Earth Networks (formerly Weather Bug) is hosting their 7^th Annual Energy Weather seminar in Houston, TX on Thursday April 12^th, 2012.  The seminar will focus on the Summer and Hurricane outlook for 2012.

This seminar from Earth Networks is a must visit for young professionals in Meteorology or for those mid career folks who are looking to break into the world of energy meteorology.

By attending this seminar, you will be able to network with some of the top energy meteorologists in person.  Plus you’ll learn how energy meteorologists put together long term forecasts and what implications they have on the markets.   The event is free to attend and the speaker list is amazing!

For more of the who, what, where, when, and why’s about the seminar…check out the Earth Network’s Energy Seminar link.  It should answer all your questions and you can also register for the seminar there as well.

I’m planning to be there.  Are you?

As I mentioned in my previous post on the “Future of Meteorology”, weather risk management and weather derivatives are going to play a large role in the future of meteorology.  Weather insurance companies have become pretty smart….and some are offering “weather promotions” to many consumer-facing businesses.  And it’s a growing trend, too.  So what exactly is a weather promotion?

Here’s one example of how it could work…let’s say you’re at the mall and it’s November (around Thanksgiving time) in Wilmington, NC…and you happen to notice a large chain jewelry store.  They are running some sort of campaign and there are a lot of people in the store (and perhaps you’re wondering why that is given the economy).  The jewelry store is running a weather campaign.   They advertise the following:

“If you buy a piece of jewelry between today and 3 weeks from now….and it snows more than 6” in December in Wilmington, NC,  we will refund your jewelry purchase.”

You’re possibly more incentivized to buy the jewelry item.  Some sort of promotion or crowd “brought you in” to the store.  It’s what every jeweler wants…more people in their store so they can convert more sales.

Now this example actually did happen.  Here’s the CNN article.  (Yes, this promotion made national news)

And what’s awesome for the jewelry store customers (probably not the insurer) is it did snow more than 6” in Wilmington, NC in the month of December that year.   And the jeweler had to pay out approximately $400,000 in refunds.  But he didn’t worry at all.  Here’s why:

The jewelry owner worked with an insurance company to structure a contract. He probably just provided the sales date(s) of coverage, peril date, peril of choice, estimated insured sales amount. Then a computer model from the insurance company would assess the risk, and come up with a premium amount for the jeweler to pay. The premium that the jewelry owner paid in the above example was approximately $10,000.   So for $10,000, he received approximately $400,000 in coverage.   Generally the rule of thumb is the premium varies from 2% to 5% of level of coverage you need.

And folks keep in mind this is just one example.  There are hundreds of campaigns you can run for all types of weather events.

But here’s what’s cool about this entire campaign:

1) It attracts attention.   It’s something new and creative to a lot of folks and it gets picked up in the press.  It’s a great way to get folks into your business.

2) It can be used for almost any business.   Any retail or consumer facing business can utilize weather campaigns to attract more customers.

3)  It may increase your sales.   In the above example, the jeweler increased sales by 34% due to the marketing campaign.   It’s just another form of “advertising.”

4) Hedging the bad weather.  And if you want to hedge “bad weather” for your business…(ie no one comes to my car wash when it rains)…you can also structure additional insurance contracts to help protect your profit margins if it rains or snows, etc.

There are some meteorologists that have ventured into this business of providing “weather insurance.”  It is yet another option to consider when thinking about which career path in meteorology you may want to take. Obviously this does not involve forecasting, but it does involve sales, historical weather analysis, client management, statistics, risk analysis, and requires excellent communication skills.

Also, if you know of a business that wants to start a weather campaign…feel free to send them my way and I can advise them to whom they should speak to.  There are a handful of insurance companies offering weather promotions…and I believe it’s a great way to get more traffic and visitors through your door.  (Photo credit: English Blog)

To all of those folks who signed up, thanks for participating in the FreshAJ Resume contest.  We had a great turnout and I’m writing today to share the results with you.  But before I do…let’s recap to our readers what the contest was all about.

