Meteorologist

Operational meteorologists are by far the largest segment of those who have studied meteorology. They predict the weather by researching wind velocity, air pressure, and ambient temperature. The information they collect is put through a set mathematical formula to predict both short and long-range forecasts. Their research comes from tools as diverse as weather radar, volunteers in the field, satellites and remote sensors.

You have probably heard your local TV station promote their Doppler radar, saying this radar helps make their forecasts more accurate. In some cases, this may be true. Doppler radar detects airflow, and helps to locate the most violent storms in the area. This can save lives since the Doppler radar will help to detect tornadoes and other storms that damage homes and put lives in danger.

Many industries rely heavily on operational meteorologists. The fishing industry needs accurate weather and current forecasts to determine where to go for the best fishing. Airlines need to know if there is a chance of weather delays. The shipping industry needs to know the location and speed of storms so they can avoid the most dangerous areas. Without operational meteorologists, the professionals in each of these industries would have a more difficult time doing their job.

Environmental meteorologists study fuel usage and it is affect on air and water pollution to determine how our food production and water availability will be affected. Because pollution is worse in some places than others, environmental meteorologists need to keep track of the air quality. At times, the summer heat combined with air pollution causes the air quality to go below what is considered a "healthy" threshold. When this is the case, many cities or towns issue alerts about the poor air quality.

Environmental meteorologists work on environmental impact reports and the effect of pollution on air quality. This requires researching how pollution behaves after it has been released into the atmosphere. With the research, these meteorologists should be able to predict the effects of different pollutants and how they are affected by humidity, heat, and wind. With the data on pollution behavior, environmental meteorologists are able to analyze how well a pollution control system is working.

Environmental meteorologists are also responsible for testing the emissions of different environmental pollutants such as automobiles, coal plants, and factories. The test results enable environmental meteorologists create an environmental impact report. The environmental impact report helps the environmental meteorologists to predict the effect of pollution on ozone depletion and global warming.

Unlike the other two types of meteorologists, climatologists take the long view on their research and analysis. Like environmental meteorologists, climatologists predict the effect of pollution on ozone depletion and global warming. They analyze the overall effect of global warming on the earth’s climate. Climatologists’ reports may determine that the earth’s average temperature has decreased over the last hundred years.

In the last few years, the news has reported that climatologists have found the earth’s temperature has increased over the last few years. With the way the reports have been phrased, many were under the impression that all climatologists agreed about global warming. Many climatology websites show that not all climatologists agree that the earth’s temperature has changed over the last few centuries. Some climatologists believe that the earth’s average temperature has stayed the same.

This disagreement shows that climatologists need to do more research into the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. Since climatologists each use a different basis for analysis, there is a possibility that they will not be able to come to an agreement on the possibility or probability of global warming. This only shows some climatologists fit their results to their personal theories.

There seems to be some debate on whether there will be an increase in the available jobs for meteorologists. When you search on the Internet for jobs for meteorologists, some websites state that the number of jobs for meteorologists will increase slower than the number of people graduating with degrees in meteorology. Other websites state that the need for meteorologists is increasing faster than these positions can be filled. When you are considering a career as a meteorologist, you may want to determine whether there will be any available jobs in your area when you graduate.

Because many people are concerned about global warming, there should be more job opportunities for environmental meteorologists. When the government passes tougher environmental requirements, environmental meteorologists will be needed for the additional pollution and air quality testing. Additional environmental impact studies will be required to verify whether these more stringent requirements are achieving the hoped for results.

Though occupational meteorologists work mostly on forecasting the weather, the global marketplace seems to indicate that more people will be relying on air travel, shipping and fishing for their livelihood. With a larger population, we need to grow more food. Farmers rely on weather forecasts both to know when they should plant and when they should harvest their crops. If more people are relying on the weather forecasts, then more people may be required to help with the forecasts. Additionally, with more people living in coastal areas, we need to keep better track of the storm systems that could cause loss of life.

Most meteorologists will need at least a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, or a bachelor’s degree in a related field with courses in meteorology. In most cases, you will need to be familiar with the type of equipment you will be using for your intended career. An environmental meteorologist will need to be familiar with how to operate air quality testing equipment. An occupational meteorologist will need to be familiar with Doppler radar and how it displays the air movement. Climatologists and other meteorologists that do research will need a master’s degree in meteorology or a related field. However, only one bachelor’s degree is required for most meteorology positions, an additional bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree will increase job opportunities, salary and increases the chance of advancement.

