Per Diem and Lodging on Archaeology Jobs: What to Expect and What to Ask

Archaeology projects are often far from where people live, so many jobs involve travel. Per diem and lodging can add up to a large part of what a traveling job is really worth, and the rules differ from one employer to the next. This guide explains the common arrangements and the questions to ask before you say yes.

The basic terms

• Per diem is a daily allowance an employer pays when you work away from home. It usually covers meals and other small expenses, and sometimes lodging as well. It is in addition to your wages, and employers set the amount in different ways.
• Lodging means the employer pays for or provides a place for you to stay while you work on the project, such as a hotel room, a shared house or a camp.
• Local hire means you live close enough to the project that you are not treated as traveling. Employers often have their own rules for when someone counts as local, and they are not always written in the posting.

Why it matters

Advertised pay shows an hourly rate or salary, and it usually does not include per diem or lodging. Two jobs with the same hourly rate can leave you with very different amounts at the end of a week once travel, food and housing are counted. That is why our advertised pay tables say they do not include per diem or lodging.

Common arrangements

Employers vary, so treat this as a list of arrangements you may see and not as a rule:

• Per diem only: a flat amount for each day you work away from home. You arrange and pay for your own lodging.
• Lodging provided plus per diem: the employer books or provides housing and also pays a smaller per diem for meals.
• Lodging provided only: housing is covered, and you pay for your own food.
• Reimbursement: you pay for lodging and meals up to a limit and turn in receipts afterward.
• Nothing: local work, or a job where the wage is meant to cover everything. Postings do not always say so, so ask.

Some of these arrangements apply only on certain days, such as workdays but not weekends, or only when the project is farther than a set distance from your home or from the office. Ask for the details.

How federal per diem rates fit in

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) sets the per diem rates that federal agencies use to reimburse their employees for official travel. The rates cover lodging and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE). A standard rate applies to most of the continental United States, and about 300 non-standard areas, usually a key city and its surrounding county, have their own rates. GSA updates the rates each federal fiscal year, which begins on October 1.

Private employers are not required to use the GSA rates for their own employees. Some use them as a reference, and others set their own flat daily amount. If a posting mentions federal rates, ask which fiscal year's rates apply and which location. You can look up the current rates on GSA's website.

Questions to ask

1. How much is per diem, and is it a flat daily amount or reimbursement?
2. Which days does it cover? Workdays only, or weekends and travel days too?
3. Is lodging provided? If so, who books it, will you share a room or a house, and is there a kitchen?
4. How far is "local"? Is there a distance from home or the office that decides whether you are paid per diem?
5. Is travel time paid? And is mileage paid, or is a company vehicle provided?
6. When and how is per diem paid? With each paycheck, in advance or after you turn in receipts?
7. What happens if the project ends early or is delayed? Do you still get lodging, or travel home?
8. How is it reported for taxes? Tax treatment depends on how an employer structures per diem and on your own situation, so ask the employer, and consider talking to a tax professional.

Comparing offers

Do the arithmetic for a typical week on each job:

• Start with your pay: hours multiplied by your hourly rate, or your weekly salary.
• Add the per diem you will receive.
• Subtract what you will have to pay for yourself, such as lodging, meals, gas, tolls, laundry and any travel home.

A lower hourly rate with lodging provided can leave you better off than a higher rate where you cover housing, and the reverse can also be true. Count the weeks, too: a job with high travel costs that lasts three weeks is different from the same job that lasts three months.

Finding jobs that mention it

On our jobs page you can use the filters for per diem paid and lodging provided. You can also go straight to listings that mention per diem or provide lodging. Many postings say nothing about either, so absence from the filter does not mean a job has no per diem. Check the full posting on the employer's site, and ask during the interview.

Get it in writing

Whatever you agree to, ask for it in your offer letter or in an email: the daily amount, the days it covers, whether lodging is provided, and how and when you will be paid. A clear written description prevents misunderstandings once you are in the field.

Sources and further reading

• U.S. General Services Administration: per diem rates