My Dream Job

Since I already have a job, I can't talk about a dream job. But, I can tell you about an alternative dream job. It's a job I almost studied for, and, perhaps, in an alternative universe, I would be this: Paleontologist.
In high school, I was quite good at science, and I really liked Biology. I even took a course in Geology, which I loved, and on top of this, I was really interested in Paleontology--which is a kind of branch of Geology, with a bit of Archaeology and Biology thrown in. It is the study of ancient life forms by looking for and excavating fossils.
I was interested in, and still am really, all ancient life forms that have been on our earth, but I especially loved ancient mammals. Many of these ancient mammals looked as strange or frightening as dinosaurs. There was an ancient type of rhinocerous that stood twice as high as a modern elephant, but that didn't have a horn. It was the largest land-walking mammal ever.
So, if I was a paleontologist, I'd work both indoors and out. I'd work at a university where I'd teach and have a lab. I'd also go out on excavations. That would suit me. Perhaps I'd travel to Mongolia, Montana, and Patagonia--places where a lot of fossils are found--although they are found everywhere to tell the truth.
Of course, I'd have to travel a lot to get to the excavation sites (the digs). I'd need funding from foundations or grants from universities. That would require paperwork, so I'd need an office. This aspect of the job would appeal to me the least, to be honest.
I would love to contribute to our knowledge of ancient mammals--of our ancestors--who were running around between the feet of gigantic dinosaurs over 60 million years ago. If we want a good future, we need to know about our past, even the ancient past.