Also called: Paleogeneticist, Archaeogeneticist
Extracts DNA from bones thousands of years old to reveal how ancient people and animals lived and migrated.
Wears a full-body suit in an ultra-clean lab to drill powder from a 10,000-year-old tooth without contaminating it. Months later, the sequences reveal who that person was related to.
Mostly academic; estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in genetics, anthropology, or evolutionary biology.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Genetics, Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Small field; estimate.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps sort ancient DNA reads and ancestry models; clean-room extraction, digs and interpretation stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, World history, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1029.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.