Issued Friday, 27th of March 2026
Crafting the perfect resume is like a work of art.
You may be one of the lucky ones, and your very first resume lands you a job, and you never look back. Most meteorologists, however, will not have the same success.
Once you land an interview, you can use that resume as a template on which you build a framework. Even if you get the job, you may need to interview again for a different job in the future, and your resume framework will be useful to have on hand.
A resume is not just a list of everything you've done, but it is your sales pitch to a customer. Why should they pay for your skills?
When you see advertisements on billboards, on television, in movies, on your phone, or at sporting events, they are not a list of every single thing the product does, but the key selling points that may attract buyers. Those selling points are often based on years of market research about what works and what doesn't.
With a resume, you could do this trial and error yourself or ask for help from someone like me, who, since June 2024, has interviewed with over 30 global companies in agriculture, forensics, energy trading, artificial intelligence, fire weather, general operational meteorology, marine, and aviation. Which means I crafted the perfect resume over 30 times for different types of jobs and with different requirements.
While I can't guarantee you will get an interview or even a job offer, I believe that through working with me, you can increase your chances by developing a strategy for not just resume writing, but also your cover letter and how you prepare for the interview.
The Jobs
USA Jobs
Industry: Forensics
Title: Regional Director of Meteorology
Company: J.S. Held LLC
Work Location: Remote
Pay: $125,000 - $145,000 USD per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Bachelor’s degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science.
- Advanced study in business (MBA, leadership, management certificate) is a strong plus.
Certification:
- Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) designation from the American Meteorological Society.
Years of Experience:
- 10+ years of operational meteorology experience.
- 3+ years leading, managing, and mentoring team members.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
Significant experience in at least 5 of the following types of forecasting:
- Tropical Cyclones (including accompanying severe weather, such as tornadoes and flooding/storm surge)
- Severe Thunderstorms (Hail/Wind/Tornadoes)
- Non-Convective Windstorms
- Mountain Meteorology
- Energy Meteorology (including Renewable Energy)
- Wildfire Weather
- Winter Weather (Snow/Ice)
- Heavy Rainfall and/or Flooding
- Marine Meteorology
- Aviation Meteorology
- Air Quality Meteorology
Additional Skills:
- Exceptional technical writing skills with a record of high‑quality scientific reports/publications
- Residency in the Northeast United States
- Prior forensic meteorology experience, investigative research, and/or authored publications about weather events impacting the insurance industry, such as severe convective storms, tropical cyclones, flooding/rainfall, or similar.
Who Should Apply?
People well into their careers, especially NWS employees who were let go recently or want to transition to the private sector. NWS employees would have an exceptional background in the list of weather types. Private meteorologists who have worked with a broad selection of clients will likely also have the knowledge requirement.
One part of the requirements that I would not put a lot of focus on is the CCM. If that is a deal breaker, then the company will make that call and not include you, but you won't know this unless you apply. Otherwise, this is a great opportunity for more senior-level mets.
Industry: Wildfire Meteorology
Title: Meteorologist - Predictive Services and Wildfire Modeling
Company: Arizona Public Services
Work Location: Phoenix, AZ
Pay: $40,500 - $54,000 USD per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Bachelor's degree in meteorology/atmospheric science, applied science, or other science-related field.
Years of Experience: 5+ years in making weather predictions
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Experience and understanding of Fire Analytics (FA), Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN), and Incident Meteorologist (IMET) is preferred.
- Experience with wildfire analytics software.
- Strong background in predictive services and solid understanding of Arizona weather patterns, including winter snow, monsoon rain, and wildfire.
Additional Skills:
- Effective communication skills demonstrated through written communications and presentations.
- MS Office Suite
Who Should Apply?
If you have a fire weather background or are knowledgeable about fire weather, then you should definitely consider this role. Also, if you would like to work in this field, it is a growing sector with many jobs worldwide, as wildfires are affected by a changing climate and burn closer to urban areas. Again, if you are coming from the NWS or NOAA, you will have a potential edge, especially if you are an IMET or work in areas prone to wildfires.
Most of the companies I have spoken with that are involved in wildfire meteorology all seem to use the same software.
You must like hot weather. It can top 100 F / 37 C in March.
About the Location
Phoenix itself is relatively flat with mountains rising suddenly out of the desert. The ground is covered by cactus and rocks, with other types of trees planted in residential settings. If you have never been to Phoenix, in the heat of the summer, most people stay indoors and then come out to play once the sun sets. It's not crazy to see people exercising outdoors late into the night.
Personally, I enjoy the city and the surroundings and have been there in the summer when the temperature was over 110 degrees F / 43 C, and it feels terrible. However, you can head north to Sedona or even up to Flagstaff at higher elevations to cool off, or find water and some shade.
Industry: Marine
Title: Marine
Company: Aerospace & Marine International AMI
Work Location: Norman, OK
Pay: $38,000 - $42,000 USD per year
Benefits: Salary increases after 6-8 months of training
Degree: None listed, but a BS in Meteorology might help.
Years of Experience: 1+
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Basic understanding of weather systems and forecasting principles
- Experience with marine forecasting or vessel routing
- Familiarity with global shipping or logistics operations
Additional Skills:
- Ability to interpret model data and communicate it to other people, including clients.
Who Should Apply?
Everyone who is looking for a job in meteorology. This company has a fairly low entry point to a meteorology career. I was a route analyst for a very short time for a company in the San Francisco area, and from my experience, you should have some knowledge of global geography and how weather conditions over the ocean differ from land (although this company will train you). While the pay is a little low, check the cost of living in Norman, and I think it will be fine, especially if you are on your own.
