I Used To Be a Paleontologist and Dig Up Dinosaurs

Now I write Environmental Assessments, and it’s still a cool life

I used to be a paleontologist. Created with Adobe Express

According to a survey taken among Preschoolers, I used to have the second-coolest job in the world. It was only beaten by being an Austronaut and closely followed by an Excavator Operator.

I used to go dig up fossil sites dating millions of years.

I used to be able to tell a leg bone from an arm bone apart.

I used to spend unreasonable amounts of time in a museum 3D scanning teeth and analyzing them with machine learning algorithms.

I used to always be present on National Fossil Day, telling kids how to tell mastodont and mammoth teeth apart.

I used to write papers about how human impacts have changed the ecology of modern-day ecosystems.

I used to teach a university class called “Dinosaurs and their Environment”.

But I don’t anymore.

I now work for a US Government agency writing environmental assessments to support Federal projects.

And yes, it doesn’t look so cool on paper, but I have a life I like and enjoy.

I sometimes miss the curiosity stimulation that came with paleontological research.

But I will always call myself a paleontologist.