--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had this idea that I could hire myself…" description: "\"I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I actually wrote to a number of arc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/jennifer-egan-825_archeology_i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself_143984.jpg" --- # I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person… ![“I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I actually wrote to a number of archeology departments and offered up my services.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/jennifer-egan-825_archeology_i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself_143984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/jennifer-egan-825_archeology_i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself_143984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/jennifer-egan-825_archeology_i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself_143984.jpg) > “I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I actually wrote to a number of archeology departments and offered up my services.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Offering services without training is risky and shows enthusiasm but lacks expertise. **In simple terms:** I wanted to work on digs without training. Key Takeaway Gain proper training before volunteering. Themes enthusiasm risk expertise Mood enthusiastic cautious Type professional advisory When to use this quote - volunteer work - career change - academic projects - field research Key Concepts career development archaeology Questions to Reflect On - How can you acquire needed skills? - What are the risks of untrained work? A Different Perspective May cause safety or credibility issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archeology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archeology/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) ## Related quotes > [“Can't have a care when you unzip & bare the rare hieroglyphs from the archeological digs unearthed from those undiscovered inner layers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/can-t-have-a-care-when-you-unzip-bare-the-rare-hieroglyphs-from-the/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [As an undergraduate, I had an opportunity to go on a number of archeological digs. So I had experience excavating, digging up remains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/as-an-undergraduate-i-had-an-opportunity-to-go-on-a-number-of/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [If you are going to fire this person or hire that person, do it all in a concentrated period. The Band-Aid gets ripped off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallie-krawcheck/if-you-are-going-to-fire-this-person-or-hire-that-person-do-it-all-in/) [Sallie Krawcheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallie-krawcheck/) > [“.. I needed to hire someone to manage all this, but I dreaded it. It's not like you just hire one person. You hire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-kyle-williams/i-needed-to-hire-someone-to-manage-all-this-but-i-dreaded-it-it-s-not/) [Amanda Kyle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-kyle-williams/) > [When you hire that first person, then you're a boss. You've got performance reviews. 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You've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/when-you-hire-that-first-person-then-you-re-a-boss-you-ve-got/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [If faced with two competitive candidates, every company will hire the person who evinces more enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-blumenthal/if-faced-with-two-competitive-candidates-every-company-will-hire-the/) [Neil Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-blumenthal/) > [A minimum-wage law is, in reality, a law that makes it illegal for an employer to hire a person with limited skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/a-minimum-wage-law-is-in-reality-a-law-that-makes-it-illegal-for-an/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“An archaeologist is a ghoul with credentials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/an-archaeologist-is-a-ghoul-with-credentials/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [I have always been interested in the architecture of war, as can be seen in Bunker Archeology. However, at the time that I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-have-always-been-interested-in-the-architecture-of-war-as-can-be/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [I have been photographing the portrait of an end of an era, as machines and computers replace human workers. What we have in these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-been-photographing-the-portrait-of-an-end-of-an-era-as/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [We develop all our sciences, archeology, cosmology, psychology, we tabulate and classify and cling to our sacred definitions, our divisions, without any attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/we-develop-all-our-sciences-archeology-cosmology-psychology-we/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [Experience is all I have. I equate song-writing with archeology. Every day you dig. You dig into different places within yourself - even finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/experience-is-all-i-have-i-equate-song-writing-with-archeology-every/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [Hell, I don't break the soil periodically to 'reaffirm my status'. I do it because archeology is still the most fun you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-v-flannery/hell-i-don-t-break-the-soil-periodically-to-reaffirm-my-status-i-do/) Kent V. Flannery > [ “What would have made \[seeing Göbekli Tepe from Harran\] easier, in antiquity, would have been a tall tower annexed to the temple that once… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/what-would-have-made-seeing-g-bekli-tepe-from-harran-easier-in/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [ “Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, \[...\] came to teach \[the ancient inhabitants of Mexico\] the benefits of settled agriculture and the skills necessary to build… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/quetzalcoatl-the-feathered-serpent-came-to-teach-the-ancient/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [They resumed walking. Alex felt an ache in his eyes and throat. "I don't know what happened to me," he said, shaking his head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/they-resumed-walking-alex-felt-an-ache-in-his-eyes-and-throat-i-don-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Archeology quotes > [ “Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, \[...\] came to teach \[the ancient inhabitants of Mexico\] the benefits of settled agriculture and the skills necessary to build… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/quetzalcoatl-the-feathered-serpent-came-to-teach-the-ancient/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [ “What would have made \[seeing Göbekli Tepe from Harran\] easier, in antiquity, would have been a tall tower annexed to the temple that once… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/what-would-have-made-seeing-g-bekli-tepe-from-harran-easier-in/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [Hell, I don't break the soil periodically to 'reaffirm my status'. I do it because archeology is still the most fun you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-v-flannery/hell-i-don-t-break-the-soil-periodically-to-reaffirm-my-status-i-do/) Kent V. Flannery > [Experience is all I have. I equate song-writing with archeology. Every day you dig. You dig into different places within yourself - even finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/experience-is-all-i-have-i-equate-song-writing-with-archeology-every/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [We develop all our sciences, archeology, cosmology, psychology, we tabulate and classify and cling to our sacred definitions, our divisions, without any attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/we-develop-all-our-sciences-archeology-cosmology-psychology-we/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have been photographing the portrait of an end of an era, as machines and computers replace human workers. What we have in these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-been-photographing-the-portrait-of-an-end-of-an-era-as/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I have always been interested in the architecture of war, as can be seen in Bunker Archeology. However, at the time that I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-have-always-been-interested-in-the-architecture-of-war-as-can-be/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [“An archaeologist is a ghoul with credentials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/an-archaeologist-is-a-ghoul-with-credentials/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [We still have to realize that if you are say a historian of the Civil War, you don’t know anything special about say Columbus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/we-still-have-to-realize-that-if-you-are-say-a-historian-of-the-civil/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [Jazz is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-pomeroy/jazz-is-the-most-fun-you-can-have-with-your-clothes-on/) Herb Pomeroy > [“History is the collective and ancestral shit of the human race, a great big and ever-growin pile of crap. Right now we're standin at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/history-is-the-collective-and-ancestral-shit-of-the-human-race-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Music at its best...is the grand archeology into and transfiguration of our guttural cry, the great human effort to grasp in time our deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/music-at-its-best-is-the-grand-archeology-into-and-transfiguration-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Dying is easy, beloved. It is living that is difficult. The secret is to live fully, to embrace every instant of existence, beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonide-martin/dying-is-easy-beloved-it-is-living-that-is-difficult-the-secret-is-to/) Leonide Martin > [“We are used to things starting out small and simple and then progressing--evolving--to become ever more complex and sophisticated, so this is naturally what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/we-are-used-to-things-starting-out-small-and-simple-and-then/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [Classical music is a special taste like Greek language or pre-Columbian archeology, not a common culture of reciprocal communication and psychological shorthand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/classical-music-is-a-special-taste-like-greek-language-or-pre/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) [Browse all 40 Archeology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archeology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! 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