Career
Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary
Teach earth, ocean, atmospheric and space science at a college.
$103,170
Median pay
+2.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
800
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $103,170 a year and 800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Teaching (by Subject)See the degree →
- Geology and Earth SciencesSee the degree →
- Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher EducationCIP 13.1316
- Earth Science Teacher EducationCIP 13.1337
- Climate ScienceCIP 30.3501
- Earth Systems ScienceCIP 30.3801
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary$84,620 · +7.3%
- Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary$94,980 · +2.7%
- Physics Teachers, Postsecondary$100,310 · +2.4%
- Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary$93,250 · +2.3%
- Geography Teachers, Postsecondary$97,590 · +2.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.