School Excursion Program

ADVICE ABOUT CAREERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY

We are often asked "How do I get started in a palaeontology career?"

To answer that, here's some advice to get you pointed in the right direction:

First, ask yourself these questions

Do I like nature? Does it get me thinking? (Why? How? When? What?)
Do I like the outdoors?
Am I always looking to discover something new?
Do I collect? (i.e. do you cherish and keep your own collections of
things like fossils, stones, minerals, bones, coins etc)
Do I like science at school? Does science make me think?
Am I passionate? A passion for palaeontology is key
(If you're not then it’s probably not a good choice)

If you said yes to most of these questions then a scientific career like palaeontology may suit you very well. The first thing to do is simply gain as much practical experience as possible.

Volunteer!
A career in palaeontology can begin as early as you like because it is truly a life style not a job. The best way to discover whether you are really suited to a life of palaeontology is to volunteer. Volunteering and participating is a great way to gain practical experience. Most museums offer volunteer and participant programs. Volunteering and participating at a museum can provide you with the best experience and allow you to judge for yourself whether or not palaeontology is the field for you. The more you do the more experience you gain. This leads to you becoming well known in the field and a greater chance of getting a job!

At Australian Age of Dinosaurs you can experience palaeontology at many levels; meeting real palaeontologists, seeing the outback environment, working in the laboratory with real dinosaur bones, looking behind the scenes at brand-new discoveries and even digging for dinosaurs in the field. It's all available and in many ways it is an ideal first step into the world of palaeontology. The door here is always open...

Study
Practical experience is more important than credentials, but you will need to gain credentials by studying at school and university. Study is extremely important and doing your best will really boost your career. Subjects at school vary and individual teachers can have a great effect on whether the subject is inspirational, so you will need to do as much extracurricular reading and study as you can.

The best advice is to look at the university degree you wish to go for and work your way backwards. First look at the subjects you need to be accepted for the degree. For science, this is usually English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry and another science or Geography. Figure out what Secondary School score you need. In Queensland it is an OP score, probably 10 or lower.

There are very few universities that offer specific degrees or even courses in palaeontology, so you have to search for them. If they don’t offer palaeontology courses you will need to look at doing a combined science degree, perhaps majoring in biology and earth sciences.

While studying, continue to volunteer and participate. This keeps your focus at university and also allows you to think about postgraduate projects.

Postgraduate Degrees
For career paths to really progress, a postgraduate degree is usually needed, i.e. Honours, Masters and a PhD (a Doctorate). This requires a serious commitment but at this level you are really in the game! These higher degrees can often be taken at overseas universities, and that's a good idea. Overseas training and experience is not only exciting, it will make you very attractive later on to an Australian employer. For many fields of science it is considered de rigeur!

Along the way you will experience several different fields within palaeontology, including:

Fossil preparation and laboratory work
Computer digital technologies and modeling
Field-based exploration and excavation
Palaeoart
Tourism and public engagement
Academia (lecturing and teaching)
Research

No doubt you'll eventually be exposed to all of these areas and if you excel in one or more of them you can diversify into many different career paths. Keep all of your options open.

Some Final Advice
Keep another iron in the fire. Palaeontology is an amazing career path, however there are few positions available (although this is growing every year thanks to the development of new museums and projects like Australian Age of Dinosaurs). If you excel in another area, you can always find work in this area and apply yourself to palaeontology in your spare time. Sometimes this is the best career path to take because you can usually make a good living doing something else you like and keep palaeontology as an exciting and fulfilling (and serious) hobby.