---
title: "Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teacher, Postsecondary"
description: "Teach courses in the physical sciences, except chemistry and physics. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching, and those who do a…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/atmospheric-earth-marine-and-space-sciences-teacher-postsecondary"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teacher, Postsecondary

**Category:** Educational Instruction and Library · **SOC code:** 25-1051 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 25-1051.00

Teach courses in the physical sciences, except chemistry and physics. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching, and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also advertised as: Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; Astronomy Professor; Atmospheric Sciences Professor; Geology Professor; Instructor; Meteorology Professor; Oceanography Professor.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $103,170 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** Not published by BLS
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $59,700 to $203,190, with the middle half between $77,260 and $135,510
- **Total US employment:** 9,900
- **Typical entry education:** Doctorate
- **Preparation required:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 800 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 37/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 9,900 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $59,700 |
| 25th | $77,260 |
| 50th (median) | $103,170 |
| 75th | $135,510 |
| 90th | $203,190 |
| Mean (average) | $116,020 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $133,230 | $120,331 | 1,410 |
| NJ | $131,930 | $121,254 | 270 |
| NH | $130,230 | $125,023 | 50 |
| OR | $128,140 | $123,973 | 340 |
| CT | $123,770 | $119,458 | 230 |
| VA | $119,940 | $118,630 | 230 |
| AZ | $110,600 | $109,856 | 240 |
| MA | $108,930 | $103,000 | 470 |
| MD | $107,700 | $102,611 | 180 |
| WI | $107,370 | $114,108 | 130 |
| NM | $106,990 | $116,026 | 50 |
| NV | $105,860 | $105,882 | 60 |
| PA | $105,650 | $108,279 | 220 |
| TX | $105,080 | $108,266 | 690 |
| MI | $104,780 | $108,900 | 180 |

25 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 40 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/atmospheric-earth-marine-and-space-sciences-teacher-postsecondary/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/atmospheric-earth-marine-and-space-sciences-teacher-postsecondary.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 12,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 12,300 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 300 jobs, or +2.4%. Slower than average: 2.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Master's Degree | 46.5% |
| Doctoral Degree | 28.9% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 16.3% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 5.1% |
| Post-Master's Certificate | 3.3% |

## What the work involves

- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Speaking — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Instructing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Education and Training — importance 4.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Physics — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Expression — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Clarity — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Social (S), Investigative (I), Realistic (R).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| S — Social | 6.51 |
| I — Investigative | 5.61 |
| R — Realistic | 4.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.60 |
| A — Artistic | 3.14 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.37 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| INFJ | 63.4 |
| ISFP | 63.0 |
| INFP | 60.0 |
| ISFJ | 58.4 |
| ENFP | 54.4 |

Best-fitting types: INFJ, ISFP, INFP.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Biological Science Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biological-science-teacher-postsecondary) — median $84,620
- [Environmental Science Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-science-teacher-postsecondary) — median $94,980
- [Physics Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physics-teacher-postsecondary) — median $100,310
- [Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemistry-teacher-postsecondary) — median $93,250
- [Geography Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geography-teacher-postsecondary) — median $97,590
- [Mathematical Science Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mathematical-science-teacher-postsecondary) — median $79,940
- [Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forestry-and-conservation-science-teacher-postsecondary) — median $101,420
- [Teaching Assistant, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/teaching-assistant-postsecondary) — median $42,910
- [Agricultural Sciences Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-sciences-teacher-postsecondary) — median $98,700
- [Anthropology and Archeology Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anthropology-and-archeology-teacher-postsecondary) — median $99,650

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/atmospheric-earth-marine-and-space-sciences-teacher-postsecondary