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¨ Do you know of any schools in Alberta where I could study meteorology?
¨ Advice for child wanting to become meteorologist

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QUESTION:
Do you know of any schools in Alberta where I could study meteorology?

ANSWER from Stephanie Wong on 31 January 2004:
The University of Alberta offers a program in Atmospheric Sciences. It would provide you training in general environmental earth science, the physical processes of the atmosphere, the climate and weather forecasting. It is a four-year program, your 1st year would be the basic core science courses, including intro geology. Your second year would consist mainly of geology, physics and math courses. You really get into the atmospheric processes in the 3rd, and your final year would be comprised in whatever you decide to take as electives. So basically, to become a meteorologist/atmospheric scientist, you need to know about the environment, earth science and the physics of the atmosphere. You will get a good dose of laboratories, where you get to apply all the things that you have learned in class.

Please refer to the UofA's Earth and Atmospheric Sciences website: http://easweb.eas.ualberta.ca/undergrads/index.cfm

If you are interested in applying, please contact one of the student advisors. They are there to help you, and the EAS department people are friendly.

Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about university in general. Good luck.

Stephanie Wong
Student
University of Alberta

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QUESTION:
My son, who is 11, has shown a lot of interest in becoming a meteorologist. I need to know what is required to work in this field and what as a sixth grader if anything can he do to help his vision.

ANSWER from Claire Martin on 16 December 2003:
First off there's a great little site on the net for your son to check out - go to www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca - it's the government weather office web site, go down the left hand side, click on "Frequently Asked Questions" - and one of the links goes to "Careers in Meteorology" - that'll answer a lot of questions for you.

In general you need a solid background in maths and science and computer sciences. You must love the great outdoors! Meteorologists are a breed of people born to be outside - no matter what the weather! The work is usually shift work and you can be posted to some of the remotest spots in the world. By the way, less than 10% of meteorologists work in TV - most are employed by the military and the government.

It's an exciting but humbling science to be involved in - there are changes around every corner, and we're still learning about our world - but if you're interested in the subject, it's a fascinating and thrilling career!

Claire Martin
Meteorologist
Edmonton, Canada

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Last Updated:
20 December 2005