What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Physical Scientists, All Other in the U.S. earn more than $122,570 a year — the middle 80% land between $67,000 and $195,190. About 22,300 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Physical Scientists, All Other”. (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).
$122,570typical pay / year
22,300people in this work
$195,190+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.
Learning4
Set up or maintain remote sensing data systems
+Stand up the sensing archive node on the west cluster: allocate storage for the new LiDAR strip, register its…
Set up or maintain remote sensing data systems
+Stand up the sensing archive node on the west cluster: allocate storage for the new LiDAR strip, register its coordinate reference and sensor metadata, run the ingestion check and report any projection or checksum failures by Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workApache Hadoopjob descriptionsO*NET
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Organize and maintain geospatial data
+Reorganize the regional imagery catalog: harmonise filenames to the site-date-sensor convention, rebuild the…
Organize and maintain geospatial data
+Reorganize the regional imagery catalog: harmonise filenames to the site-date-sensor convention, rebuild the spatial index, verify footprint geometries for overlaps, and publish the updated catalog to the team by Thursday so analysts can pull consistent tiles.
The tools that do the workApache HiveApache Hadoopjob descriptionsO*NET
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Train technicians in remote sensing technology
+Run a half-day training for the field technicians on radiometric correction and sensor orientation: cover the…
Train technicians in remote sensing technology
+Run a half-day training for the field technicians on radiometric correction and sensor orientation: cover the checklist for pre-flight calibration, how to inspect IMU and GPS logs, and run the sample processing workflow once so they can reproduce it in the field next week.
The tools that do the workAtlassian JIRAjob descriptionsO*NET
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Collect supporting climatic or field survey data
+Coordinate a two-day field campaign to collect ground truth and microclimate logs: confirm the three survey…
Collect supporting climatic or field survey data
+Coordinate a two-day field campaign to collect ground truth and microclimate logs: confirm the three survey sites, assign technicians and sensors, attach the sensor calibration sheets, and ensure CSV templates for the field notes are uploaded before departure.
The tools that do the workAtlassian JIRAESCOjob descriptions
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Keeping the record1
Compile and format image data for usefulness
+Prepare a distribution of orthorectified mosaics and quick-look thumbnails: apply the agreed DEM correction,…
Compile and format image data for usefulness
+Prepare a distribution of orthorectified mosaics and quick-look thumbnails: apply the agreed DEM correction, clip to the study boundary, reproject to the project CRS, package with a processing README and deliver the dataset to the analysts by Friday.
The tools that do the workAmazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2Apache Hadoopjob descriptionsO*NET
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Convincing1
Discuss project goals, equipment, or methodologies
+Hold the project kickoff to set objectives and methods: present the proposed sensor suite, the target…
Discuss project goals, equipment, or methodologies
+Hold the project kickoff to set objectives and methods: present the proposed sensor suite, the target accuracy and deliverables, list out required flight hours and budget constraints, and record stakeholder decisions so we can finalise the sampling design next Monday.
The tools that do the workAtlassian JIRAjob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work14
Determine geographical points
+Determine precise latitude and longitude for the four flagged wreck sites using the survey stereo-pairs and…
Determine geographical points
+Determine precise latitude and longitude for the four flagged wreck sites using the survey stereo-pairs and the geodetic datum WGS84, report coordinates in decimal degrees with estimated vertical and horizontal uncertainties by Friday.
The tools that do the workApache HadoopESCO
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Execute analytical mathematical calculations
+Run the coordinate transformation and error-propagation calculations for the 2024 lidar strip using the…
Execute analytical mathematical calculations
+Run the coordinate transformation and error-propagation calculations for the 2024 lidar strip using the published sensor model and report RMS horizontal and vertical errors plus a covariance matrix by end of day Thursday.
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Study aerial photos
+Inspect the aerial photo stereo-mate set over Sector 7, annotate ground-control mismatches, measure parallax…
Study aerial photos
+Inspect the aerial photo stereo-mate set over Sector 7, annotate ground-control mismatches, measure parallax on three tie pairs, and deliver a one-page summary of visible landform changes and confidence levels to the mapping lead tomorrow morning.
