Job Opportunities

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Lecture 13 (12/2)

• Job Opportunities
• for Meteorologists

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What Can I Do With A Degree?

• Four main classifications of career
  opportunities
• Applied meteorology (non-media)
• Non-university Research
• University Teaching and Research
• Media Weathercasting

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Applied Meteorology

• Most common career for meteorologists
• Weather forecasting most common and well known
• Forecasting opportunities exist in public,
  military, private sector (industrial and
  commercial), and aviation
• Not typically a 9 to 5 job (shiftwork is required)

4
Public forecasting

• NWS-issue watches, warnings, zone forecasts, etc.
• Good benefits (working for the government)
• Training programs
• Potential for advancement if youre good (and
  especially if you get a masters degree)

5
Military Forecasting

• All army and air force support is provided by
  meteorologists in the air force
• If you might be interested in this, talk to a
  recruiter (you can enter as an officer with your
  degree or they will pay for your education).
• Mostly forecast for aviation, but also for army
  ops, special ops, top secret stuff
• May involve time away from family and getting
  assignments rather than deciding your own future
• Often sent to grad school for a masters

6
Private Sector Forecasting

• These places offer detailed, special forecasts to
  many different types of users
• Users may include utility companies, farmers and
  ranchers, ocean shipping firms and port
  operators, and highway depts.
• Usually work for smaller company (usually some
  shiftwork required but not always)

7
Aviation Forecasting

• Larger airlines (passenger and cargo) have their
  own meteorology departments.
• But a lot of aviation forecasting is done by the
  NWS and commercial weather firms.
• Services provided may include terminal and en
  route forecasts, automated computer-generated
  flight plans, etc.

8
Consulting

• You can throw about anything under this category.
• Almost any type of meteorological service
  provided to a client.
• Can deal with specialized environmental services
  (especially air quality)
• Development of meteorological software and
  weather information systems
• Forensic meteorology (application of
  meteorological expertise to legal matters and
  police investigations)

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Air Quality Meteorology

• Booming business and can mean good
• Broad range of technical areas including
  environmental assessments and permitting,
  dispersion modeling (pollutant concentrations),
  risk assessments, measuring air pollutant
  concentrations and meteorological parameters, and
  specialized studies such as photochemical
  modeling, acid rain, and global warming.
• Work with polluters to help them follow the
  federal and state laws.
• Involves chemistry too

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Forensic Meteorology

• Addresses application of meteorological expertise
  to legal matters and police investigations
• May range from people slipping on ice and
  breaking bones--to robberies or massive car pile
  ups
• Lots of other neat stuff possible

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Other Applied Metrology Jobs

• Marketing and sales a companies revenue may
  depend a lot on the weather (need to know about
  more than just the weather)
• Energy companies weather derivative trading
  (involves economics too)
• Derivative insurance against something
  happening like low snow fall in a year at a ski
  slope, warmer than normal winter for energy
  companies, or a hard freeze that destroys crops.

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A Couple More

• Atmospheric measurements and instrumentation
• Deals with developing better weather instruments,
  manufacturing them, and monitoring them.
• Software and Information Systems Develop
  maintain metrological software, work with
  modeling, networks, etc.

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Non-university Research

• Usually requires at least a masters degree
• No teaching
• Divided between applied research and basic
  research
• Applied research deals with weather and climate
  observation, analysis, and forecasting.
• Research you can apply to everyday activities and
  operations.
• Ex forecast techniques,forecast verification
  methods, case studies

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Basic Research

• Addresses more fundamental atmospheric processes
• Ex formation of clouds and precipitation,
  air-sea interactions, radiation budgets, aerosol
  transport, thermodynamics, and global general
  circulation.
• Basic research often support advances in
  numerical weather prediction models.
• Still a flood of unanswered questions effects of
  Global warming, what makes a thunderstorm
  tornado, etc.

15
University Teaching and Research

• Requires a Ph.D
• Hold faculty position at university or college
• Professors usually do research supported by
  government or foundation grants
• Most of the research is basic research
• Meteorology is seldom, if ever, taught as a
  stand-alone subject at the elementary and
  secondary school levels. Usually integrated into
  physical science
• If you want to teach below the university level,
  need to be a a physics, earth, or general science
  teacher

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Media Weather Casting

• Broadcast meteorology
• Weather casting for television, radio, and
  newspapers
• Highest profile of all careers in meteorology
• Ranges from celebrity-type positions at major
  networks and cable channels to part-time,
  relatively obscure jobs at small-market stations.
  
• Generally starts small, but can improve rapidly

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More on Broadcast Metr

• A lot of "behind-the-scenes" effort put forth by
  private meteorological firms (graphics software,
  other special tools)
• A strong theoretical background in meteorology is
  a necessity, forecast experience is highly
  useful, and computer competence is helpful.
• Strong communication skills are essential, in
  terms of both oral and written communication.
• Can also be a radio broadcast metr (thru phone
  lines you can get studio quality sound)

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Final note on Broadcast Metr

• Tough business can succeed fantastically or
  lose your shirt
• Youre famous good and bad
• Cant get drunk at the local bar
• Often go to elementary schools and give talks to
  the kiddos
• Salary range 17K to 1 million
• You should be able to get a job if you want

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So How Much Ya Gonna Pay Me?

• Starting salaries range from low 20s to high
  20s (higher with masters or PhD)
• NWS advance faster, mid 30s after a year or
  two
• Within 5 to 7 years 40K-70K
• Many jobs top out in 70-100K range

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More on the Money

• Professors make between mid 40s (assistant) and
  mid 80s (full)
• A masters or Ph.D. increases your earnings
  potential
• Always try to make your credentials better (AMS
  Seal of Approval, Certified Consulting
  Meteorologist (CCM), etc.)

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Web sites for job-seekers(bookmark these puppies
on your home computer)

• Nonbroadcast links
• http//www.ametsoc.org/AMS
• http//www.nwas.org/jobs.html
• http//www.earthworks-jobs.com/clim.htm or
  http//www.earthworks-jobs.com
• http//mrd3.nssl.ucar.edu/dob/www/jobs.html
• http//www.noaa.gov/jobs.html
• http//www.met.psu.edu/Jobs/jobs/index.html
• http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/a9noaa.htm or
  http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/
• http//unr.edu/homepage/daved/jobs.htmlmet
  (links to many companies)
• http//libwww.syr.edu/research/internet/earth/jobs
  .htmlJob
• http//groups.yahoo.com/group/Met-Jobs/
• http//www.ujobbank.com/
• http//libwww.syr.edu/research/internet/earth/jobs
  .html
• Broadcast links (you have to pay to post a
  resume/tape)
• http//www.medialine.com/ or http//tvjobs.com/
• If you wanna go to grad schoolhttp//www.ametsoc.o
  rg/AMS/curricula/index.html

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For next time

• Read last chapter (The Future of Earth)
• Burn your book ?