The participants had to forecast the max and min temperatures (2) days in advance for Ann Arbor, MI municipal airport and Portland, OR Int’l airport.  The contest date was for Feb 18th.   I picked Feb 18th to make it a little challenging for our participants  because both cities had  cloud cover and timing of fronts to deal with.   And I have to say I was quite impressed with the results.  Nobody was off by more than 10 degrees for each city and it was pretty darn close.

So let’s get to our results.  Here’s what was observed for Portland, OR and Ann Arbor, MI per the NWS airport observations for each respective city over the 24 hour period.

Portland, OR:  

Max: 47F

Min:  41F

Ann Arbor, MI

Max:  36F

Min:  21F

So, first I’ll list the top (3) participants who were closest to the min/max for each city…and then I’ll narrow down the overall results to (2) winners.

The Top 3 for Portland, OR: 

1) Jeff Nelson:  Max: 46F, Min: 41F

2) George Lange: Max: 46F, Min: 40F

3) Gerald Satterwhite:  Max: 48F, Min: 40F

The Top 3 for Ann Arbor, MI

1) Jeff Nelson: Max: 38F, Min: 24F

2) Nick Farrugio: Max: 38F, Min: 18F

3) Gerald Satterwhite: Max: 40F, Min: 23F

Now, taking into account who did the best for both cities….the 2 winners of the FreshAJ Resume Contest are:

1)  Jeff Nelson

2) Gerald Satterwhite

Congratulations Jeff and Gerald!  I will be in contact with you guys by email for next steps.  For the rest of the wonderful participants…thanks for playing the FreshAJ resume contest!  And do not worry…there will still be options for you in the very near future to submit your resume and have it vetted by a weather professional. (Photo credit: TPM)

Great job everyone!

(Video:  2000 Waterloo tornado intercepted by the Silver Lining Tours team: Credit: Stormchaser.net)

Meet Dr. David Gold.  He is the co-owner and operator of one of the top storm chasing companies in the world—Silver LiningTours (SLT).  Silver Lining Tours offers full service tour packages for those who are interested in witnessing Mother Nature’s wrath of severe weather including severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.   Dr. Gold’s business partner and tour operator is Roger Hill.   Not only are Dr. Gold and Roger Hill some of the brightest guys around in meteorology, but they have also have an amazing track record of chasing over 300+ tornadoes in only 9 years.   Today I’m going to talk to Dr. Gold about storm chasing.  Not from a forecasting perspective this time, but what it actually takes to own and operate a storm chasing business.

Note: Roger Hill (left) and Dr. David Gold (right)

Question:  How did you two meet and what made you guys decide, “Hey let’s create a storm chasing a business”?

Well I  co-founded the business in 1997 with my lifelong friend, Bill Gargan. During the 1999 season I noticed this unknown chaser seemingly come out of the woodwork and have remarkable success. At the time I was looking to move beyond contracting out my seasonal driving/co-guide spots to graduate student buddies of mine.  But when I saw Roger’s success,  I decided to take a chance. I contacted him out of the blue and after talking, we agreed to work together the following season on a provisional basis. We hit it off and our business relationship and friendship grew to the point where in 2004 I asked him to become partner. We’ve been growing strong ever since!

 Question:  What are the major steps you need to do to make storm chasing a legitimate and real business?

Like any business you have to tend to the important issues of properly structuring the entity (type of business), registering with the state, setting up financial records/books, starting and maintaining a fleet of vehicles, insuring the business, etc…then you have to make sure you manage your clientele properly and make sure they have a fantastic experience out in the field so that they become repeat business. Loyal clients are the bedrock of a successful business.

Question:  What are the biggest challenges of the Storm Chasing business?

The people can be just as unpredictable as the weather! Despite our best efforts to “filter” the clientele, occasionally we get the odd unforeseen medical emergency during the tours and a rapid response is required in order to ensure the safety of the afflicted client, as well as that of the other participants. Once the situation is dealt with, we have to change gears and get back to the business of running the tours. Other challenges include occasional vehicle mishaps; despite our obsession with keeping the tour vans in top shape, you cannot prevent every flat tire, loose wire or blown alternator.

Question:  A lot of everyday folks have seen the movie “Twister” and think of storm chasing like it is from the movie.  Did the movie do an accurate job of portraying what storm chasing is all about?  How does the movie differ from what a typical day at SLT is like?

The movie Twister portrayed the daily life of a storm chaser as one of continuous excitement, with tornadoes occuring with every severe thunderstorm, and that simply is not the case. Tornadoes are a fairly rare occurance, and even under the perfect conditions, sometimes they just do not form. You have days that are frustrating, you have days where storms do not occur due to conditions, and you have days that are absolutely amazing!

Question:  What has been the scariest moment for you on any storm chasing tour?  Please describe.

I am afraid I would have to go May 22, 2011. We were chasing a storm in southeastern Kansas that tried hard to produce a tornado. Then we crossed in southwest Missouri and approached the city of Joplin. We stopped for gas and a comfort break on the north side of town as our original storm died. While we stopped a second storm rapidly developed and became instantly tornadic. As we saw this occuring we gathered everyone up and blasted through town on Range Line Road, trying to get the interstate and head east ouf of its way. We came within about 45 seconds of encountering the violent large EF5 tornado that caused the incredible death and destruction in the city of Joplin. It was as close as I ever want to come to a situation where you almost didn’t have control of your own fate.

(Photo credit: Silver Lining Tours image of Joplin, MO tornadic supercell)

Question:  Storm chasing can obviously be a thrilling experience for many, but it can also be dangerous if proper precautions are not put in place.  How does SLT deal with the safety aspect of Storm Chasing?

There are a lot of unsafe ways to chase storms, and usually not too many safe ways to do it. We employ the safe chasing tactics by positioning ourselves out of harms way, and never stopping to witness a tornado without having an escape route. We have such experienced leaders and guides that we can almost always keep away from the life threatening dangers of a storm and yet provide our guests with the experience of a lifetime!

Question:  Your storm chase tour packages can cost upwards of $2000 per person for 7 days.  From “an average Joe” standpoint, that’s quite expensive. Yet most of your tours are generally sold out well in advance of their starting time.   Please explain.  

We feel our success rate, our safety record, the knowledge and experience of our guides and leaders, and the way we conduct our tours provide an amazing experience that keep our guests coming back year after year. We not only give our guests an incredible vacation, but we also teach them about the severe weather environment so they leave with a much greater understanding of how severe weather works. And I think the guests really appreciate that. It is something that many other tour operators simply do not do.

Question:  Can storm chasing be a viable business?  Enough to earn a decent income, raise a family, buy a house, etc?  What does it take to be successful?

It can provide a decent income, enough to generally live on. The key to success is providing a quality product that nobody quite does the way you do. I feel we cater to our guests more than anyone else does.

Question:  You guys have been in business since 1997.  So obviously it’s been quite a long time for a storm chasing company.  When you look back, is there anything you’d want to do differently?

I really don’t know of anything we’d do differently. The business has grown and we have been able to maintain our tours to the same status for years now. Maybe a bit more advertising and marketing to keep it moving forward.

Question:  What advice would you have for a student or young professional who loves storm chasing and wants to make a real business out of it?  

Honestly my advice would be to not try to make a business out of storm chasing. There is a very small market in tours, video work, photography, etc, and it is about saturated.

Thank you David for this wonderful and honest perspective into the business of storm chasing!  I hope that gives a lot of you some juicy insights and a rare glimpse into storm chasing as a business.

We all know that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow….so how about surprising your sweetie with a storm chasing tour/vacation from Silver Lining Tours!  Okay maybe that’s a tad biased to you…but hey it would make for a thrilling vacation

Or if you’ve always wanted to just go on a storm chasing tour on your own…here’s your chance.   The SLT tours are selling out fast…you can see what’s available, here.    If you’re interested in signing up for the tour, you can email Dr. Gold or Roger Hill at info@silverliningtours.com.  If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to use the comment box below!

There is definitely a lot of interest brewing within the meteorology community on breaking into the energy meteorology space.  I probably receive a couple emails a week about this very topic.  Even when I was at the AMS, the energy sessions were packed with students and young professionals looking for ways to break in.

Here’s the deal…99% of energy trade floor meteorology positions on the trade floor will not be entry level jobs.  You will need to show experience in other operational meteorology roles if you want to break in.   And many of you should now be aware that when these positions do open up, there is a huge stack of resumes that pile up.

