Inspiration for budding Meterologists

[Scott Nelson]

Looking for some advice from some weather friends.

My fourteen year old child has had an interest in weather since he was roughly six years old he and recently starting suggesting that he'd like meterology to be his career path. Although young adults are certainly allowed to change thier minds many times over as they get older, it's nice to see that he'd already like his studies to help his future. Math, Geography and English all seem to be subjects he should embrace as he finishes public school but in addition to the "generalized" classes they offer, what else can I do to encourage and inspire him for the next four years or so before he possibly heads off to a good weather college? Some of the terminolgy in the Stormtrack threads occasionally get a bit above his (as well as my own,) age level. So I'm simply looking for appropriate forms of studies, inspiration or resources that could hold his interest.

Any and all suggestions/advice would be well received. Even if it's simply... "this is what inspired me when I was his age or this is what I did that wasn't worth the time" would be helpful.

Thanks everyone and Happy "safe" tracking.
Scott Nelson

 

[Sam Stone]

Having only looked at a couple met major programs, getting going in Math would set him up well. In Minnesota, there are lots of 'talented youth' math programs run through Universities and such that allow kids in high school to blow through math courses (calc 1-2, multivariable, diffeq, etc.) very quickly...he could graduate high school being done with all his math, only needing 2-3 more courses to get a degree (or at least minor) in mathematics.

If he REALLY wants to jump on the bandwagon, look into a 'PSEO' (post-secondary enrollment option) program. In Minnesota, Juniors and Seniors in high school can go full time to any state university of their choosing and have their tuition paid for by the state (room and board if they live at school is up to you). I went to the University of Minnesota my senior year of high school...and while it was a sacrafice to my social life, I don't regret it one bit, and would've done it my Junior year if I could have.

High school sucks, unless there is a unique program or some other organization offering something good around, I don't think he'll make any major inroads. Best he could hope for is to get all of his pre-reqs out of the way so he can jump into the fun stuff right away once he goes off to college.

Sam

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Depending on your location, you can see if there is a NWS office nearby that will take a student volunteer. At the very least, they'll probably give you a tour. I was fortunate enough to have parents that fostered my yearn for more weather knowledge at a young so trust me... he'll appreciate it at a later date regardless of what career path he takes!

One thing you could do is pick up an intro level meteorology book such as "Meteorology Today". My bet is you can find some cheap ones that are used on bookfinder.com. The science in intro clases hasn't changed any... just updated graphics with each edition and perhaps a bit more blurb on the climate debate.

As far as HS goes, try to push him on the accelerated math path if they have it... I was able to take calc in high school. Also push him to take physics and any AP offerings. If he likes it, awesome... good prep for college. If he doesn't, or struggles with it, that's a decent measure of how studying meteorology may go at the collegiate level.

 

[Jeff Passner]

One thing I did as a kid his age was watch the TV weather every night on the local news. These days, watching The Weather Channel should be one thing he can do as well as reading about the subject. Calling your local TV station and getting a tour is a possibility and if the TV meteorologist is nice he or she might even spend some time with him... I'd just play it slowly because learning science does not happen overnight. If he's still interested in a year or two then it's time to get serious about math. By the time he's 16, he should be able to answer how serious he really is about meteorology as a career. It's fun but very difficult.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

I would definitely recommend that he should focus on math during high school. A lot of programs start with Calc I or II. If he's not up to that level when he starts college, he will be struggling to catch up all four years. I can tell you from a person who is going through that right now, it's not a lot of fun.

Also, I would highly recommend going to a weather camp. I don't know if any other universities have one but I know Penn State has one. I went there two years and it definitely stimulated my interest in meteorology. Here's a link to the camp: http://www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/weather-camp/

I hope this helps!

 

[Jason Levit]

Computers are an extremely integral component to meteorology. If your high school offers any computer programming classes, I would highly recommend these. Most meteorologists will end up using programming somewhere in their career.

 

[Dean Baron]

I agree with the math comments. I was placed in a low math class when I started college (as in not college level, although I had completed Pre-Calc senior and had a B average in math throughout high school). I'm in my second semester of high school and am now in a college level math class, I still have one more math class to take before I even get to calc. Point is have him very well prepared in math before college, it will save a lot of time, money, and frustration later.

I'll also say have a good basic understanding of physics. The met. programs I have looked at require atleast 2 semesters of calc-based physics. Again, if he has a good understanding before college this will save time and money later.

