Prevailing Wage for Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
Prevailing wage requirements for an Assistant Professor role under SOC 25-1051 are set by DOL across four experience levels, from Entry through Fully Competent. Whether the position is filed as an Associate Professor, Geology Professor, or Astronomy Professor, the wage floor shifts significantly depending on the hiring city.
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Level 1 covers entry-level Assistant Professor positions, typically recent doctoral graduates with limited independent research or teaching experience. The role involves routine duties under close faculty or departmental supervision, with a narrowly defined scope of instructional responsibility.
Level 2 is the most common filing level for this occupation. It applies to Assistant Professors with some independent teaching experience, an emerging research record, and moderate autonomy in course design and student advising, but who have not yet achieved tenure-track seniority.
Level 3 applies to experienced Associate Professors or senior instructors who manage complex research programs, supervise graduate students, and contribute substantially to departmental curriculum development. These professionals typically hold significant independent judgment and institutional standing.
Level 4 reflects fully competent, senior faculty, often tenured Full Professors with national or international recognition, leadership over research groups, and broad institutional responsibilities including program direction, external grant management, and doctoral mentorship.
Prevailing Wage for Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Assistant Professor and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Confirm your worksite city before accepting an offer
For postsecondary science faculty, the LCA must list the actual campus or research station address. A geology professor based at a field research campus in a lower-wage metro will be benchmarked against that metro's floor, not the university system's flagship location.
Watch how startup-up grants and stipends are categorized
University offers for earth or atmospheric science faculty often include research startup funds and lab stipends. These are not wages and do not count toward prevailing wage compliance. Your base salary alone must meet the DOL floor for your level and worksite.
Understand why New Haven outpays Jacksonville by a wide margin
DOL uses regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys to set metro-specific floors. For SOC 25-1051, the gap between top and bottom metros is substantial. Accepting an offer in a lower-paying market without checking the local floor can leave sponsored faculty underpaid relative to compliance requirements.
Find sponsors with a history of filing for science faculty
Migrate Mate filters by visa type and shows which universities and research institutions have previously sponsored roles in this occupational group. Seeing actual sponsorship counts by employer helps you target schools that already have H-1B or green card filing infrastructure for this faculty category.
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Find Jobs for Assistant ProfessorPrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-1051.00 alongside Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Associate Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Astronomy Professor Prevailing Wage
Astronomy Professor Prevailing Wage
Astronomy Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Atmospheric Sciences Professor Prevailing Wage
Atmospheric Sciences Professor Prevailing Wage
Atmospheric Sciences Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Geology Professor Prevailing Wage
Geology Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Geology Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Meteorology Professor Prevailing Wage
Meteorology Professor Prevailing Wage
Meteorology Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Oceanography Professor Prevailing Wage
Oceanography Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Oceanography Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Research Professor Prevailing Wage
Research Professor Prevailing Wage
Research Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1051.00 (Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for an Assistant Professor position?
DOL uses Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to establish wage floors for each SOC code by metro area. For SOC 25-1051, OFLC assigns one of four wage levels based on the position's experience requirements, supervisory scope, and complexity. The employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the applicable level and worksite location on the certified LCA.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to me?
DOL assigns Level 1 to entry-level roles with limited experience and close supervision, Level 2 to qualified professionals with some independent responsibility, Level 3 to experienced practitioners with significant autonomy, and Level 4 to fully competent senior roles. For an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor position, the level should reflect the actual duties, supervision received, and experience required in the job description, not simply the academic rank title.
Why does the same Associate Professor role pay so differently from city to city?
OFLC derives prevailing wages from regional OES surveys, so wages reflect local labor market conditions rather than a single national standard. The certified LCA must list the actual worksite location, and the wage floor on that LCA corresponds to that specific metro area. Universities in high-cost research markets like New Haven or Los Angeles draw on higher regional wage data than institutions in lower-cost metros, producing the wide variation you see across areas for SOC 25-1051.
What happens if a sponsored faculty offer falls below the prevailing wage?
USCIS will not approve an H-1B petition if the accompanying LCA shows a wage below the DOL prevailing wage floor for the stated level and worksite. If the offer is below that floor, the employer must either increase the offered salary or reclassify the position at a lower wage level that the duties genuinely support. Employers who underpay after approval face back-wage liability and OFLC debarment, so the compliance obligation does not end at petition approval.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location for this role?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 25-1051 for any covered metro area. Enter the occupation code and select the geographic area corresponding to the campus or worksite city listed on the job offer. The results display all four wage levels for that location. You can also cross-reference with O*NET for occupational details. Migrate Mate lists employers with documented H-1B sponsorship history for postsecondary science faculty, helping you identify institutions already familiar with LCA filing requirements for this occupation.
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