So, I’d like to introduce to you another option to get on the energy trade floor …but it requires a different set of skills set and possibly even another major.   Have any of you thought about entering the energy trade floor from the trading side?   There’s a lot more opportunity from the trading side if you have the skills.

Becoming a real time trader is generally the first step on the “trader ladder”.  The normal career path goes from Real Time Trader to Day Ahead Trader to Forward Trader.  And of course you can grow your career within each of these trading areas.   But by becoming a real time trader…it automatically puts you on the trade floor with meteorologists.

Now with that being said, it’s not that simple for entry level meteorology graduates to just break into “real time trading”.   So, I’d recommend a couple of things:

#1: Get an additional degree in an economics, finance, or accounting.   If you’re still a meteorology student at a University, and you’re able to afford another major, I would consider adding one of these degrees to help break into the trading side.

Not only that, but if meteorology were not to work out for some reason, you have an additional degree to give you access to more opportunities.  If I were to do anything differently, I would have double majored in Meteorology and Economics or Finance.  However, I was able to learn a majority of applied macro-economics on the trade floor.

(If you can’t…don’t worry it’s not the end of the world…but it may help to take some additional classes)

 #2:  Follow the ladder to get to Real Time Trading.  There is actually a ladder to follow to get to “Real Time Trading”.   An entry level college graduate can get hired as an “Energy Settlements Analyst whether it’s for power or gas.

This may probably expire soon (and if it does just Google it or put these keywords into Indeed or Simply hired), but here’s an example of an Energy settlements analyst position and it’s role/definition too.

From the Settlements analyst position, the next step on the ladder would be to move into a Power or Gas scheduler position.  Sometimes, if you’re lucky…you could break into a associate level scheduler position.   This puts you much closer to the trade floor.

Here’s an example of a Natural Gas scheduling position:

Natural Gas/Power schedulers are generally in close proximity to the trade floor since they interact a lot more with traders in case of any questions about delivery, etc.   But a lot of Power or Gas Schedulers move into trading and start their trading careers as Real time traders on the energy trade floor.

So, if you’re interested in getting on an energy trade floor, there are A LOT more open positions in settlements, scheduling or even energy trading.  Upper management would prefer to hire potential “revenue generators” (ie traders) for the company rather than spend overhead on too many “analysts” or meteorologists.

Plus, if you enjoy the fast paced and often times very challenging trading environment, this could be a great future career.  Energy Traders (if you are good) can make boatloads of money.  Not as much in real time, but if you become a Natural Gas Day Ahead or Forward Trader, for example, you can easily make 6 or even 7 figure incomes.  The sky is the limit if you’re a large revenue generator!

(Maybe not as much this year with the warmest winter we’re seeing in 62 years…but it is possible if one had the right positions on…but that’s for another post

Also, in a previous post about the Top 5 cities that hire energy meteorologists, I chose Houston, TX as my #1 choice.  Houston is definitely a place to consider if you want to start an energy trading career.  There’s a lot more opportunity in Houston than most other places around the United States.

Now if you want to transition from a real time trader to a meteorologist…it may become a lot easier.  First, you’re on the trade floor already…the traders and the fundamental staff know you.  Second, you could even train with the meteorologist on staff to understand all the on-the-job intricacies of being a meteorologist on the floor.  Third, you can always work with management to create an opportunity for you if you’re good.

Or you could consider staying in trading.  If you were to stay in real time trading and grow your career (to day ahead/forward), weather will always be an important fundamental.   And by you knowing the weather part of the equation, it gives you a little edge in helping you become a better trader.

Bottom line, this is just another option to help you get on the energy trade floor other than waiting for a meteorology position to open up.  The key is to first break into an energy company…then work your magic to get where you want to be.  Unfortunately, there is no magic wand or special formula to break in…but the trading side definitely presents more opportunities.  (Photo credit: mergers and inquisitions)

P.S.  Just a friendly reminder, if you haven’t signed up for the free resume contest…there’s only 6 days left!  Here’s the link: www.freshaj.com/resume_contest

Here at the FreshAJ blog, I’m constantly looking to create new, effective ways to help students, graduates, and career professionals get juicy insights into the weather industry.

