How to pursue further interest

[kmreid]

I was hoping to gather some advice from fellow members. I would love to go back to college (I have a bachelor's in Graphic Design) to obtain a degree in Meteorology but there aren't any local colleges that offer Meteorology/Atmospheric Science per se. There are a number of physical science and environmental science courses at my local college. What advice would any of you give to me under these circumstances? I have a family so I can't just move out of state to go to college.

 

[Karen St John]

Take those classes, which you will need anyway. In fact, if this is a community college you are talking about, that's the place to take the basics. The investment is less. Community colleges have much to recommend them: the education is good, and very often the students are more serious, because they weren't partying at Tappa Kegga Brew the night before. I'm doing that this fall.

 

[jaredleighton]

Expanding on what Karen said; community college is an excellent resource to get a lot of the basic classes out of the way. Almost every community college offers the classes that you'll need to get started in a meteorology degree. I wouldn't waste my time on any of those physical science classes except for Physics (1 through 3) and Chemistry (1 and 2). You'll definitely need all the physics and chemistry you can get before going to a 4 year institution. Those will give you the foundation for taking the atmospheric science classes (thermodynamics, dynamics, synoptics, radiation, etc...). Also the community college is an excellent resource to get as much math out of the way as possible. You'll need to get through the entire Calculus series (1 through 4), then Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (along with all the pre-requisites) to get a B.S. in Met. Not knowing how much math background you have; if you're ready to jump into the calculus series right now, you're looking at at least 3 maybe even 4 years of straight math, and even longer if you need the pre-reqs for Calculus. A lot of the math is taken concurrently with the Met classes, but it can't hurt to get as far into the math as possible before trying to transfer.

I'm obviously a little biased, and I'm not intending to dissuade anyone from pursuing a degree in a program, but I feel atmospheric science/meteorology is one of the hardest degrees to attain. In fact many of the fluid dynamics and engineering majors who took some ATM classes with me just scoffed and said "good luck" when they got done with the class. The math is extremely tough, and then you get atmospheric dynamics waiting for you on the flip side of all those math classes.

I see you say you can't go to a university due to family obligations and if it's online courses you are looking for...I'm not 100% certain, but I'm not sure there are any valid online degree programs for atmospheric science/meteorology. If meteorology is a passing interest I know Penn State has some online courses, but I don't think they end up earning you a degree. Others here will correct me if I'm wrong on any of the above.

Overall, if you're looking to pursue an ATM degree I would suggest you enroll in the local JuCo and just start bulldozing through all the math, physics, and chemistry then maybe later on down the road an opportunity will open up for you to transfer to a university that offers a program.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

get all the math you can out of the way at the college community level! So much easier than at the university level. and all the other small classes too. then go to somewhere like OU for the big classes and get that degree. A few years after I graduate from MTSU with degree in Digital Media Communications, I'm going back for meteorology degree.

 

[Jason Foster]

Find the closest AMS local chapter and start going. You'll get a much better idea and well rounded advice from those folks who are more intimately familiar with all the atmospheric sciences directly or indirectly related to the weather.

 

[kmreid]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I am definitely taking things into consideration.

The only real concern IS the math aspect. I have always had some degree of trouble with math while in school. College went more smoothly as I invested a lot of time seeking outside help. I understand that this would pose a very real challenge for me so I am wondering how many of you had trouble with math but still managed to make it through the courses? My husband has bachelor's in Nuclear, Mechanical and General Engineering so he is very proficient in math. He has taken quite a few courses that would be required in Meteorology so I would have a little bit of help at home.

I am honestly wondering if this is worth me trying at all? I have developed a passion for studying weather but you can only do so much without additional guidance. I would love to study Meteorology/Atmospheric Science just to prove to myself that I could (amongst other reasons) but I need to be realistic. I am still going to inquire at my local 4 year college regardless but are there other options that may be available to someone like me?