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Hello, I am currently a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Geology at UNI Vandoeuvre (Grand Est, France). I am reaching out to inquire if you would be willing to respond to a questionnaire/interview for the purpose of creating a profile on the profession of Paleontologist. I would appreciate it if at least one person could take the time to answer my questions. Questions: 0. What is your name and what is your exact profession? 1. How would you summarize your job? 2. What level of education is required? 3. What was the most enriching aspect during your training? 4. How would you describe a typical day? What is your typical schedule or working hours? 5. Are there multiple career paths for this profession? Why did you choose this one? 6. What are the most useful qualities/skills for this job? 7. What career advancements are/were possible in your field? 8. Where does this desire/passion for this job come from? 9. What is the salary progression in this field? 10. Are there different ranks in this profession? If so, what are they? 11. What were your expectations regarding the job? How do they align with reality now? 12. Is it a selective/sought-after profession? 13. Does it have an impact on your personal life? 14. What are the different jobs related to paleontology? 15. Did it take you time to adapt? 16. Do you often work in teams? If so, under what conditions? 17. Is international travel required for this job? 18. Could new technologies replace humans in this profession? Thank you for reading this topic.

Dear members of the fossil forum, this might sound weird, but for school I need to make an online interview for someone who has a career which I'm interested in, does anybody know a paleontologist which I can interview? The interview doesn't have to be today I just need to manage/plan one today before it's 3:30 pm. (As you might be aware the deadline has passed, but I can still manage to find someone as long as it is today. So please it's urgent and I don't want to stress more than I originally was). Kind regards, -oualidbro

Hey Everyone! I've really come to appreciate all the help and support that this community offers. I feel privileged to live in a time and place where it is so easy to stay connected with others who share interest in our pursuit to uncover the mystery of deep time. I suppose that I should start off by introducing myself in case you haven't had the pleasure yet. So. Here goes: Hi! My name is Nicholas Perlenfein. I’m a student at College of the Redwoods currently pursuing an AST in Geology. I have an intense interest in studying fossils the genesis of which lies very early in the most dormant memories of my childhood. I hope one day to become a paleontologist or maybe a fossil preparator. I’m currently enrolled in my colleges English 1A course and have been assigned to conduct primary research in the form of a recorded interview regarding the discourse within my desired carrier and major. We are directed to schedule an interview with a professional in a relevant field and ask them about how peers within the profession choose to communicate and what ethics are held by the community at large. I felt that someone on TTF must work at a natural history museum, or knows someone they can put me into contact with, or at the very least, point me in the right direction? I understand that during these difficult times that people are very busy, I know for a fact that my schedule has been greatly disrupted. As stated before, I am looking to conduct an online interview, we can do Skype, zoom etc. of about 30 to 45 minutes that I can record in order to refer back to whilst writing my essay. Its crucial i be able to record the interview so, if you're not comfortable with that, although I would be thrilled to talk to you, I sadly won't be able to use our conversation for this assignment. I just want to thank everyone reading this one more time for making me feel so welcome in the community. I look forward to your replies. -Nick

Much to my delight and surprise, I was asked to answer a few questions for the “Meet the Scientist” blog by Time Scavengers! Had to mention TFF, as you all have been incredibly helpful in all of my paleontological endeavors. Thank you all for being the smart, kind people you are and for sharing your knowledge generously! https://timescavengers.blog/2020/02/24/mason-hintermeister-aspiring-paleontologist/

Yesterday I went on a little fossil hunting trip with former Forum member Kim Texan. She had stopped by on her way to Oshkosh, WI. I decided that it would be better to have a successful trip at finding fossils, so I took her to a Pennsylvanian roadcut that exposes the LaSalle Limestone / Bond Formation. It never fails to yield fossils. While collecting, a car stopped by and a reporter and photographer from the LaSalle Tribune stepped out and asked if they could take some pictures and ask some questions. Here are some pictures that I took of Kim, the area and a couple of our finds - I did find the article in the Newspaper today, along with a couple pictures that I ended up buying. No interview would not be complete without mentioning the Fossil Forum. Here is the article below: "With hammers swinging and chisels chipping, fossils were being uncovered along the roadside of County Highway 62. Just down the hill from Illinois Valley Community College, two out-of-towners were digging their way into limestone in search of different types of specimen. “It’s like a fishing hole. Nobody wants to tell you where they’re finding them,” said Ralph ******** of Aurora, who hunts for different fossils around the area. Ralph said he, unlike some others, tries to let other people know about good spots to search in on The Fossil Forum. It’s how he came into contact with Kim ****** who is from Dallas and was on her way up to Oshkosh, Wis., before stopping in the area to hunt with Ralph. “That’s one nice thing with the forum is you meet a lot of people,” Ralph said. And after 25 minutes of looking, the pair had found a few different items such as brachiopods from the Pennsylvanian period. Ralph said what they were uncovering was from about 310 million years ago. “You find shark teeth here too,” he said. Ralph said he found Peripristis teeth and confirmed it with a paleontologist with a local connection. Stephen Brusatte, now a chancellor’s fellow at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, was born in Ottawa and is an Ottawa High School graduate. “I sent him a picture to see if he could confirm what it was,” Ralph said, adding Brusatte got back to him quickly with a confirmation." (Brent Herrmann- NewsTribune Online Editor)

I'm doing a research project and one of the requirements is that I have to have an interview, I was referred to here by a friend and was hoping to see if someone would be willing to answer a few simple questions on prehistoric camels in North America for me What was the environment they lived in like then? Where did they live? Why did they leave North America? How did they differ from modern camels? What was their diet like?