 

[Paul Austin]

I agree with everyone else about the math being key to success. However, that side of weather probably won't be the inspiration that holds his interest. For that, I think you need to find out what areas of meteorology truly fascinate him. For myself, it was convective weather, and I drew my inspiration from my own observations, severe weather outbreak coverage on tv (no internet back then), videos of weather events, and books I checked out at the library. I was inspired by a couple of tornado events in my tender youth that got me into reading. All my friends were reading fiction or sports and such. I was reading about what little was understood about supercells and tornadoes. The areas of fascination fed into the areas that I lacked interest, so I would say finding out his "specialty" would be helpful. If it's convective weather, perhaps a local SkyWarn chapter would be a great starting point for learning, connecting with others, and just feeding interest. Definitely try to connect with a local met if possible. Any youth meteorology clubs or programs would be a good start, although those are probably few and far between. You might also get him in touch with Shawna Davies. She's a member here and spends quite a bit of time educating and talking to kids/young adults. And her husband, Jon, is a prominent met in the KC area. I'm sure they would be happy to answer some questions, if he has any. Also, encourage him to passionately pursue his interest. I pursued mine in secret for a long time, thinking others would have a hard time understanding why I actually liked storms and severe weather. What a strange one, that Paul kid is, ha ha! I guess what I'm saying is, whatever you do, seek to validate his interest, and he'll probably take it from there.

Just a few suggestions

 

[John Massura]

I also had that "weather" mindset since my early years of grammar school. I agree with the discussion so far, I think math is huge. Can't say I enjoyed most of it, and I don't use it anymore (luckily!) in operations, but you need to get it done. I also agree with regards to computer programming if possible (Python, Perl, and perhaps Java) seem to be fairly big now in the NWS (from what I've been told, I could very well be wrong). I am definitely lacking in the computer programming aspect (with very little/nil experience), so this is one thing I am trying to improve on now, even though I don't need it presently.

Another thing I didn't see mentioned, would be possible Public Speaking/Speech classes. I took a Speech class freshman year in high school, in a class with about 60% seniors/40% freshman. I was nervous beyond belief for my first speech in front of the class, since I had no experience. I got much better through the year, and I think it helped a ton. I have given one conference speech (at the Des Moines severe weather conference in 2003 I think), and it was pretty easy, along with Air Force weather briefings to O-6/7's. So, I would highly recommend this as another potential option.

John

 

[Scott Nelson]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and inspirational ideas so far. Please keep them coming. The path each person takes to a weather career is very interesting. Gleaning from each of your own stories may better help me foster his own path without being overbearing. You have to want it on your own.

Unfortunately, math is his only real weakness in school. Getting him to take extra math classes will be a rough go but I can understand why it's better to get them out of the way sooner rather than later. Still-- when I see how much math is involved I pain for him.

Jeff suggested a local T.V. station tour. That is a simple great idea. We're in the Boston market (central MA) so I'll look into that right now as opposed to the Weather Channel in Atlanta.

Andrew mentioned weather camps. Another good idea. I'll look into what possibly Umass offers. I belive they are the largest "somewhat" local college that has weather majors and possibly camps for students.

Thankfully-- the computer skills shouldn't be hard to push him towards and I like Aaron's suggestion of meterology today. Having a book in front of you and simply reading is ALWAYS good!

Even if you think your own story might not help-- please keep them coming. I know I was inspired to pursue my own occupation when I was only 5. Well over 30 years later and I STILL think about certain words my mentor gave me. It all helps.

thanks,
Scott

 

[Tom Dulong]

Unfortunately, math is his only real weakness in school. Getting him to take extra math classes will be a rough go but I can understand why it's better to get them out of the way sooner rather than later. Still-- when I see how much math is involved I pain for him.

There are certainly other career tracks for weather enthusiasts. He might consider being an on-screen weathercaster. That field is also a very competitive, tough road but a degree in meteorology/minor in math is not necessarily required. I tried to go that direction early in my career but did not have the right persona to be in front of the camera. He might have "the right stuff."

As we are well aware, there are TV weathercasters who also chase both for the station and also on their own time.

 

[Sam Stone]

I was never a fan of math until I started to learn how to do really cool things with it...if he isn't especially interested, it might be a struggle to show him the stuff you can do with calculus (it has some cool applications in terms of calculating indicies of CAPE, shear, etc.) to get him enthused, but its an idea.

Sam

 

[Zac Flamig]

While I agree on the math thing, it is also not that big of a deal and can be extremely unpleasant. Encourage him to be ready to take Calc I his first semester in college but if you can't push him for more than that or he is not prepared to take Calc I then it is not the end of the world.

However, what I would really do is encourage his passion for weather.

If he enjoys storms, buy him a camera and tell him to start taking pictures.
If he enjoys computers/measurements/programming buy him a weather station and encourage him to write software to utilize the data.
Absolutely buy him books on weather, I've come across some older weather books and its fun to read through them and see how the science and beliefs surrounding weather have changed.

Basically, if you give him the passion now, he'll be more than able to manage and won't mind the math and physics that getting the degree requires.