Over 32 years, I served on ships and submarines operating all over the world where I provided critical weather and ocean information to keep Navy operations safe and effective. I retired as the Oceanographer of the Navy, and then served as the Acting and Deputy Administrator of NOAA.

In my eyes, an ideal job is one that is interesting and rewarding, and there are good people that share my professional values.

I have learned that no matter how deep your knowledge of science—in my case, atmospheric science—your knowledge can only go so far if you cannot properly communicate it. Having taken many theatre and improvisational classes, I learned the invaluable skill of listening and reacting, as well as clearly communicating to connect with my audience.

What do I like most? Guiding my clients through rough waters and ensuring that they have a profitable business. As a consultant, we are heavily relied upon for our expertise and opinion. The most challenging??? Predicting the future. Clients rely on me to predict what the near-future will look like. As you can see, what I like most and what is the most challenging are basically one and the same!

If you were not able to be a meteorologist, what would you be? What other passion do you have? Seek out opportunities to grow that alternative passion through course work, club activities, and student memberships in professional societies. Learn as much as you can about that passion. Increasingly, being a meteorologist will need to be accompanied by specialization in another area, and bringing those two passions together for applications to real-world problems.

One of the most exciting things that has happened to me was coming to NOAA to work on applied science to advance our forecasts of too much and too little water. Working as a public servant is a big responsibility but is extremely gratifying and, let's face it, NOAA's mission of science, service, and stewardship is pretty cool.

New problems present an opportunity to apply my knowledge and experience to form a new solution. I like to look at problems in different ways to find the best approach to fix an issue or extend the system to meet a new requirement. Working with a great team toward a solution that will benefit the NWS forecasters and allow them to do their jobs properly and efficiently is very satisfying. 

I love that weather is such a huge player in the energy markets. To be able to do something as fun and challenging as predicting prices across an entire energy grid, while still being able to involve my first passion—weather—on a daily basis is a dream come true.

What makes atmospheric science so compelling is there is so much more to figure out. I love the challenge of trying to make sense of the puzzle without having all the pieces... and then communicating what we do know to improve business and society.

I can tell you that being a degreed meteorologist and competent developer is a dynamite combination. Given how our field is coming to grips with the probabilistic nature of all forecasts, I also wish I were better versed in statistics than I am.

I recently went back to school for a masters degree in emergency management. The curriculum focused on the societal impacts of weather. I really enjoyed classes on cross-sector collaboration and hazards planning, to help me understand more about how weather information is used by other professionals like planners, emergency managers, and government officials. 

For academia, especially at a four-year institution, you must have a passion for teaching and desire to connect with students. I always look for faculty who have demonstrated exceptional performance in the classroom as well as in their research.

The most special, and rare, thrills of my job are having a truly collaborative experience with another colleague(s). The synergy of several minds working together from different perspectives, but oriented towards the same goal is an incredibly exhilarating experience from which the best scientific discoveries originate.

The world doesn't need more traditional meteorologists, but rather, needs meteorologists who also have expertise in other disciplines to more effectively connect weather impacts to society. The wonderful thing about the weather is that it impacts everyone and everything, so career options are truly limitless.

During graduate school, I worked hard to share my code, data, and anything else with the field. That led to collaborations that built my network and helped me land a postdoc position.

When discussions about tours of the National Weather Center began when we moved into the facility, I knew this opportunity would not only improve my communication and public-speaking skills, but that it would also allow me to build relationships with people inside and outside the NWC. We would never know when we were interviewing for a job because of some of the unique visitors that would tour the facility, so I was able to market myself and build my brand over 13+ years of tours.

In our science, you really need to be able to demonstrate that you have good people skills. Inevitably, there are tense situations on the job and its essential to maintain a cool and logical perspective on the many challenges at hand. Your resume should have a way to reflect this characteristic within you and your letters of recommendation should highlight these desirable traits.

The ability (skill) to clearly and effectively distill complicated scientific concepts in a manner that the typical business professional can comprehend is vital. It is also important to identify how the science connects to the business. Know your customer's wants/needs. How could they benefit from the information you are providing them?