Transcript student_jobs - My FIT (my.fit.edu)

Post-Graduation
Opportunities in Meteorology
Dr. Steven M. Lazarus
Florida Institute of Technology
August 23, 2006
see: http://www.ametsoc.org/atmoscareers/index.html
Dust Devil Link
Applied Meteorology…
Forecasting - Government
Military
 flight/airborne
operations
 ground actions (army, support is supplied by air force
meteorologists)
 naval meteorology/oceanography (underwater, naval
and marine aviation)
special operations (highly classified!)
e.g., see 45th Weather Squadron @ KSC/Patrick AFB
Forecasting - Government Cont’d
National Weather Service (NWS)
 various positions including: Lead/Senior Forecaster,
Science and Operations (SOO), Meteorologist in-Charge
(MIC), Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM)
Science and Operations Officer (SOO), Data Acquisition
Program Manager (DAPM), Electronic Systems Analyst
(ESA), Information Technology Officer (ITO), Service
Hydrologist,
Meteorological
Intern,
Journeyman
Forecaster, Electronics Technician, Hydrometeorological
Technician, and Student Intern.
For a description see: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lzk/html/litstaff.htm
Forecasting – Private Sector
electric and gas utilities (load management and
dispatching, fuel allocation and distribution, line maintenance,
and severe weather preparation). WC
farmers and ranchers (consulting - planting, harvesting,
irrigation, fertilizing, spraying and dusting, frost protection, and
yield prediction, severe weather/livestock protection) AWIS
ocean shipping firms/port operators (minimum-time/safest
routes, predictions of ocean conditions and sea ice, work
scheduling and cancellation) UKMET
highway departments (snow removal, flooding,
and cleanup in the wake of severe weather)
Intellicast
Forecasting – Private Sector cont’d
aviation meteorology (passenger/cargo airlines - terminal
and en route forecasts, computer-generated flight plans, a
few air force bases also use commercial companies) NWS
consulting (specialized environmental services, e.g., air
quality, development/support for meteorological software
and weather information systems; and forensic
meteorology) JWA
Media weathercasting (television, radio, and
newspapers, "behind-the-scenes" support of
television weathercasting - generating forecasts
and develop on-air graphics for client stations)
CNN
Forecasting/Observations – Private Sector cont’d
Air quality meteorology (environmental assessments/permitting,
dispersion
modeling,
risk
assessments,
ambient
monitoring,
photochemical modeling, acid rain, and global warming)
-Environmental assessments, permitting, dispersion modeling, and
ambient monitoring are often conducted for industries, i.e., potential
polluters that wish to build new plants, expand existing ones, or address
citizen concerns about pollutant impacts.
-Ambient monitoring networks typically maintained
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state
agencies. Specialized air quality work is often
government agencies and research laboratories,
private-sector consulting firms.
AccuWeather, Dispersion Modeling
by the U.S.
environmental
conducted by
universities, &
Development/Research – Private Sector cont’d
software and information systems (development of
meteorological software applications and the systems that
use the applications, e.g., maintaining PC software,
developing an entire automated weather data processing
system and its associated network) STI, IPS
Forensic
meteorology
(legal
matters/police
investigations, e.g., slipping on ice, homicides chainreaction vehicle) FMA
Measurements/Instruments – Private Sector cont’d
Atmospheric measurements and instrumentation
Basic monitoring of: temperature, wind velocity, humidity
vs. atmospheric chemistry/sampling of carbon dioxide,
oxides of nitrogen, remote-sensing using radar and satellite
imagery.
Design, manufacture, and market instrumentation (rain
gauges,
thermometers,
computerized/self-contained
automated weather observing stations, weather satellites,
Doppler radars) Campbell Scientific, RMYoung, Davis…
Applied research
Involves weather and climate observation, analysis, and
forecasting (i.e., research relating to everyday activities and
operations:
development of forecast techniques (creation of
algorithms for remote-sensing applications used with
weather satellites and radars, lightning detectors, and
atmospheric profilers and sounders
forecast verification methods
performance of diagnostic and case studies
Basic research
Fundamental atmospheric processes
cloud/precipitation formation CSU Purdue SHARE
air-sea interactions NOAA-ESRL U Miami/Rosenstiel
terrestrial/solar radiation budgets ARM
Aerosols ORNL NOAA-ESRL TAMU
Thermodynamics (e.g., hurricane intensity)
global general circulation GFDL LLNL
END RESULT: support advances in numerical weather
prediction models.
HOT issue: global warming/climate Overview
Where are our students now?
5 years: 36 Students (Aviation Meteorology/Meteorology)

National Weather Service (2)

Graduate School (12*) FIT, FSU, U. Utah, Texas
Tech, Purdue

2nd Degree BA (1) Loyola

NOAA Corp (Research Vessel, 2)

Science Education (2)

TV/Broadcasting (2)

Private Sector (1) Weather Services International
*One of two FIT met grad students are working at NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center/SPoRT and the other at the National
Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services.
SALARY???
US Department of Labor
Median annual earnings of atmospheric scientists in May 2004 were $70,100.
The middle 50 percent earned between $48,880 and $86,610
The lowest 10 percent earned less than $34,590
The highest 10 percent earned more than $106,020
The average salary for meteorologists in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and
managerial positions employed by the Federal Government was about $80,499 in
2005.
Meteorologists in the Federal Government with a bachelor’s
degree and no experience received a starting salary of $27,955
-$34,544
master’s degree could start at $42,090-$54,393
Ph.D. could begin at $70,280.
Always in contact with our students…
Hi! Sorry I haven't sent you any life updates... I have been at Army training for the
past month. I finally am commissioned as an officer, I am still looking for a job, but
it is difficult because I have Army training beginning in Jan that will not be over
until May. I have been applying for jobs, I received a call back for job in Salisbury,
Maryland (broadcast met), but they wanted me to start before I was able. I also
received a call from Weatherdata, but every time I tried to get in touch with the guy
who called me they would only take messages and he never called back. This
was odd because I didn't apply for the job, he received my resume from a different
job I applied to. There is an on-air opening in Topeka, and another non-broadcast
job in Shawnee, KS which I am sending my resume to. My backup plan right now
is just to get an internship near Richmond, VA, where I will be for my training,
since I get paid by the Army for training, but then I will also be getting experience
and staying current in met to hopefully get a good meteorology job once I am
finished in May….