What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in the U.S. earn more than $82,220 a year — the middle 80% land between $52,520 and $140,010. About 89,250 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$82,220typical pay / year
89,250people in this work
$140,010+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing3
Analyze climate policy data
+Combine the city temperature, emissions and adaptation datasets, run the statistical tests that check trends…
Analyze climate policy data
+Combine the city temperature, emissions and adaptation datasets, run the statistical tests that check trends and significance against the last ten years, flag anomalous stations and write a one-page technical summary with tables and charts for the climate team by Wednesday morning.
The tools that do the workPythonMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
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Evaluate climate initiatives
+Assess the three neighborhood-level climate initiatives against our equity and emissions criteria, score each…
Evaluate climate initiatives
+Assess the three neighborhood-level climate initiatives against our equity and emissions criteria, score each on measurable indicators, produce a ranked recommendation with a one-page risk appendix for the mayor's office before Friday's portfolio review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelPythonESCOjob descriptions
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Conduct environmental impact assessments
+Compile the baseline environmental data, run the prescribed impact models for air, water and heat, summarize…
Conduct environmental impact assessments
+Compile the baseline environmental data, run the prescribed impact models for air, water and heat, summarize predicted impacts and mitigation measures in a five-page assessment with maps and monitoring requirements for the planning commission in two weeks.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISThe MathWorks MATLABjob descriptionsO*NET
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Keeping the record1
Prepare policy briefs
+Draft a two-page policy brief that explains the heat-risk findings, the costed policy options, and the…
Prepare policy briefs
+Draft a two-page policy brief that explains the heat-risk findings, the costed policy options, and the recommended regulatory language for the planning director, include an executive summary and one infographic comparing baseline and proposed outcomes for next quarter's council packet.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointESCOjob descriptions
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The daily work16
Present and defend proposals for climate change research projects.
+Present and defend three research proposals on urban climate change impacts to the city council next Tuesday,…
Present and defend proposals for climate change research projects.
+Present and defend three research proposals on urban climate change impacts to the city council next Tuesday, with clear methods, estimated budgets, projected timelines, and contingency risks, and prepare answers to expected fiscal and equity objections.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Prepare grant applications to obtain funding for programs related to climate change, environmental management, or sustainability.
+Prepare two complete grant applications for heat resilience and stormwater management programs due in six…
Prepare grant applications to obtain funding for programs related to climate change, environmental management, or sustainability.
+Prepare two complete grant applications for heat resilience and stormwater management programs due in six weeks: write objectives and methods, attach budget spreadsheets, compile letters of support from the parks department and community group, and run a final compliance check.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Collaborate with stakeholders
+Coordinate a stakeholder workshop for next Thursday: draft the agenda, invite the planning director, public…
Collaborate with stakeholders
+Coordinate a stakeholder workshop for next Thursday: draft the agenda, invite the planning director, public works lead, two community reps and a university climate scientist, collect their briefing notes, and produce a one-page outcomes brief after the meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
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Monitor policy implementation
+Monitor implementation of the new urban heat mitigation policy for the next quarter: track permit approvals,…
Monitor policy implementation
+Monitor implementation of the new urban heat mitigation policy for the next quarter: track permit approvals, compare installed interventions against the policy schedule, flag missed milestones to the policy sponsor, and prepare a monthly status memo with corrective options.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions
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Analyse historic weather conditions
+Analyse thirty years of municipal temperature and precipitation records to identify trends and extreme event…
Analyse historic weather conditions
+Analyse thirty years of municipal temperature and precipitation records to identify trends and extreme event frequency changes, run appropriate significance tests, map urban heat island hotspots by neighborhood, and summarise implications for zoning and infrastructure.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISPythonESCO
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Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Apply statistical analysis to the recent sensor network: clean the dataset, test for autocorrelation and…
Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Apply statistical analysis to the recent sensor network: clean the dataset, test for autocorrelation and seasonality, fit an appropriate regression or time-series model, and produce interpretable effect sizes and confidence intervals for the urban planning team.
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Advise on weather-related issues
+Advise the City Resilience team on heatwave and flash-flood risks for the next five years, prioritising…
Advise on weather-related issues
+Advise the City Resilience team on heatwave and flash-flood risks for the next five years, prioritising neighborhoods with hospitals and transit hubs, recommend three near-term actions and two funding sources, deliver brief by Wednesday.
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Use measurement instruments
+Verify and calibrate the rooftop sensor array at Riverside monitoring site, log instrument serials and last…
Use measurement instruments
+Verify and calibrate the rooftop sensor array at Riverside monitoring site, log instrument serials and last calibration dates, run two sanity checks on temperature and pluviometer outputs, report anomalies to Facilities by Friday.
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Scientific research methodology
+Design a reproducible study protocol to test urban heat island interventions, include hypothesis, sampling…
Scientific research methodology
+Design a reproducible study protocol to test urban heat island interventions, include hypothesis, sampling plan, sensors, statistical tests, and data QA steps, then send protocol to the research committee for approval next Tuesday.
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Scientific modelling
+Build a city-scale microclimate model of downtown to estimate peak afternoon temperatures under three…
Scientific modelling
+Build a city-scale microclimate model of downtown to estimate peak afternoon temperatures under three land-use scenarios, document assumptions, run sensitivity runs, and deliver model results and plots by the end of the month.
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Carry out meteorological research
+Conduct a six-week meteorological campaign sampling boundary-layer temperature and wind at three heights on…
Carry out meteorological research
+Conduct a six-week meteorological campaign sampling boundary-layer temperature and wind at three heights on the lecture hall tower, store raw and processed files with metadata, and submit preliminary findings to the climate team two weeks after campaign end.
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Collect weather-related data
+Compile and quality-check the past ten years of city weather station records, flag gaps and obvious sensor…
Collect weather-related data
+Compile and quality-check the past ten years of city weather station records, flag gaps and obvious sensor errors, create a cleaned dataset ready for trend analysis, and hand the dataset and a cleaning log to the statistics team by Monday.
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Perform scientific research
+Draft a reproducible study that answers whether heat-island intensification correlates with neighborhood tree…
Perform scientific research
+Draft a reproducible study that answers whether heat-island intensification correlates with neighborhood tree cover loss in the past decade, list data sources, sampling methods, instrumentation calibrations, statistical tests and a 12-week timeline for fieldwork and analysis.
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Apply scientific methods
+Write a methods section that applies randomized sampling, quality-controlled temperature logging, bias checks…
Apply scientific methods
+Write a methods section that applies randomized sampling, quality-controlled temperature logging, bias checks and multivariate regression to evaluate urban microclimate drivers, include protocol for instrument placement and data validation before field deployment.
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Execute analytical mathematical calculations
+Compute neighborhood-level trends: take the past five years of daily max and min temperature series,…
Execute analytical mathematical calculations
+Compute neighborhood-level trends: take the past five years of daily max and min temperature series, calculate degree-day anomalies, trend slopes, confidence intervals and a table of significance by census tract for policy briefing.
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Conduct research on climate processes
+Assemble a literature review and a data plan to test how land cover, imperviousness and regional circulation…
Conduct research on climate processes
+Assemble a literature review and a data plan to test how land cover, imperviousness and regional circulation interact to drive observed summer warm spells, cite key climatology papers and specify satellite and station datasets to acquire.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses