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Blowin' in the Wind, Issue #086 Meteorology Degrees - Sept 1, 2011
August 31, 2011
Hello ,

Meteorology Degrees and Careers

If you were to ask the average person what types of career are possible with meteorology degrees, the likely answer would be "a weatherman" which is a colloquialism for a television meteorologist. While it is true that someone with a meteorology degree can definitely seek a career in television, there is a much wider range of professions which can be explored when you have this degree.

Interdisciplinary Flexibility

One reason that meteorology degrees have such great expansiveness in terms of the career path you can follow is because there are scores of interrelated disciplines that comprise the actual program. Meteorology derives its methodologies from other sciences such as physics, chemistry, and math. Of course, since the world of meteorology is technology driven in the current landscape, it should come as no surprise that computer sciences also play a large role in degree programs.

How people get Meteorology Degrees

Needless to say, a great deal of commitment is required to complete such a program. The commitment is definitely worth the effort since there are so many different unique career paths which may be open to those that have completed their degree program.

Of all the different career paths you can explore, the most popular would be the aforementioned forecasting or weather reporting positions; basic and applied research; and even venturing into the teaching profession and environmental education. While these can be considered among the most common of the career paths many will follow, there are scores of other positions which can be explored as well.

Those that do enroll in an official university program in meteorology will discover that there is more to the field than discussing the weather. As previously mentioned, a large duration of the degree program will revolve around earth and physical sciences along with a significant amount of time invested in learning advanced math. There will also be a need to invest in learning the basics of physical geography.

Of course, there will be a great deal of time invested in individual meteorology classes which revolve around physical meteorology, micrometeorology, hydrometeorology, dynamic meteorology, mesoscale and synoptic meteorology, among others including air pollution and global issues.

On the surface, this may lead one to believe that meteorology degrees are highly complex and potentially very difficult. It is certainly accurate to state that this degree program can be considered a challenging one. No one would state that this would be a degree program anyone would "breeze" through. Then again, there will be certain people who can breeze through the program. However, they will be far and few between as most will find the program requires a lot of effort. That might very well be a good thing because - as the saying goes - nothing of value comes without effort.

Rather than look at the work involved with completing meteorology degrees, it would be much better to look at all the benefits which can be gained once you have completed the degree program. The most obvious benefit would be the brave new world of a career in meteorology.

Are you truly interested in such a career? Then you need to start planning it now by looking into university programs that offer meteorology degrees.

A new future for you awaits...

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