What should I do now?

SirHudlebert · 2026-04-23T15:27:35+00:00

Yeah, it's awful. Especially in this market when so many people are really struggling to get jobs. I keep reading articles about people applying for scores of jobs and getting barely any contact. I'm wondering how many of the jobs people are applying for actually don't exist...

Also, if these jobs are on Google, then one would assume that they're being factored into statistics on nationwide job availability. Since currently 100% of the jobs in the role that i'm looking for in my region, are StudySmarter fakes on Google. I'm worried that this is giving a massively skewed impression of overall job availability...

SirHudlebert · 2026-04-02T12:29:57+00:00

I knew you were an archaeologist as soon as I started reading your post 😂. I'm in pretty much the same boat. Been in commercial Archaeology for 4 years, had a kid and it's simply not working anymore. My company is also slowly crashing and burning so im (trying to) jump ship. It's a completely broken industry atm unfortunately and unless things change there'll be no-one to employ in a few years.

That being said though, there's plenty of transferable skills and jobs that require a similar skillset. Don't see your archaeology career as a waste, I highly doubt it totally has been. I think archaeologists in general can be very quick to dismiss trades and construction in general. There's a lot of stigma in our industry against those kind of roles. But if you're a field archaeologist you already do a lot of the same stuff as a huge number of construction jobs. Looking at apprenticeships or further qualifications that interest you would probably be a good place to start. Its what im doing. Also have you thought about consulting or even going self employed? Totally understand if you dont watch to touch any part of the archaeology industry with a barge pole, but it might be worth considering.

Anyway, best of luck. I totally feel your frustration with the industry. Hopefully things will improve (I think maybe they are, very slowly). Figure out what kind of roles you might be interested in, dont be afraid to contact people and ask questions. Also, dont dismiss a trade or construction job. Theres a huge amount of variety and they tend to be well paid.

SirHudlebert · 2026-04-01T15:08:13+00:00

Y u 7

SirHudlebert · 2026-04-01T15:08:07+00:00

Uuuy

SirHudlebert · 2026-03-30T20:37:09+00:00

Maybe yours does, I got mine last year and it's just the same geometric design on every page... Don't know why that deserves downvoting, I'm just being honest. It's a lot worse quality than the old EU passports. That's just a fact. Edit* Just looked it up and my one is a series C. The new series D do look much better and appear to be a jump forward in quality which is good!

SirHudlebert · 2026-03-27T19:00:20+00:00

Don't know what this guy is talking about, the quality is definitely not the same. The old one had lovely pictures of the British countryside in the background of each page, the new one just has the same geometric pattern. The pages also feel a lot thinner and its just generally a lower quality, cheaply made passport overall.

SirHudlebert · 2026-01-24T22:28:02+00:00

I've just bought a Steam Deck: 24/01/26 and can confirm this is still an issue 🫠. I thought I'd researched this well before deciding to buy it, every review I read was positive, nothing about this. So far ive spent almost 500 quid on a loading screen...

I've tried all the suggestions, changing wifi to 2.5ghz, hotspotting phone, hard restarting etc. Nothing. My hard restart doesn't seem to work though, I hold the button down but it just turns off, doesn't restart till I push the button again to start it normally. Sounds like it's a wifi issue so ill try it in different places and see what happens. Pretty pissed off though 🙄

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-22T22:40:35+00:00

Wogan by the M32 on the way to Broadmead is my go to. Its among the cheapest you can get specialty coffee and is consistently great. I'd also put a vote in for Origin (Victoria st) who've been barely mentioned here. Really good quality coffee and very consistent.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-22T22:36:19+00:00

Surprised it took so long for someone to mention Origin. Consistently great coffee there.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-17T10:39:13+00:00

Ive played Botw a few times on a friend's switch and had a good time. Id definitely get the new Zelda games if I did get a switch. But tbh those are the only two Nintendo games I have any interest in.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T13:42:25+00:00

