message” section. We look forward to hearing from you and checking out your work!
GIS Specialists — Show Us the Way
Hopefully you remember from our blog post about GIS — mappers are absolutely critical to CRM work. GIS experts perform a wide range of tasks for us without which we couldn’t perform any of our essential functions as a firm.
The most important work our GIS experts do is provide us with the maps we need to carry out archaeological fieldwork. Using ESRI’s ArcGIS software, GIS specialists will take topographic quadrangles and aerial photographs and overlay them with map graphics indicating the locations of everything from previously discovered artifact scatter sites to cemeteries. It cannot be overstated — this process is crucial. We have to know where sites have already been found to know how to proceed with our projects!
After helping us out with the background research phase, GIS specialists help us plot out our entire plan for shovel testing. When we dig on a project site, we perform shovel tests — essentially small holes plotted on a grid and spaced evenly throughout the project site. That way, we can get an accurate sample of soil and any archaeologically significant materials from the site and discover more about where we might need to continue investigating. However, before we can go out and dig, we have to have a plan! That’s why we have GIS specialists create maps of each and every shovel test we need to perform. When it’s time for the field crews to get to work, they already have all the information they need.
GIS specialists are an integral part of our processes, and they’re at the center of multiple departments. They need strong communications skills, since they’re often coordinating with the principal investigators, field directors, and writers on their projects. They also need to be prepared to juggle multiple projects at once and stick to their deadlines — after all, we can’t proceed with a project until the maps are set!
Do you have experience with ESRI’s ArcGIS software? Are you ready to join a team of highly-motivated expert mappers? If so, head on over to our GIS Specialist job posting and send us your resume or CV! We’d love to have you on the team.
Field Crews — Let’s Make Back-Breaking Work a Little Less Back-Breaking
If you’re aspiring to work on an archaeological field crew, we could not be more excited for you! Our archaeological field directors and technicians get to have their boots on the ground — literally — recovering artifacts on a daily basis. Their hard work gets to the heart of archaeology, and we definitely couldn’t do CRM work without them!
However, reality check, being a field archaeologist is not easy. It involves a ton of travel, leaving crew members with serious limitations when it comes to being involved with family and community. It also involves long hours of tough, physically demanding labor. Field crews have to be prepared to deal with scorching temperatures, sweat, sunburns, and even the occasional animal encounter. As a career, field archaeology is rewarding and challenging in equal measures.
We think we can tip the scales in your favor.
At TerraX, our vision for the future of our field crews is to retain permanent, regionally based teams. That means we’ll have teams spread throughout the southeast so we can divide the work regionally. The Alabama crew will work on our Alabama projects, the Georgia team will take the Georgia assignments, and so on. Without having to travel so much or so, our incredible field team members won’t need to spend so much time on the road. Our hope is that this will give them the ability to spend time at home with their families.
And that’s not all. We’re also offering benefits. That means they’ll be eligible for our health insurance plans! You read that right — as a field director or technician with TerraX, you’ll receive the opportunity to have health benefits.
Any of this sound good to you? We sincerely hope so. More stability. Greater financial security. Less time on the road — that’s our dream for our crews.
Not Just a Job
Here’s our bottom line: It’s not just a job, it’s a profession.
At TerraX, we take great pride in what we do. We love archaeology and history, and we believe CRM work is essential for preserving the past while forging ahead into the future. And because we believe our work is so important, we believe our people are important too.
It’s our goal to make sure our team members enjoy rich and rewarding careers. We’re not just clocking in from nine to five — we’re leading the future in recording America’s past. Our people are growing in their chosen fields and specialties, and we consider it a privilege to support them! We strive every day to make TerraX a place where people can build professional careers they can be proud of.
So, if you’re looking for a place to grow and thrive, make sure to visit our careers page. (We’ll leave that link right here for you!) From there, you’ll be able to see more details on the requirements and qualifications for the current open positions we’ve talked about today and send us your applications!
And if none of our current open positions feels quite right to you, that’s okay! On that same careers page, you’ll find a contact form where you can go ahead and send us your CV or resume. Let us know what area of CRM work you specialize in, and we’ll keep your information on file for any future openings.
Thanks for checking out our open positions! We look forward to bringing on some fabulous new additions to our team. Until next time, start applying, Xplorers!
— The TerraX Team