Paleontologists are paid the way most scientists are: through an employer, grants, or a mix of both, not per fossil found.
Academic and research paleontologists
Most professional paleontologists work for a university or research institution, earning a salary funded by the institution combined with external research grants from government science agencies or private foundations. Grant funding pays for fieldwork, equipment, and often student or technician salaries, but the paleontologist's own base pay usually comes from a teaching or research appointment rather than the grant directly.
Museum paleontologists
Museum-employed paleontologists are salaried staff, often splitting time between research, public exhibits, and managing collections. Pay is generally comparable to academic roles at similar seniority, and museum positions are limited in number relative to demand.
Government and survey paleontologists
Geological surveys and some government agencies employ paleontologists for mapping, resource assessment, and regulatory work, again as salaried positions rather than project-by-project pay.
Consultants
Paleontological consultants, hired by construction and mining companies to monitor sites for fossils under heritage law, are typically paid by the project or the day rather than an annual academic salary. This is one of the more directly field-focused paid roles in the profession. See what's the job called when you look for fossils.
What they are not paid for
Finding a specific fossil does not generate a bonus or personal payment in most academic or museum settings — the fossil belongs to the institution, and the paleontologist's income comes from their role, not the discovery itself. Selling personally found fossils for profit is generally considered a conflict of interest for anyone employed in institutional paleontology.
The overall picture
Income is stable but modest by scientific-career standards, built on institutional salary and grant funding rather than fossil sales — closer to any other applied science career than to the popular image of fossil hunting as personally lucrative.