What does an atmospheric scientist do?
Atmospheric scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real atmospheric scientist resumes:
- Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
- Organize and execute field campaigns for collecting FTIR spectrometer data.
- Redesign NMT lightning interferometer signal processing system.
- Redesign signal processing and display system for NMT wideband multi-polarization radar.
- Design key targets and supervise one chemistry associate resulting in the synthesis of additional compounds, some with excellent biological activity.
- Redesign signal processing and display system for NMT wideband multi-polarization radar.
Atmospheric scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 54% of Atmospheric Scientists are proficient in MATLAB, Remote Sensing, and Linux. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Math skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Atmospheric Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- MATLAB, 54%
Designed and developed GUI using MS Visual C++, Perl, and Matlab to calculate compound flux from measured spectral quantifications.
- Remote Sensing, 26%
Conducted remote sensing instrument data analysis (FTIR, TDL, UVDOAS, FLIR).
- Linux, 12%
Helped to procure and setup a Linux computational cluster, and provided day-to-day system administration and user support.
- Technical Reports, 4%
Produced scientific and technical reports for the Legal Department in relation to alleged patent infringement and consumer product liability cases.
- Analysis Products, 4%
Issue analysis products on standard UTC time intervals, including analyses and discussions.
"matlab," "remote sensing," and "linux" are among the most common skills that atmospheric scientists use at work. You can find even more atmospheric scientist responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an atmospheric scientist to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "atmospheric scientists need to evaluate large amounts of data produced by computer models." Additionally, an atmospheric scientist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "intercompared visibility data from transmissometers and automated camera systems to identify intermittent problems or errors. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform atmospheric scientist duties is math skills. Atmospheric scientists responsibilities require that "atmospheric scientists must understand the mathematics used to develop models for weather forecasts and to calculate relationships between atmospheric properties, such as how changes in air pressure may affect air temperature." Atmospheric scientists also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assay incorporating quantitative sybr green pcr endpoint to assess replication kinetics and inhibition of sv40 infectivity by neutralizing antibodies. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for atmospheric scientists to perform their duties. For an example of how atmospheric scientist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "atmospheric scientists must be able to write and speak clearly so that their weather information is useful to the public or business clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an atmospheric scientist: "coordinate biopsy and clinical studies to support technical claims substantiation and communication. ".
The three companies that hire the most atmospheric scientists are:
- Environmental Defense Fund7 atmospheric scientists jobs
- Brookhaven National Laboratory2 atmospheric scientists jobs
- Clario2 atmospheric scientists jobs
Compare different atmospheric scientists
Atmospheric scientist vs. Environmental service technician
An environmental service technician is an employee who works in a hospital or healthcare facility to maintain cleanliness and a healthy environment within the premises. Environmental service technicians are involved in traditional janitorial tasks as well as proper handling and disposal of biological waste. Although not responsible for laundering them, they are required to distribute linens and keep track of the linens used per department. Environmental service technicians must also refill toilet papers and other paper products to rooms when needed.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, atmospheric scientist responsibilities require skills like "matlab," "remote sensing," "fortran," and "air quality." Meanwhile a typical environmental service technician has skills in areas such as "patients," "environmental services," "customer service," and "cleanliness." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that environmental service technicians earn slightly differ from atmospheric scientists. In particular, environmental service technicians are 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an atmospheric scientist. Additionally, they're 29.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Atmospheric scientist vs. Forecaster
An environmental technician is responsible for identifying, evaluating, preventing, and controlling contamination of the environment. They study how it affects human health with the supervision of environmental engineers and environmental scientists. Environmental technicians work by monitoring the environment and look for possible sources of pollution and contamination that can possibly affect public health. They make sure that environmental violations are prevented. In addition, an environmental technician also investigates any complaint that is related to water quality, air quality, and food safety.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that atmospheric scientist responsibilities requires skills like "matlab," "remote sensing," "fortran," and "air quality." But a forecaster might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "sql," "sas," "powerpoint," and "visualization."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Forecasters tend to reach higher levels of education than atmospheric scientists. In fact, they're 5.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 29.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Atmospheric scientist vs. Environmental technician
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from atmospheric scientist resumes include skills like "matlab," "remote sensing," "fortran," and "linux," whereas an environmental technician is more likely to list skills in "patients," "osha," "hazardous materials," and "customer service. "
Most environmental technicians achieve a similar degree level compared to atmospheric scientists. For example, they're 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 29.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Atmospheric scientist vs. Warning coordination meteorologist
Types of atmospheric scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
