My first question would be – which area of climate science do you wish to get involved in? The answer to which would determine your best course of action at this point.
There are a great many different routes you can take to get into the study of climate change and the one that’s most suitable for you would depend on whether you wanted to work in a particular area and which are your preferred subjects.
The most direct route would be to obtain a degree in climatology but there are many people who enter the field of climate science having obtained degrees in related subjects such as atmospheric chemistry, spectroscopy or oceanography.
A lot of people are interested in the research side of things and for this you’ll need a background in physics and quite possibly a further relevant subject. You could, for example, find yourself drawn to the marine environment, to geoengineering, to agrisciences, to epidemiological impacts etc for which a background in biology, engineering, geography, medicine etc would be useful, and in some cases a prerequisite.
Many people enter the general field of climate science and then move into a more specialist area. If you take this route then physics and maths are vital. You could then qualify as a climatologist, gain some experience, then decide at a later date which area to move into.
Your interest in maths could mean that you’d be more attracted to an analytical or programming role, in which case maths and computer sciences are likely going to be more important than physics.
For myself, I started in pure climatology with an educational background in maths, physics, chemistry and geography. At uni I qualified in climatology and geography then started work as a climate scientist and later added further qualifications in specific areas such as hydrology and glaciology. A lot of my research is now in the cryosphere. I work with several other people and they all got to the same point as me but by taking different routes.
Whatever area you enter you’re going to encounter a great many self-styled experts. They’ll have listened to Rush Limbaugh for five minutes and think they know everything there is to know about climate science, it’s par for the course, especially in the US.
Sorry the answer is vague, it’s hard to advise not knowing if there’s a specific area you want to work in. Anyway, good luck with your studies and I hope it all works out well for you.
Glad to see everyone the above posts are so serious...
Anyway -
Hi! It's great to hear that you've changed your mind! I was in the same boat as you, except I was planning on going into neuroscience, but then found my true calling in the environmental field. This is purely based on my own experiences, but here's what I'm doing:
Duel Majors in Environmental Science (or even Envi. Study) and Engineering, with intentions of a Masters in Environmental Engineering.
My goal is based more on renewable energy sources and energy conservation, but the field of Environmental Science allows for so many branch-off areas, that I really do think it would be wise to investigate it.
The problem I ran into was that very few schools actually offer the field of study with the specific interests and concentrations. The university I selected has a very strong Environmental program - Drury University. It's a small liberal arts school, but it's pretty great. That decision came from MUCH research.
Since you were originally wanting to go into the business field, I'm thinking that maybe the policy side of Environmentalism would be best suited for you, so I'd recommend Study rather than Science.
Good luck with your search! :)
[also, to Trevor - thank you for your wonderful post! I learned much from reading it and I'll keep it in mind as I advance.]
Trevor nailed it. You may want to look at the Bios of climate scientists as a guide, for example, Hansen started in Physics, continued in Astronomy and finished with a PhD in Physics. Keep in mid that few people keep a strait line in their careers. Its a very wide field, attracting oceanographers and computer specialists for example.
I'm partial to physics myself as it's a very fundamental science with strong mathematics. From there you can specialize in mathematics or meteorology. In fact, I've seen people start in physics and end up in engineering, chemistry or biology, but very few go the other way.
There are on-line course given by the university of Chicago, that would give you an example of topics covered
Keep up your interest in science and good luck.
Well statistics would certainly be useful ...
Isn't it interesting; the contrast in the quality of answers from those who accept the reality of climate change, with those from the so-called 'skeptics'.
I can't improve on what others have said so I'll just wish you all the best for a successful career, whatever your final choice.
Communism
I really sincerely thought you wanted the truth, which it is now apparent that you don't.
Quote by Ottmar Edenhoffer, high level UN-IPCC official: "We redistribute de facto the world's wealth by climate policy...Basically it's a big mistake to discuss climate policy separately from the major themes of globalization...One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore."
Quote by Club of Rome: "In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill....All these dangers are caused by human intervention....and thus the “real enemy, then, is humanity itself....believe humanity requires a common motivation, namely a common adversary in order to realize world government. It does not matter if this common enemy is “a real one or….one invented for the purpose."
Don't say I didn't warn you. The climate sciences are more political than scientific.
Quote by Christine Stewart, former Canadian Environment Minister: “No matter if the science is all phoney, there are collateral environmental benefits.... climate change [provides] the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world.”
Quote by Timoth Wirth, U.S./UN functionary, former elected Democrat Senator: “We’ve got to ride the global-warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.”
Justice and Equality are code words for Communism.
If you know anything about the environment, you must know about James Hansen. He had the top most position in the US for Climate Science. He is now retired and a full time communist activist.
Quote by Gus Hall, former leader of the Communist Party USA: "Human society cannot basically stop the destruction of the environment under capitalism. Socialism is the only structure that makes it possible."
So if you want to hurl insults, hurl it at the many 'PhDs' on this site who don't even know if the Earth's temperature is heating or cooling.
Just look at the goofy answers the greenies gave for this question.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
They admit there two sets of books. Try getting by with that with the IRS and you will wind up in jail. But in Climate Science that is just fine, you will be made into a hero.
http://www.c3headlines.com/fabricating-f...
This is how the top US scientist cooked the books. And you think you will learn the truth from some of these same people. Go learn to be a snake oil salesperson. It will be more honest and ruin less people's lives.
Religious cults, scams 101, communism, Nazism, how to lie 110,
For climate change start with mental health courses.
Don't study a lie, it is HOAX...
I'm currently a Junior in High School, beginning to look at colleges that are highly rated in the areas I want to major in. Originally I wanted to be a statistician, so I was looking at schools with good business programs (accounting, business management, etc.); however, after a recent assignment in AP Comp--an argumentative essay--I began to find great interest in climate change. So, I've been trying to find majors that are relevant in that area of study, but really haven't found any definite answers. I do know that a few schools have climate change courses, like Montana, but I'm not sure if it's as serious as they come. Note: this isn't intended for people to express their opinions on the matter, but if you have insight on this topic, I'd love to email you and see how much more I can learn. Thanks a lot!
