What career opportunities do I have?

The professional opportunities for a meteorologist are very diverse. The prospects of getting a job immediately after graduation are currently good. But you have to be prepared to look for work anywhere. In general, you need a certain amount of flexibility in terms of location throughout your professional career.

No other "small subject" shows such a high level of publicity. The best known field of application of a meteorologist is probably weather forecasting. Potential employers in this professional field are national weather services (e.g. the German Weather Service, DWD) or private weather services but also aviation. The meteorologist is perceived most clearly in the media. However, one can also work as an independent consulting meteorologist.

Most jobs are at universities and non-university research institutions such as the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (which also includes the KIT), the Max Planck Society or the Leibniz Association. In addition to basic research, applied research is also carried out at these institutions. In most cases, employment at a research institution is associated with a doctorate. The doctoral degree then entitles one to apply for research funds oneself and thus initiate one's own research projects. However, there are currently few permanent jobs in the German research landscape. Most jobs are project-bound and thus limited for a few years.

Engineering offices or industrial companies are also increasingly employing meteorologists - for example to prepare expert reports on traffic accidents or on wind power sites, the spread of pollutants, the impact of urban development on air quality or heat pollution. Due to their sound knowledge of mathematics and physics and their experience in handling large amounts of data, meteorologists also find jobs in companies that develop software or carry out numerical simulations of all kinds.

Meteorologists are now increasingly finding jobs in banks and (re)insurance companies. There they mainly deal with the risk assessment of natural and environmental disasters.