Meteorology & College

[NorthArlington101]

Hi,

As some of you might know, I'm fairly young compared to many of you. I'll be going into my senior year of high school this year, which means college is directly on my mind. I've written some of my essays, seen a couple colleges, the usual fun. My main CommonApp essay is even about a snowstorm approaching and what I'll be doing, so naturally I gave a shout-out or two to you guys here at the forum. 

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to study. There is a part of me that wonders if I'll regret not focusing on something like meteorology/atmospheric science, since I've had a genuine interest in it for years. On the other hand, I'm somewhat satisfied with it being a hobby. I'm learning here and feel I've grown into someone who can almost  contribute useful things. I guess my question to any of you is

1. Did you take any classes related towards a career in the field
2. Do you regret taking/not taking those classes?

I understand that any decision would fully be my own, I just am curious at how others feel about their own choices, as I see myself on this board for years in the future, wherever I end up (though my college choices are mostly in VA/PA/MD, so you might have to deal with me for awhile). 

 

Thanks for reading!

[BTRWx]

11 hours ago, NorthArlington101 said:

Hi,

As some of you might know, I'm fairly young compared to many of you. I'll be going into my senior year of high school this year, which means college is directly on my mind. I've written some of my essays, seen a couple colleges, the usual fun. My main CommonApp essay is even about a snowstorm approaching and what I'll be doing, so naturally I gave a shout-out or two to you guys here at the forum. 

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to study. There is a part of me that wonders if I'll regret not focusing on something like meteorology/atmospheric science, since I've had a genuine interest in it for years. On the other hand, I'm somewhat satisfied with it being a hobby. I'm learning here and feel I've grown into someone who can almost  contribute useful things. I guess my question to any of you is

1. Did you take any classes related towards a career in the field
2. Do you regret taking/not taking those classes?

I understand that any decision would fully be my own, I just am curious at how others feel about their own choices, as I see myself on this board for years in the future, wherever I end up (though my college choices are mostly in VA/PA/MD, so you might have to deal with me for awhile). 

 

Thanks for reading!

I studied atmospheric science at Mason to stay local.  I don't recommend it to anyone unless your options are too limited.  The science classes I took there overall were good, but I felt there were too many different departments involved in the one specialized major.  What made things unusually challenging for me overall was very few other students were involved in that brand new program.  It made class enrollment difficult and almost never guaranteed.  Many students in my met classes there had no background beyond an interest in wanting to learn simple average Joe weather science.  I did still enjoy many of those classes and remember one particular professor that repeatedly reinforced how, when you look at the big picture, one of the best ways to understand how the atmosphere works...*energy transfer*! 

The one class I wanted to focus more in that seems more and more marketable now in the field is GIS!  That and programming languages are the subject areas beginning students might not realize the importance of for meteorology.  I'm kind of still in your situation as far as keeping this as a hobby versus a career, but it does seem to me like openings in the field have improved slightly since I earned my degree a few years ago.

I don't regret my decisions.  I'm thankful that such a local school even offered a met-equivalent degree, despite learning curves.

[high risk]

I have an undergraduate degree in economics, as I didn't realize that I wanted to go into meteorology until late in my undergrad career (thought it would be a hobby).    Honestly, unless you want to be a forecaster, you need an advanced degree to have a career in atmospheric science.     And getting into grad school for atmos sci doesn't require an undergrad degree in atmos sci/meteorology.    Grad school and this field are loaded with math and physics people who didn't know what to do with their undergrad degrees.    If you have a strong math, physics, and computing background (critical writing helps too) as an undergrad and do well on your GREs, you can get into atmos sci grad schools.     So since you're not sure right now, go to a school where you can take some meteorology courses but still get a well-rounded education with plenty of math, physics, and computing.     That was my route, although to have full disclosure, I did load up on meteorology courses my senior year.     I had lots of grad school offers and then was fortunate enough to get an awesome job in the field.

[MN Transplant]

Meteorology/Atmospheric Science is a fairly popular early science major for the same reason that we are all here - the weather is interesting.  That said, the math/physics aspects of the field are intense, and tend to whittle out a majority of early students.  If you have the interest/aptitude in those areas, it would make going into the field a lot easier.  And high risk its right, the computing background is huge now and will be for the foreseeable future. 

