Many of our undergraduate majors have been
hired by the National Weather Service (NWS) since the late
1980s when this track was established. In addition, our graduates
have been hired by private industry, and a few have launched
successful weather broadcast careers
In the Atmospheric Science/Climatology major track, students
take the Atmospheric Science courses (631, 637, 638) if they
are interested in weather forecasting careers with either
private companies or governmental agencies such as the National
Weather Service (NWS). The NWS has hired several O.S.U.
geography majors since the late 1980s when Atmospheric Science
track was developed. Employment opportunities are expected
to decline into the late 1990s as the NWS completes its modernization
program. Upon applying for employment, the NWS will pay particular
attention to your grade point average and to the specific
courses that you have taken while in college. Students who
wish to work for the NWS should also do the following during
their college years:
-
take at least one computer programming course, preferably
in the languages FORTRAN or C,
-
take one quarter of chemistry,
-
take one course in remote sensing (for example Civil
Engineering 603), and
-
take one course in hydrology (Civil Engineering 613)
or in oceanography (Geology 206).
Computer programming courses are important but are problematic
in that the CIS 459.01 and CIS 459.21 courses in FORTRAN and
C have long lists of prerequisites. A student might instead
consider Engineering Graphics 167 (a difficult course but
which immediately trains you in FORTRAN or C++, depending
on the instructor), and, as a minimum, a student should take
CIS 201 and CIS 230. The Climatology track, in which Atmospheric
Science courses are not required, is insufficient training
for the NWS but it does offer adequate training for those
interested radio and television weather forecasting (especially
in combination with Journalism/Communication courses) and
it stands as a solid general Bachelor of Science major track.
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