The five primary employers of forecasters and meteorologists are NOAA, the military, TV/ radio stations, education, and consulting meteorology businesses. The success of a forecaster in finding employment is primarily dependent upon educational background, experience and professional accomplishments. The advantages and disadvantages for each of these fields are given below. The advantages and disadvantages are most relevant to students beginning full-time employment for the first time in meteorology and that have a strong meteorological education. See link below for who is a meteorologist. http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/229/ For a listing of many schools with meteorology or atmospheric science programs visit: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/wxschools/ NOAA (National Weather Service) ADVANTAGES to gaining NWS employment DISADVANTAGES to gaining NWS employment THE MILITARY ADVANTAGES to gaining military employment DISADVANTAGES to gaining military employment TV/RADIO STATIONS ADVANTAGES to gaining TV/RADIO employment DISADVANTAGES to gaining TV/RADIO employment EDUCATION ADVANTAGES to gaining education employment DISADVANTAGES to gaining education employment CONSULTING METEOROLOGY BUSINESSES ADVANTAGES to gaining consulting employment DISADVANTAGES to gaining consulting employment ANALYSIS OF EACH OF THE FIVE MAIN FIELDS EMPLOYING METEROLOGISTS Let's look at each of these employers in more detail starting with the National Weather Service. In past decades, most students with meteorology degrees gained the first employment through the NWS. This has not been the case since 1995 due to government downsizing and budget cuts. Jobs with the NWS are currently very competitive. High GPA's (3.0 or greater), a Master's degree, and experience add greatly to gaining employment. Working for the NWS has numerous benefits. The first of these is salary. Yearly pay raises are guaranteed and the medical and retirement benefits are good. The approximate pay structure per year follows below:
*Note: A 1st year employee may start out higher than a GS 5. Journeyman and lead forecaster GS rating depends on the region of the country one is working. Once employed by the NWS a structure is in place to increase forecasting skill. Some responsibilities during the intern year include balloon launches, forecast observation, observation exams, forecast research and data collection. Although forecast responsibilities are limited the first year, education through forecast modules and observer exams along with on the job training gradually increases forecast knowledge. Like almost every other job in forecasting; shift work, holiday work, and weekend work is required and shifts change throughout the year. The government compensates for this shift work and holiday work by adding holiday pay and Sunday pay to the base salary. The NWS has about 55 offices nationwide and a few abroad. For specific information on the NWS and their operations, visit their website at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov For job openings in NOAA (including Meteorologist positions) visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/ The military has the most benefits out of the five employers mentioned if you have a college degree in a field deemed advantageous to the military. These benefits occur before employment and after. Numerous colleges have ROTC programs that recruit meteorology students. These programs will often pay for books, tuition, plus add a couple hundred dollars of spending money per semester. Starting salaries are above $25,000 per year and increase year to year. The primary employer of military meteorologists is the Air Force and Navy. Aviation weather relies deeply on accurate weather forecasts. For more information on military jobs visit the following websites: http://www.navyjobs.com/ http://www.airforce.com/ Employment can be attained after graduation without the benefit of ROTC but the adjustment into military life is often more difficult. Officer Candidate School is required for these graduates. If the adjustment into military life is successful, the military is a premier employer to forecast for. Military retirement plans are unbeatable. TV and radio stations employ over 2,000 meteorologists and weathercasters nationwide. A meteorologist as defined by the AMS is a person who has a meteorology degree. A person is also a meteorologist as defined by the AMS if they have completed sufficient coursework in meteorology and have at least three years of full-time meteorology experience. Pay in TV/Radio is highly dependent on experience and public acceptance. The salaries between beginners and experienced broadcasters varies dramatically, from less than $20,000 per year to well over $100,000. Although an education in meteorology is not required in small markets to gain employment, this training will be needed in the future for SEALS and employment prospects for larger markets. Training in meteorology will be needed for those who want to advance in salary and market size. For TV job information visit the following websites: http://www.tvjobs.com/jbcenter.htm http://www.medialine.com/ A great resume tape is important to gaining employment and seals. Resume tape advice is given at the following link: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/tapeevaluation/ Disadvantages in broadcasting are more important to those with less experience. Once a broadcaster has become established in a market, salary and job security both