13 Paleontologist Jobs To Explore (With Responsibilities)
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Updated May 30, 2025
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What is paleontology?
Paleontology is the study of the history of life through collecting, studying and preserving fossils. These fossils typically consist of remains from bacteria, fungi, plants, animals or dinosaurs replaced by rock materials or impressions of organisms within rocks. Those who work in paleontology might uncover bones, rocks and other formations that give them a better idea of how extinct species lived, behaved and survived in previous eras. Other paleontography professionals might take these findings and publish them in a scholarly journal or display them in a museum to educate others on their existences.13 paleontologist jobs
Here are common paleontologist jobs you can pursue:1. Scientific illustrator
National average salary: $44,356 per yearPrimary duties: A scientific illustrator creates pictures, graphics and other images that support educational text in various academic materials like journals, magazines or textbooks. Other job duties of a scientific illustrator can include researching the information to make accurate depictions of the descriptions, using traditional drawing methods and tools like ink, charcoal or pencil to create images and adopting modern methods like computer aided design software to build more advanced illustrations.2. Park ranger
National average salary: $48,419 per yearPrimary duties: Park rangers protect and preserve a variety of government environments, including forests, conservatories and woodlands. They oversee the safety of the wildlife and natural resources within the park to ensure it follows necessary upkeep and looks appealing to visitors. Other job duties include patrolling various park areas like trails or campgrounds to ensure the safety of the guests and land, conducting tours of the area, uncovering any unique bones, fossils or rocks to submit for scientific observation and performing emergency care on animals or people injured in the parks.Related: Learn About Being a Park Ranger3. Science journalist
National average salary: $41,431 per yearPrimary duties: A science journalist, also known as a science writer, develops pieces about various scientific events, data or discoveries and submits them to magazines, journals or other publications. Their other responsibilities might be analyzing various scientific data sets, communicating complex data and facts into an understandable format that's simple for others to read and interviewing professors or researchers to gain more information on pieces.Related: Learn About Being a Journalist4. Research specialist
National average salary: $54,944 per yearPrimary duties: Research specialists study and analyze complex laboratory tests to prove any scientific statements made by professionals. Common job duties are running regular laboratory tests on rock, bone or blood samples, taking measurements on items reported to them, communicating the results of tests to supervisors and conducting field research to support any original theories or statements.5. Museum collections manager
National average salary: $63,600 per yearPrimary duties: Museum collections managers typically oversee the upkeep, preservation and safety of items showcased in a museum. Their responsibilities often consist of organizing items by time period, discipline or medium, taking inventory of current pieces and their display cases, cataloging or labeling current museum holdings, monitoring cleaning routines or temperature levels of the building to ensure they preserve and care for all collections properly.6. Museum curator
National average salary: $62,023 per yearPrimary duties: A museum curator decides which items to display in a museum and handles their pricing and arrivals. Other job responsibilities can include raising funds for the establishment to afford new pieces, negotiating acquisitions and loans according to the organization's budget, finding ways to expand various collections throughout the museum to increase its value and visitor numbers and designing accurate and visually appealing exhibits and displays.7. Paleontologist professor
National average salary: $61,014 per yearPrimary duties: Paleontologist professors teach a wide variety of college courses to undergraduate or graduate students in a university, college or other academic institution. Other job responsibilities may include developing course materials and curriculums, conducting research on different paleontology theories and subjects to publish in scholarly journals, crafting grant proposals for their departments and grading various tests, homework or essays assigned to students.8. Archaeologist
National average salary: $64,767 per yearPrimary duties: Archaeologists collect and study various bones, rocks or fossils located throughout to make observations or conclusions about the prehistory and history of life on Earth. Common job duties may include analyzing artifacts closely, writing reports or recommendations according to their findings, publishing reports in scholarly journals, using shovels or other tools to conduct excavations, presenting findings at workshops or conventions and cleaning, labeling and caring for collected artifacts.9. Paleontology field technician
National average salary: $48,994 per yearPrimary duties: A paleontology field technician works closely with paleontologists and other scientists to support them with fossil collections, field surveys or excavations. Other responsibilities include preparing fossils in labs, logging data gathered from research, assisting with drafting or preparing reports for paleontologists to publish or deliver at scientific conventions and caring for fossils and lab equipment through proper preservation, cleaning and upkeep.10. Paleontology laboratory manager
National average salary: $81,555 per yearPrimary duties: Paleontology lab managers oversee the safety and efficiency of a laboratory to ensure they operate smoothly. They're typically in charge of training lab technicians, assistants and other employees on how to use equipment, taking inventory to purchase the necessary lab supplies, keeping documents and data safe and secure and assisting scientists in research methods when needed.11. Paleontology project manager
National average salary: $84,531 per yearPrimary duties: A paleontology project manager assists scientists, program directors and other team members in coordinating and conducting quality control on various resource management projects. Their main job duties typically include delegating research and analytical tasks to the necessary employees, creating scopes and budgets to deliver to leadership and clients, developing procedures to ensure they deliver all projects on time and within budget and building professional relationships with industry experts or regulators to gain insights on how to complete various projects.Related: Learn About Being a Project Manager12. Geologist
National average salary: $66,796 per yearPrimary duties: A geologist is a scientist who studies the processes, materials and historical facts about the Earth. This helps them to better understand and educate others on natural events that impact the Earth's wellbeing and the chronological facts about the Earth's resources. Other job duties include determining environmental impacts and sustainability factors of different organizations, developing ways to collect data or resources without impacting the environment and conducting tests and surveys on geological data.13. Paleontologist
National average salary: $89,786 per yearPrimary duties: A paleontologist studies the history of ancient life forms through fossils, rock formations or other materials found within the Earth to make observations about historical or current events that could impact the earth, like climate change, geologic composition or evolution. Other common responsibilities might include conducting field work to locate fossils, using lab equipment to study fossils, determining the ages of fossils through methods like radiometric dating and conducting extensive research on the features of fossils to prove certain theories and observations.Related: Learn About Being a Paleontologist
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