Weather observer vs atmospheric scientist

The differences between weather observers and atmospheric scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an atmospheric scientist has an average salary of $112,366, which is higher than the $51,408 average annual salary of a weather observer.

The top three skills for a weather observer include DOD, federal aviation administration and radar. The most important skills for an atmospheric scientist are MATLAB, remote sensing, and linux.

Weather observer vs atmospheric scientist overview

	Weather Observer	Atmospheric Scientist
Yearly salary	$51,408	$112,366
Hourly rate	$24.72	$54.02
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	619	46,693
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Weather observer vs atmospheric scientist salary

Weather observers and atmospheric scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Weather Observer	Atmospheric Scientist
Average salary	$51,408	$112,366
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $98,000	Between $74,000 And $169,000
Highest paying City	-	Richland, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Sonoma Technology, Inc.
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between weather observer and atmospheric scientist education

There are a few differences between a weather observer and an atmospheric scientist in terms of educational background:

	Weather Observer	Atmospheric Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Meteorology	Meteorology
Most common college	SUNY Stony Brook	University of Wisconsin - Madison

Weather observer vs atmospheric scientist demographics

Here are the differences between weather observers' and atmospheric scientists' demographics:

	Weather Observer	Atmospheric Scientist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 70.4% Female, 29.6%	Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 5.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 78.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between weather observer and atmospheric scientist duties and responsibilities

Weather observer example responsibilities.

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Collect and plot coordinates using GPS units.
Answer requests for technical information regarding regional products from field meteorologists, DOD customers, and other users.
Prepare and release radiosondes, collect and disseminate upper air data using GPS navigational equipment and RRS software.
Produce up-to-date training seminars in PowerPoint.
Collect and disseminate marine weather observations from vessels in Alaskan waters.

Atmospheric scientist example responsibilities.

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.

Weather observer vs atmospheric scientist skills

Common weather observer skills

DOD, 18%
Federal Aviation Administration, 15%
Radar, 10%
Air Traffic Control, 6%
Data Quality Control, 6%
Weather Station, 6%

Common atmospheric scientist skills

MATLAB, 54%
Remote Sensing, 26%
Linux, 12%
Technical Reports, 4%
Analysis Products, 4%

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Weather Observer
Weather Observer vs Atmospheric Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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