increase. One disadvantage that remains constant is the work schedule. Family life must be able to work around early morning, late evening, or weekend shifts. Some meteorologists turn to the education field. These jobs range from college professors to high school and middle school teachers. Salaries are variable. Benefits include plenty of vacation time, research opportunities, and little shift work. Disadvantages include the challenge of disciplining kids in high or middle school and no actual forecast duties. Lastly we have the consulting field. Forecast duties usually begin very shortly after employment. Those with forecasting experience have a much smoother adjustment into the consulting lifestyle. The workload can be very demanding, especially when "active" weather is occurring across the country. Deadlines must be met in order to keep the trust of the company's clients. These deadlines can create large forecasting workloads on some days. Forecasting must be fast and efficient with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Consulting meteorology jobs can be described as "deadline driven". The primary disadvantage of the consulting field is pay and slow advancement. Unlike the military and NWS, which have yearly guaranteed pay raises, the consulting field looks to individual accomplishments for pay advancements. Those employees that do not move into management, do not have a wealth of experience, or have average to below average forecast credentials receive only small pay raises per year. A forecaster with no previous full-time meteorology employment can expect a starting salary of between $25,000 and $30,000. Salaries will be higher in management and senior level positions. The following is a list of two large employers of consulting meteorologists. For a list of most U.S. consulting companies and meteorologistis, visit the following web site: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/im/metdir.htm For job listings on NWA website, visit: http://www.nwas.org/jobs.php For the AMS online meteorology employment listing, visit the following website: http://careercenter.ametsoc.org/c/search_results.cfm?site_id=421 FAQ's Answered Many of the questions I get through the website deal with meteorology jobs, advancement in the field of meteorology and advice for education. In the rest of this essay I will cover many of the different situations I have been asked about as they relate to these issues. If you are a student that has not finished high school and are interesting in a career in the meteorology then it is important to take as many math courses as you can, physics, chemistry, and computer science. Most students, that want to go into meteorology, that end up not going into meteorology is the result from being weak in math. A great math education is very critical. If you are a student that will be finishing high school or a person of military age and you can not get into a meteorology program in college or are not able to go to college yet, but you still want to go into meteorology, then a top option is to go into the Air Force. In the Air Force you can get meteorology training and get hands-on experience in weather observing and forecasting. The Air Force experience and benefits will allow you to continue your education in a meteorology college program while in the Air Force or once your Air Force career ends. Most students become meteorologist by going through a college meteorology program. A meteorology or atmospheric science degree will usually be calculus based thus the importance of having a solid math background. The link below has a list with links to many of the meteorology programs that are in the United States. When in college it is important to get an internship such as at a TV station, meteorology employer, or National Weather Service. This makes it much easier to get a full-time meteorology job once you graduate. http://www.theweatherprediction.com/wxschools/ Many of the questions I get through the website are from those that are already in the field of meteorology but want to advance. These questions most commonly come from those in the military or in broadcast meteorology. Since the military and broadcast meteorology do not require a calculus based meteorology degree, those in the military and broadcast meteorology often need further education to advance within the military, broadcast meteorology, or to move on to jobs that do require the calculus based meteorology education. Suppose you are working in the field of meteorology in the military or broadcast meteorology and want the calculus based meteorology education. You probably want this in order to get the AMS CBM, a higher paying job, or to move into a different field of meteorology that requires this level of education. One option is to get a meteorology degree. For many this is not an option since it would mean leaving a job. Mississippi State University has a distance learning broadcast and operational meteorology program that hundreds of students have completed. Since the MSU distance learning program is not calculus based, I often get questions from current and former students that have completed this program about how they can get employment with the NWS or get the AMS CBM. The AMS CBM is a certification in broadcast meteorology offered by the American Meteorology Society that requires completion of calculus based meteorology education. In addition to an on-campus meteorology degree program, Mississippi State University offers a 17 course online program that leads