Where a palaeontologist can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a palaeontologist already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Palaeontologists research and analyse forms of life that existed in ancient eras of the planet Earth. They strive to define the evolutionary path and the interaction with different geological areas of all kinds of once organisms and such plants, pollen and spores, invertebrate and vertebrate animals, humans, traces such as footprints, and ecology and climate.
Also known as palaeontology scholar, palaeontology science researcher, micropalaeontologist, palaeontology scientist, palaeontology researcher, palaeoecologist, palaeontology research scientist, palaeontology analyst, ichnologist, palaeontology research analyst.
Professionals 66 skills on file 5 career moves 5 above 60% overlap Closest: seismologist, 79%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 2 · What the job itself asks for
A palaeontologist needs 38 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- paleontology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- geological time scale natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- scientific modelling information and communication technologies (icts)
- scientific literature generic programmes and qualifications
- geographic information systems natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- use geographic information systems working with computers
- geology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- apply scientific methods information skills
- manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data information skills
- think abstractly communication, collaboration and creativity
Table 3 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a palaeontologist does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- hydrologist 79% covered · difficulty 34.1
- physicist 79% covered · difficulty 34.6
- geographer 78% covered · difficulty 34.3
- seismologist 78% covered · difficulty 35.3
- mineralogist 77% covered · difficulty 35.8
- university research assistant 75% covered · difficulty 38.6
- astronomer 75% covered · difficulty 38.9
- biophysicist 74% covered · difficulty 39.5
- physiologist 74% covered · difficulty 39.6
- analytical chemist 74% covered · difficulty 40.3
Look up another occupation
Palaeontologist is filed under Professionals, ISCO major group 2. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a palaeontologist’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.