If you're interested in global warming or El Nino, perhaps a career in
climatology is in your future.
David Phillips is a senior climatologist with a government agency. Phillips
is called a weather ambassador because he is an advisor on climate applications
and services to the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization.
Phillips loves weather. "I even have a dog named Winston the Weather Dog,"
he says with a laugh.
Phillips has been on the job for 35 years. He appears regularly on television
and radio shows. He has also written six books about climate.
Phillips didn't start out wanting to work with weather. After getting an
undergraduate degree in geography, he took a job with a government agency
that deals with weather. "I called myself a geographer -- not a climatologist."
In the beginning, Phillips worked as a research scientist studying how
the Great Lakes affect the weather and vice versa.
"My employer encouraged me to further my education," he says. "I acquired
a master's degree by studying at night."
Phillips calls himself a weather historian. "I don't conduct research.
I read the scientific literature and interpret it in a way that the public
can be entertained and learn from it."
Suppose you want to inform people that a tornado is coming. "You want to
give them an edge that will make them smile," he says. "Then you hit them
with the safety tip that will save their lives."
Phillips enjoys knowing that he helps people make decisions that can change
lives. "It is a rewarding occupation."
Days are chaotic. When the phone rings, Phillips must deal with whatever
lands on his plate. There could be media interviews or a film shoot. He might
be reading research documents, writing or preparing a speech for a service
club or conference.
"I almost feel guilty because I love my job so much," he says.
Phillips thinks climatology is a blossoming field. He advises students
to study a broad range of sciences and mathematics and to develop communication
skills.
Edward J. Hopkins agrees. He is a lecturer and weather education consultant
at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He also does work for the Wisconsin
State Climatology Office.
Hopkins advises would-be climatologists to learn public speaking or to
study broadcasting.
Hopkins first studied chemistry, then meteorology. He became interested
in long-term climate effects. "My PhD research involved the long-term variations
of solar radiance," he says.
Hopkins and a colleague are writing a book on weather and climate. "It's
very exciting. This is the highlight of my career," he says.
Hopkins also teaches a distance-learning course for teachers. "Part of
my day is spent on that, and the other part I spend answering questions concerning
climate."
Hopkins looks up answers to questions such as whether a tornado went through
an area in the 1920s, or how often it snows in a location. "It's satisfying
to know your information was useful."
Hopkins believes that there is a growing interest in climatology. However,
he can't predict how much work will be available.
"It's fraught with danger if you limit yourself to climatology classes,"
he warns. "Study science and math, and learn computer programming languages.
You need to be able to write programs to solve research issues.
"There are not many jobs that are pure climatology, especially for those
without a doctorate," he says.
"There aren't a lot of journeymen jobs where you are doing strict climatology,"
agrees David Robinson. He is the New Jersey State Climatologist. "Most of
us have PhDs, and our assistants are computer scientists."
Robinson is known as "The Snowman" because he specializes in snow coverage.
The Snowman has loved weather since he was a child. He began keeping weather
records in Grade 4. Still, Robinson's career developed through what he calls
a "circuitous route."
In college, he discovered that he was a scientist at heart. While majoring
in geology, he assembled 80 years of climate data for his hometown.
"I had this underlying interest in the weather and climate," he recalls.
The study of geology translated into a summer job at the Lamont Doherty
Earth Observatory of Columbus University. Returning to college at summer's
end, Robinson did a project on Arctic sea ice. "I was becoming a climatologist
without realizing it," he says with a laugh.
While Robinson was doing post-doctoral research, a job opened up at Rutgers
for a geographer. "I applied, and the rest is history," he says. "Then, 11
years ago, I was appointed New Jersey State climatologist.
"I'm a climatologist in a geography department with a major in geology,"
he says.
Robinson has many responsibilities. Giving interviews to the media takes
up a lot of time. He gave 400 interviews in the first 10 months of 2002. "When
we had a big snowstorm, I gave 18 interviews in one day!"
Like many other climatologists, Robinson does 100 things at once. Much
of it involves research, data archival and dissemination. "I address everything
from slip and fall accidents to people who are studying turtle migration,"
he says.
"Being busy like this isn't unusual, but it's a little crazy. Academics
tend to be self-motivated."
Pam Knox is the assistant state climatologist in the Georgia State Climatology
Office. She has been involved in climatology since 1980. Knox first became
interested in weather when she witnessed a tornado as a little girl.
As an undergrad, she had a double major in math and physics. She switched
to meteorology at graduate school. Afterwards, she taught school and then
worked for the National Weather Service headquarters. "I studied heavy rainfall
events, like 100-year floods," she says.
Knox describes her role as a combination of scientist and librarian. She
takes scientific information and communicates it to the public. "I need a
wide range of knowledge and I do a lot of different things at once."
Knox answers phone calls and e-mails and talks to the media. Questions
can be anything from people planning weddings to government contacts needing
data.
Some questions are easy. She can find the information from Internet databases.
Other times, she might have to do more work. "The question is knowing where
to look," she says.