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Meteorological Specialists


Background

Weather information is important for planning military operations. Accurate weather forecasts are needed to plan troop movements, airplane flights, and ship traffic. Meteorological specialists make visual observations and take readings from weather equipment, radar scans, and satellite photographs. Meteorological specialists collect information about weather and sea conditions for use by meteorologists. 

What They Do

Meteorological specialists in the military perform some or all of the following duties:

Physical Demands

Normal color vision is required to use color-coded maps and weather charts. Some specialties may involve heavy lifting.

Special Requirements

No information available.

Helpful Attributes

Helpful attributes include:

Helpful School Subjects

Helpful school subjects include:

Helpful Fields of Study

No information available.

Work Environment

Meteorological specialists usually work in offices either on land or aboard ships. They work outdoors when making visual weather observations and launching weather balloons.

Services offering this career:

Hiring Practices

To serve in the military, a person must be at least 17; the maximum age for enlistment varies. To enlist, a person must pass a physical exam and an aptitude test. An enlistee must also meet military standards of discipline and be a US citizen or permanent resident alien.

This position is for enlisted personnel.

Wages

The military is competitive with the civilian world when it comes to pay and benefits. All branches offer the same basic pay and benefits.

Pay depends mainly on rank or grade as well as length of service. Bonuses and the situation in which the person is serving (for example: flight duty, sea duty, hazardous duty) also affect pay. 

Cost-of-living increases usually occur every year, based on inflation. The military also pays allowances for food, clothing, and housing. All these factors combined are called Regular Military Compensation (RMC). They should all be considered when comparing military pay to civilian pay.

There are two main parts to RMC: basic pay and allowances. There are also additional incentives for special abilities, training, or hazardous duty.

Check out the RMC Calculator to calculate your RMC based on your inputs.

Training Provided

Job training consists of seven to 18 weeks of classroom instruction. Training length varies depending on specialty.

Course content typically includes:

Advanced training in weather forecasting is available for some specialties.

Civilian Counterparts

Civilian meteorological specialists work for government agencies (such as the US Weather Service), commercial airlines, radio and television stations, and private weather forecasting firms. They perform duties similar to military meteorological specialists. Civilian meteorological specialists may also be called oceanographer assistants and weather clerks.

Related Civilian Careers

Employment and Outlook

In peace time the services have about 4,000 meteorological specialists. In times of military action the number may be different, depending on the type of specialties required. Each year the services need new specialists due to changes in personnel and the demands of the field. After job training, new specialists collect weather information under the supervision of experienced workers. With experience, they perform more complex collection and analysis tasks and may become weather forecasters. Eventually, they may become managers of weather observation units.