![Paul Murtagh MCIfA (5994)](https://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/images/testimonies/testimony-paul-murtagh.jpg)
After several unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions, I finally managed to complete and submit my application to upgrade to MCIfA, which I achieved at the beginning of 2019. I was spurred on this year for various reasons, the main one being the threat and indeed the reality of redundancy. For the last four years I had worked for Northlight Heritage, part of the York Archaeological Trust, based in Glasgow. Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2019 Northlight Heritage closed with the loss of 14 jobs.
This closure left me and my colleagues in difficult situations; I was job hunting in a competitive market and I felt it was necessary that my experience was recognised by the sector. I believed that professional accreditation would give me the best shot at securing a job that I wanted as well as marking the next stage in my career.