palaeontologist
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.
palaeontologist palaeontologists research and analyse forms of life that existed in ancient eras of the planet Earth. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include geographic information systems, scientific literature, geological time scale, geology, paleontology.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £55,518 a year for Physical scientists (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2114). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only palaeontologist, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Frequently asked questions
What does palaeontologist do?
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.
What skills does palaeontologist need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include geographic information systems, scientific literature, geological time scale, geology, paleontology, scientific modelling. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace palaeontologist?
Our AI-durability model gives palaeontologist a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.