Educational Instruction and Library

Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary

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.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$103,170USD per year · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$59,700Not published
25th$77,260Not published
50th · Median$103,170Not published
75th$135,510Not published
90th$203,190Not published

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Adjunct InstructorAdjunct ProfessorAssistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorAstronomy ProfessorAtmospheric Sciences ProfessorClimatology ProfessorClimatology TeacherCollege Faculty MemberCollege ProfessorCrystallography TeacherEarth Science Faculty Member
Expand more title examples (39)
Earth Science ProfessorEarth Science TeacherGeochemistry TeacherGeodesy TeacherGeological Science TeacherGeology ProfessorGeology TeacherGeomorphology TeacherGeophysics ProfessorGeophysics TeacherGeoscience ProfessorGeosciences Faculty MemberHydrography TeacherHydrology TeacherHydrometeorology TeacherInstructorLecturerMeteorology Faculty MemberMeteorology ProfessorMeteorology TeacherMineral Industry TeacherMineralogy ProfessorMineralogy TeacherOceanic Sciences ProfessorOceanography ProfessorOceanography TeacherOceanology TeacherPaleontology TeacherPetrography TeacherPetrology TeacherPhysical Sciences InstructorProfessorResearch ProfessorSeismology TeacherSpace Studies Faculty MemberStratigraphy TeacherUniversity Faculty MemberVolcanology ProfessorVolcanology Teacher

Typical tasks

  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as structural geology, micrometeorology, and atmospheric thermodynamics.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Supervise laboratory work and field work.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
Expand more tasks (20)
  • 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.
  • Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  • Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  • Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  • Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.
  • Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
  • Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  • Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  • Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  • Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
  • Purchase and maintain equipment to support research projects.
  • Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
  • Act as advisers to student organizations.
  • Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
  • Participate in campus and community events.
  • Answer questions from the public and media.
  • Review papers or serve on editorial boards for scientific journals, and review grant proposals for federal agencies.
  • Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.

Skills used in this work

Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Expand more skills (29)
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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United States wage reference

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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page 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. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.