Career aspects

The following list of career options for graduates is not meant to be complete but is intended to give insight to the various chances for interesting employments, not only with a background immediately related to weather but also to industry, media, public administration and more.

German Weather Service (DWD)

The German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) is one of the most important employers for meteorologists, especially in the Rhein-Main-area. At the headquarter at Offenbach as well as in branch offices and meteorological observatories, meteorologists work on weather predictions as well as research and development of new weather related products and simulation models. An important part of DWD's activities is the field of weather information and warnings for the public.

Weather and media

Many meteorologists decide to pursue a career in media companies such as radio or TV stations. Beyond the presentation of weather reports those jobs often also include preparation of forecasts.

Industry jobs

The fundamental scientific education of meteorologists allows many of them to find an employment in the field of chemical industries, aerospace, shipping, automobile development, combustion technologies, pharmacy and more. Also, studying meteorology provides relevant capabilities to handle large amounts of data, e.g. to analyse satellite data.

Liability calculation and risk assessment for insurance companies

Important reinsurers, such as Munich RE (Münchner Rückversicherung), nowadays employ meteorologists to create computer based anlyzes and calculations to estimate risks connected with heavy impact weather events such as storms, floods or drought periods. Also, meteorologists simulate weather induced damages and according measures.

Administration and public planning

Meteorologists are well received employees in the field of clean air management or environmental protection, e.g. serving as consultants during urban planning. Agrometeorologists supply advice regarding use of plant protection products such as pesticides based on their assessment of the current weather situation.

Scientific career

Last not least, many graduates decide to stay at the institute to serve the science "Meteorology" by maens of the skills the have aquired during their studies. National and international institutions (such as IPA) and research centres (such as MPIC) employ young scientists and support their work to explore the atmosphere.