Meteorologist: job description

Meteorologists often choose to specialise in either forecasting or research.

What does a meteorologist do? Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills

Meteorologists study the earth’s atmosphere – particularly climate and weather – in order to forecast weather conditions.

The main duties of meteorologists include:

• recording and analysing data from worldwide weather stations, satellites, radars and remote sensors
• interpreting observations from the land, sea and upper atmosphere
• providing customers (such as civil aviation companies, broadcast companies and military units) with weather reports/forecasts
• employing mathematical and physical formulae and using computer modelling applications to help make long and short range weather predictions
• researching and predicting climate change
• helping to improve weather prediction models
• writing research papers, reports, reviews and summaries
• keeping up to date with relevant scientific and technical developments

Typical employers of meteorologists

• The Met Office
• BBC
• Environmental consultancies
• Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC)
• Research centres
• British Antarctic Survey
• The armed forces

Vacancies are advertised via the internet, by careers services, in national newspapers and in relevant scientific publications such as New Scientist , Science and Nature . Speculative applications are recommended, since roles aren’t always heavily advertised.

• The recruitment process is likely to involve a technical interview. Read our article on technical interviews to find out what these involve and how you can tackle them.

Qualifications and training required

You can only become a meteorologist if you have a good degree (a 2.1 or higher) in an appropriate subject such as meteorology, mathematics, physical sciences, computer science or environmental science. A relevant postgraduate qualification (a PhD or research-based MSc) is also beneficial, and may be necessary for research positions. A range of degrees are accredited by the Royal Meteorological Society.

Read our article on scientific postgraduate study to explore your different options.

Practical work experience can be beneficial: the Met Office provides a few industrial placements and summer placements each year, although these attract competition.

Key skills for meteorologists

• Analytical skills
• Genuine interest in weather systems
• Teamworking skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Written and oral communication skills
• Problem solving skills
• Computer literacy
• Mathematical abilities