Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary
US occupation · SOC 25-1053
Job titles people report: Adjunct Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Environmental Engineering Professor, Environmental Sciences Professor, Environmental Studies Professor, Faculty Member, Instructor, Lecturer, Professor
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $94,980
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $69,880 – $126,900
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 6,690
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +2.7%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 600
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Doctoral or professional degree
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Teach courses in environmental science. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Main tasks
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Supervise students' laboratory and field work.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Doctoral or professional degree
- O*NET Job Zone 5
- Extensive preparation
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
- Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 11 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Biology & Life Sciences
- Conservation Biology
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Biology & Life Sciences at the Major step.
Where many students take biology & life sciences
- University of California-San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · 20% of degrees · 34,948 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 10% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · 10% of degrees · 59,615 undergraduates
- University of California-DavisDavis, CA · 18% of degrees · 32,253 undergraduates
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 17% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI · 13% of degrees · 40,922 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Education
- Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Education at the Major step.
Where many students take education
- Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · 19% of degrees · 155,088 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 11% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · 8% of degrees · 50,012 undergraduates
- Illinois State UniversityNormal, IL · 18% of degrees · 19,057 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 5% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- University of Nevada-Las VegasLas Vegas, NV · 11% of degrees · 24,622 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Physics & Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Physics & Chemistry at the Major step.
Where many students take physics & chemistry
- University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · 3% of degrees · 33,068 undergraduates
- Pennsylvania State University-Main CampusUniversity Park, PA · 2% of degrees · 42,284 undergraduates
- University of FloridaGainesville, FL · 3% of degrees · 35,629 undergraduates
- The University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · 2% of degrees · 42,855 undergraduates
- University of Washington-Seattle CampusSeattle, WA · 3% of degrees · 31,942 undergraduates
- Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · 2% of degrees · 59,615 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Environmental Studies
- Environmental Studies
- Environmental Science
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Environmental Studies at the Major step.
Where many students take environmental studies
- Unity Environmental UniversityNew Gloucester, ME · 39% of degrees · 6,483 undergraduates
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 2% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- Oregon State UniversityCorvallis, OR · 7% of degrees · 30,743 undergraduates
- University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · 5% of degrees · 33,068 undergraduates
- University of VermontBurlington, VT · 13% of degrees · 11,743 undergraduates
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens PointStevens Point, WI · 19% of degrees · 7,306 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
- Sustainability Studies
- Environmental Geosciences
- Geobiology
- Geography and Environmental Studies
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$101,420 median · +2.8% projected
- Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
$103,170 median · +2.4% projected
- Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
$98,700 median · +2.9% projected
- Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$84,620 median · +7.3% projected
- Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
$93,250 median · +2.3% projected
- Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
$77,270 median · +2.2% projected
Sources
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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk