Issued Friday, 3rd of April 2026
When you think about who is also applying for the jobs you are, what do you think they have that you do not?
I think, from my own experience, that many candidates have very similar skills coming out of college and in their first two years. So if this is where you are, then you need to stand out and differentiate yourself from everyone else.
I've seen many resumes that are composed of so many words that my eyes glazed over, and I had to force myself back from a tropical beach dream state to my desk, where I could evaluate the candidate's potential. While this is an exaggeration, the point is to engage the hiring person and not bore them by being exactly like the next candidate.
It is tempting to put as much content on the page as possible to cover all the bases, but this only overwhelms the hiring manager and anyone else who reads the resume. Instead, think of your resume layout like it is a newspaper or magazine article, and instead of images breaking up the text, use whitespace.
Create a modular resume with pieces that can be moved around, based on what you want to highlight the most, depending on the type of role and the company.
- Don't use too many bullet points.
- Don't write a paragraph for each bullet.
Personally, since I started using 2 columns, I've had a lot of success. However, I have tweaked my resume so many times to get just the right way of saying the same thing as previous resumes, but by highlighting different skillsets at different parts of the resume, I guide the reader in an order that I prefer. Or that's how I think of it when I'm creating a resume.
The Jobs
USA Jobs
Industry: Energy
Title: Operational Planning Meteorologist Lead
Company: ERCOT
Work Location: Taylor, TX (Austin area) hybrid.
Pay: $120,383 - $204,666 USD per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Bachelor’s or Master's degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science
Years of Experience:
- 8+ years of operational meteorology and risk management experience.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Prefer minimum 2 years’ experience with power systems grid operations and assessing the impact of weather conditions on load
- Prefer experience with solar and wind forecasting techniques
- Prefer computer programming knowledge
Additional Skills:
- Exceptional verbal and presentational communication skills - be able to present data to other people in an actionable format.
- Skilled in using Microsoft Office Suite
- Ability to work on a cross-functional team on projects, be the meteorology leader within the company, and externally.
- Ability to develop medium to long-term outlooks and focus on extreme conditions that may persist for varying lengths of time.
Who Should Apply?
If you have experience in forecasting, at least 8 years, and either have worked in energy or want to, then you should apply.
ERCOT is the grid operator for much of Texas. You should look up the renewables yourself, but let's just say they have a lot of power in wind and solar, and they want you to predict how much will be generated in the day-ahead and the intra-day. While they likely have a model that does this, you should be able to back it up.
This would be a great job if you want to eventually break into energy trading. Being able to say you worked at ERCOT and understand how the grid is managed, and that you can predict renewables along with long-range, is a significant skill set to have.
About the Location
Austin is my favorite city in Texas, but a place where I have never lived. I would have attended college there, but they really didn't have my degree, and TAMU, while a great meteorology program, wasn't a good fit for where I wanted to be at the time. Austin is very crowded these days, and getting around can be a pain, but many things still make it a good place to live, and this job is actually outside the city.
Industry: Maintenance / Observation
Title: Mesonet Weather Station Technician
Company: New Mexico State University
Work Location: Farmington, New Mexico
Pay: $21.11 per hour
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Associate's Degree + 2 years of relevant experience or a Bachelor's degree.
Years of Experience:
- See Job Listing
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Have some familiarity with electronics and wiring. If you've worked on RWIS before, then you have this.
- Ability to work in outdoor environments in a variety of weather conditions, including rain, snow, hail, dust storms, hot, and cold.
- Ability to work independently (by yourself in the middle of nowhere) and in a team setting
- Be willing to travel to various locations in New Mexico (look up the NMSU mesonet to learn where you will go)
- Ability to operate power equipment used to maintain site vegetation
- Not bothered by snakes or spiders.
- Not afraid of heights.
Looks like Winter, but really, this is June in Utah doing RWIS maintenance.
Who Should Apply?
As someone who has performed maintenance on RWIS (Road Weather Information Systems) sites all over Utah, with a similar terrain and climate to New Mexico, you should be prepared for snakes and bugs, mainly spiders, around these sites. You will probably have to clear weeds and tall grass. The type of equipment determines whether you have to climb to the top with a harness or if the tower cranks down to the ground. I've done both. The tower is only 10 meters tall, but it can feel high if you do not like heights.
About the Location
Dry. High desert type environment with a lot of sun. However, in my opinion, New Mexico is a kind of hidden gem. If you enjoy hot springs, there are some good options around Santa Fe, up towards Taos, and across southern Colorado. If you like to ski, Taos and southern Colorado are options. If you want to see National Parks, there is Carlsbad Caverns in the southeast corner, and just over the border in Colorado are the Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde. If you want to hike or explore, plenty of that in this part of the world. However, if big cities are your jam, then this is not for you.
Industry: Operational Meteorology
Title: Operational Meteorologist
Company: Weather or Not
Work Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Pay: Contact Company
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- B.S. in Meteorology or military equivalent experience is required
Years of Experience:
- 0 - 2 years of experience as a meteorologist
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Strong skills using GRAnalyst, GREarth, Bufkit, MS Office required, experience with GIS and Linux a plus
- Strong programming skills with Python, JavaScript, HTML optional, but preferred
Additional Skills
- Sharp analytical skills with a strong understanding of Midwest weather patterns and forecasting
- Superb written and verbal communication skills
- An unflappable ability to meet strict deadlines
- Ability to multitask under pressure while maintaining a calm demeanor
Who Should Apply?