About the Location
Doing marine forecasting, while in Norman, is possibly the best thing for any early-career meteorologist. Not only are you surrounded by other meteorologists at OU or the Storm Prediction Center, but after analyzing weather in the Indian Ocean, you can go storm chasing after work. It's kind of the best of both worlds, unless you don't like severe weather, then I wouldn't take this role.
Industry: Marine / Recreation
Title: Intern
Company: Surfline/Wavetrak
Work Location: Remote in California
Pay: None Given
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate program (Junior or Senior preferred)
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Coursework or experience in Meteorology, Oceanography, Data Science, or related fields.
- Basic proficiency in Python (data manipulation, scripting, plotting).
- Strong attention to detail and ability to work independently.
Additional Skills:
- Passion for surfing, ocean science, or coastal environments
- Familiarity with surf forecasting concepts or frameworks.
Who Should Apply?
If you are a surfer, enjoy fishing, or want to work in marine meteorology, this could be an opportunity. However, because it is a surf company, they will probably lean toward people who enjoy surfing, because you are more likely to care about the wave conditions. Look at the company website, and you will see that the culture seems fun, which is always a good sign.
International Jobs
Industry: Commodity / Energy Trading
Title: Intern
Company: A2A
Work Location: Milan, Italy
Pay: See Job Listing
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree: Master’s Degree in Physics, Environmental and Land Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related scientific disciplines.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Knowledge of meteorology and climatology.
- Good command of the English language.
Additional Skills:
- A team-oriented mindset, pragmatism, and a collaborative spirit, problem-solving skills, proactivity and initiative, leadership potential, autonomy, effective stress and priority management, and strong analytical, planning, and organizational skills.
Who Should Apply?
This could be a great internship, especially if you are already in the EU, to learn about energy trading in Europe. While it does suggest you need a Master's degree, you might apply regardless and just see, especially if you are interested in energy.
About the Location
Northern Italy in the Summer would be great, a dream for many. So many things to see around Milan, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, the Dolomites, Alps, day trips to Venice, Tuscany, and more.
Industry: Transportation
Title: Entry-Level Technician in Applied Meteorology and Predictive Models
Company: Renfe
Work Location: Madrid, Spain
Pay: See Job Listing
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree: Master's degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Sciences, or accredited training in meteorology, predictive modeling, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Years of Experience: 3 years of professional experience in meteorological forecasting, modeling, or Geographic Information Systems (GIS), applied to operational management, risk analysis, or technical reporting
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
-
Experience with predictive modeling using Python (pandas, xarray, scikit-learn, or other equivalent tools)
- Experience with operational meteorology
-
Experience in data integration, time series analysis, and spatial analysis
-
Experience in data visualization and dashboard development.
-
English proficiency at level B2 or higher, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR)
Who Should Apply?
I could not find any information about having to know Spanish, although it always helps, but you should definitely know English. The job posting is in Spanish. Renfe is the primary railway company in Spain. I suspect the job involves helping understand how the weather and climate will impact the rail lines, as there are many sections exposed to the weather and other which travel through mountains. This sort of job could be about creating knowledge in climate resiliency as weather patterns change from year to year, and old data is less reliable. For example, this year, Spain received well above normal rainfall over the Winter, and while that is good in the short-term, this can lead to a much higher fire risk in 1 to 2 years as low vegetation like bushes grows more efficiently. Other considerations are heavy rain, which creates flooding and landslides. Even intense heat can damage the track.
If you want to live internationally, this could be a good entry-level position, especially if you have a strong Python and GIS background.
About the Location
I recently visited Spain and rode on Renfe from Madrid to Granada, and I can tell you the landscape is very dry and covered in olive trees. I was there in the summer, which was like Arizona, but in the Winter it can be cold with snow in the mountains, and people go skiing. In fact, you can go snow skiing, only about 1.5 hours drive to the Mediterranean Sea. Madrid was a lot of fun.
You can also easily visit Barcelona by train or by flight; it's only 1 hour to Lisbon, Portugal, and France is just on the other side of the Pyrenees.
Final Thoughts
While the resume is important, the cover letter is a key part of the application process, but it seems to be a little more mysterious. Unless the job posting explicitly says not to send a cover letter, you should craft one.
The cover letter is not a repeat of the resume. Instead, you should view the cover letter as a way to summarize all your most hirable skills in a concise package for the hiring manager. It's a way to cut through the noise and relate your skills to the job opening.
Like a forecast, if you were going to summarize the weather across a specific region, you would not list every single type of weather in every area; you would highlight the risk for cold or warm temperatures, clouds, wind, and the weather, even if the data widely varies from one side of the region to the other. In fact, your ability to sell yourself can be seen as a check on that line in your resume about being a good communicator.
I have found that the 3-paragraph cover letter is an ideal size for the cover letter, regardless of what your Internet search suggests. Try to visualize if you were the hiring manager and you had to read a 50-page book of resumes and cover letters, would you want to read a full page of text for every resume? The answer is no.
When you get through all of that, and you get the second most exciting email that asks you to schedule time for an interview, now you have to back up your talk. Be the concise, actionable communicator you would be as a meteorologist and apply that to the interview. Definitely do your research about the company and the interviewers (if you know), and practice what you are going to say by recording yourself answering the questions on the computer.
Less is more.
Good Luck on the Job Search and Interviews!
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