Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 8/30/2026
AI Resilience Score for Env Sci Teachers, Postsec:
46.9%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Low
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Med
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forEnvironmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$94,980 median salary•600 annual openings•SOC Code: 25-1053.00
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 8 sources.
Environmental science professors land in the "Somewhat Resilient" category because AI is already handling some of their routine work (like grading, building reading lists, and drafting quizzes), which means parts of the job are genuinely changing. At the same time, the heart of this career, including leading hands-on fieldwork, mentoring students through real ecological challenges, and teaching ethical judgment about AI outputs, stays deeply human and hard to automate.
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Environmental science professors land in the "Somewhat Resilient" category because AI is already handling some of their routine work (like grading, building reading lists, and drafting quizzes), which means parts of the job are genuinely changing. At the same time, the heart of this career, including leading hands-on fieldwork, mentoring students through real ecological challenges, and teaching ethical judgment about AI outputs, stays deeply human and hard to automate.
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Env Sci Teachers, Postsec
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Env Sci Teachers, Postsec jobs?
Right now, AI is mostly augmenting environmental science professors, not replacing them. The tasks with the highest automation risk — record-keeping, building reading lists, and grading — are exactly the ones tools like ChatGPT already help with. In a national survey, about a quarter of faculty don't use any AI tools at all, and about a third don't use them in teaching, but among those who do, generative AI is showing up in lesson planning, syllabus prep, and drafting quizzes.
Environmental education groups are actively exploring these uses: the North American Association for Environmental Education hosted a panel called "AI, Education, and Ethics for a Changing World" [1] that looked at both the promise and pitfalls of AI in classrooms. Research on postsecondary environmental courses found that AI-supported learning can boost engagement when paired with human instructors [2], but the "supervise students' laboratory and field work" tasks — muddy boots, water samples, ecological observation — remain deeply human. As one ecology journal put it, AI's rapid entry into ecology is changing how entry-level data tasks are structured [3], pushing professors to teach judgment about AI outputs rather than raw data crunching.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Env Sci Teachers, Postsec?
Adoption is moving fast for back-office work but slowly in teaching. On the fast side, Inside Higher Ed reports colleges are racing to deploy AI for administrative advantage [4] because tools are cheap and widely available. On the slow side, 86% of faculty say AI's impact will be significant, but many worry it harms critical thinking and fuels cheating [4].
Environmental scientists also raise an ethical brake: researchers warn that data centers powering AI could emit as much carbon as 10 million cars [5], which clashes with the field's core mission. Together, these forces mean your future professors will likely use AI as a helper — while human mentorship, fieldwork, and ethical judgment stay firmly in demand.
Sources
Will AI replace Env Sci Teachers, Postsec?
Not entirely. We think AI will take over some tasks, but not the whole job.
Our 46.9% AI Resilience Score reflects a real tension: parts of this role are genuinely exposed to automation, but the core of what a great environmental science professor does is still deeply human. AI is already handling the easier stuff, like drafting syllabi, building reading lists, and generating quiz questions. Colleges are also racing to deploy AI for administrative work [4], so expect more of that behind-the-scenes automation to accelerate.
What stays human is the part that matters most. Supervising field work, guiding students through ecological observation, and helping them develop judgment about messy, real-world data cannot be handed off to a chatbot. Research shows AI-supported learning works best when paired with a human instructor [2], and environmental science professors are increasingly being asked to teach students how to think critically about AI outputs, not just crunch numbers [3]. There is also an ethical dimension unique to this field: the energy cost of AI infrastructure conflicts with environmental values, which professors are well positioned to address [5].
The job market picture is more cautious. Employer demand through 2034 is relatively weak, so competition for these roles will likely stay stiff. AI will reshape the work, but it will not make the human professor obsolete.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Env Sci Teachers, Postsec
These articles provide valuable insights for aspiring Environmental Science Teachers. They highlight how generative AI can enhance science learning by engaging students in critical thinking about complex environmental issues. For instance, the study on students' engagement with GenAI illustrates its potential to deepen understanding of sustainability concepts. Furthermore, discussions on the environmental impacts of AI emphasize the need for educators to integrate sustainable practices into their teaching. Embracing these insights can help future teachers navigate the evolving educational landscape while fostering resilience in environmental education.
From initial trust to critical reconstruction: upper secondary students’ engagement with generative AI in science learning
www.frontiersin.org • 5/13/2026
IntroductionThis study examines how upper secondary students engage with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in science learning, focusing on how...
Pre-service science teachers' adaptive pedagogical reasoning in AI-supported lesson plans: a case with chemical equilibrium
www.frontiersin.org • 4/30/2026
Although generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into lesson planning in teacher education, little is known about how...
Challenge or threat? The double-edged sword effect of AI use on innovative teaching behavior among primary and secondary school teachers in China | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
www.nature.com • 3/27/2026
With the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into educational practice, its influence on teachers' innovative teaching...
Rising Use of AI in Schools Comes With Big Downsides for Students
www.edweek.org • 10/8/2025
A report by the Center for Democracy and Technology looks at teachers' and students' experiences with the technology.
Gen AI discussions must prioritize sustainability (opinion)
www.insidehighered.com • 8/22/2024
Faculty lack information about generative AI's environmental impacts, and universities should prioritize sustainable computing, Susanne Hall...
More Career Info
Career: Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary
They teach college students about the environment, explain how natural systems work, and guide research on environmental issues.
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$94,980
Jobs (2025)
8,400
Growth (2025-35)
+2.7%
Annual Openings
600
Education
Doctoral or professional degree
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Participate in campus and community events.
2
Supervise students' laboratory and field work.
3
Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
4
Act as advisers to student organizations.
5
Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
6
Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
7
Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
