Reconsider majoring in meteorology!

[Tireman4]

On 12/28/2010 at 8:13 PM, Tireman4 said:

Wow. This sounds like my field. I am a year and a half from my PhD in history. We have been in a depressed state since the early 1990's. It will not get better for a long time. With universities cutting back, boy oh boy. If it were not for my Master of Library Science, man I would be in adjunct heck. I was seriously considering double majoring in history and meteorology in the mid 1980's, but math got the better of me. Just my two cents.

Wow, how almost 14 years goes by. I have my PhD in history and it is still the same ( depressed state). As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. LOL

[so_whats_happening]

On 11/11/2020 at 5:46 PM, Winter Wizard said:

I know this is an old thread (and unfortunately not a ton has changed over the past decade), but my two cents is if you're going to get a degree in Meteorology, it is important to supplement it with another marketable skill. Those include programming, GIS, business/finance, etc. depending on the path you choose. There is a lot of talk about how bad starting salaries are in this field and yes, there is a lot of truth to that, but you can do well if you look into the right places and are willing to expand your horizons.

If you want to go on TV, you are looking at salaries in the 20s or low 30s to start and will likely have to move to a small town in a different part of the country. There are opportunities to move up, but those jobs are highly competitive, so you will really have to hustle. Ultimately, due to low wages and station politics, many end up leaving this sector after a few years. If you end up in broadcast, I would recommend not getting fixated on market size; rather, focus on where you can get the most on-air experience. That will help you eventually move up.

The next main sector is operational forecasting and I'm bearish about long-term prospects here. Salaries are about the same or slightly higher than broadcast, but in many cases barely a livable wage and laughable for the work put in for the degree. You will be required to work overnights and weekends at most companies and this can take a major physical and mental toll. Not much upward mobility. NWS is a similar deal, however, the pay and benefits are much better and increase over time. To get in, you will likely need a couple years of experience in a private sector job or a Master's. Additionally, with automation becoming more and more prevalent, the demand for a large team of human forecasters is likely to decline, although there will still be a need. Overall, operational forecasting is a good way to get into the industry, but probably best to leave after a couple years.

What has changed in the past 10 years is the emergence of the Weather Risk sector. This is a program only offered at a few schools; Penn State pioneered the program and others have recently added it. Weather risk involves sectors including catastrophe modeling, travel risk management, energy and commodities, insurance, reinsurance, etc. In these sectors, the salaries are much higher (can easily pull six figures) and demand will continue to increase as businesses are forced to adapt to climate change. Overall, if you are planning on getting a degree in Meteorology, this is definitely the most fruitful path, BUT it is highly competitive. 

Long story short, I would say reconsider majoring in Meteorology if it forces you into tens of thousands of dollars into student debt and you end up in a sector with little-to-no upward mobility. The Math, Physics, Chem, Programming, Stats, and Business (in weather risk) classes you are required to take gives you a variety of skills that can easily be applied to other fields outside of Meteorology. If you do go through with the major, please consider the various sectors above and do what you can to network, get internships, and become involved in extracurricular activities in college so you can be a strong candidate once you graduate.

Sound advice and looking back after being out of school for nearly 9 years I can say I don't regret it one bit but it is tough out there trying to push into certain sectors. I would say don't be afraid to look outside the box so to speak as you may find something you never would have thought to be fruitful but has treated you well through the years.

The bold is by far the most important thing I would ever recommend to anyone pursuing the degree. About to start in a program for my masters and hope to be able to get the next leg up needed to push further into Meteorology.

Network, Network, Network!

[WinterSnow]

Yeah, I'm glad I didn't. Growing up I was always obsessed with the weather. My parents thought for sure I was a budding meteorologist. But I took a meteorology course in early college and just didn't find it to be my thing. It appears that what I am fascinated about with weather is not the deeper in-detail science of it. It's very strange to me that it didn't click. So I enjoy weather from a distance, so-to-speak.

Not that I went on to get a more marketable degree, so no such luck.