What does your role involve?
My role as a meteorologist involves forecasting the weather for the next week. I currently work two different shifts—public weather and aviation. For public weather we forecast elements including precipitation, winds, swells and temperatures. These forecasts end up on our website and are used by members of the public to make decisions about day-to-day activities (such as whether to have a barbecue on Christmas Day!). Aviation forecasting focuses more heavily on weather over the next 24 hours and these forecast are relied on by the aviation industry.
What are some of the highlights or interesting stories from your career?
Completing the Graduate Diploma in Meteorology in 2017 was a career highlight. I studied the course remotely from Hobart and flew to Melbourne on a regular basis to attend practical sessions and face-to-face lectures. In 2015 I attended the National Remote Indigenous Media Festival in Lajamanu, NT, to help the Bureau further understand how remote Indigenous communities interpret and respond to our warning systems.
Do you have any advice for other students?
Never give up on your goals. It took me almost five years to get to where I wanted to be within the Bureau as a forecaster but a combination of persistence, hard work and a supportive workplace helped me achieve this goal. My colleagues are a group of wonderfully supportive people and I can’t imagine working anywhere else!