Today, WNIJ host Jason Cregier asks Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford what the future of careers in weather services may look like for the next generation of forecasters and scientists.
Ford says that while you don’t want to discourage the next generation of those seeking careers in weather services not to pursue it, students in weather related fields will need to think broadly about what they want to do with their future endeavors in this career field.
He says that what’s happening at the federal level with cuts to the National Weather Service shouldn’t necessarily push students away from studying weather.
According to Ford, a lot of students that graduate don’t become professors at universities, or researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or NASA, but maybe more end up in the private sector.
“I have a number of former students and colleagues," Ford said, "who are working in the insurance industry, the catastrophe modeling industry and the ag industry."
He says those seeking careers in the field need to be thinking beyond the traditional path of a career in weather services through the federal and state government.
Ford also explained that “The best and brightest that we produce in the United States will follow the opportunities. If those opportunities are in the private sector, that’s where they will go.”
He also says that the goals of weather and climate predictions differ between the private and public sectors.
“My concern," he said, "is that more of these scientists who go into the private sector over the public sector is that a lot of their work may not make it into the public sector or affect public safety.”
Listen to Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford and WNIJ host Jason Cregier’s full conversation in the link above.
