FlightWay / Careers / Atmospheric and Space Scientists

Engineering & Science

Atmospheric and Space Scientists

Investigate atmospheric phenomena and interpret meteorological data, gathered by surface and air stations, satellites, and radar to prepare reports and forecasts for public and other uses.

Sector: Engineering & Science
Preparation: Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed
O*NET code: 19-2021.00

What you'll actually do

The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.

Working with Computers

central to the job — rated 95/100 for importance.
Analyzing Data or Information

central to the job — rated 94/100 for importance.
Getting Information

central to the job — rated 90/100 for importance.
Processing Information

a major part of the work — rated 81/100 for importance.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

a major part of the work — rated 81/100 for importance.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others

a major part of the work — rated 80/100 for importance.

Investigate atmospheric phenomena and interpret meteorological data, gathered by surface and air stations, satellites, and radar to prepare reports and forecasts for public and other uses. Includes weather analysts and forecasters whose functions require the detailed knowledge of meteorology.

What it takes

Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.

Skills

Reading Comprehension

Needed at a high level (70/100), and rated 78/100 for importance.
Science

Needed at a high level (70/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Speaking

Needed at a high level (63/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Active Listening

Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Active Learning

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.

Knowledge

Mathematics

Needed at expert level (86/100), and rated 86/100 for importance.
Physics

Needed at expert level (76/100), and rated 86/100 for importance.
Geography

Needed at expert level (81/100), and rated 85/100 for importance.
Computers and Electronics

Needed at expert level (81/100), and rated 79/100 for importance.

Abilities

Oral Expression

Needed at a high level (71/100), and rated 81/100 for importance.
Oral Comprehension

Needed at a high level (71/100), and rated 78/100 for importance.
Written Comprehension

Needed at a high level (71/100), and rated 78/100 for importance.
Inductive Reasoning

Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 78/100 for importance.

How people get in

O*NET places this occupation in Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.

Education

A four-year bachelor's degree is the usual entry ticket.

Experience

Two to four years of related work, internships or research on top of the degree.

Training

Most of the learning happens before you are hired, not after.

What it pays

These are typical science compensation bands by employer tier — sector-level figures, not a measured salary for Atmospheric and Space Scientists specifically. Treat them as the shape of the market, then check a real posting for the number.

Pfizer · Nat"l Labs · MIT

$110k – $200k

Biotech & Pharma Mid

$90k – $160k

Startups & Academia

$65k – $110k

How the work tends to run

Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.

Most of the day happens at a screen.From “Working with Computers”

How FlightWay scores your fit against this

No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.

1. You answer a short quiz: Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
2. We correlate the two profiles: Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Atmospheric and Space Scientists. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
3. The number you see is personality fit only: "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
4. Every factor is visible: You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.

More in Engineering & Science

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Occupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.