#Yourpalaeolife: Interrogating the Status of Fieldwork Among Early Career Palaeontology Researchers.

It has been proposed that palaeontology as an academic discipline is facing an 'extinction of experience', whereby junior researchers are not gaining enough fieldwork expertise to be able to perpetuate the practice into the next generation, risking the discipline disconnecting from nature and impacting the acquisition of new data. So far, this idea has been based on anecdotes and without empirical evidence. This study attempts to gather quantitative and qualitative data on the current status of field skills and fieldwork among early career palaeontologists globally by inviting them to complete an online survey. The target group was current PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers less than 5 years from finishing their PhD. The results indicate that most field skills training occurs prior to the PhD level and that soft skills (e.g., ethics) are less commonly taught than technical skills (e.g., fossil identification). ECRs generally indicate that they would like more, better advertised, formal skills training opportunities, particularly in palaeontoethics and communication. A lack of professional funding appears to be a more relevant problem in field skills training than in conducting fieldwork. ECRs report a lack of support from their colleagues and institutions and territorial behaviour by other palaeontologists over field sites as primary obstacles to fieldwork engagement. Gender-based discrimination is common in the sphere of palaeontology fieldwork and lack of inclusivity is a prominent issue. Disputes between senior palaeontologists actively affect the development opportunities accessible to junior researchers. While most ECRs are interested and actively engaging in fieldwork, there are distinct areas of opportunity for the global palaeontological community to engage in cultural change to better support their junior colleagues and reduce barriers to field-based professional development.