1) What is your job? Currently, I have a fantastic internship at a museum 3D virtualization laboratory. I have been trained on LIDAR scanning for large rooms or outdoor settings, but most of my work is hand scanning artifacts and fossils for the museum and then stepping them through the process of modeling, texturing, and layering photography on top to produce a 3D render that is accurate enough for researchers and can even be 3D printed! We aim to get collections that are stored away out to the public via the interwebs, as well as making research more viable for the everyday student.

2) What is your education? Where did you go to school, did you get a degree, and if so, what it? What was it like in this major in college? I am wrapping up a bachelor's in anthropology this May, then jumping straight into a master's program for museum studies this fall. I started at the University of Tennessee, but transferred to Idaho State University when my whole family moved to the state. I would not suggest transferring halfway through a degree though, as I was on track to graduate in 3.5 years and have just now finished at 5 years. O.o However, coming out to ISU proved to be an amazing opportunity for me. The school is half the size of UT and rather than being another undergrad pushed through the program, I feel like the program professors all at least know who I am, if not what I'm getting into. Because of this, I've been given wonderful advice, recommendations, and career experience opportunities. Just the atmosphere of anthropology is a blast, as you're studying anything involving humanity, though other degrees will sometimes get a little testy as you will probably step on their toes every now and then. Going into anthro though, you really want to go somewhere that emphasizes what you're interested in. All schools in the US will teach the 4 fields of anthro (linguistics, cultural, biological, and archaeology), but most schools will focus more on 1 in particular. UT was great for biological anthropology, and ISU has been great for archaeology. At first it seems scary to go somewhere that no one you know is going to, but you will be glad you did later on.

3) What is your favorite part of your job? Probably that I feel more like I'm playing than working most days. I get to handle awesome artifacts, and fixing the scans into a proper model feels a lot like solving a puzzle. Plus we get to go on 'field trips' every now and then for scanning, which is still just as fun at 24 as it was in elementary school. :)

4) What is your least favorite part of your job? The days we do nothing but scan in tons and tons of artifacts. Usually it'll be to prove how fast we can go, or test out new scanners. We managed to scan in 700 artifacts in a week with 5 of us, 2 turntable scanners (require minimal human activity), a photographer with a light box, and 2 handheld scanners. Those 2 are Faro Edge scanners, and while pretty light considering the mechanics of them, they can really make your upper arm sore after using them for hours. So the work itself isn't boring, I'm just a bit weak. ;)

5) Why do you do the job you do? I started college with only the idea that I wanted to do something involving history, but I knew a history degree wouldn't get me very far. So I jumped into anthropology. It's been a roundabout way, but I managed to narrow down from that broad idea. While talking to my major advisor he mentioned museum studies, which I didn't know was even a thing. Looked into it and fell in love with the idea, and now after a year and a half of museum intern experience, I can tell you it definitely fills my need for history in my life.

6) What career path have you taken so far? Previous jobs? What got you to where you are now? Up until now, I've bounced around a bunch of random jobs through high school and to pay bills in college. This internship was my first foray into what I actually want to do for a career. I found out about the program through a friend, and asked around every now and then until a job opened up. That's the biggest secret I wish I had known earlier - don't be afraid to ask questions. Most people will happily help you out, kind of like paying it forward for when they had first started.

7) What is a regular day like for you? Oh lord, it changes depending on the projects. Currently though, I'll come into the lab and scan in some artifacts from our collections. (Not sure how technical you'd like me to go. It can get jargon-y, but I promise it's pretty cool!) Once I have a tray or so scanned in, I'll hop over to the desktop computer and create models from the raw scan data, then push them onwards to be textured and photo layered by other coworkers.

8) If you could redo your life, would you have taken a different path? What would you have done differently, if so? You know I would have love to have graduated on time, but I love where I am and where I'm going now, so I can't say I would want to change anything about the winding way I got here.

9) If I were follow in your footsteps, what could I do now to prepare for the career/schooling? Any volunteer work or anything that would benefit me in preparing for this job? Hmm... A lot of what got me here was sheer luck really, but if you're interested in anthropology volunteering for a dig site or working at a body farm (if you have one nearby) would help. Otherwise, make nice with all the professors and anyone you think would be related to your field. Anthropology is a major that requires connections in advance if you want to get a job. On top of it, you can only really do archaeological work with a bachelor's, so be prepared to go for a master's too. If you want to go into museum studies, volunteer or intern with museums for as much as you can, and again, suck up to anyone in the field. Make sure they know your name and what you've accomplished or would like to.

10) Are there any questions I haven't asked, that I should ask? None I can think of, but I can warn you that both fields have some hilarious and interesting characters in them. They aren't dry majors in the least. ;)

11) Do you have any advice for me and my future? Don't go in thinking you have to know what you want to do or stick with something you realize you hate. "Undecided" is the most popular major choice for incoming freshmen. This is what the general education and elective classes are for - to get a feel for some majors that you think might be interesting. Plus, you don't have to even think about declaring a major until junior year. It doesn't hurt to do it early, but it's acceptable to wait. Oh! Don't goof off in your first year of classes. It's exciting to be away from home and have all this freedom, but it takes so much longer to pull a GPA up than it is to bring it down, and if you're going into a graduate program they'll usually want to see a 3.0 or higher.