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

I majored in environmental science with a concentration in atmospheric science.  I took synoptic climatology, hydroclimatology, and atmospheric dynamics.  To be honest these were some of the most interesting classes I took.  In atmospheric dynamics I finally got to put all that differential calculus and physics to use!  In the end I ended up being a physics teacher, which I really like and I think suits me better (and surprisingly enough pays much better) than being a meteorologist or something in that field. 

[brooklynwx99]

I actually just started my education at Penn State towards a degree in atmospheric science. The weather has always been a hobby for me, and I've learned a lot by myself and through this forum (and similar weather forums). My attitude was that it would be awesome to formally learn about something that has always fascinated me, and you might feel the same way. If you do, then try giving it a shot. I know that math and physics are going to be challenging, so if you're good at those subjects and enjoy them you should also enjoy learning about the weather in college. Just my two cents.

[yoda]

I'm taking Synoptic Met I this fall online at Mississippi State... so far so good, but its reminding me of calculus which I would rather forget lol

[BTRWx]

4 hours ago, yoda said:

I'm taking Synoptic Met I this fall online at Mississippi State... so far so good, but its reminding me of calculus which I would rather forget lol

Let us know how that goes!  I've heard so many conflicting viewpoints about their online meteorology programs in particular.  Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

[gymengineer]

I wanted to be a broadcast meteorologist all the way through the end of high school. My parents funded my undergrad and basically told me I was going to MIT even though I didn't want to go there (complicated cultural thing but not for this thread, lol). The optimistic side of me was assuming, well, at least there would be some sort of meteorology program there since it's a science/math/tech-heavy school. But, there wasn't. The Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science major had a meteorology component, but you couldn't major in it. I would have had to commute to UMass Lowell to finish out a meteorology degree. Also, it was a tiny major, so the classes were tiny and I preferred to be more anonymous. 

I decided instead to major in Material Science and Engineering, for no real reason (a few of my friends chose it for no real reason either; we just had to pick something and didn't like the other majors). At the same time, I decided to go to education grad school afterward to become a high school physics teacher. I never took a class in the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science department because there wasn't room in my schedule (I was minoring in Literature). 

I did, however, seek to complete a senior thesis on a topic related to weather, and got to do so by working under hurricane guru Kerry Emanuel. Back in that decade, he was testing different ways of possibly weakening a hurricane before landfall, and I worked to rule out one method which was a Material Science application (spreading a monolayer evaporation retardant on the ocean water ahead in the path of the eye). He dropped that idea based on my research. 

I don't regret missing out on classes in EAPS, because in the end I got to have that great experience of discussing hurricane physics in detail with Emanuel over a semester. And, like you, I love this as a hobby and am fine keeping it as such. Deciding to teach high school science was definitely the right career choice for me. 

[87storms]

when it comes to undergrad i feel pretty strongly that you should major in something you're passionate about.  4 years is a long time to study something you don't enjoy.  i thought about doing met, but maryland didn't offer it in undergrad, so i ended up doing math.  i'm actually kinda glad i did because i don't know what other majors i would have wanted to study for 4 years.  i did hit a wall, though.  the upper level classes can be brutal.  anyway, you don't want to look back in 50 years and ask yourself why you didn't major in something you were interested in, or didn't at least give it a shot.  i also think good things can come out of pursuing your interests.  you don't need to worry about your career right now.  just go with the flow.

[Stormpc]

All responses are great and expresses many different mindsets and recounts the experience of many on this board. I majored in meteorology at SUNY Oswego in the late 80s. I was passionate, excited and had great expectations UNTIL the 3rd or 4th semester when the reality of 'holy crap, this advanced math/science is killing me'...so I got out and finished with a communications degree with several credits of atmospheric science math and chemistry that I never needed. I forgot pretty much everything I learned but that was because I was not focused on the work. Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I would have buckled down and stuck it out but I was having way too much fun. I am not sure who is still there now, but Dr's Stamm and Balentine were knowledgeable,  however, their lectures were tough to get thru when the only thing on your mind is drunk debauchery.  I do regret my actions from those days. I wish you good luck. 

