Skip to content
Weather Careers

National Weather Service Career Guide: Forecast Offices, Warnings, Hydrology, and Support Roles

A guide to National Weather Service careers, including forecasters, hydrologists, technicians, warning operations, and support roles.

Quick answer: National Weather Service careers include forecasting, warnings, hydrology, aviation weather, climate services, technology, and public outreach.

Forecast offices

Local offices issue forecasts, warnings, briefings, climate products, and decision support.

They work closely with emergency managers and partners.

Role variety

Not every role is a public forecaster.

Hydrologists, technicians, IT staff, researchers, managers, and outreach specialists all support the mission.

Preparation

Atmospheric science, hydrology, communication, coding, GIS, and internships can help depending on the path.

Public service motivation matters.

Further reading