All entry-level meteorologists who love severe weather and snow. This company has been around for a long time, and they generally provide road weather and event forecasting and probably a lot more that I don't know about. It is a small team and a great place to start your career.
About the Location
What's not to love about Kansas City? I've driven by their office more times than I can count, having lived nearby while in college. Kansas is about tornado chasing. If you want to see some really awesome storms, this is the place for you. You don't even have to chase on some days; the storms come right to you. While much of Kansas is flat, KC is not. There are a lot of hills and caves. Park University, on the north side of the city, is partially in a cave. They have really good BBQ. They also get snow and ice at times through the Winter. The only place I have tried snowboarding was on a hill outside Kansas City when the temperatures were close to 0 F / -18 C.
Industry: Energy
Title: Wildfire Meteorologist
Company: Filsinger Energy Partners
Work Location: Denver, Colorado
Pay: $95,000 to $150,000 USD/annual
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- M.S. in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, or related field.
Years of Experience:
- 5-10 years of experience working with real-time weather data, coding, and weather modeling, preferably in the private sector.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Proficiency in meteorological modeling software (e.g., WRF, MM5, HRRR, or similar).
- Experience with GIS software (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) for spatial analysis and integration with meteorological data.
- Familiarity with Python, R, or other programming languages for data/statistical analysis, visualization, and process automation.
- Knowledge of data assimilation techniques and real-time weather data integration (e.g., RTMA, Herbie).
Other Skills
- Strong skills in analyzing large meteorological datasets (e.g., gridded weather data, remote sensing data).
- Experience in visualizing weather patterns and interpreting complex meteorological data for operational applications.
- Ability to handle large datasets and derive actionable insights from complex weather patterns.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to present technical data clearly and concisely.
Who Should Apply?
This is for a senior-level meteorologist or someone with significant experience in modeling weather, especially microclimates and high resolution for wildfires or other fast-changing, small-scale, big-impact type of events. You should have a strong coding background. This is not one of those positions where you may be able to stretch your skills. You either know how to do these two primary things, or you don't.
It always helps if you have wildfire experience, but I think someone with a technical NWS background or someone with the modeling and heavy case study sort of experience would be a possible candidate, since they are looking for you to really understand the weather patterns that drive wildfires, so you can provide longer lead times for clients.
About the Location
Mile High City, Denver, is a great location for a meteorologist. Unless you can't live away from the beach or a tropical rainforest, this would be a good location to really experience both mountain meteorology and severe weather. There are many tornadoes in the Denver area, massive hail, lightning, winter storms, strong winds, wildfires, heavy snow in the mountains, and dense fog.
I think there is a lot to like about Denver if you can afford it, and this job makes that a moot point for the most part.
International Jobs (outside the US)
Industry: Operational Forecasting
Title: Client Services Meteorologist
Company: StormGeo
Work Location: Manila, Philippines
Pay: See Job Listing
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Bachelor’s degree in Meteorology or a related field (or equivalent military experience).
Years of Experience:
- 0-2 years of experience as a meteorologist.
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Some experience in client-focused meteorological services is an advantage.
- Strong customer focus with good attention to detail.
- Confident communicator, comfortable delivering client briefings and advisories.
- Positive, adaptable, and collaborative team player.
- Professional approach with a strong work ethic and openness to learning and change.
- Familiarity with MS Office; experience with Salesforce, HubSpot, or Atlassian tools is a plus, but not required.
Who Should Apply?
Entry-level or early career meteorologists in Southeast Asia, Australia, or anywhere who would like to work for a global meteorology company. The location, even in a big city, is far from many other major urban regions. If you are early in your career and want to get some experience, StormGeo would be a good start, as they have operations in the US and Europe, along with other global locations.
Final Thoughts
Below is the layout I have used lately that has resulted in many successful attempts at getting an interview and, in some cases, an offer.
Just like you, I have definitely stretched my skills for a job I wanted but that I wasn't really qualified for. The reason to do this is that you never know the mindset of the hiring team or the experiences they've had up to that point. They may have interviewed plenty of candidates with the right credentials, but maybe they were not a good culture fit for the team. The hiring team may be willing to lower the bar for what they want when the process takes longer or more manpower than anticipated. For the right culture fit, a company may require fewer skills.
Maybe some people have all the qualifications on paper, but in real life, they can't explain to another person about the weather. I learned this the hard way as a hiring manager. I brought in a person who, on paper, was awesome. Sure thing, hire. Then I had this person give an in-person standup briefing for a six-figure job, and they bombed badly.
Another time, I brought in our 4th-best candidate for one of our openings, and this person didn't land the job offer until the 11th hour of discussions amongst our team. As the hiring manager, I saw the best potential in this candidate, and I had to overrule the other people on the hiring team. That person is not only still with that company, but they are in charge of the whole meteorology team.
Just because you don't have all the skills posted doesn't mean you don't have a chance.
Good Luck!
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