Careers
The need for students who understand environmentally relevant physical sciences has never been greater with the demand for graduates of programs in this area worldwide. Most researchers at the CCRC quantitatively study processes in the atmosphere, ocean, land surface or how they work together. There is a wide range of career opportunities available for graduates in these areas.
.cropimg.width=1920.crop=basic.jpg "Exzellenzprofessur der Prof. Dr. Werner Petersen-Stiftung")
To date, 100% of CCRC PhD graduates have secured full time employment shortly after graduating, if not before.
What to study
These fields are deeply founded in “STEM”, that is “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”. If you want a career in any of these areas, here are some tips.
Starting at school, there is simply no substitute for maths and physics. You should also study subjects like earth and environmental science, computing, chemistry and biology.
For a career in this area, you'll need to go to university and complete a relevant degree. Your degree should be rich in the following areas:
At least first and probably second year undergraduate study, including calculus, is particularly important. Many scientists working in these areas hold a maths degree, some an honours degree.
At least first and probably second year undergraduate. Many scientists working in these areas hold a physics degree, some an honours degree.
You'll almost certainly need to be able to write computer code, and it helps to be proficient.
Transferable skills
If you study many areas of science, you may have enough of these skills – a chemistry degree, for example, or an engineering degree may be transferable. Some universities offer environmental science, which has suitable foundations and a good focus on quantitative skills. Many universities offer courses, majors or degrees in meteorology, climate science and more, building on good foundations in maths and physics. Specialised degrees in hydrology can contain all the necessary skills. It is not uncommon to be able to complete some degrees and skip second year maths and physics. That short cut is not normally good in the long term, but there can be options that lead to fantastic outcomes. Note - admission to the Bureau of Meteorology’s graduate meteorologist program normally requires both 2nd year undergraduate maths and physics.
Variations
If you want to work on some specific areas, for example areas around carbon cycling, studying biology and chemistry can be more important. If you want to build climate models or weather forecast models, then computer science can be valuable. There are always special areas that can prove hugely important including statistics.
Most, but not all, people working in the weather and climate sciences have honours or masters degrees. These tend to be desired by employers from the Australian Antarctic Division, the Bureau of Meteorology, state and federal governments and environmental consultancies. If you want to do research in these areas, you'll likely want to complete a PhD, but that comes much later.
Who to contact
Finally, seek advice. There is no substitute for contacting a researcher in an area you're interested in and asking what they think. You can seek advice from us by contacting Andrea Taschetto.
