Damien Huffer
Were there any particular personal or professional attributes that you think made you stand out from other job applicants, such as professional affiliations, language skills, leadership experience, lecturing/tutoring experience, number of papers published, and hobbies?
While I think that my publication record (for career stage) has been respectable, it’s not as over the top as some, and neither is the number of classes for which I tutored or guest lectured. Rather, I think my efforts to (eventually) gain experience in and publish on a wide variety of topics (from the prehistory of different regions to diverse bioarchaeological subfields to ‘applied’ research on antiquities trade topics), did show my versatility and made it easier for me to argue that I had the background for a wider range of projects. I also make substantial efforts during graduate school to voluntarily take Vietnamese classes to make collaboration with new Vietnamese colleagues (and daily life in the field) easier, as well as try to distinguish myself in teaching by advocating for (and publishing on) the usefulness of educational gaming in archaeology/osteology classes. I think in recent years, my ability and good fortune to collaborate outside of academia (i.e. with law enforcement), as well as make myself a recognizable “face” by giving media interviews and conducting public outreach (i.e. hands-on research presentations while a Smithsonian postdoc), has proven helpful.
Did you experience rejection letters/phone calls after job applications, if so how did you deal with that? Did you have to apply for many jobs before you were successful? What channels did you use to apply for jobs?
Yes, plenty! During the years I was on the “market” (both before securing my postdoc at the Smithsonian in 2014, and then again before securing my current position at the end of 2016), I received many more rejections or non-responses than positive responses within the dozens of applications filed. I think this is very typical for many, in all fields. Dealing with that on an emotional level never gets easier, to be honest, but having a good support network of family and friends and cultivating good colleagues who can serve as mentors makes it easier to regroup. Having non-academic hobbies to dive into to take your mind off rejections and boost your esteem when you need it is also crucial. In terms of applying for jobs, I primarily looked at job noticeboards hosted by the Society for American Archaeology, American Association of Physical Anthropology (the phys anth jobs Wiki), the Chronicle of Higher Education, and (importantly!) word of mouth and social media.
Do you maintain a social media presence? How important are sites such as Linked-in, Facebook, Twitter etc. to networking and maintaining a presence in the academic/research world?
In light of the above answer, yes, I do. I don’t use Linked-In, but do have my own Facebook page and Twitter account (@DamienHuffer), as well as ResearchGate and Academia.edu. Aside from Facebook, I try to keep the others as “professional” accounts to share publications and/or relevant research by others, job postings (shared and searched for), and occasionally offer opinions on breaking news. Especially for platforms such as Twitter, developing a “theme” for your account and linking to others via relevant hashtags, etc., is increasingly important for early career researchers. In fact, I first “met” one of my closest colleagues virtually via Twitter, only meeting in person much later at a conference. While social media use should be planned and “managed,” it can have real benefits!
Is there any advice from your supervisors (or anyone else) that you either wished you had really listened to…or not taken?
Well, I still wish that I had worked to publish portions of my PhD during the writing process itself, aside from after the fact. Beyond that, some especially good advice that helped in the PhD years themselves was that one’s dissertation should not be thought of as the be all and end all of their career. Yes, doing a good job is important and cultivating good relationships is crucial for letters of recommendation and networking potential for postdoctoral opportunities, BUT fundamentally it is “practice”; proof that you can do a project from start to finish and take a substantial role in it, overcome difficulties, manage your time, etc.
Did you have a break after finishing your thesis before finding work, if so was this beneficial in anyway?
Yes, I did. This time “off” happened both after completing my MA at the ANU (close to three years), as well as after my PhD at ANU, and between each postdoc. This time was both forced on me by the bureaucracy inherent in obtaining Visas to study in Australia as an American, as well as financial considerations and the vagaries of the job market. However, this time allowed me to work on numerous “CHM” (cultural heritage management) excavations in both Australia (Sydney region and rural NSW) and in my home state of Arizona. I consider this time to have been very beneficial, as it exposed me to the “other side” of archaeological and bioarchaeological fieldwork and gave me invaluable experience in working with Indigenous representatives and excavating a wide variety of sites. These include some of the more extensive cemetery excavations I have worked on to date. While making CRM/CHM a permanent career can be as challenging as academic or museum routes, these worlds aren’t necessarily diametrically opposed and having experience in both is arguably beneficial.
Tell us a little about your current work, for instance what has been the most rewarding/surprising thing that you have experienced so far, and is the job what you had expected?
In addition to the ever-present backlog of articles to write or revise from my previous postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian (isotope bioarchaeology of several Near Eastern assemblages), my current work at Stockholm University is actually a departure from what I consider more “traditional” bioarchaeology. Within the global antiquities trade conducted online, the size and scope of the trade in archaeological and ethnographic human remains continues to be poorly understood. During the Colonial era, numerous “trophy skulls” from the Asia-Pacific region entered Western museum and private collections, and continue to be sought as “authentic” collector’s items, with very little research on their provenience, manufacture or use, especially from a bioarchaeological perspective.
