Median annual wage$94,980
Job growth, 2025-2035+2.7%
Mean annual wage$103,610
Typical educationDoctoral or professional degree
Employed today (2025)8,400
Annual openings (nat'l)600

Teach courses in environmental science. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

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Licensing, certifications and working conditions

State licensing. CareerOneStop's licensing data records no state license for Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary, which usually means it is not a licensed occupation. Requirements can still vary by employer and state.

Certifications. CareerOneStop directly links 2 professional certifications to Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary. 1 of them are in CareerOneStop's "Core" group, for example: Praxis Subject Assessment: General Science: Content Knowledge (5436). Certifications are voluntary credentials offered by the organizations named; listing one is not an endorsement.

Working conditions. On average, workers stand or walk about 2.6 hours and sit about 3.7 hours per day. The typical heaviest weight lifted or carried is about 10.0 pounds. For 67.6% of workers the job requires light strength. Shares of workers who interact with the general public (over 99.5%), have a consistently fast work pace (5.2%), and are exposed to the outdoors (33.3%). From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Requirements Survey (2023 estimates); figures describe the occupation on average.

Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →

More data on this career

Injury and illness rates. For the broader group "Postsecondary teachers", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 6.7 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 7 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.

Union membership. In the broad group "Education, training, and library", which includes this career, 32.5% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,483 for union members and $1,130 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to environmental science teachers, postsecondary.

Wages employers offered H-1B workers. For environmental science teachers, postsecondary, employers filed 106 certified Labor Condition Applications for H-1B workers covering 106 worker positions in FY2025, with a median lower-bound wage offered of $86,800 (the middle half ran from $70,000 to $102,600) (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification). These are wages named in employers' applications to hire temporary foreign workers, usually in jobs that need at least a bachelor's degree. They are not what every worker in the occupation earns. The Department of Labor has not endorsed this presentation.

Employer benefits. In the broad group "Professional and related", which includes this career, 86% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 85% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 92% had paid sick leave, 73% paid vacation and 78% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to environmental science teachers, postsecondary, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $74.42 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Professional and related" in June 2026 ($50.37 in wages and salaries and $24.06 in benefits, 32.3% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).

Work environment. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, the conditions most often placed at the two highest levels for environmental science teachers, postsecondary are: e-mail (98%), face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams (95%), indoors, environmentally controlled (95%), determine tasks, priorities and goals (90%), public speaking (89%), contact with others (86%). Each percentage is the share of respondents choosing the top two levels for that condition (for example 'most of the time' or 'continually'), so it describes how common the condition is in the job, not how a particular workplace is (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Typical preparation. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, for related work experience, the most common answer (27% of 50 respondents) was "over 2 years, up to and including 4 years"; for on-site or in-plant training, the most common answer (29% of 50 respondents) was "up to and including 1 month". These are what workers report is needed to do the job; employers' requirements and individual paths vary (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to environmental science teachers, postsecondary in the work done and the skills used: Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary, Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary, Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).

Compare environmental science teachers, postsecondary with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →

Geobiology

CIP 30.4301