Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

I am responsible for writing Aviation and Commercial forecasts for the Met Office. I work on a number of positions, including WAFC (World Area Forecast Centre, of which there are only 2 in the world), low-level Aviation (airports, etc), and Surface Transport. They are all very different so on an average day I could be writing warnings for Airports across the UK, advising county councils on whether there will be snow or ice overnight or drawing charts for Aviation across the southern Hemisphere.

However that is not all I do, I also work 50-50 with the Post-Processing team too. I usually work 1 month on forecasting, 1 month in Post-Processing and switch back and forth. In the Post-Processing team I work as part of a Development team, writing/modifying code in Python to improve our post-processing models and systems and making sure they are accurate and run in the way they are supposed to.

My average day differs depending on which role I am working in. Usually I work one month on shift as a meteorologist and then one month in the Post-Processing team during normal office hours. This gives me a better work life balance (if I can remember where I am and what I'm doing, my diary is essential!), and allows me to have more weekends and nights off with my family. I have a young child and working shifts can be challenging with this.

During my shifts my days are different depending on the position I am working. We do 12 1/4 hour shifts, generally from 7.30am to 7.30pm and are contracted to work 42 hours a week. We do not work a regular schedule and so my day is always different. However the first thing I do on shift is to get a handover from the previous shift so I have a good idea of the synoptic weather situation, whether there are frontal systems, high pressure, low pressure, snow forecast, etc. I then start to work on my forecasts. We have a "task launcher" which tells us when forecasts need to start to be prepared and the deadline for them to send out. As well as routine forecasts we have to keep a close eye on observations, and if the forecast doesn't go as planned we need to amend it as soon as possible. We also need to send out ad-hoc warnings and deal with phone calls from the customers. If the weather is really bad you might not get a break in a 12 hour day. Of course those days are quite rare, and normally we get 1.5 hours break on a shift, which can be taken fairly flexibly.

In my other job I work as part of a Development team within Post-Processing. For this I normally get to the office around 8.15am, retrieve my laptop and find a "hot desk" to work from that day. I use Linux and log on to our network and into the supercomputer to run tests, modify code and complete "tickets". We use Agile development and work in 2 week "sprints". During this time we work on some "chunks" of work in the form of tickets. At the start of each sprint we have a planning meeting together and bring in the right amount of work based on the people in the team that sprint, their skills and what is a priority. We also have a daily stand-up meeting where we say what we did the previous day, what we're planning to do that day and if there are any blockers. At the end of the 2 weeks we present our "sprint" to the stakeholders. It is very structured and works well for the type of work we do. However I do spend most of my time at my desk typing on a computer! It's a completely different way of working but it's nice to be able to see in detail what goes into the diagnostics that result in some of our model data. The two roles are very complimentary, but I do effectively do 2 part time jobs, rather than 1.

I enjoy the fact that it is a combination of science and dealing with clients even though at times it can be challenging and very difficult.

There is a lot of customer satisfaction as well, knowing people rely on our forecasts and for them to call up and say it was spot on, is amazing. However I also enjoy the fact that at the end of the day you hand everything over to someone else! There is no taking work home, which is brilliant.

I have also had the opportunity to do travel and work in many different places. I have been Advisor at Heathrow Airport and spent a summer forecasting at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. I am also involved in a project which collaborates with NOAA in the US in testing our models and how well they forecast severe convection and storms. For this I will be going to the US for 3 weeks in May to take part in a series of experiments at the Hazardous Weather Testbed. http://hwt.nssl.noaa.gov/

The training was challenging, it was very intense and the assessments stressful. However for most people I think the shift pattern is the most challenging. We work 12 1/4 hour shifts, both days and nights. Our usual pattern is day shift, day shift, night shift, night shift, sleep day and then three days off. We also work bank holidays, including Christmas.

We get a bit of extra money for it, but some people can't take the shifts and have to leave. Also while the above schedule sounds quite regular, you never have a regular week and we often don't get ideal shift patterns (3 days off in a row is unusual!)

I did an MSc in Meteorology at UCD in Dublin and the part I enjoyed most was the forecasting. I find the weather fascinating and there is something of a thrill attached to legitimately trying to predict the future for your job!

To be a forecaster at the Met Office you need to have a good degree, generally in a scientific subject, although I know some people have geography.

You don't need to be know a huge amount about forecasting as they teach you, but you need to be confident, have a great communication, teamworking and presentation skills. You also need to be logical, a quick thinker and able to deal with challenging situations.

We all had to do the IFC (Initial Forecasting Course), which altogether takes about 6 months.

We are all given the opportunity to continue our development by doing an NVQ. There are opportunities for further training and I've done courses on Winter and Summer Forecasting and am hoping to complete one on Satellite Interpretation very soon.

Weather forecasting is a very dynamic job, so we all need to maintain professional development and keep up to date on developments, particularly updates on the models and local information.

Feb 2006-May 2006: Italian language study in Florence, Italy. After my BSc I took 3 months out to go and travel around Italy and do some Italian language study in Florence. While there I also took courses in Sculpture and Italian Cookery.

2006-2007: MSc Meteorology at University College Dublin.

2007-2008: Project Consultant and Research Assistant for the Ecology Foundation in Dublin. This was my first job after the MSc and I helped businesses deal with the challenges of climate change.

It involved consulting for companies such as Vodafone, Lily O'Brien chocolates and Irish Ferries. I helped calculate carbon footprints, ran "green weeks" in companies, wrote presentations, attended conferences and wrote an environmental strategy for a private jet company.

March 2009: Initial Forecaster Training - This was on the job training given by the Met Office to allow us to become forecasters. It involved an intensive 3 months in the Met Office College, followed by another 3 months on the job training, then a series of assessments to check that we were good enough. We also had to complete a series of reports to work towards an NVQ in Weather Forecasting.

Further Forecaster Training: This has included further study in NWP, Winter Forecasting, Summer Forecasting, Satellite Imagery Interpretation, Basic Python Programming, Creative Facilitation.

I would like to stay at the Met Office and continue to work 50-50 in roles that interest me. I really love forecasting and want to progress within this area. My plan is to try to get into the Guidance Unit in the next 5 years. These are the people who decide what the overall "weather story" is and are ultimately responsible for the forecasts!

I also want to continue to work within the science area of the Met Office too. I find it fascinating, and it puts me in a unique position being able to understand the different points of view. I would really like to help communication between forecasting staff and scientists become even better in order to make our forecasts even better.

Meteorology is a very small world, there are only a few companies that do forecasting. However the Met Office regularly recruit, so make sure you check the website regularly.

When filling out the application, make sure that you read the questions carefully and cover every single point.

At the interview stage, you should read up on the company you are applying for. Know key points and make sure you understand why you want the job. If you don't know, you won't be able to explain at the interview!

If you want a normal working week, are not prepared to work Christmas/bank holidays, want to earn loads of money and don't like dealing with customers this is not the job for you! It is more of a vocation than just a job, and our meteorologists are very dedicated, flexible and loyal. It can be all consuming, having a shift working job, so you need to be able to make sure you don't spend all of your time just working. Hobbies and outside interests are very important.

Good luck! It took me a long time to find my first job after University. You need to be determined and apply for as many jobs as you can. It will happen but you have to be positive about it. I got my job at the Met Office on the second attempt. I had applied the year before, but failed after the interview stage. I asked for feedback, got another job, gained relevant work experience and reapplied. A year later I got the job I wanted! It isn't unusual for people to not quite get there on the first try, so please get feedback, listen to it and then try again.