Also called: Launch Meteorologist
Forecasts weather for rocket launches, including lightning, upper-level winds, and ocean conditions for booster recovery.
You release weather balloons, study radar, and give the launch team the official weather 'go' or 'no-go'. A single nearby storm cloud can scrub a launch.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in meteorology or atmospheric science; many are Space Force weather officers.
Ways in: 4-year college, Military. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Meteorology, Atmospheric Science.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI weather models forecast lightning and winds better; human forecasters still brief and make the weather call.
Classes: Earth science or meteorology, AP Physics, AP Statistics, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.