Meteorological Technician
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Meteorological Technician occupation series (code 1341).
The verdict
In the Physical Sciences Group family, Meteorological Technician counts 328 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined from the prior period; pay averages $105,487, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -1.8%
- Pay change
- +1.8%
- Avg tenure
- 17.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #15 of 25
What the Numbers Say About Meteorological Technician
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. As for pay, the latest move was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.
The Physical Sciences Group family (code 13) groups Meteorological Technician together with 24 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Meteorological Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. Meteorological Technician makes up 1.2% of the Physical Sciences Group family's 26,960 combined employees.
Salary Context
How Meteorological Technician pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$105,487
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-10.1%
Where Meteorological Technician ranks on federal pay
Meteorological Technician earns more on average than 57% of federal occupation series (310 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Meteorological Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Meteorological Technician.
Related Occupations in Physical Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Physical Science | 8,297 | $145,078 | 14.6 yrs |
| Chemistry | 4,440 | $149,099 | 14.9 yrs |
| Meteorology | 2,494 | $123,942 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physics | 2,009 | $174,005 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physical Science Technician | 1,577 | $78,820 | 13.3 yrs |
| Hydrology | 1,524 | $116,486 | 17.1 yrs |
| Hydrologic Technician | 1,356 | $76,077 | 12.9 yrs |
| Geology | 1,240 | $124,746 | 14 yrs |
| Health Physics | 746 | $146,649 | 16.4 yrs |
| Cartography | 487 | $120,890 | 16.3 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Meteorological Technician outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (328 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($105,487 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Meteorological Technician pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Physical Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Meteorological Technician postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.