Registered (Unprofessional) Archaeologist — More Expensive Than Adding Professional To Your Certification?

The Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) announced some time back that professional archaeologists without a graduate degree could now join their special club.

The catch? Well, with a mere four-year college degree, you could only be a “Registered Archaeologist” — the word “professional” being reserved for those who were masochistic enough to do graduate school.

Wow! More expensive, more continuing education, AND less important all rolled into one certification!

Now we know what the price tag for this designation will be: $99/year.

Before we get into how worthless even the designation is, let’s stop and look at what someone with a master’s or PhD would pay for the higher-grade designation of “Registered Professional Archaeologist” — $135/year if you’re not part of one of the sponsoring or affiliated organizations. But wait! If you happen to hold membership already in AIA, AAA, SHA, or SAA, it’s only $55 a year! And it’s still only $85/year if you’re a member of one of the nine affiliated organizations.

Note that there’s no price drop for the poor RA designation.

Also, what’s this about a bachelor’s thesis? Back in my day, we liked our cars fast, and our bachelors illiterate.