to a certificate in broadcast meteorology (BMP) or operational meteorology (OMP). These courses include Intro. to Meteorology, Physical Geography, World Geography, Climatology, Natural Hazards, Stats, Synoptic Meteorology, Applied Climatology, Satellite Meteorology, Radar Meteorology, Water Resources, Physical Meteorology, Thermodynamic Meteorology, Weather Prediction 1, Weather Prediction 2, Oceanography, and Severe Weather. This online program is a certificate program that can lead to a degree in Geoscience by adding the other university requirements to the program. Think of these 17 courses as the courses in a "major". The link below has all the courses needed to complete the MSU Geosciences degree. For students that already have a college degree or college credits from another school, those credits that are the same as MSU can be transferred. http://www.distance.msstate.edu/geosciences/BMP/degree.html Now suppose a MSU student that has completed the BMP or OMP and has also obtained the Geoscience degree wants to become eligible for federal meteorology employment such as the National Weather Service or wants to apply for the AMS CBM. This will require taking more courses. Mississippi State Geoscience graduates can become eligible for federal employment by integrating into and/or supplementing the MSU Geoscience degree requirements with differential calculus, integral calculus, differential equations, 2 calculus based physics courses, and 2 courses in atmospheric dynamics. The two dynamics courses are offered through Mississippi State distance learning. Students can take the calculus sequence and physics courses at a local college. The link below has the basic educational requirements in order to be classified as a meteorologist by the federal government: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/meteorology-series-1340/ The AMS CBM may have additional requirements. Refer to link below: https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/education-careers/ams-professional-certification-programs/certified-broadcast-meteorologist-program-cbm/application-process/ Another option is to enroll in a meteorology graduate school. This will usually require the calculus and physics courses above to even be eligible for enrollment. A benefit of a graduate degree is that it will make you eligible to teach at a college or university. For example, a broadcast meteorologist with a Masters degree can supplement their income by teaching college courses. A common question I get is which people working in the field of meteorology are classified as meteorologists and which are not. The clear cut case is a person with a calculus based meteorology degree. That person is a meteorologist from day one of working in the field of meteorology. The other clear cut case is those without completion of a meteorology education from an accredited college meteorology program or without military meteorology training. The gray area that has been around for decades are those working in broadcast meteorology and those that worked as military meteorologists but are now no longer in the military. For weather broadcasters to be classified as a meteorologist, a common standard is to either have the calculus based meteorology degree or to have completed a non-calculus meteorology program, have a SEAL of approval (AMS or NWA) and have 3 years full-time working experience (or equivalent) working in a weather job that requires that you make your own forecasts. There are many broadcast meteorologists that have completed the MSU BMP that are in this later situation. Even though a weather broadcaster can have a meteorologist title, they will still not be able to work as a federal meteorologist without the calculus courses and other courses given a couple of paragraphs above. Those coming out of the military are also in a gray area. They may have significant weather analysis and forecasting experience but may not have the calculus based meteorology education. Many consulting meteorology companies (private sector meteorology employers) will hire these forecasters due to their experience. Most federal meteorology positions will not be available though to those coming out of the military without the calculus based meteorology education unless the government has some sort of experience equivalent for the specific meteorology position. Another question I get is how to improve meteorology and weather forecasting education without going back to school. Below are some resources I recommend: 1. Read books at the following link: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/books/ 2. Have observation sessions with a meteorologist while they are at work, such as getting an Internship. Learn about the tools they use to make weather forecasts. 3. Learn to interpret and forecast using the forecast models and MOS. See the following links: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/models/ 4. Become a weather observer and have all the equipment to observe the weather such as high/low temperature, air pressure, precipitation measurement and weather (cloud types, precipitation characteristics, etc.). Keep a weather journal. 5. Read all the data supplied by the National Weather Service each day, especially the Area Forecast Discussion. Look over weather data supplied over the Internet such as at the following link: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/maproom/ Click below for ultimate weather education website homepage: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/ |