Issued on the 24th of April 2026
I can't say it enough. Meteorology is a very unique industry, unlike most other careers. If you are going to have someone help you with your resume or cover letter, you are welcome to reach out to anyone, but I have specific experience in meteorology and can offer insights you are not likely to receive from a general resume writer.
You can schedule a time (no cost) to discuss your career here.
Cover Letters
Now that we've discussed resumes, let's shift to the other monster, the cover letter.
Cover letters are required unless the job specifically says not to send one. There are variations in how you will add a cover letter.
On some job application portals, you will see the following,
- A link to upload your resume and cover letter.
- A space to add a note to the hiring team (this is the content of your cover letter).
You might also be asked to email your resume and cover letter. This is even better. You can attach both, but then add part of a cover letter to the email.
Then, occasionally, a job listing will say not to add a cover letter or will not provide a place to do so. A few times, I have created a resume and cover letter in the same PDF file to get around this.
Send a cover letter!
Why? What is the Point?
The cover letter is a way to take everything you put into your resume and connect your skills to the job and explain to the employer how your skills solve their problem.
The resume is an awkward document because it is a tool where you pack all your skills in a very small space and you really can't expand on what you did in a certain job.
Your cover letter is where you get to expand on a certain job. If you are an expert in predicting the number of days and weather patterns that will lead to 32 C / 90 F degrees in the Summer in Amsterdam, thus putting pressure on the grid and creating higher localized energy prices, it can be hard to express where you learned this or why you know this specific skill. However, with the cover letter you can let the energy trading company, based in the EU, know how you learned this and why these type of skills would make you the right candidate for the job.
Short list this week due to a busy week of travel. But there are plenty of jobs out there.
The Jobs
USA Jobs
Industry: Energy
Title: Meteorology Intern
Company: SI Solutions LLC
Work Location: Rockdale, Illinois
Pay: $27 - $30 per hour
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Working towards a degree in Meteorology.
Years of Experience:
- Completed at least 3 years in a University Meteorology program
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Strong communication and technical writing skills
- Strong analytical and statistical skills
- Strong Python and Excel capabilities
- Ability to travel up to 4 consecutive days (overall travel approx. 25%)
Additional Skills:
- Valid driverās license and reliable transportation (mileage will be reimbursed for travel to/from project sites
- Ability to climb 8ā ladder
Who Should Apply?
If you are at Northern Illinois, University of Wisconsin, or University of Illinois, Valpo or even Purdue I would consider applying or anyone else that wants to move to this area for the summer. Interesting role to work with nuclear energy.
About the Location
Rockdale is just outside the Chicago suburbs and if you don't want to live all the way in Chicago or closer in Joliet you could probably get away with Naperville to Aurora or even out toward Dekalb. Great location in case you move in from some other area. A lot of good tornado chasing out that way, as I have definitely chased more than once south of Chicago.
International Jobs (Outside the US)
Industry: Management
Title: Head of Forecast
Company: GeoSphere
Work Location: Vienna, Austria
Pay: ā¬69,200 per year
Benefits: See Job Listing
Degree:
- Completed Master's degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Sciences, or a comparable field
Years of Experience:
- 5+ years
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
- Sound knowledge of numerical weather prediction, models, and multi-hazard approaches, as well as experience with forecast systems, visualization tools, and data analysis, including the ability to to interpret, evaluate, and clearly communicate uncertainties in forecasts
- Ability to handle crisis management during extreme events, as well as experience in operational weather services, understanding of warning systems and forecasting processes
- Experience in collaborating with authorities and emergency response organizations
- Experience in dealing with media and stakeholders, as well as the ability to present complex content clearly and in a way that is tailored to the target audience
Additional Skills:
- Several years of experience in leading teams, ideally in shift work
- Strength in personnel development, training, and quality assurance
- Basic understanding of automation and AI in forecasting, and openness to innovation and new technologies
- Experience in international cooperation (e.g., WMO, ECMWF, EUMETNET is an advantage)
Who Should Apply?
You should have leadership experience or be on track to be in a leadership role and strong knowledge around model data and bias for global forecasts. You should be someone available to lead and delate responsibilities, but also lead during extreme weather and project the vision of the company in media interviews.
There is no information provided regarding needing a EU Visa, so you should consult with the company on this matter.
Industry: Marine Weather
Title: Marine Weather Forecaster
Company: Fugro
Work Location: Indonesia
Pay: None Given
Benefits: See Job Listing
Note: There are two roles open in Indonesia, one for a Weather Forecaster and one for the Operations Manager.
Degree:
- Bachelors degree in Meteorology or related science degree
Years of Experience:
- 3+ years
Key Skills or Knowledge: (most important to the company)
-
Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 software
-
A clear understanding of QMS policies and practices
-
Fluent in both written and spoken English
-
Knowledge of winds and wave computer models
- Ability to work 24/7 shifts.
Additional Skills:
-
An enthusiasm to develop the science of meteorology and oceanography and to explore new techniques and methods to increase the accuracy and reliability of marine weather forecasting
Who Should Apply?
If you want to work in marine weather for a large, well known company than Fugro is one such company. If you are from Asia, Australia, or even Africa, this could be a good destination for you, but even from other regions as well. From the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific there are many types of weather that can affect mariners and this is a well traversed route for cargo ships. This is a role for marine weather, which is different than land based roles.
About the Location
Indonesia is very tropical as you should know, as a meteorologist. It is near the Equator and in addition to the location of the MJO, direct implications from ENSO and patterns such as the IOD (Indian Ocean Dipole, which I talk about all day, every day, at work), it is the location where palm oil and coffee is grown along with many other fruits and vegetables. Trend-setting Bali is in Indonesia as well. They even have pirates.
Final Thoughts
Cover letters are like resumes in that they are really hard to get right the first time. You can run them through AI all you want, but at the end of the day, it sounds better if you can break it down to 3 or 4 paragraphs of 3 to 5 lines each. Less than a page is ideal.
Remember, putting the reader to sleep is not the goal.
The first paragraph tends to contain some generic language such as,
"I'm excited to apply for for the meteorologist role at your company" and then put a few reasons why you would be the ideal candidate. Usually things that you have that they are looking for.
Whatever you do, never list what you are missing. So if you don't have Python, just skip it and talk about what you do have and why you would be good.
I usually take the second paragraph to talk about my background, all while connecting it to what they need. Then I use the third paragraph to specifically connect how my skills to could be used to connect to the job. The fourth and final is to wrap it up and put my contact information again.
I definitely takes me several rough drafts to figure out how to exactly say what it needs to say. I find that AI is not great with cover letters.
Next time I will more into detail with examples of the dozens of cover letters I have written, including ones that have landed interviews.
Good luck on the job search!
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