Paleontology

Paleontology is one of the  Earth sciences which studies creatures which lived in past geological periods and now exist in the form of fossil remains,  and also  traces of their vital activity.

Paleontology is engaged in the restoration of the fossil animals and plants, their biological features, and restores the course of biological evolution on the basis of this information.

Paleontology is an interdisciplinary subject, which unites methods and tools of geology, biology, history, archaeology, ecology and many other natural disciplines.

The main subdisciplines in Paleontology are vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, micropaleontology, paleobotany, paleoecology and many others.

Career options for Paleontology graduates

Graduates holding a degree in Paleontology can find a job in various corporations specializing in searching for  oil and gas, and help these organizations to search for petroleum. This career option, however, is not as popular as it was before. Many Paleontology graduates work for museums or as secondary school teachers. The most popular career field for paleontologists is academic and research area. Most of the Paleontology graduates holding a Bachelor degree decide to continue their education, complete higher level degrees and start research and teaching activity.

If you wish to study Paleontology is a university, you need to find a study program in Earth Sciences, which offers a specialization in Paleontology. You can also find a separate study program in Paleontology, although they are not very popular, for example, BA Paleontology in University of Alberta, Canada.