My Education

Educating Meteorologists

In order to work as a National Weather Service Meteorologist, a Bachelor's degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, or Hydrology are required. These degree programs require a heavy amount of course work in math and physics. Additionally, requirements also call for classes in chemistry, computer science, and statistics just to name a few others. 

Presently there are approximately 30 Colleges and Universities in the US that offer a program which meets the undergraduate requirements to be an NWS meteorologist. Here at home in East Tennessee, the 17 Meteorologists on our staff attended 12 different universities in order to get their undergraduate education. The graphic below shows those schools where our staff attended.

Now, if you are picturing the type of person who relishes these subjects in school, I am sure you are thinking about an office full of Poindexter's! The goofy, nerd of a person who likely spent too much of their college years under fluorescent lighting and away from direct sunlight and normal college activities.  Well, although that stereotype is fitting for all of us some of the time, we all typically had interesting college experiences both in and out of the classroom. Below are a few stories from some of our staff regarding their education to become a meteorologist. You may be surprised at the breadth of experiences we have had on the way to our profession.

I attended Penn State University for my meteorology degree. I knew going into college that I wanted to be a meteorologist, but growing up I always just assumed that meant going into TV. During my freshman year, I realized there was actually a lot of other career paths I could take! Penn State has five different paths you can follow within the meteorology degree, and I chose the Weather Forecasting and Communications option -- which is geared to those who want to be operational or TV meteorologists. By the end of my sophomore year, I still wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do after college.  I knew I loved forecasting, so I applied for two summer internships -- one at the NWS office in Pittsburgh, PA and one at a local TV station. I was selected for the NWS internship, and after my first week there I knew I had found my future career path. I spent the following summer and my senior year working as an intern at the NWS office in State College, PA and was hired full time after graduation.

Meteorology is a very math and science heavy major -- you essentially take all the same classes as an engineer. I ended up becoming very good friends with some of my classmates because we were studying together so often! My roommates senior year were three other meteorology majors, and they're still some of my best friends today. We each have different interests and career goals, and it's interesting to see how diverse each of our careers are, despite all graduating with the same degree from the same university!

I was involved with several different groups in college. I had all of my meteorology classes, labs, and study sessions, as well as twirling practice and sorority philanthropic events. I would go to class through the morning and study through the early afternoon, go to twirling practice until dinner, participate in sorority events until early evening, then finish homework. One thing I remember from my college time that always makes me smile, is how supportive my meteorology classmates and professors were. From helping me succeed in the classroom, to cheering me on when I took the field to perform at halftime, they were always there.

One of my favorite classroom moments was this one professor I had for several different classes. He would get so excited about the material he was teaching, and would start animating and drawing examples of whatever he was talking about. He was a terrible artist, but his classes were so much fun because of his enthusiasm. One time in my Geography of North America class, he tried to draw a polar bear and it ended up looking like a mix between a badger and a penguin. He started laughing, and we all started laughing with him. Several minutes passed before he could get back to the lesson, and we could take notes again. He was considered one of the hardest professors in the department, but I learned the most through him. He was definitely one of my favorite professors.

While in high school, I visited a National Weather Service office. A forecaster there kindly took the time to show me around the office, explain his day-to-day work, and answer my numerous questions. After seeing his love for the job and learning how his work saved lives, my career goal was to become a meteorologist for the NWS. I enrolled at North Carolina State University to earn my degree. While in college, I was a frequent visitor at the NWS-Raleigh office (located right on the N.C. State campus), volunteering to help out in any way I could. One of my regular tasks was to sort through newspaper clippings, looking for reports of storm damage that could be used to verify their warnings. The experience I gained as a volunteer and the contacts I made at that office propelled me toward reaching my goal of becoming a NWS meteorologist. After 18 years on the job, I’m still fascinated by weather, and there’s still no other job I’d rather have!