Career In Meteorology

Studying tornadoes as a career?

Currently I am studying to be a Landscape Architect, but I also have a strong interest in meteorology and geology. Especially natural disasters, mostly Tornadoes though. If I wanted to go into studying tornadoes for a career, how would I go about that?

Public Comments

1. You should check out the Tornado Rain And Interesting Nature (T.R.A.I.N.) program. Call your local TV weatherman. He/She should know what I'm talking about and if there's any in your area. Good day. ;)
2. That is a tough career choice. While many people are well known for their work in tornadoes, most are doing it as only a part or aside of their profession as a meteorologist. Many are just forecasters that by hard work and luck happen to get a job at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Storm Prediction Center or as a Professor at an University with a strong meteorological department such as University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M, University of Chicago, Penn State, and a few others. Dr. Fujita, who developed the Fujita Scale, was a professor at the University of Chicago. Many of the grants and/or studies that involve tornado research usually are typically done with grants from the National Science Foundation or the federal government. They are very few people (maybe no one) that get enough money just for researching tornadoes without another source of income. Sort of like tornado chasers. Most do it for the love of the storm rather than for a career or a source of income. So, my best recommendation would be to first get a degree in meteorology or related science field, get an advance degree specifically in what you want to do. Then get a job as a forecaster and work your way into the field and then try to specifically work your way into job at one of the universities or research centers. The odds of you getting exactly what you want are slim without a lot of work and a little luck. Good luck to you.