Using these “trophy skulls” as a pilot-level case study of a much larger phenomenon, this research involves using data mining and machine learning to plumb diverse online markets, thus quantifying and qualifying the sale, trade, auction or forgery of these “exotic dead.” I will also be sampling a range of 1800s-early 1900s era trophy skulls within Swedish and international museums, collecting anthropometric and isotopic data to not only make an extensive database useful to curators and law enforcement, but also test whether this data can be built into search algorithms to improve their accuracy and speed. I will also continue teaching introductory and advanced undergraduate and Masters level osteology and bioarchaeology classes, so teaching within an educational system rather different from US or Australian Universities will be an interesting challenge. Much about this work is rewarding and surprising. Not just due to the sometimes surprising nature of what I am investigating, but also the reward of testing new approaches and the application of archaeological science to a complex ethical and legal issue. I’m only two and a half months in so far, but the job is exactly what I expected and the work environment is fantastic.
Do you have any wonderful advice that you would like to pass on to students? Is there anything you wished you had done differently whilst you were a student, for instance, chose a different research topic for your thesis, gained more fieldwork/practical experience, taken up tai chi?
Although my current research is somewhat removed from my thesis topic, I am happy I chose it, as it led to some interesting research experiences, travels, conferences and long-lasting collegial relationships. My best advice would be to both make sure you maintain a healthy work-life balance (even when you feel pressured not to), and also cultivate as many diverse interests and contacts as you can. You never know which “hobby” that you had only begun to participate in, or research topic only minimally explored while working on your thesis could in future become a fully-fledged research project or grant proposal. This is exactly what happened with me and antiquities/human remains trade research, and now it forms a cornerstone of my career.
I feel that most scholars, especially in the social sciences and humanities, have rather unplanned careers. Like all early-career researchers in challenging job markets, you might have to move internationally (and if you aren’t tied to one city or country due to unavoidable circumstances, I would highly recommend it). Often times, you will have to sell yourself as someone who can make new discoveries on a topic or subfield you haven’t explored in detail yet, but have the tangential background to pursue. Be prepared for this flexibility if you decide to continue an academic or museum career path, and be prepared for setbacks (and plenty of excitement!) along the way.
While I think that my publication record (for career stage) has been respectable, it’s not as over the top as some, and neither is the number of classes for which I tutored or guest lectured. Rather, I think my efforts to (eventually) gain experience in and publish on a wide variety of topics (from the prehistory of different regions to diverse bioarchaeological subfields to ‘applied’ research on antiquities trade topics), did show my versatility and made it easier for me to argue that I had the background for a wider range of projects. I also make substantial efforts during graduate school to voluntarily take Vietnamese classes to make collaboration with new Vietnamese colleagues (and daily life in the field) easier, as well as try to distinguish myself in teaching by advocating for (and publishing on) the usefulness of educational gaming in archaeology/osteology classes. I think in recent years, my ability and good fortune to collaborate outside of academia (i.e. with law enforcement), as well as make myself a recognizable “face” by giving media interviews and conducting public outreach (i.e. hands-on research presentations while a Smithsonian postdoc), has proven helpful.
Did you experience rejection letters/phone calls after job applications, if so how did you deal with that? Did you have to apply for many jobs before you were successful? What channels did you use to apply for jobs?
Yes, plenty! During the years I was on the “market” (both before securing my postdoc at the Smithsonian in 2014, and then again before securing my current position at the end of 2016), I received many more rejections or non-responses than positive responses within the dozens of applications filed. I think this is very typical for many, in all fields. Dealing with that on an emotional level never gets easier, to be honest, but having a good support network of family and friends and cultivating good colleagues who can serve as mentors makes it easier to regroup. Having non-academic hobbies to dive into to take your mind off rejections and boost your esteem when you need it is also crucial. In terms of applying for jobs, I primarily looked at job noticeboards hosted by the Society for American Archaeology, American Association of Physical Anthropology (the phys anth jobs Wiki), the Chronicle of Higher Education, and (importantly!) word of mouth and social media.
Do you maintain a social media presence? How important are sites such as Linked-in, Facebook, Twitter etc. to networking and maintaining a presence in the academic/research world?
