Friends’ Ross Geller Isn’t Actually a Paleontologist, and Here’s Why
Chandler Bing may not have been the only character whose job the gang couldn’t remember
All the friends tease Ross about being a fossil guy and studying dinosaurs, but he may have been more than that. He might have even had two jobs for all we know.
Not as cool as being a medical doctor by Rachel’s standards, but still pretty impressive.
Paleontologists study all kinds of fossils (not just dinosaurs), and this is the profession that Ross is generally associated with throughout the show. Friends has plenty of jokes about his love of dinosaurs and fossil brushes.
However, certain episodes hint at the fact that Ross is actually an anthropologist (a scientist who studies humans throughout history). In the season 2 episode, The One Where Ross and Rachel…
You Know, Ross can’t make it to his date with Rachel in time because he has to deal with some work crisis regarding a caveman exhibit.
Later on, Ross and Rachel watch the stars at the museum and sleep together for the first time. The next morning, they wake up next to the said cavemen.
Why would a paleontologist organize a clearly anthropological exhibit? That raises some questions. Has the gang been misunderstanding what Ross does for a living all along? Has he been misleading them? Is Ross knowledgeable in both fields? If so, when did he broaden his expertise?
In this case, it would at least make sense that he became a tenured professor at such a young age – if he is both an accomplished paleontologist and anthropologist, he would definitely enjoy such job security.
Whatever the case may be, Ross certainly has a successful career that he has had to work hard for. Maybe Rachel shouldn’t look down on his Ph.D.: he is a doctor, after all (though not the kind we would want around if we had a heart attack).