#Yourpalaeolife - For the attention of all PhD candidate and Early Career Palaeontologists

[hen...@student.bham.ac.uk]

Re: #YOURPALAEOLIFE: ANONYMOUS SURVEY FOR PHD AND EARLY CAREER PALAEONTOLOGISTS

Hello everybody!

You may or may not have seen some of the recent online buzz surrounding the future of fieldwork in palaeontology. The top-down perspective is all very well, but I want to know about your experiences: what is the place of fieldwork in our research lives, how do we view it, and how do we participate if we want it?

The link in this email leads to a Google survey – eligible participants are current PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers (up to 5 years post PhD) of any age and demographic, attending or employed at any palaeontological institution worldwide. The survey is completely anonymous and I want to hear the unfiltered truth about your opinions of fieldwork, its ethical quandaries, the barriers you and your peers have or have not faced in finding those early fieldwork trips and skills training. Even if you have no interest in fieldwork at all and have never sought it out – that’s important too.

No names or contact details are requested, and all demographic and location questions are generalised and optional because it is important to me that you are comfortable giving me the honest truth of your experiences. The results are intended to be published in conference talk and journal article format, so keep an eye on that if you are interested via my Bluesky account (@whosyourmammal.bsky.social) and the Bluesky hashtag #yourpalaeolife. Direct quotations may be included in results publication if they are particularly impactful or representative.

Whether or not you are eligible and choose to participate, please forward this survey to any potential candidate you know, and repost on social media. The global palaeontology community needs to hear the voices of its future, and I look forward to bringing yours to light.

https://forms.gle/th65AipuGP6rBLFe6

 

With very best wishes,

Harriet E. Nuttall MA VetMB MRCVS

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham

ORCID 0009-0005-5325-4463

@whosyourmammal.bsky.social