Recently, I’ve received quite a few emails from meteorology students and young professionals asking for feedback on their weather resumes in order to stand out and get an employer’s attention. And I noticed that many of the resumes needed considerable improvement.   Even at the student conference at the AMS, the recruiters expressed frustration on many poorly written resumes.

So, it got me thinking…wouldn’t it be nice if a weather expert(s) reviewed a resume before it was actually sent it to an employer?

I’ve personally had the opportunity to review hundreds of weather resumes and have seen first hand what it takes to break into various sectors of operational meteorology.   Having an excellent resume is a solid first step.

So, I thought the best way to start would be to select 2 meteorology students, graduates, or career professionals and have their resume reviewed and analyzed FOR FREE.

In addition to the resume review, the (2) lucky candidates will also receive FOR FREE:

1) A 15 minute follow up phone call discussing your red-lined resume.

2) Some guidance/thoughts on which companies you should apply to (or connect with) given your experience.

3) Answer any questions you may have about weather job opportunities (full time, part time or internships), your resume, and/or any sectors of meteorology.

4) Some personal introductions via LinkedIn to successful weather professionals in any sector of meteorology who may be able to help you advance further in your career.

Now for the fun part…in order to select my 2 meteorology winners fairly, I am going to host a weather forecasting contest and choose the top 2 winners.

Interested in joining? Check out the contest rules and join the contest, here.   It’s Free!  Let me answer some more questions about signing up for this contest.

When should you sign up by?

I am accepting sign ups until February 12^th 2012.   Once you join, you will soon receive an email about the contest date, contest time, and cities to forecast for.   If you do not sign up for the contest, unfortunately you will not be able to participate.

Who should sign up?

Meteorology students, graduates, and young to mid level weather professionals who want to move up in their career should sign up for this contest.

Why should you sign up?

Well, first you have nothing to lose.   It’s free to join the contest.   Second, you’ll have the opportunity to showcase your forecasting skills.   Plus it’s fun to compete against your fellow students and weather professionals!  And if you win, you get to have your resume analyzed and reviewed for free.

**As a bonus, if the winners allow me to, I will announce the (2) winners of the forecasting contest on my blog, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn that reaches thousands of weather professionals. **

Where should you sign up?

Again, please sign up for the weather forecasting contest, here.  It takes less than 10 seconds to join!  You can also go directly to the link at www.freshaj.com/resume_contest.

If you have any questions, please let me know! (Photo credit: heattreat.net)

I just got back from the AMS conference in New Orleans.  You can read a lot of details about the AMS conference from the wonderful writers of the Front Page of the AMS blog.

I was able to attend the student conference career fair on Saturday, the energy committee meeting for students on Sunday, and the climate, energy, and new economy talks on Monday.   I was able to network with a lot of wonderful meteorology students, young professionals, senior level executives, energy trade floor meteorologists, and just readers of my blog too.  The conference is still going on now, so I can only speak of the 3 days I attended.  From what I saw, my friends at the AMS put on an amazing conference!

Now with that being said, let’s get onto my post.  Is Meteorology turning into Computer Science?  Why am I asking this question?

Well, in my previous post of “The Future of Meteorology”, I discussed that the three main areas of growth will be 1) Weather Modeling 2) Weather Derivatives and Insurance 3) Private weather forecasting.  But I never got into what skills would be required for the future of meteorology.  Today that’s what I want to discuss based on what I saw at the AMS student conference.

After attending the student conference at the AMS career fair, I spoke to each private employer that was hiring meteorologists.   Some of the employers I spoke to at the booths were, “Unisys, Climate Corporation, Wunderground, Accuweather, Impact weather, among others.

And here’s what was very intriguing:  a majority of these employers are looking for meteorology developers (ie people who are excellent at programming but also understand meteorology).

Meteorology programmers are a growing trend in today’s meteorology job world.  Whether it is programming using Python, C++, Objective C, or PHP, the “new” graduate in meteorology in today’s economic climate should probably have these skills under their belt. When I spoke to a few of them…they mentioned if someone is a MS or PHD with programming skills, they would like to talk with them.  Some of them even mentioned they were prepared to throw ridiculous amounts of cash if you met those qualifications…so if you’re interested in learning more,  let me know!

