Also called: NOAA Aircraft Commander, Air Force Reserve Weather Pilot
Flies airplanes straight into hurricanes to collect data for forecasts.
Hurricane hunters fly through violent eyewalls in turbulence that can throw everything not strapped down, dropping sensors called dropsondes into the storm. The data directly improves forecasts that decide evacuations.
Estimate; military/NOAA pay.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. Military pilot training (Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron) or NOAA Corps officer pilot training.
Ways in: 4-year college, Military. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Aviation, Meteorology, Engineering.
Growing slowly. Very few positions.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Drones launched from the planes already sample the low storm; by 2036 uncrewed aircraft may take some missions, but crewed eyewall flights persist.
Classes: Physics, Pre-calculus, JROTC, Earth Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-2011.
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