Unfortunately, there are few schools out there that offer degrees in meteorology. Instead, many colleges and universities offer classes in meteorology/atmospheric sciences, including atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, and physical meteorology. Other required courses may be physics, chemistry, and statistics. Additionally, meteorologists will need to know how to solve differential equations.

Anyone who wants to become a meteorologist should find out the National Weather Service education requirements to ensure that they will be able to find a job once they have finished their schooling. Since the National Weather Service employs over a third of the meteorologists in the United States, if you follow their requirements in your education, you should have no problems finding a job once you graduate with your bachelor’s degree.

Not all meteorology jobs are as exciting and high profile as an occupational meteorologist that works in a broadcast situation. They are the glamorous face to today’s meteorologists. They are also the most well known of the meteorologist profession. Occupational meteorologists who work in broadcasting give the weather report each evening on the news on TV or the radio. They are the face everyone sees and the voice everyone hears as the “weather man.”

In some cases, being high profile can have its benefits. However, many blame the broadcast meteorologist for the weather forecast. After all, since they are the one gave the weather forecast, some people think that they have control over the weather. Others know better, but will get upset if the weather forecast is incorrect.

Either way, the broadcast meteorologist is in a no-win situation. No matter what they give for a weather forecast, someone is going to be unhappy. In this way, there notoriety of being a broadcast meteorologist has both its positive and negative sides. Even with the two sides to this subset of occupational meteorologist, there are more people who want this type of job than there are available jobs. The end result is that it is more difficult to get this type of job than any other meteorologist job.

Since meteorology is a science-based occupation, environmental meteorologists are sometimes difficult to differentiate from other environmental scientists. This is partially because they work so closely together. In other cases, the environmental meteorologist may have an environmental science degree, and have taken the required meteorology courses.

It is not necessarily a bad idea for these two professions to work so closely together. With the environmental meteorologists taking the additional meteorology courses, they will come at any problems or research from a different angle than the environmental scientists. The different outlook on the research results may help them come up with a different way to handle the environmental impact of the different factories and the other pollutants in our atmosphere. If they work together, they should be able to come up with a better answer to slowing the pollution in our atmosphere, or even cleaning up our atmosphere to slow the depletion of the ozone layer.

You might think that occupational meteorologists could work with environmental scientists by forecasting hurricanes and other natural disasters before they strike. Unfortunately, as large storms have a tendency to be unpredictable, it would be difficult for these two professions to work closely together in this instance. There is simply no way to accurately predict storms and where they will strike.

After reading the courses for meteorologists, you may have determined that you will need to be interested in science and math to become a meteorologist. Though it may seem that those who forecast the weather are not using much more than guesswork, there is a very exact science behind the forecast that we receive on our televisions, radios, over the Internet or wherever else we get our weather forecast.

Both climatologists and environmental meteorologists are mostly research meteorologists. As a result, they should have a master’s degree at the minimum. Research meteorology positions may require a doctorate in meteorology rather than a few courses in meteorology.

Additionally, meteorologists should take classes that work closely with their desired field. Climatologists and environmental meteorologists may wish to take government policy courses, as well as chemistry. Occupational meteorologists who wish to go in the private sector may wish to take courses in business administration and economics. These courses would give you an understanding of why your employer requires that you follow certain procedures.

The US government employs about 40 percent of the meteorologists working in the United States. Most of these meteorologists work in the National Weather Service. In 2007, the average salary paid to meteorologists by the US government was approximately $84,000 per year. However, the starting salary for meteorologists working for the US government was closer to $35,000 a year. Though the average yearly salary for meteorologists both employed by the government and in the private sector is about $77,000 per year, some meteorologists earn less than half this amount each year.

A meteorologists’ salary will vary according to their specialization, how much education they have in their field. In most cases, a meteorologists’ salary is determined by where they live. Though you may be able to earn closer to the average salary when you live in a big city, the salary will decrease as the cost of living decreases.

There may be a decline in federal jobs for meteorologists. However, the expected increase in meteorologist jobs in the private sector should more than balance out this decrease.