Many of these private weather corporations deal with large data sets.  Since there is a great demand from the private and public industry on high resolution and accurate modeling, many firms are hiring in these areas of the meteorology. So being able to understand database programming and statistics is very important too.

In addition to the student conference career fair, I also attended a presentation about how NOAA/NWS is working with the DOE and the private energy world in providing more resources for these companies to use.  The concentration of the presentation was about the WFIP model and how they are working with private industry leaders to make short term wind forecasting more accurate.

I think the meteorology community has plenty of weather models to access now…but the hard part is integrating and customizing them into the private world for them to effectively utilize them.  In addition, as I’ve mentioned before, the weather modeling world is continuing to enhance the features of the model, along with it’s accuracy and resolution.  And that’s why I feel this is a growing trend and a need for programmers who understand meteorology.

This trend is very interesting to me because when I went to the student conference 10 years ago (yes now you know how I old I am ) ,the majority of the positions I saw were operational meteorology jobs.

To be honest, none of the private employers I talked to at the student conference even mentioned they were hiring operational meteorologists.  So in today’s tough economic climate, it requires you to think outside the box.   And that also means taking other positions within weather companies (or government) in order to get your “foot in the door”.   Once you have your foot in the door, it’s easier to work your way internally to where you want to be.

Bottom line, if the growing trend is to hire meteorological developers, and you happen to be a good developer…you should start applying to these jobs or contacting private employers.  Even though you may want to be in forecasting…it’s better to at least “get in” to a company than “wait” for a forecasting job to open up.  Hope that makes sense! (photo credit: bloggertechgirl)

Are any of you seeing the same hiring trend out there for meteorologists? Do you think meteorology is turning into Computer Science?  Would love to hear your perspective, and your thoughts on the AMS conference, too.  Thanks!

You bet…it’s definitely a possibility!  Hydrologists and meteorologists work very close together, especially in the energy world.  In my previous post, I discussed why hydrologists are very important for west power trading.   In today’s post, I thought I would offer a more detailed perspective about the option of working as a hydrologist (in lieu of a meteorologist.)  My focus is going to be in the energy world…one of the sectors where I mentioned the future of meteorology will also reside.  I’ll also be highlighting the NW hydro operations in greater detail, too.

For an energy utility that owns and operates hydropower, the hydrologist would be forecasting inflows and helping to plan river operations and optimize storage for the water year (Winter-early spring). The meteorologists would help forecast precipitation, snow, temperatures – especially in the short term – which would be fed into a hydrologic model to generate streamflow forecasts.

These forecasts would then be fed into a reservoir operations model for the given hydro system. The reservoir operations model would then calculate river flows, storage use, reservoir levels, power generation, etc given operating constraints (fish flows, spill constraints, power prices, etc).

Also, there are many consulting firms that help utilities develop in-house models and systems. Most utilities develop streamflow and river models in-house, with assistance from engineering & consulting firms.

A hydrologist on an energy trade floor typically works on a much larger and less detailed scale. For example, they would be looking at the entire NW hydropower system rather than a specific plant. Their goal would be to understand the influence of hydropower on regional prices based on snowpack conditions, reservoir operations, etc.  Although one plant that does have a pretty significant influence is Grand Coulee (my photo above).  The Grand Coulee dam is based in the NW along the Columbia River and is the largest electric power producing dam in the United States.

Depending on the region and time of year, hydropower can have a small or large influence on market prices.    High impact seasons on market prices would be Winter and Spring…low impact seasons would be late Summer/mid-Fall.  And hydrologists would not only model, analyze and gather this information, but they would communicate it to traders as soon as new fundamentals are released.

Because the hydro system can be complex (due to many variables affecting the stream flow forecast), your communication skills need to be strong too.  In the NW, hydro forecasts can sometimes be as important (if not more important) than the weather itself for west power traders.

If all this is new to you, that’s okay.  It was all new to me too when I joined the west power trade floor in Portland, OR.  The hydrologist and I did work very close together because a lot of the “input” for these hydro models did come from the weather side.   Take a breather…and here we go.

Teleconnections such as PDO and ENSO have started to be modeled in longer term hydro forecasts.  Just like meteorologists try and forecast for upcoming seasons (or even 12 months ahead) by using teleconnections, analogs, and climatology, hydrologists also base their long term streamflow forecasts more or less on climatology too.

