CLEAR SKIES AHEAD

“You don’t have to do the same thing your whole life, and it helps to have skills in a lot of different areas so that you can set yourself apart. The number of meteorology students in the United States has gone up quite a bit. There are good articles in BAMS about that. 

We know that after the original Twister came out, the number of meteorology students went up, so I expect that will happen again. But if you’re going to compete with so many students, there needs to be a way to set yourself apart with skills in reading, writing, and digital communications. I think the new CDM, the certificate in digital meteorology, is going to be something that will be helpful. We’re telling our students now that there’s a call for people who have an emergency management background in meteorology, because a lot of the emergencies that happen are weather-related. If you’ve got those skills in addition to the meteorology skills, you’re going to be much better positioned to get a job in the long run.”

— Pam Knox, director of the University of Georgia Weather Network and agricultural climatologist in Athens, Georgia, speaking on how a broad range of skills can be beneficial to students interested in working in the field of agricultural climatology.