Student Opportunities

Opportunities
Volunteers
Job Shadow
Paid Employment
Education & Outreach

Student opportunities at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's) National Weather Service (NWS) offices are vital in enhancing the educational program for those who wish to get hands-on experience in becoming a meteorologist, IT officer, or ET/HMT technician. NOAA's NWS offers opportunities for students to expand and reach their educational goals. As the job market becomes more competitive, skills obtained through hands-on experience and research will be vital for the future.

Have you ever applied for a job and been told that they are looking for people with "experience"? Have you ever wondered what it is really like to work in a particular career field? Have you ever been curious about how the Federal Government works? If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions, you should take advantage of the multiple student opportunities available at NOAA's NWS, particularly at the NWS/WFO San Juan office.

Undergraduate Opportunities & Programs

Graduate Opportunities & Programs

Summer Student Volunteer Program

APPLICATIONS FOR 2020 WILL OPEN SOON

The 2020 Summer Student Volunteer Program tentative dates are: May 26th through August 14th, 2020

The National Weather Service (NWS) San Juan office host students considering careers in the field of meteorology and hydrology as part of the Student Volunteer Program during the summer. This program is fully volunteer (non-paid) and allow students to work one-on-one with the NWS San Juan office staff, while gaining valuable work experience in an operational environment. In addition, our competitive program provides students with the experience of performing a mentored meteorological/hydrological research project focused on local topics.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship
Bilingual (Spanish & English), recommended
Undergraduate (going into junior or senior year) or graduate college student
Students should have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
Taken at least a Meteorology Introductory course
Pass a background security investigation and fingerprinting

Note: Students don’t have to be studying meteorology in order to be considered for a volunteer position at NWS San Juan. We also are eager to host students with skills in various fields, including Hydrology, Information Technology, Geographic Information Systems, Social Science or other related fields. We would be especially eager to host students who have all of these skills!!!

Application Process

Students wishing to apply to the NWS San Juan Student Volunteer Program must submit the following documents by the established deadline:

Statement of Interest, emphasizing on his/her motivation, extracurricular activities, research fields of interested, and a brief description of how participating on this program will help
Most recent transcript(s)
One Letter of Recommendation from an academic staff member (i.e. professor or department head)

Mandatory Activities & Duties

Work Hours: Student should volunteer approximately 16-20 hours per week from late May through early-mid August.
Research Project: Working one-on-one with NWS meteorologist on an assigned research project. As part of this process, student will be required to provide a mid-term and final oral presentation, as well as a written report of his/her summer research.
Progress/Review Meetings: Students will be required to attend weekly meetings to discuss their experience and research progress.

Additional Activities & Duties

Becoming familiar with NWS operations, policies and procedures, software and computer systems, and hydrological/meteorological products
Join NWS HMT/MI during COOP visits & assist in Upper Air duties
Join NWS meteorologist in post-event severe weather analysis
Become upper-air certifies
Submit summer research to the National Weather Association annual conference

Summer Work Plan

The NWS San Juan Student Volunteer program will be scheduled for 12 weeks from late May to early August. Although activities and other additional duties will vary per student's interest and research project, students must comply with various tasks & deadlines. Here is a tentative work plan for the 2018 Student Volunteer Program:

Week	Duties & Activities
1	Welcome Meeting
2	Research Topic
3	Forecasters Shadowing
4	Report: Literature Review
5	Report: Introduction
6	Report: Methods/Data
7	Mid-Term Presentation
8	Report: Results/Analysis
9	Report: Conclusion
10	Report: Abstract
11	Final Presentation/Poster
12	Final Report

Rules & Regulations

Comply with the NWS San Juan rules & regulations
Comply with schedule agreed upon in advance
Participate in all training, meetings, seminars and activities assigned
Submits weekly writing assignments by assigned deadlines
Prepares and presents two scientific talks (mid-term & final) and research paper

Interested students should contact:

Ernesto Morales
National Weather Service, San Juan
Warning Operations Meteorologist
4000 Carr 190
San Juan, PR 00976
(787) 253-4586
Ernesto.Morales@noaa.gov

Shadow Program

The NWS/WFO San Juan Job Shadow Program is intended for students interested in meteorology as a possible career. The students spend around 2-4 hours with a NWS San Juan meteorologist observing the forecast process, and discussing NWS career opportunities. There are three levels of "Job Shadow" available to students. U.S. Citizenship is required.

Job Shadow Levels

LEVEL 1 - Pre-College
This level is intended for pre-college students (high school grades 10-12) interested in meteorology, atmospheric science, hydrology, information technology, and or electronics engineering as a career. A tour of the NWS facility is provided for the student followed by approximately two (2) hours with an appropriate NWS employee (meteorologist) observing and discussing career opportunities. These are usually done in the evening 5-7 pm to coincide with our daily upper air (weather balloon) observing activities.

Total Approximate Time: 2 hours

LEVEL 2 - Undergraduate Students
This level is intended for freshman and sophomore students enrolled in a university, college or technical program majoring in meteorology, atmospheric science, hydrology, information technology, and or electronics engineering. It is also for college students considering these fields as a major.
A tour of the NWS facility will be provided for the student followed by approximately four (4) hours with an appropriate NWS employee (meteorologist) observing and discussing career opportunities. The student will also meet with members of the local NWS management team to further discuss future career study options. These are usually done in the evening 3-7 pm to coincide with our daily upper air (weather balloon) observing activities.

Total Approximate Time: 4 hours

LEVEL 3 - Graduate Students
This level is intended for students nearing graduation or in graduate school majoring in meteorology, atmospheric science, hydrology, information technology, and or electronics engineering. The program is the same as level II, however it is expanded for up to two 6-hour days at the NWS office. The expanded time is intended to give the student a more comprehensive understanding of what it is like to work at an NWS Forecast Office. These are usually done in the evening 1-7 pm to coincide with our daily upper air (weather balloon) observing activities.

Total Approximate Time: 6 hours (up to two days)

Interested students should contact:

Ernesto Morales
National Weather Service
Warning Operations Meteorologist
4000 Carr 190
San Juan, PR 00976
(787) 253-4586
Ernesto.Morales@noaa.gov

Although paid student programs are not directly available through the local NWS office, the Department of Commerce has a new program called Pathways. Pathways is designed for both undergraduates and graduate students. This program offers participants formal periods of work experience directly related to their academic field of study. Participants in this program may be eligible for permanent employment without competition after successfully completing their education and work requirements. Guidelines and the number of openings are determined on a regional and national scale, and are subject to budgetary limitations. For more information on the Pathways Program or current openings visit:

This page contains links to web sites that contain information about weather education and outreach.