--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After I graduated from the University of…" description: "\"After I graduated from the University of Glasgow, I was a self-employed archaeologist going from dig to dig around Scotland, and it was not well-paid. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/neil-oliver-28285_archaeologists_after-i-graduated-from-the-university-of_1233437.jpg" --- # After I graduated from the University of Glasgow, I was a… ![“After I graduated from the University of Glasgow, I was a self-employed archaeologist going from dig to dig around Scotland, and it was not well-paid. I was an excavator, not a lecturer as well, so paying rent on a flat was tricky. In the end I decided to retrain as a journalist as I couldn't see…” quote by Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/neil-oliver-28285_archaeologists_after-i-graduated-from-the-university-of_1233437.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/neil-oliver-28285_archaeologists_after-i-graduated-from-the-university-of_1233437.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/neil-oliver-28285_archaeologists_after-i-graduated-from-the-university-of_1233437.jpg) > “After I graduated from the University of Glasgow, I was a self-employed archaeologist going from dig to dig around Scotland, and it was not well-paid. I was an excavator, not a lecturer as well, so paying rent on a flat was tricky. In the end I decided to retrain as a journalist as I couldn't see a future in it.” [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He left low‑pay archaeology for journalism after seeing no sustainable future in field work. **In simple terms:** He switched careers for better prospects. Key Takeaway Consider career change when current path lacks growth. Themes career change financial stability personal fulfillment Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice career When to use this quote - job search - financial planning - education - networking Key Concepts archaeology journalism skill transfer Questions to Reflect On - What skills can you transfer to a new field? - How do you assess long‑term viability? A Different Perspective Career shifts can be risky and require new skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archaeologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologist-313326/) [Archaeologist Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologist-going-3823369/) [Archaeologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Employed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employed/) [Employed Archaeologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employed-archaeologist-3823367/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Flats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flats/) [Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasgow/) [Going Dig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-dig-3823368/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Lecturer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lecturer/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Paid Excavator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid-excavator-3823370/) [Paying rent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-rent/) [Scotland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotland/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Tricky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricky/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [You never know how things are going to go. I think you hope that people are going to dig what you do and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-marshall/you-never-know-how-things-are-going-to-go-i-think-you-hope-that/) [Amanda Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-marshall/) > [What kind of archaeologist carries a weapon?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-o-neill/what-kind-of-archaeologist-carries-a-weapon/) [Jack O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-o-neill/) > [I originally worked as an archaeologist in North Carolina, and when bones were found police would take them out to the bones lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-reichs/i-originally-worked-as-an-archaeologist-in-north-carolina-and-when/) [Kathy Reichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-reichs/) > [I knew I never wanted to become an archaeologist. But at school I became intrigued by what people were doing on an everyday basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-aubrey/i-knew-i-never-wanted-to-become-an-archaeologist-but-at-school-i/) [Juliet Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-aubrey/) > [“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/) > [The lure of the past came up to grab me. To see a dagger slowly appearing, with its gold glint, through the sand was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/the-lure-of-the-past-came-up-to-grab-me-to-see-a-dagger-slowly/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [If I hadn't become a model I thought of doing many things. I wanted to be an archaeologist at one point, but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-valletta/if-i-hadn-t-become-a-model-i-thought-of-doing-many-things-i-wanted-to/) [Amber Valletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-valletta/) > [I would have been an archaeologist or something, maybe a historian. There are a lot of things I would have liked to have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-khan/i-would-have-been-an-archaeologist-or-something-maybe-a-historian/) [Chaka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-khan/) > [I always wanted to be an archaeologist or a psychiatrist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manini-mishra/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-archaeologist-or-a-psychiatrist/) [Manini Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manini-mishra/) > [I'm not an academic; I'm not an archaeologist. I'm a writer, communicating ideas to the public. There is a model of how the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/i-m-not-an-academic-i-m-not-an-archaeologist-i-m-a-writer/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [ \[Agatha Christie\] is fond of quoting the witty wife who once said, 'an archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/agatha-christie-is-fond-of-quoting-the-witty-wife-who-once-said-an/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > [“An exercise for the reader: Who would win in a scavenger hunt, 20th century archaeologist Indiana Jones or 51st century archaeologist River Song?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-h-segal/an-exercise-for-the-reader-who-would-win-in-a-scavenger-hunt-20th/) [Stephen H. Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-h-segal/) > [“I am an archaeologist of mature vintage. Rapid descents are not my specialty. I am the plodding type." ~ Grace Madison, PhD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-l-b-horton/i-am-an-archaeologist-of-mature-vintage-rapid-descents-are-not-my/) [N.L.B. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-l-b-horton/) > [To mend a broken heart sometimes you gotta be a archaeologist, you have to dig deep and search for what still remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-degroff/to-mend-a-broken-heart-sometimes-you-gotta-be-a-archaeologist-you/) [Brian DeGroff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-degroff/) > [If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/if-you-really-want-to-be-a-good-archaeologist-you-have-to-understand/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) ## More by Neil Oliver > [It took me a while to get established - success didn't happen overnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/it-took-me-a-while-to-get-established-success-didn-t-happen-overnight/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [I find it so easy to read qualified commentators who are 180 degrees opposed to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/i-find-it-so-easy-to-read-qualified-commentators-who-are-180-degrees/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [“Ginger people! D'you know what they are? Our aborigines ... that's what! GINGERIGINES! Look at 'em ... they were 'ere first. All this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/ginger-people-d-you-know-what-they-are-our-aborigines-that-s-what/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [I trust to luck. I am planning to be a millionaire before I die but I don't have a plan as to how that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/i-trust-to-luck-i-am-planning-to-be-a-millionaire-before-i-die-but-i/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [“Only the rock lasts forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/only-the-rock-lasts-forever/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [My father's example taught me self-reliance, to make my own luck, and to work to make things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/my-father-s-example-taught-me-self-reliance-to-make-my-own-luck-and/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [I have always been quite careful when I have been approached to do a television project to have the option of writing the accompanying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/i-have-always-been-quite-careful-when-i-have-been-approached-to-do-a/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [It is security that I crave and money provides security. What is that old line about money? "Some is good, more is better and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/it-is-security-that-i-crave-and-money-provides-security-what-is-that/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [Television came looking for me; it was never a plan to become a presenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/television-came-looking-for-me-it-was-never-a-plan-to-become-a/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [I worked on local papers, before taking a job as a webmaster with a very well known telecommunications company in London, as I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/i-worked-on-local-papers-before-taking-a-job-as-a-webmaster-with-a/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [My wife has always supported me in my career, even when there were times when it was more sensible to get a job. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/my-wife-has-always-supported-me-in-my-career-even-when-there-were/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [My father was a self-employed, commission-only salesman. He sold double-glazing and fitted kitchens, amongst other things. As he never declared himself unemployed, there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/my-father-was-a-self-employed-commission-only-salesman-he-sold-double/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [“I was born on a storm-swept rock and hate the soft growth of sun-baked lands where there is no frost in men’s bones.’ Liam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-oliver/i-was-born-on-a-storm-swept-rock-and-hate-the-soft-growth-of-sun-2/) [Neil Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-oliver/) > [I'm wary of the new contactless ways of paying. 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Did pigs really sweat?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/were-archaeologists-really-such-a-sex-starved-lot-as-all-that-did/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [In becoming archaeologists of the world of our mothers, we are trying to retrieve the female past and to invent a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bernikow/in-becoming-archaeologists-of-the-world-of-our-mothers-we-are-trying/) [Louise Bernikow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bernikow/) > [On the whole … archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archaeologist has found his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millar-burrows/on-the-whole-archaeological-work-has-unquestionably-strengthened/) [Millar Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millar-burrows/) > [Painters were also attorneys, happy storytellers of anecdote, psychologists, botanists, zoologists, archaeologists, engineers, but there were no creative painters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazimir-malevich/painters-were-also-attorneys-happy-storytellers-of-anecdote/) [Kazimir Malevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazimir-malevich/) > [I've got to get the ultimate in composition today. or I've got to get the ultimate in light, I'll stay here until it appears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/i-ve-got-to-get-the-ultimate-in-composition-today-or-i-ve-got-to-get/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [You know, many people believe that we archaeologists are just a collection of old fogies digging around in the ruins after old dried up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/griffin-jay/you-know-many-people-believe-that-we-archaeologists-are-just-a/) [Griffin Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/griffin-jay/) > [We need to be moral archaeologists to pull out how we understand the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosef-abramowitz/we-need-to-be-moral-archaeologists-to-pull-out-how-we-understand-the/) [Yosef Abramowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosef-abramowitz/) > [I will tell you a little secret about archaeologists, dear Reader. They all pretend t be very high-minded. They claim that their sole aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-tell-you-a-little-secret-about-archaeologists-dear-reader-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[Agatha Christie\] is fond of quoting the witty wife who once said, 'an archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/agatha-christie-is-fond-of-quoting-the-witty-wife-who-once-said-an/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > [Whether we are reading the Bible for the first time or standing in a field in Israel next to a historian and an archaeologist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/whether-we-are-reading-the-bible-for-the-first-time-or-standing-in-a/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I wondered if I would appear on a temple wall painting someday. 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The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/times-are-not-good-here-the-city-is-crumbling-into-ashes-it-has-been/) [Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/) [Browse all 68 Archaeologists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After I graduated from the University of Glasgow, I was a self-employed archaeologist going from dig to dig around Scotland, and it was not well-paid. I was an excavator, not a lecturer as well, so paying rent on a flat was tricky. 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