How to Become a Meteorologist

In this time of recession, when people working in the private sector are losing their jobs, left, right and center, meteorology is one recession-proof and safe career that you can consider getting into. The main reason why it is recession-proof is that most of the jobs in this field are created by the government. So, if you are interested in this field, given below is the job description of a meteorologist, which will give you a better idea of what this profession entails.

Meteorologist Job Description

The main job of a meteorologist is to study the atmospheric and weather conditions that exist on the earth. For this, he has to undertake research and analysis of the same. A meteorologist collects the data on the atmosphere and weather, tabulates it and then makes weather predictions. For collecting the data, a meteorologist relies on satellite images, weather stations on various locations, remote sensors and radars. A meteorologist combines all the information collected, investigates and analysis it, before making weather forecasts.

If you ever watch the weather news on television, it would be interesting for you to know that the one who prepares the weather reports which are announced by the newsreader, is actually a meteorologist! Thus, making predictions about rains, sunny weather or dangerous weather and climatic conditions such as impending hurricanes or tornadoes, all fall under the purview of a meteorologist's job.

There are a number of different meteorology jobs that you can choose from, depending upon your interests. For instance, if you are interested in studying the problems that plague the environment such as global warming, you can become an environmental meteorologist. If assessing the changes in climatic conditions is what interests you, then you can think of becoming a climatologist. Likewise, operational meteorologists predict the weather, physical meteorologists do research and synoptic meteorologists utilize computers and mathematical models of atmospheric activity to invent tools that can accurately forecast the weather. So, once you enter the field of meteorology, these are some of the job options that you will have.

Careers in Meteorology

If you are keen on making a meteorologist career, then one of the first things that you should do is to inculcate and develop your interest in math, science and computers. Ideally, this should happen from the school level itself. Secondly, as far as possible, ensure that you maintain a high grade point average in school as well as college.

As far as the education requirements are concerned, pursuing a four-year bachelor's degree in any of the fields such as meteorology, geophysics, geography, physics, earth science, will open doors for you to enter this profession. However, if you have a bachelors in meteorology, it is obviously a much preferred choice of the employers. Still, if you have a bachelor's in any of these related fields and you also take an extra course in meteorology or weather and atmosphere predictions, your chances of becoming a meteorologist will increase manifold.

While at college, if you take up internships in this field, it would help you immensely when obtaining a job in the future. If the internship employers give you good "reference" or "recommendation", it would help you in getting admission in a masters course or even in getting a job. For a better future in this field, especially if you want to get into research, go in for a master of science degree (M.S.) in meteorology along with a Ph.D.

If you look at the salary range of meteorologists, according to the 2009 BLS estimates, the initial salary can be anywhere up to $50000. After a few years of work experience, it can go as high as $65000. Professionals with a decade or more of service can look at earning anywhere up to $115000 per year! As you can see, this is a safe and lucrative field, an ideal combination to make one's career in!