The undergraduate meteorology program at Central Michigan has averaged 12 graduates per year since its inception more than twenty years ago. Since the author’s attendance at the second Mind the Gap workshop, several changes have been made to help students be better prepared for new opportunities within the private sector, with varying degrees of success.
Two new courses have been developed to better equip students to work in the burgeoning private sector: Introduction to Meteorological Data and Advanced Weather Forecasting. Introduction to Meteorological Data is a two hour per week required course for second semester first year students. Students learn about the crucial role data plays in the atmospheric sciences and can plot real-time data from a variety of platforms using the MetPy python package. The class is intended to help students see how data analysis and visualization can be employed to drive decision making, and to allow for greater development of these skills throughout the program. Advanced Weather Forecasting is a five hour per week elective course for second semester third- or fourth-year students. Students learn that forecasting is an activity with best practices supported by research studies. Content in the course focuses on probabilistic forecasting and communicating the forecast to provide support for decision makers. Students make real-time forecasts for a variety of locations and scenarios.
Additional changes beyond new courses have been implemented. New content on opportunities in the private sector has also been included in our Professional Development course for first year students. A minor in Environmental Data Analytics is now accepting students. Program alumni who are employed in the private sector have given presentations at our annual Career Day event. Finally, a new student forecasting organization, Mid-Mitten Weather View, allows students to make and share forecasts and engage in professional development related to the discipline of forecasting.
Students have enjoyed these new opportunities to learn and engage in new ways. Students have secured positions in the private sector in new areas. Yet many challenges remain. We lack industry partners to help us make these experiences more similar to those students will have upon graduation. Students come to Central Michigan with ideas of what they want to do in the future, and often are reluctant to consider new possibilities. Many data-focused skills required for the new workforce can be challenging to master, and some students are not interested in pursuing them. Students need more advising and mentoring as they pursue private sector positions. Faculty face time pressures, technological challenges, and sometimes a lack of requisite knowledge in creating experiences that will help students succeed.
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