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Keep task records
+Log today's field tasks and image processing steps for Project Delta: capture timestamp, operator, datasets…
Keep task records
+Log today's field tasks and image processing steps for Project Delta: capture timestamp, operator, datasets processed, algorithms run, and any anomalies, then attach the processed file list and push the record to the team tracker before leaving.
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Collect data using GPS
+Collect GPS fixes at the six benchmark pillars along Transect B between 0900 and 1300, record geoid-corrected…
Collect data using GPS
+Collect GPS fixes at the six benchmark pillars along Transect B between 0900 and 1300, record geoid-corrected elevations, note satellite geometry and PDOP for each fix, and upload the cleaned waypoint file to the project data store by 1600.
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Remote sensing techniques
+Apply the multispectral classification and ratio indices to the December flight lines, produce a…
Remote sensing techniques
+Apply the multispectral classification and ratio indices to the December flight lines, produce a vegetation-cover map with confidence bands, and provide the processing parameters and sample code used so the ecology team can reproduce results on Monday.
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Develop automated routines to correct for the presence of image distorting artifacts, such as ground vegetation.
+Write a set of automated routines that identify and remove vegetation-induced distortions from aerial…
Develop automated routines to correct for the presence of image distorting artifacts, such as ground vegetation.
+Write a set of automated routines that identify and remove vegetation-induced distortions from aerial imagery, describe the maths and geodetic assumptions, provide unit tests on sample flight lines, and produce corrected image tiles ready for mosaicking by Friday.
The tools that do the workApache HadoopO*NET
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Participate in fieldwork.
+Prepare a fieldwork plan for the week-long survey: list GPS control points, required oblique and nadir photo…
Participate in fieldwork.
+Prepare a fieldwork plan for the week-long survey: list GPS control points, required oblique and nadir photo sequences, sensor calibrations, safety contacts for the crew, and a data handoff checklist so incoming imagery is georeferenced within 48 hours of collection.
The tools that do the workAtlassian JIRAO*NET
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Develop new sensor systems or analytical techniques
+Design and document a prototype sensor or algorithm that improves ground-surface separation at 10–30 cm…
Develop new sensor systems or analytical techniques
+Design and document a prototype sensor or algorithm that improves ground-surface separation at 10–30 cm resolution, include performance metrics, lab calibration procedure, and a small simulation comparing current and proposed approaches on urban and vegetated scenes.
The tools that do the workAmazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2job descriptions
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Solve problems in urban planning
+Analyse recent high-resolution imagery to map impervious surfaces and building footprints, quantify land-use…
Solve problems in urban planning
+Analyse recent high-resolution imagery to map impervious surfaces and building footprints, quantify land-use change over the last five years, flag areas where photogrammetric errors could bias planning decisions, and supply uncertainty maps for planners.
The tools that do the workApache Hivejob descriptions
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Solve problems in homeland security
+Produce an operational workflow that detects anomalous movement and unattended vehicles from time-series…
Solve problems in homeland security
+Produce an operational workflow that detects anomalous movement and unattended vehicles from time-series airborne imagery, prioritises alerts by confidence, documents geodetic accuracy, and generates encrypted reports for the security operations centre within two hours of collection.
The tools that do the workApache Kafkajob descriptions
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Collect airborne data
+Plan and schedule an airborne data collection sortie: specify sensor mounts, flight lines with overlap and…
Collect airborne data
+Plan and schedule an airborne data collection sortie: specify sensor mounts, flight lines with overlap and altitude, calibration passes, telemetry requirements, and a post-flight ingest sequence so imagery is available to analysts within 12 hours.
The tools that do the workBashESCO
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Study radar images
+Compare the two radar passes over the flood plain, co-register them to the same map projection, run the…
Study radar images
+Compare the two radar passes over the flood plain, co-register them to the same map projection, run the backscatter difference and coherence calculations across the wetland, flag areas where backscatter drops more than 3 dB and export a georeferenced mask and a short methods note for Anna by Friday.
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Possess visual literacy
+Review the satellite scene thumbnails and the calibrated radar rasters, annotate examples of layover, shadow…
Possess visual literacy
+Review the satellite scene thumbnails and the calibrated radar rasters, annotate examples of layover, shadow and speckle, write a one‑page checklist of visual cues I use to tell floods from rough ice, and attach it to the team training folder before Monday.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses