I am a student at NC State and I am majoring in Communication Media. I have always wanted to be the "weather girl". And that may sound silly but I love weather reports on television and this semester I am taking a basics of Weather and Climate class and I am enjoying it very much. To become a meteorologist what kind of degree is required? Does it have to be an entire Meteorology degree or would a Comm Media major and a Meteorology minor work? Thank you for your time!

MIKE MOSS SAYS:        Suzanne,    Glad to hear you're enjoying your class on weather and climate! Many jobs in meteorology require at least a bachelor's degree in the subject, and that is often the case in broadcast meteorology as well. However, there are also a significant number of people in the field who obtained journalism and/or mass communications degrees (among others), and then completed a supplemental program in meteorology in order to pursue weathercasting as a career. The most frequent method for doing this is to obtain a "Certificate in Broadcast Meteorology" by way of a distance learning course offered by Mississippi State University.

For more information on that program, see http://www.msstate.edu/dept/geosciences/CT/BMP/Site.htm.

Likewise, if you end up interested in meteorology enough to pursue a B.S. degree, you might want to look over the NCSU meteorology department web site (http://www.meas.ncsu.edu/02-p-ug-atmos.html) and/or stop by the department and speak to some of the students and faculty there. Either way, best of luck to you...