Hi, i’m high school student in 12th grade. I’m currently working on a senior exit project, and I chose palentology as my career choice. I would like to do an interview with a paleontologist just asking a couple of questions like: what is your favorite thing about the job, what inspired you to be a paleontologist, how long did you have to attend school to become a paleontologist, etc. An interview over email or even over the website would suffice. Thank you.

Hi all. Remember that I said a local TV crew came over to my place to shoot videos of my fossils? The program was just shown on news yesterday! The main speaker with the black shirt is Calvin, who heads the Singapore Fossils Collectors, majority of the segment's on his incredible collection. I'm the speaker in gray, and everyone else are members of the SFC. http://www.channel8news.sg/news8/ca/morningexpress/episodes/ca20160219-me-hobby/2529120.html It's in Chinese, so I'll give a rough transcript. 0:00 - News Anchor: Remember Jurassic World? When it was released, it spurred interested worldwide in dinosaurs. 0:25 - News Anchor: So what did they looked like? How big were they? We can only understand these from their fossils. 0:45 - News Anchor: 38-year old Calvin has a room filled with fossils; there's marine life, dinosaurs, even poops! 1:03 - Calvin: I've been into fossils since 10. My mom bought me a trilobite, and it led me to realize there's a whole new world out there. 1:22 - News Anchor: 27-year old Andy's interest in dinosaurs spurred him to collect fossils. 1:37 - News Anchor: To share this interest, he authored a book, hoping to cultivate a love of fossils in children 1:50 - Andy: Boys love dinosaurs anyway. I've never lost my interest even in my 20s. Dinos are fasinating creatures. As we uncover fossils, we increase our knowledge of the natural world. E.g. what Earth was like, how animals of the past lived and hunted. 2:13 - News Anchor: Entering Andy's room, we realize he's put in quite an effort into displaying fossils. 2:18 - Andy: I protect my fossils from direct sunlight and elements with a cabinet. My dad and I customized this cabinet by sawing away the original wooden door, fixing on an acrylic, transparent door, and got an LED light strip which we installed inside. 2:44 - News Anchor: Calvin and Andy are part of a group called the Singapore Fossils Collectors. Besides sharing this hobby in the media, their group regularly meet, going to various members' houses. 2:59 - News Anchor: Calvin has stated this group allows him to meet fellow fossil lovers. 3:08 - Calvin: When young, this was a lonely hobby. Even as I collected, there was no one for me to share it with. Now with social media and SFC, we can learn from each other, trade, and improve our collections. -Commercial Break- 3:47 - News Anchor: Whenever overseas, Calvin visits museums and fossil shops. It's estimated he has over 1000 fossils. 4:00 - Calvin: This is a plesiosaur paddle that's over 65 million years old. You can see its finger bones. This is a rare fossil I purchased from Spain. 4:20 - Calvin: Here's another special one. A segnosaur egg nest. I bought it in Hong Kong, though it's dug up from China. Chinese fossils these days can no longer be exported. 4:35 - Calvin: This is a dinosaur we see often from Hollywood. A fearsome Tyrannosaur dug up from Kazakhstan. 4:45 - Calvin: This is a sabretooth cat. It's much younger than dinosaurs. It was around when the first men were around, but we hunted them to extinction. 4:57 - News Anchor: Do you know fossils are formed, and how we know they are real? 5:10 - Calvin: Fossils are the remains of animals and plants. As they died, their remains are quickly buried, and over time and high pressure, turn into fossils. They must be buried quickly, say next to a river, or covered by volcano ash etc. 5:47 - Calvin: There are fossils sites near Singapore, such as Australia, Canada, America, China, Morocco, France, Thailand and even Malaysia, and trilobites in Vietnam. 6:18 - Calvin: Some shell fossils and teeth are common in Morocco, and thus can be cheap. Complete fossils, or famous ones you see in Hollywood movies usually cost far more. 6:45 - Calvin: For fossil authencity, we get it from reputable sellers. Next, we need to know its morphology, weight, texture. We can even tap on it to hear the sound. There are quick ways such as shining a UV light, or to poke them with a red-hot needle. 7:24 - Calvin: For maintaining fossils, they are generally rocks, so many are durable. Certain ones however, such as trilobites may get pyrite disease so I keep them in a special cabinet. -Fossil segment ends- Enjoy