What career opportunities do I have?

Career opportunities in meteorology are very diverse. The prospects for finding a job immediately after graduation are currently good. However, you must be willing to look for jobs anywhere. In general acertain degree of geographic flexibility is required throughout one’s entire career.

Even with just a bachelor’s degree, there are a wide variety of job opportunities. Probably the best-known field in meteorology is weather forecasting. Jobs in weather forecasting can be found at private and national weather services. Prominent employers in this field include the DWD (https://www.dwd.de/) and the ECMWF (https://www.ecmwf.int/). There are also job opportunities in aviation and maritime navigation, but you can also work as a self-employed consulting meteorologist. 

No other “niche field” has such a high public profile as meteorology. The best-known example: the meteorologist on television or in other media. There are numerous job opportunities here in public relations, for example in weather forecasting or in science communication.

Meteorologists are also indispensable in the military and disaster response. There are also career opportunities in the energy sector and the raw materials industry.

Meteorologists also work in management consulting, for example, on environmental assessments or climate adaptation consulting. Meanwhile, meteorologists are increasingly finding employment at banks and (re)insurance companies. There, they primarily focus on assessing the risks posed by natural and environmental disasters.

A master’s degree in meteorology further expands career opportunities. For meteorologists with a master’s degree, there are job opportunities in weather and climate modeling. During their studies, meteorologists acquire a broad range of physical and technical knowledge and gain experience working with large amounts of data. This also qualifies them for positions in software development at companies whose work has little to nothing to do with meteorology.

A meteorologist can also perform certain engineering tasks. These include, for example, preparing expert reports on traffic accidents or wind power sites, pollutant dispersion, the impact of urban development on air quality, or heat stress. In addition, meteorologists are needed in aerospace, satellite technology, and civil engineering.

There are also numerous career opportunities for meteorologists in research. Research is conducted at universities and colleges as well as at non-university research institutions such as climate research institutes or in international industrial research. Prominent institutions in this field include the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (https://www.helmholtz.de/), the Max Planck Society (https://www.mpg.de/de), or the Leibniz Association (https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/). KIT, for example, is part of the Helmholtz Association.

Generally speaking, employment at a research institution is linked to a doctorate. A doctoral degree then qualifies you to apply for research funding on your own and thus initiate your own research projects. Currently, however, there are only a few permanent positions in the German research landscape. Most positions are project-based and thus limited to a few years. In meteorology, after earning a doctorate, one can also pursue an academic career toward a professorship, working at a university research institution such as the Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), where you can participate in measurement campaigns or establish your own research group. Working at a university research institution offers the opportunity to engage in teaching and to train the new meteorologists of tomorrow.

You can get an insight into various careers in meteorology on the UPAS website through short videos (https://www.meteo-upas.de/meteorologin-werden/berufsbild/). The site also features lists and portals with job openings that provide an overview of the career landscape in meteorology.