Are you a student who is studying meteorology? Are you someone who is considering going back to school to become a meteorologist? If you have aspirations to study the weather professionally, then you will need an internship. There are many types of meteorology internships available. Like many other professional fields requiring you to be an expert in a particular area, the world of meteorology requires that you have real-life exposure to studying and identifying weather patterns. To get greater exposure that will help you prepare for the professional meteorology world, you need one or more internships. Read our guide of tips for finding the meteorology internship that fits your life and schedule:
American Meteorological Society
If you are looking for an expansive listing of meteorological internships, head over to the American Meteorological Society’s website. The society features a page devoted to many types of meteorology internships available right now, from the National Weather Service to an internship at universities throughout the country. You can search for internships and drill down into details based upon the type of internship and the location of it.
National Center for Atmospheric Research
A prominent meteorology internship that is valued in the field is the SOARS internship program through the National Center for Atmospheric Research. There are other internships that are similar, combining research during the summer with study over multiple years, but this program is especially noted for students interested in studying the atmospheric sciences and related sciences.
National Weather Service
For students who want to prepare for reporting the weather on TV, an internship at The National Weather Service is helpful. The National Weather Service is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is a U.S. Department of Commerce unit. The National Weather Service has a special internship program called Pathways that allows the student to do weather research and observations, collect data, practice weather methodology and develop weather forecasts.
Ph.D Fellowships
For the academic who wants to go on to teach meteorology at a university or in a school setting, your internship is going to be the Ph.D fellowship. These internships are highly-competitive, so do your research ahead of time. You’ll want to have one or more professors in mind that you are particularly interested in studying with, and you’ll want to really be invested in the school. Universities offering Ph.D fellowships want to feel that the new student is going to fit into their academic family based upon shared research interests. So do your homework and be prepare. You’ll want to secure one of these fellowships so that you are able to not only study in your field but gain experience teaching students about meteorology.
Related Resource: National Storm Prediction Center
Get Started on the Journey
Don’t delay finding one of many types of meteorology internships available so that you can jumpstart your career and have the most experience possible as you begin applying for meteorology jobs. The more professional experiences you have, the more you will be prepared and the more references you will have to recommend you for the first job in what we hope is a long career in the weather field.