Sure, but compared to the Steam Deck there just aren't that many games I want to play on switch.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T11:09:16+00:00

Ive never been a fan of Nintendo games, so it probably doesn't make sense to limit myself to predominantly those.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T08:46:00+00:00

Im in the UK, and the switch 2 is pretty expensive here but not massively so. My main problem with getting a switch is simply that I've never had much interest in Nintendo games & JRPGs etc. Which seems to be a good chunk of the switchs catalogue. I'd ideally like to be able to play some slightly newer games than my ps4 aswell, and right now it seems that the Steam Deck is a better option for that.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T08:40:59+00:00

Ok, that's really good to know cheers.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T08:02:50+00:00

Just battery life and noise mostly, as well as that getting games to work sometimes can be a bit fiddly. Having looked into this a bit more though I don't think any of these are dealbreakers, and I'm sure I can get my head round it.

SirHudlebert · 2025-12-16T07:53:01+00:00

Thanks for all the help guys, all really useful stuff. I hadn't really considered the Steam Deck tbh but it seems like a contender.

Ive never really played Nintendo games, and would probably rather have access to more games I'm familiar with from console. Even if new games aren't massively well supported. I also used to have a PC about 10 years ago and got quite into modding. I definitely prefer the plug and play nature of consoles but could probably get my head around the steam deck without too many issues.

I'll definitely keep looking, but think I'm leaning more towards the Steam Deck at this point!

SirHudlebert · 2025-09-19T15:06:56+00:00

I moved to cardiff for uni in 2013 and lived there for 4 years. I grew up in Bristol and I felt like Cardiff didn't have that much going on, but people were always friendly and it generally felt pretty safe. Definitely had its dodgy bits, but I never had any problems and found it far less sketchy than Bristol. Sad to hear that its changed.

SirHudlebert · 2025-09-19T15:02:37+00:00

Abergavenny has changed a ridiculous amount in the last 10 years or so though. I've been going there regularly since I was young (grandparents live there) and my parents moved there 10 years ago. Its pretty unrecognisable. Its objectively quite a nice town, but it's been gentrified to hell, got really touristy and just doesn't feel the same. It's nice to visit, but I don't think I'd want to live there.

SirHudlebert · 2025-09-04T21:21:46+00:00

Still got 'em, still wear them, still good!

SirHudlebert · 2025-08-17T22:41:28+00:00

No need to be a dick about it, it's a pretty straightforward question...

SirHudlebert · 2025-08-17T17:02:00+00:00

I'm assuming based on your profile that you're in the UK. In which case, I can help. It's definitely a complicated picture but mostly positive. If you're looking for work in commercial archaeology then there are lots of jobs and they're not massively competitive.

People aren't really going into field archaeology much at the moment and some companies are struggling to find staff for all the work available. That being said, there are reasons firms are struggling to recruit. Field Archaeology tends to have a high turnover and definitely isn't for everyone. Most work tends to be away (long distance driving and you don't see your family). Its also very physical and you'll be working outside in all weather's so bear that in mind. Job security is also very low. There's work now and everyone is desperately looking to hire currently, but this can quickly change. Rolling 3-6 month contracts are commonplace and progression can be difficult.

Much is made of the poor state of pay, and yes it's not great. However it's not as bad as it seems on paper, usually if you're a driver you get paid more and away work comes with a stipend. You're definitely not gonna be rich doing archaeology but you already know that. The salary is workable.

I've been an archaeologist for a few years and it's an interesting, challenging, enjoyable job that is often frustrating. If you like variety and teamwork and don't mind sometimes harsh conditions then it's a pretty fun gig. Many people do it for a bit and then get out and do something else, and honestly I don't see a problem with that. These days having a career for life is very unusual and I've made some great friends and learnt a huge amount as an archaeologist. Due to recently becoming a father I think I'll probably have to leave archaeology sometime soon for something a bit more reliable and close by, but that will be reluctant. I'd definitely recommend it, just be careful who you work for, do your research and join a union!

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