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.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Science
- Critical Thinking
- Instructing
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Computers and Electronics
- Biology
- Geography
What the work involves
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as structural geology, micrometeorology, and atmospheric thermodynamics.
- Supervise laboratory work and field work.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Master's Degree (46.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (35.6%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (37.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 58% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 58% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 78% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 97% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 50% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 55% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 81% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 9.61%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.65%
- Contact with others most of the time: 23.03%
- Constant contact with others: 57.71%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 13.54%
- Fairly important: 25.58%
- Important: 14.53%
- Very important: 18.22%
- Extremely important: 28.13%
n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 13.27%
- Important: 18.25%
- Very important: 37.6%
- Extremely important: 30.88%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0.58%
- Some freedom: 13.09%
- A lot of freedom: 86.33%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.53%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 44.02%
- Every day: 16.84%
n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 2.87%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 39.01%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 37.41%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.6%
- Every day: 7.1%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.84%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 49.54%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 31.27%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.92%
- Every day: 6.43%
n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 36.26%
- Fairly serious: 23.68%
- Serious: 13.04%
- Very serious: 27.02%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1051.00 · SOC 25-1051 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8