Question re: Mississippi State University program

[George Salvia]

Hello.

I've been thinking about enrolling in MSU's Operational Meteorology Program, and I was wondering if anyone has gone through this program (In searching the forum, it looks like a couple of members were in the program several years ago). Any comments on the quality/reputation of the program? MSU seems to be the go-to place for broadcast mets, but I haven't heard much about the OMP curriculum.

I don't intend to become a professional met, so I don't really need a traditional, mathematically rigorous met degree as required by the NWS, et al. I'm currently working towards getting into airline flight operations, where a solid practical understanding of meteorology is important, though WX knowledge beyond what is learned during training/licensing is not really required. The other good thing about the OMP is that you can apply the certificate credits toward a non-met B.S. degree, which I want as well...and most important, I can do the program via distance education. I think the OMP certificate and Geosciences B.S. would be a good fit for my needs

Thoughts?

 

[MClarkson]

What do you want to do in flight ops? If its meteorology, you are probably going to need to end up with an MS and a year or 2 of forecasting experience plus some knowledge of flying (an instrument pilot rating is a good start). There is a lot of competition for only a few jobs in the US. An easier path (but with less fun weather) would be dispatching and scheduling. These still have some weather though. For dispatch... well you obviously want your dispatchers certificate plus flight time. Scheduling, a general overall knowledge of aviation practices is usually good to start off. Overall I would say a resume with a business administration degree plus flight certificates would be your best bet for general flight ops. There are lots of dispatchers and schedulers around, but only a few meteorologists.

 

[rdale]

The other good thing about the OMP is that you can apply the certificate credits toward a non-met B.S. degree, which I want as well...and most important, I can do the program via distance education.

I don't think the BS degree can be done all online though, and they note that the OMP is not accredited so cannot be transferred. Are you sure that's what you want?

 

[George Salvia]

What do you want to do in flight ops?

I want to do dispatching. FWIW, I also have a private pilot certificate. I will be going for my dispatch cert. some time next year. I feel that it doesn't hurt to have meteorology knowledge beyond what is required to be a dispatcher--or any aviation ops job--but again, I don't plan on becoming a professional forecaster. I'd like to get a science-related degree for both future employment opportunities and personal satisfaction/growth.

I don't think the BS degree can be done all online though, and they note that the OMP is not accredited so cannot be transferred. Are you sure that's what you want?

For the B.S., I could transfer some credits from my aviation A.S. degree that I'm almost done with. I could also take additional required gen. ed. courses locally and transfer those credits (and there's CLEP exams that can be used as well). Thing is, I want to get out of Florida as soon as possible, but I don't know where I'll end up until I accept a job with an airline. I want to start working full time while taking a handful of courses per semester through the MSU program and/or a local college...wherever "local" is for me over the next few years.

The accreditation issue seems to focus on the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, but I can check to see how this would affect transferring credits to another university (which I don't intend to do anyway).

My other issue with a traditional met degree is the heavy math. I'm doing some self-study now to improve my math skills--and I seem to be picking it up with more ease now than I did way back in high school--but I'm not sure if I could handle all the calculus needed for a true met degree. I think I will eventually take a shot at some calculus if I feel I can handle it, if only for personal satisfaction.

Right now I'm just going over a bunch of options, so I haven't committed to this OMP, but I'm close--barring a serious reason not to commit.


Thanks for the replies so far--I really appreciate them! I'd still like to see some comments from anyone who is familiar with the curriculum or MSU in general.

-GS

 

[MClarkson]

"Thing is, I want to get out of Florida as soon as possible"

I was going to suggest Embry-Riddle. Guess not

 

[Randy Bowers]

You can pay the state of Mississippi to tell you which books to read and which MetEd courses to take, or you can do it yourself for much cheaper and get just as much out of it.

https://www.meted.ucar.edu/ - Free high-quality meteorology courses on a wide range of topics, including aviation weather.

A few books that come to mind:

"Meteorology Today" by Aherens

"Weather Maps" by Chaston

"Mid-Latitude Weather Systems" by Carlson

If you need a B.S. of some sort, you could major in a topic that would be less narrow focused giving you more options for employment.

 

[MClarkson]

Also, the real-world education you get by looking at the various data sources while reading what experienced forecasters say on sites like this or the NWS discussions, is pretty helpful.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

I am passing along an e-mail I received today from someone simply named "Ben". He asked not to publish his contact info. I don't vouch for the accuracy of any of the info; I am just adding it to the discussion.

In reference to this thread, I would like to ask (as a graduate of MSU) that you correct the misinformation about their meteorology degree program(s). They are in fact fully accredited and can transfer. There is also the option to take the traditional calculus based courses as well (as required by the government in some cases). If you or perspective students have questions about the program, they can go to the msstate.edu website or contact the geoscience department. I find the comment about simply reading a book “you can pay the state of Mississippi to tell you which books to readâ€￾ to be ignorant. I for one would never hire someone as a meteorologist that didn’t complete a formal credible meteorology degree. Simply reading a few books on your own does not make you a meteorologist as I’m sure you well know.

In addition, MSU does offer graduate level meteorology degrees. It is however true, that for the undergraduate degree that some courses may have to be taken on campus. Although for the OMP degree, most of it can be done online. Since technology is becoming so front and center it may be the trend of the future to telecommute for education. Most, if not all people already use the internet in a daily capacity.

If you could just correct the misinformation, that would be great. I’m speaking from a graduate perspective and not on behalf of MSU, although they would likely tell you the exact same thing I have. MSU is a very credible well operated meteorology program with many options. Initially it was known for its certificate program, but since then has morphed into a well regarded meteorology program with multiple fully accredited degree’s and courses. The staff are well educated (Most PhD) and connected with today’s technology. Their program has also been recognized by the WMO and UCAR kind of like a poster child for meteorological education specifically for their distance learning programs. The remark about accreditation on the OMP program website regards Department of Education teacher certification from the NACTE. It has nothing to do with degree/course accreditation or transferability.

 

[rdale]

Unless MSU's webpage is completely wrong, I think Ben misunderstood a few comments... There is no OMP degree that can be completed mostly online -- it is a certificate. "

The OMP can supply up to 52 hours of university credit which can be applied towards a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University."

Given the market flooded with 4-6-8 year fully degreed mets, the OMP certificate is probably not going to land you a gig.​

 

[Randy Bowers]

I for one would never hire someone as a meteorologist that didn’t complete a formal credible meteorology degree. Simply reading a few books on your own does not make you a meteorologist as I’m sure you well know.

Right, a formal and credible meteorolgy degree would be needed for employment as a meteorologist. The resources that I suggested should be sufficient for the original poster's needs since he doesn't intend to be a professional meteorologist. This saves him from having to pay tuition for a degree that he doesn't intend to use.