A Sunny Future for Meteorology Students
About a dozen Aggies from Texas A&M University will graduate with a B.S. in Meteorology this spring. At least a couple of them plan on pursuing a career in television.
Lecturer Shel Winkley is getting them ready for the real world in his Broadcast Meteorology class. He invited me to visit with his students and share my insights on the future of the business.
“Now more than ever, we are broadcasters,” I said to the students. “We broadly cast our message about the weather on-air, online, and on social media.”
I explained what I call the Fundamentals of Effective Weather Communication, which breaks down the job into three components: meteorology, message, and marketing.
“There is a promising future,” I told them, “for those who understand meteorology, can craft an essential message, and know how to deliver the message on multiple platforms.”
It’s always fun to meet the next generation of broadcast meteorologists, knowing that someday I might see one of them on TV.
Tim Heller is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, Talent Coach, and Weather Content Consultant. He helps local TV stations and broadcast meteorologists communicate more effectively on-air, online, and on social media.