There is always a wide range of possibilities starting the water year – using ENSO/PDO helps tilt the odds only slightly in favor of wet/dry conditions.

And then as the season progresses, actual basin conditions become more important, especially when snowpack becomes the predominant storage mechanism.  And that’s a key time frame when meteorologists matter significantly.  Beyond 12 months, most would base assumptions almost entirely on historical record & climatology.

Also , the actual storage in reservoirs in any given basin will play a large or small part on the streamflow forecasts. Some reservoirs have multi-year storage while others only have week’s or day’s worth of storage and hardly impact future runoff.  And as you know from my previous post in West Power trading, predicting future runoff is one of the key variables for a West Power Trader.

Riverside Technology & 3 Tier are the 2 main vendors that I can think of that offer short, medium, and long term streamflow forecasts for the energy space (outside of the government).  Working at utilities and/or private energy companies like Iberdrola Renewables is another option for hydrologists.  Then of course you have your government agencies like NWRFC (Northwest River Forecast Center) and the Army Corps.

Hydrologist salaries in the energy world are generally in line with meteorologists overall. If you can combine hydrology + optimization/operations research + meteorology then you have a pretty unique combination of skills that is valuable to utilities. With those three skills, you could branch into many different industries too.

Bottom line, I know a lot of us want to be “forecasters” in the meteorology world…but with forecasting jobs so limited it’s good to think ‘outside the box’.  It could be worth exploring opportunities that are similar to meteorology like hydrology.  And getting further educated (with some internship experience) in hydrology too might not be a bad option.

And even better…if you can offer “meteorology” plus “hydrology” to an energy company or utility…you could make the case to the employer that you don’t need to hire two people and that you know both equally well (and/or you could be a back up to a hydrologist on staff in case they are sick).   Think about it.

Any other questions, comments, thoughts, perspectives…please feel free to use the comment box below.  (Photo credit:  Wikipedia)

In my blog, I’ve spoken about the role of an aviation, wind, solar, and energy trade floor meteorologist.  And today I’d like to add to that list and discuss another sector of operational meteorology:  The world of a marine meteorologist.

The role of a marine meteorologist is very important since they provide critical weather forecasts for ship operations.  Marine meteorologists generally work on an operational desk and normally provide weather forecasts for international ship routes for commercial fleet.    Some marine meteorologists also forecast for offshore oil platforms, ports, private yachts and fishing boats both for recreation and commercial purposes.

For example, let’s say a commercial ship is sailing from Tokyo, Japan to Long Beach, CA…the marine meteorologist will put together written and visual weather forecasts for the ship operator to help them steer clear of inclement weather at sea within the route.

The marine meteorologist will mainly forecast the strength, speed, and direction of tropical storms, typhoons/hurricanes, and any severe weather that could result in major damage of the ship or significantly delay the progress of the ship.  Marine meteorologists also monitor earthquakes around the world in case a tsunami may result.

Why is steering clear of bad weather so important to ship operators?  Well, first for safety reasons.  If the ship runs right through a typhoon in the western Pacific, it could be life-threatening for the passengers on board.  Second, inclement weather affects the company’s  (client’s) bottom line.   If a ship is delayed X days due to weather, that is X days of lost profits.  The faster those goods are delivered to port, the faster they can sell them and make a profit.

So if a marine meteorologist is confident that a ship will run into inclement weather, he or she can notify the ship operator and they could alter their route hopefully saving lives, time, and money.  Long term forecasting in marine meteorology is becoming increasingly important.  The farther in advance there is warning for ship operators, the more optimum routes and preparation can be made.

Therefore, a large part of being a marine meteorologist is customer service.  You always want to make sure that the client is up to speed on the latest forecast and it’s communicated to them effectively.  You can also notice some of the world’s shipping routes in the photo I posted above.  As you can see, there are a lot of routes, so being able to multi-task on this job too is very crucial.