[87storms]

12 hours ago, Stormpc said:

All responses are great and expresses many different mindsets and recounts the experience of many on this board. I majored in meteorology at SUNY Oswego in the late 80s. I was passionate, excited and had great expectations UNTIL the 3rd or 4th semester when the reality of 'holy crap, this advanced math/science is killing me'...so I got out and finished with a communications degree with several credits of atmospheric science math and chemistry that I never needed. I forgot pretty much everything I learned but that was because I was not focused on the work. Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I would have buckled down and stuck it out but I was having way too much fun. I am not sure who is still there now, but Dr's Stamm and Balentine were knowledgeable,  however, their lectures were tough to get thru when the only thing on your mind is drunk debauchery.  I do regret my actions from those days. I wish you good luck. 

 

one of the reasons i mentioned it's good to follow your interests in college is because you won't have to look back and wonder "what if".  sounds like you hit a similar wall as me.  upper level math is no joke.  i don't even know how i got by but i definitely didn't get good grades my last semester.  another thing with math/physics is you gotta stay on top of it all semester.  you can't cram like you can with some subjects.

on the flip side, if you don't think you'd ever want to forecast boring weather than meteorology might not be the best career path because that's normally how it is.  eventful weather is uncommon and storm chasing is more of a hobby for most people than a full-time job.  it's about demand.  let's face it, every company needs a network guy because of the onsite issues that can crop up, but you could conceivably have one system forecasting the weather for everyone in the world.  i'm generalizing big time, but i think the point is clear.

my advice would be to take classes you're interested in, then choose a major, and if you hit a wall, you can make the switch knowing you at least tried.  i'm in IT now and don't use my degree at all, but it's nice to have in case i decided to go back for grad school.  my only wish is that md offered an undergrad met degree at the time, so i could test out the classes beyond just intro to met, but it is what it is.  if someone has an interest in met at a school that offers it as a major, then my suggestion is to take the classes offered and re-evaluate as you go.  worst case is that you can look back and say you tried.  best case is you work in a career you love.  the middle ground is that it leads you to something else you enjoy.

[NorthArlington101]

Thanks for all the responses, in public and in private. Got a lot to think about this year, your opinions/advice really do help.

[isohume]

If you're contemplating a career in the NWS, I'd take additional communication and speech classes. The NWS future is focused on Decision Support Services (DSS), meaning more embedded face-to-face, GoTo meetings, and Skype. Less emphasis is put on science and more on meeting our customer's wants and needs. I feel this is all a justification for our existence and has a lot to do with "dumbed-down" hand-holding and spectacle, but that's where things are headed and not just in the NWS.

[87storms]

On 9/1/2017 at 11:20 AM, isohume said:

If you're contemplating a career in the NWS, I'd take additional communication and speech classes. The NWS future is focused on Decision Support Services (DSS), meaning more embedded face-to-face, GoTo meetings, and Skype. Less emphasis is put on science and more on meeting our customer's wants and needs. I feel this is all a justification for our existence and has a lot to do with "dumbed-down" hand-holding and spectacle, but that's where things are headed and not just in the NWS.

seems reasonable to go where the trends are, but i also think you have to be careful and logical about the future of those trends.  i'm not a met, so you have more experience than me, but i think the first thing people who are interested in meteorology should consider is a career in computing.  it's all about the models and interpretation.  i feel like communication and speech will come with experience unless someone is planning to be on air.

[isohume]

On 9/3/2017 at 7:41 PM, 87storms said:

seems reasonable to go where the trends are, but i also think you have to be careful and logical about the future of those trends.  i'm not a met, so you have more experience than me, but i think the first thing people who are interested in meteorology should consider is a career in computing.  it's all about the models and interpretation.  i feel like communication and speech will come with experience unless someone is planning to be on air.

True, computing skills are necessary, but computers will also take over forecasting in the not too distant future. Therefore, strong comm skills will be essential in order to inform folks what the computers are saying/doing.

[87storms]

On 9/5/2017 at 3:35 PM, isohume said:

True, computing skills are necessary, but computers will also take over forecasting in the not too distant future. Therefore, strong comm skills will be essential in order to inform folks what the computers are saying/doing.

i hear ya, i just always feel like soft skills can be learned on the job.  better to take the technical courses when you can, though i agree it can't hurt to have a couple courses mixed in that get you out of your comfort zone.  for example, most math/physics/engineering courses don't require any presentations which is a good thing to practice/experience before starting your career especially if you're the introverted type.