Also called: Paleontology Preparator
Carefully frees dinosaur bones and other fossils from rock.
Preparators use tiny air-powered chisels, microscopes, and glue to expose and stabilize fossils, sometimes for months on a single skull, and help build museum skeleton mounts.
Based on museum technicians data.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in geology or biology often preferred; volunteer experience helps.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Geology, Biology, Paleontology.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. CT scans guide the work, but freeing bones from rock with air scribes for months is patient handcraft.
Classes: AP Biology, Earth Science, Art/sculpture, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-4013.
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