Getting Into a Career in Meteorology Without a Degree?

[html.myself]

To start off, I am planning on going to school to receive a bachelors in Atmospheric Sciences. However, I want to make sure that I will be enjoying this career before I get knee deep into it and then realizing that I don't want to do this anymore. (Already been through this once, and I really don't want to have to pay my family back for college again.) Are there any jobs that I can start with that can get me a little experience into the field? All entry level jobs are looking for a master's or greater, and I haven't even gotten my associates.

[Winter Wizard]

I can tell you as someone you just graduated with a B.S. in Meteorology and just got a job that your last sentence couldn't be further from the truth. Your options with a Bachelor's are limited but there are plenty of companies in the private sector that hire people straight out of college. 

There are many different pathways you could go down if you want to pursue a Meteorology degree, but if you want to go the straight up forecasting route, you need to be aware that you will likely be working overnights, weekends and certain holidays. The pay also will likely be below your expectations. The work can also be pretty tedious at times. I would recommend going into straight up operational forecasting if that's your passion, but there are more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. Without disclosing too much information, I will be working in the private sector for a company that deals with weather risk management by combining my Meteo degree with a business minor. Going this route or supplementing with a programming background will open up many more doors aside from being just a forecaster.

So my advice going into college will be to see if you can handle the math and the physics because they are intense and weed out a lot of people. Get involved in extracurriculars in college and get at least one internship while you're in college. Along with supplementing a meteo degree with another skill, this will make you far more marketable without needing to go to grad school. Going to grad school is only necessary if you want to do research or work for the government. 

[MD90]

I'm curious about the fields of meteorology that a computer science graduate can work in. I went through the college of engineering at my university for my computer science degree. After taking a course in meteorology during my senior year during summer semester, I was hooked! I managed to get a 107% in the course from enjoying that extra credit assignments. I did take quite a bit of math (minus Differential Equations) and I took one physics course which covered kinematics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and some general relativity. I didn't take the next level of physics (E&M, Quantum, etc) and instead took the meteorology course. I was wondering what options do I have to work in meteorology as a computer science graduate and where can I start as far working towards any opportunities (if any exist)?