Since the clients are likely sailing throughout the world at all hours of the day, 24/7 shift work is usually required.   I hope that marine meteorology employers view my previous post on easing the burden of rotating shifts when they can

In terms of salaries, I’d say an entry level marine meteorologist salary is around 25-45k depending upon where you work.   Senior level meteorologists who have more than 15 years of experience could earn near six figures and also have “better shifts”.  It’s pretty similar to most operational meteorology jobs in Aviation or NWS when you’ve reached a certain level of seniority.

A couple of companies that hire marine meteorologists in their companies are Rockwell Collins, Fleet Weather, Weathernews Americas, Applied Weather Technology, Meteogroup, and the list goes on.

Bottom line, marine meteorologists are an integral part of maritime operations. It’s another great and fascinating sector for an operational meteorologist to consider as a career.  Even as modeling becomes more robust, I believe there will always be a role for a marine meteorologist.  Effective human communication, whether written or verbal, is vital to a company’s (or client’s) success.

If you have any further questions, comments, or perspective about the world of marine meteorologists, feel free holler! (Photo credit: wired.com)

I’ve recently been receiving a lot of private emails about meteorologists asking for advice on how to transition to other sectors in meteorology.  Many folks are wondering how to transition from Aviation or other operational meteorology jobs into Energy Trade Floor meteorology.  A lot of TV meteorologists I’ve talked to are just frustrated with the TV business and want to enter into the private forecasting world.   If you are in one of these categories…don’t worry you are not alone.

There isn’t a huge supply of meteorology jobs out there as many of you already know.  And when a position opens up, many times hundreds of folks apply to fill one position.   And many times an employer won’t understand why you’re suddenly making a career transition in meteorology from just your resume.   A large percentage of hiring managers won’t even read your cover letter just for the sake of time.   So you have to be a little creative and help tell your story in other ways.

Bottom line, it works against your odds to just blindly send your resume in today’s economic climate…especially if you are trying to transition from one field of meteorology to another.  So, what are some effective ways to help make this transition and stand out from the competition?

(By the way, students and recent grads can use some of these tactics to get their first entry level meteorology job too)

First:  Do your Research.  Before you try and transition by blindly applying to positions, you should do your research about the new industry.  This blog is hopefully a great starting point for the energy and (other) operational sectors.  You should find out exactly what the role entails for aviation, energy, government and other operational meteorologists.

More importantly, understand and learn to speak the jargon that each of these fields use.   The reason for this is because when you do the next two steps, you want to be able to speak intelligently.  You want to make it seem that you already work in the field!

Second:  LinkedIn.  I can’t emphasize enough the importance of LinkedIn to maintain and develop contacts in Meteorology.  If you’re not on LinkedIn, you ought to be.  Start connecting with weather folks in the industry you want to transition to.   Join all the major weather “groups”.  Participate in discussions.

Why?  Because let’s say a position opens up that you’re interested in and the hiring manager is actually within your Linkedin connections, you have a little bit of an “edge” than someone just blindly sending their resume.  You have the ability to contact the hiring manager directly!  And trust me, more than 95% of people generally blindly send their resumes anyway.   You need to be in that 5%.

Third:  Networking & Conferences.   Many folks looking to transition should be going to the AMS Conference in a few weeks or other major weather conferences throughout the year.  Not just for the career fair, but you have the opportunity to meet many other top notch energy, aviation, government, and other private consulting meteorologists in person.

Why is this important?  One reason is when a position does open up and a hiring manager gets your resume on his/her desk…they may remember your name by thinking, “I remember meeting “so and so” at this conference.  Really nice person and knew their stuff”.   Just that first impression you made in person could help make a big difference.

There are many more tactics you can do to help you transition into your next meteorology job.  Simply making phone calls, participating in weather forecasting contests, joining local meteorology meet ups, and/or participating in weather forums such as those on “AmericanWx” can help tremendously to help you stand out.  And as I’ve mentioned before…some of this may be common sense to a lot of seasoned meteorologists.  But there are many students and young professionals out there that are just looking for some perspective.

Bottom line, if you want to transition from one sector of meteorology to another, make sure you do your homework first.   You have to understand the other sector, connect online with folks, and try and meet them in person at conferences/meet ups.  Speaking of standing out…I’ll be launching a new service fairly soon on the blog that will help you stand out from the competition.  Stay tuned for more details! (photo credit: mbexec.net)