From the Winkipedia: Paleo-anthropology is the branch of physical anthropology (often called biological anthropology) that focuses on the study of human evolution, tracing the anatomic, behavioral and genetic linkages of pre-humans from millions of years ago up to modern times. To become a Paleo-anthropologist requires some higher, former education. I believe that there are branches to this science as well which, depending on how you specialize, will have the most bearing on how many years of higher education (college/University) and the specific classes you need. There are a wide variety of courses, including biology, geology, chemistry and physics along with Anthropology/Paleo-anthropology to be be taken some you may not use depending on which direction you go. What would you be able to do with "it". Become an paleo-anthropologist which from the description above pretty much sums up what you will do. There is field work, such as being called out to excavate a found ancient burial site. Others may choose to remain in museums cleaning the artifacts and bones. Others may stick to further study of all the books in the libraries around the others. Anthropology/Paleo-anthropology could be just a stepping stone to some other career like museum curator where you specialize in anthropological speciments.

When I was studying Anthropology at Sydney University, we had various strand studies that introduced us to branches of Anthropology such as Sociology, Ethnology and Linguistics. It was not possible to give training in every branch of anthropology at an Undergraduate level, but the three introduced to us gave us an understanding that within the Anthropological discipline there were many finer layers to explore. Paleoanthroplogy could have been chosen as an Honours strand, and continued with through Masters and/or Ph.D

I am currently majoring in Anthropology (almost done then grad school). The are four sub-categories to the study of Anthropology: Biological Anthro, Linguistic Anthro, Socio-Cultural Anthro, and Archaeology (which is what Paleo-Anthro is classified as). Normally when majoring in Anthro, you take classes in all four sub-fields, but you choose an emphasis point of study. The classes that I have taken I have truly enjoyed and I love how Anthro demonstrates the equality of all beings! However, if you hear the word "archaeologist", and an image of Indiana Jones pops into your head, you are severely mistaken. On average, fieldwork only consists of about 10% of the job, the other 90% of time is spent analyzing the newfound material. Another potential problem is the job availability for Anthro majors. Possibilities include working for a museum or for the government doing research. When pursuing a career in Anthro, I think the student needs to realize that he or she will not necessarily be working for monetary gain, but will be working towards scientific advancement.