If you have studied meteorology, you may be wondering about the FEMA jobs available with a meteorology degree. FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, now part of the federal department of Homeland Security. Created in 1979, this agency’s main responsibility is to coordinate disaster response within the United States, particularly when a disaster strikes that moves beyond the realm of adequate response from state and local authorities.
Pre-Disaster Mitigation Programs
Although the type of disaster responded to by FEMA is not confined to weather related disasters, many of the disasters for which they need to coordinate responses are connected to weather in some way. Some of these include snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires. While not all disasters are predictable, weather-related disasters do contain at least some level of predictability, which is where meteorology training can be very useful. When possible, FEMA tries to identify potential disasters and minimize their risks with the subsequent result of reducing human injuries and property loss, and ensuring that communities can recover in as timely a manner as possible. Authorized by Congress, FEMA has created a number of “disaster mitigation” programs to try to reduce the impact of disasters whenever possible.
Two of the components of these types of mitigation programs are risk analysis and risk communication. These are important tasks involving the assessing of potential disasters, such as flooding (to give just one example), and the communication of that risk to the public. Someone educated in meteorology has the kind of skills and training needed to be an effective risk analyzer and communicator.
FEMA Partnerships
FEMA works closely with some weather related organizations such as the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center to help to educate the public regarding potential and actual disasters. Some meteorologists work as liaisons between FEMA and those kinds of organizations. A background in meteorology lends itself to emergency preparedness work, and some meteorologists work in state emergency management departments. Having a background in atmospheric science helps professionals in these roles communicate weather-related issues and community needs to different types of people working to help mitigate and reduce weather-related problems. If you have completed a bachelors or masters degree in meteorology, you likely have good critical thinking skills which will help you learn the ins and outs of emergency management. A trained meteorologist who also has a knowledge base in emergency management might work as a FEMA liaison to make sure that state and local emergency manangers have all the information they need prior to and during a weather-related disaster. That’s important, because those managers are often the ones making important decisions regarding what needs to be communicated to the public, as well as how and when.
Related Resource: National Hurricane Center
FEMA has a website where potential job-seekers of varied backgrounds can look for job openings of different kinds, including temporary as well as permanent work. Their temporary work includes work for interns and recent graduates as well as opportunities with the FEMA Corps. If you have a background in meteorology and an interest in using your skills to help communities in weather-related preparedness and management, you may want to explore the FEMA jobs available with a meteorology degree.