Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
You want to be on TV, don't you? That's not a problem, and it's an eventual destination for some people who have this major. It's an important aspect, too—taking the knowledge you have and disseminating it to the widest possible base. In the old days, that would just be standing on a rooftop shouting, "It's raining!" Of course, people got really wet back then.
There are other places you can use this major besides television, though. It's a hard science major, which is pretty easy to forget in the sea of photogenic weatherpeople going out there and predicting what's going to happen with the skywater.
You have a lot of versatility, and while getting on TV is possible, it's also difficult. So there's no harm in looking at some of the other options you have with your brand new weather-studies degree. Although, you can stop looking for "Member of the Avengers" job listings. There's only one opening there, and Thor took it.
The jerk.
Common Career Fields
Television and Radio. "Let's send it over to Brick Tamland with weather!" The stereotype of TV weatherpeople is that they're not the brightest bulbs, but the fact is, the vast majority of them have degrees in meteorology. It's great work if you can get it, but it's very competitive. You need to have the knowledge, but also be good-looking and personable.
Research. There's so much that still needs to be learned about weather. One of the biggest ones is how climate change is going to affect global weather systems. "A lot" seems to be the consensus there. If you love the pure science of the degree, this might be a great fit for you.
Military. Do you know how many battles are decided by the weather? Well, neither do we, other than the unhelpful, "More than you think." In fact, a lot of military technology is built around trying to negate the problems posed by the weather, from off-road tires that love the mud to night vision goggles that can pierce the thickest fog. Military meteorologists can help the way none of this technology can. "Hey, General? It's going to rain a lot tomorrow. Maybe schedule the battle for Thursday instead?"
Airlines. Planes fly up into the sky where rain comes from, so it's pretty easy to see the connection here. Think of how many delays and cancellations you've heard about due to the weather and you get a larger idea of just how important meteorologists are to the airlines. With the data and forecasting you provide, you keep angry travelers from being stuck on layovers. You're like a modern-day Batman.
Education. Every advanced degree has the option of education, and it's a good one. Don't think of it as failing, either. Think of it like you're training the next generation in the field you love. You're shaping the future of meteorology. It's almost too much responsibility.
Commodities. Commodities are a lot like stocks, only instead of little bits of company ownership, they're trading the future yields of real things. From soybeans to cattle to copper, just about anything solid can be traded. The thing is, they're not trading them now, as this would just be called "going to the market." Instead, they're trading on the futures, like how much will soybeans be worth in three or six months. Weather is integral to this. Someone who knows a drought is coming would know that almonds will be scarcer, and thus worth more. It's capitalism...in the future.
Disaster Modeling. When disasters hit, it behooves everyone to know what they're going to do. This is how you can minimize the loss of life and destruction of property. You know, the stuff you don't want a lot of. Meteorologists take hypothetical weather-related disasters like hurricanes and tornados, see what horrible things they could do, and then make recommendations to government. Basically, you imagine the worst thing that could happen, then make sure it doesn't.
Current unemployment of the major
2%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
36%Stats obtained from this source.