The Veterans Curation Program is hiring. What is the Veterans Curation Program? The VCP is a paid five-month employment and training initiative by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Veterans receive education about archaeological processing, and personal growth and development assistance, including time and instruction for resume building and job searches. Furthermore, VCP provides Veterans a bridging transition into the public sector, and its teams process at-risk archaeological collections belonging to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Marine Veteran Dustin Wood left the military in 2008. In 2018, he searched “archaeology for Veterans” on the internet. The Veterans Curation Program popped up on that search. Wood applied and was accepted.
Now he’s close to graduating that paid program, and even has a few job prospects lined up.
“Even if my next job isn’t based in the archaeology field, I will continue to be in involved with it in some way,” Wood said. “I currently volunteer with the local historical society.”
Army Veteran Justin Gilbert is a student working on a marketing degree. He’s been with the program since May.
“I didn’t have an interest in archaeology, I didn’t know anything about it,” he said, laughing. “I watched Indiana Jones, that’s the extent of it. And that’s apparently all wrong–they [archaeologists] don’t go tomb raiding. The VCP program is a great networking opportunity that pays well. I’ve learned new skills and maintained my administrative skills.”
Using industry-specific technology and software, Veterans work to repackage, photograph, and catalog important archaeological collections. These collections can include artifacts and their associated records, as well as historic documents and photographs. Veteran participants also get to work on themselves, prepping for job interviews and skill building, all with the support of VCP staff and their fellow Veteran classmates. Veterans Curation Program labs typically have three archaeologists and one Veteran lab manager overseeing operations.
Briana Dorsey, an Air Force Veteran, is another graduate of the spring 2019 VCP program. “Archaeology literally means the study of humans (history). There are tons of possibilities of how this experience can apply to future careers,” she said. In fact, Dorsey recently landed a new permanent position with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Munition group.
How do I get involved with the Veterans Curation Program?
The VCP has three flagship lab locations :
Satellite labs in:
- San Francisco, California metropolitan area
- Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas
- Washington State University in Pullman, Washington
The schedule includes either 20-hour weeks or 40-hour weeks, but flexible upon mutual agreement. No overtime, and the period of employment by the program is expected to last up to five months. All federal holidays are paid in addition to up to one week of personal time off, which can be used for medical appointments or other purposes.
Hiring is now open for the next training session that begins November 2019.
For more on the Veterans Curation Program and to apply, visit: https://veteranscurationprogram.org/.
