What is your educational background and what sparked your interest in atmospheric or related sciences?

I majored in atmospheric sciences at Cornell University and attained a masters in environmental sciences and policy at Johns Hopkins University. Having grown up in Puerto Rico, I was very interested in tropical storms and kept detailed logs on each one. 1979's Hurricane David passed just south of the island before devastating the Dominican Republic as a category 5 cyclone. As a rising senior in high school, David served as the clincher for me to pursue meteorology. I contacted the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in San Juan, who really encouraged me to pursue a career in meteorology. This led to summer internship opportunities at that NWS office, and eventually my first job.

What was your first job in the field and how did you end up in the job you are in now?

My first job was as a meteorological technician at the San Juan, Puerto Rico NWS Forecast Office. I started on this non-professional track because the NWS was transitioning to a new met-intern program which wasn't quite ready for rollout by the time I had graduated with my undergrad degree in 1984. I spent a year-and-a-half as a met-tech before landing my first professional-track job as a met-intern at NWS Lake Charles, Louisiana. Two years later I returned to San Juan as a journeyman forecaster, and quickly rose through the ranks to become a lead forecaster (called forecaster-in-charge back then) at age 27. I then moved to what's called the National Center for Environmental Predictions today (NMC back then) to be the chief of the South American Desk. But I was only at that job for a few weeks because I got offered a job in broadcast news in Miami. I became the first ever degreed meteorologist on Spanish language television in the United States, and worked for Univision followed by Telemundo for 18 years. After Telemundo, I became the chief meteorologist for WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami. During my entire time as a broadcast meteorologist I've also led ClimaData Corporation, a small commercial weather and consulting firm.

What opportunities did you pursue that you knew would be beneficial to securing a job in the profession?

The summer aid program at NWS was crucial for me to get my foot in the door for my first job at NOAA. But a previous experience while I was at Cornell was also instrumental down the road. I was a sportscaster and disc jockey for WVBR, which is the student-run station. These were my first steps in broadcast media, years before actually working in that sector.

What other courses/skills beyond the required math and science courses do you think would be the most helpful to individuals wanting a career in your profession?            

Communications, social sciences, languages, environmental, and climate.

What is your typical day on the job like?

I arrive at the TV station mid-afternoon to brief myself and produce a forecast which feeds the weather graphics platforms that me and other weather department meteorologists use to present our segments on the air. There is coordination with the newsroom and production staff, including editorial meetings in which the importance (or unimportance) of the day's weather story is framed. Sometimes I'm on the air for the 6, 7 and 11 PM newscasts, but occasionally when short staffed I also take on the 5 PM news. My workdays are Monday through Friday, and I leave work at 11:30 PM. I also am required to post on social media.

What do you like most about your job? What is the most challenging thing about your job?

The best part of my job is knowing that my calls-to-action have saved lives, and having grateful viewers tell me so. The most challenging part is dealing with newsroom staff and managers that insist on overhyping weather stories.

Does your job allow for a good work/life balance? If not, why?

Work/life balance greatly depends on your life circumstances. For example, working evenings is definitely not the optimum schedule when you have school-aged children because you hardly every see them on weekdays (they leave for school before you're up, and they're asleep when you get home). Also, broadcast news has a way to ask too much from its employees. So, it's important to set clear boundaries within the expectations of your employer. Some of the most successful broadcast news talent are willing to take on any assignment at any time, disrupting the work/life balance. But many employees who do that have indeed reached great heights.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently in your career?        

If there's one thing I would've done differently in my broadcast news career would have been to not have a talent agent. That person served an important need for a brief stint, but in the end cost me a job and hundred of thousands of dollars in unearned salary and tens of thousands in commissions. There are ways to get the services that a talent agent can provide without signing over your professional career to them — for example, just hiring an attorney to negotiate a contract for you.

What are some "must haves" on a resume if a person wants to gain employment in your field?

For broadcast news, a demo tape is a must. And about the only way to attain one is either through an internship or by working at a student-run newscast.