Employment in paleontology: status and trends in the United States

• Published in: Paleobiology Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 250 - 260
• Main Authors: Plotnick, Roy E., Anderson, Brendan M., Carlson, Sandra J., Jukar, Advait, Kimmig, Julien, Petsios, Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA The Paleontological Society 01.05.2025; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Careers; Codes; Committees; Earth science; Employment; Funding; Geobiology; ON THE RECORD; Palaeontology; Paleobiology; Paleontology; Professional associations; Public interest; Scientists; Sedimentary geology; Trends; United States > US
• ISSN: 0094-8373; 1938-5331
• DOI: 10.1017/pab.2024.59

Prospective and early-career paleontologists deserve an accurate assessment of employment opportunities in their chosen field of study. Drawing on a wide range of sources, we have produced an admittedly incomplete analysis of the current status and recent trends of permanent academic employment in the discipline. Obtaining more complete longitudinal data on employment trends is a major difficulty; this is a challenge that needs to be addressed. The number of job seekers is far in excess of available positions. There has been a clear erosion in the number of academic paleontologists in the United States, a trend exacerbated in recent years. The decline, in constant dollars, of federal funding for paleontological research has potential strong negative impacts on future hiring. The loss of paleontology positions has also had a deleterious effect on our professional societies, which have seen a loss of regular (professional) membership, although student membership remains strong. These trends also potentially negatively impact efforts to diversify the field. Professional societies need to better coordinate their efforts to address these serious issues. Individual paleontologists also must become more effective advocates for the importance and relevance of our science. Despite broad public interest, intellectual vitality, and evolving technology, paleontology as a discipline is threatened by a steady decline in the number of available permanent academic positions for early-career scientists. Using the best available data, we have assessed recent trends and current status of the supply of new paleontology doctorates and the number of available positions. Overall, employment trends are downward, although the production of early-career scientists has remained steady; it is highly unlikely that many of these young scientists will find permanent employment in academic paleontology. There has also been a steady decline in the number of regular members of professional societies, portending a long-term threat to their viability. Proactive steps need to be taken now, by both these societies and individual paleontolo ists to address this existential issue