We use cookies to improve and customise your experience, for analytics and metrics, and to track any purchases you make both on this website and on others. To find out more about the cookies we use see our cookie policy
More info
- Study the influences on the Earth's climate over time & how these might affect it in the future
- Requires excellent verbal communication skills & to be thorough &pay attention to detail
- Specialise in an area of climate science, for example polar research, rainfall patterns or ocean changes
As a climate scientist, you'll communicate the science and effects of climate change to the public and decision-makers.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Gather and analyse data from the atmosphere, oceans and land
- Create computer models to simulate the effects of changes to climate
- Design and build scientific instruments and sensors
- Study past climates to understand what might happen in the future
- Monitor ice packs, sea levels and temperatures
- Look at how global climate affects regional weather patterns
- Attend conferences and publish research findings
- Investigate ways to tackle climate change
- Advise policy makers
- Teach
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work in a laboratory or at a university and your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
You'll need
This role would be ideal for someone with excellent verbal communication skills, who is thorough and pays attention to detail.
You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification in environmental science, geography, physics, maths and statistics, oceanography, meteorology and climate science or computer science. You'll usually need 3 A levels including maths and a science subject.
You could get work experience through an internship or work placement. This would give you an insight into the different types of work you can do as a climate scientist.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could specialise in an area of climate science, for example polar research, rainfall patterns or ocean changes. You might do this through research and teaching at a university, or by working for a government department. You could also work as a palaeoclimatologist, studying previous variations in climate and how the Earth adapted to these. Other career options include working as a consultant for science publishers or broadcasters.