In light of the above answer, yes, I do. I don’t use Linked-In, but do have my own Facebook page and Twitter account (@DamienHuffer), as well as ResearchGate and Academia.edu. Aside from Facebook, I try to keep the others as “professional” accounts to share publications and/or relevant research by others, job postings (shared and searched for), and occasionally offer opinions on breaking news. Especially for platforms such as Twitter, developing a “theme” for your account and linking to others via relevant hashtags, etc., is increasingly important for early career researchers. In fact, I first “met” one of my closest colleagues virtually via Twitter, only meeting in person much later at a conference. While social media use should be planned and “managed,” it can have real benefits!
Is there any advice from your supervisors (or anyone else) that you either wished you had really listened to…or not taken?
Well, I still wish that I had worked to publish portions of my PhD during the writing process itself, aside from after the fact. Beyond that, some especially good advice that helped in the PhD years themselves was that one’s dissertation should not be thought of as the be all and end all of their career. Yes, doing a good job is important and cultivating good relationships is crucial for letters of recommendation and networking potential for postdoctoral opportunities, BUT fundamentally it is “practice”; proof that you can do a project from start to finish and take a substantial role in it, overcome difficulties, manage your time, etc.
Did you have a break after finishing your thesis before finding work, if so was this beneficial in anyway?
Yes, I did. This time “off” happened both after completing my MA at the ANU (close to three years), as well as after my PhD at ANU, and between each postdoc. This time was both forced on me by the bureaucracy inherent in obtaining Visas to study in Australia as an American, as well as financial considerations and the vagaries of the job market. However, this time allowed me to work on numerous “CHM” (cultural heritage management) excavations in both Australia (Sydney region and rural NSW) and in my home state of Arizona. I consider this time to have been very beneficial, as it exposed me to the “other side” of archaeological and bioarchaeological fieldwork and gave me invaluable experience in working with Indigenous representatives and excavating a wide variety of sites. These include some of the more extensive cemetery excavations I have worked on to date. While making CRM/CHM a permanent career can be as challenging as academic or museum routes, these worlds aren’t necessarily diametrically opposed and having experience in both is arguably beneficial.
Tell us a little about your current work, for instance what has been the most rewarding/surprising thing that you have experienced so far, and is the job what you had expected?
In addition to the ever-present backlog of articles to write or revise from my previous postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian (isotope bioarchaeology of several Near Eastern assemblages), my current work at Stockholm University is actually a departure from what I consider more “traditional” bioarchaeology. Within the global antiquities trade conducted online, the size and scope of the trade in archaeological and ethnographic human remains continues to be poorly understood. During the Colonial era, numerous “trophy skulls” from the Asia-Pacific region entered Western museum and private collections, and continue to be sought as “authentic” collector’s items, with very little research on their provenience, manufacture or use, especially from a bioarchaeological perspective.
Using these “trophy skulls” as a pilot-level case study of a much larger phenomenon, this research involves using data mining and machine learning to plumb diverse online markets, thus quantifying and qualifying the sale, trade, auction or forgery of these “exotic dead.” I will also be sampling a range of 1800s-early 1900s era trophy skulls within Swedish and international museums, collecting anthropometric and isotopic data to not only make an extensive database useful to curators and law enforcement, but also test whether this data can be built into search algorithms to improve their accuracy and speed. I will also continue teaching introductory and advanced undergraduate and Masters level osteology and bioarchaeology classes, so teaching within an educational system rather different from US or Australian Universities will be an interesting challenge. Much about this work is rewarding and surprising. Not just due to the sometimes surprising nature of what I am investigating, but also the reward of testing new approaches and the application of archaeological science to a complex ethical and legal issue. I’m only two and a half months in so far, but the job is exactly what I expected and the work environment is fantastic.
Do you have any wonderful advice that you would like to pass on to students? Is there anything you wished you had done differently whilst you were a student, for instance, chose a different research topic for your thesis, gained more fieldwork/practical experience, taken up tai chi?
Although my current research is somewhat removed from my thesis topic, I am happy I chose it, as it led to some interesting research experiences, travels, conferences and long-lasting collegial relationships. My best advice would be to both make sure you maintain a healthy work-life balance (even when you feel pressured not to), and also cultivate as many diverse interests and contacts as you can. You never know which “hobby” that you had only begun to participate in, or research topic only minimally explored while working on your thesis could in future become a fully-fledged research project or grant proposal. This is exactly what happened with me and antiquities/human remains trade research, and now it forms a cornerstone of my career.
I feel that most scholars, especially in the social sciences and humanities, have rather unplanned careers. Like all early-career researchers in challenging job markets, you might have to move internationally (and if you aren’t tied to one city or country due to unavoidable circumstances, I would highly recommend it). Often times, you will have to sell yourself as someone who can make new discoveries on a topic or subfield you haven’t explored in detail yet, but have the tangential background to pursue. Be prepared for this flexibility if you decide to continue an academic or museum career path, and be prepared for setbacks (and plenty of excitement!) along the way.