How To Become A Forecaster: What It Is and Career Path

What is a forecaster and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Paul Miller

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a forecaster. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.14 an hour? That's $56,441 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a forecaster?

Paul Miller

Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University and A&M College

Students can improve their income potential by being able to brand themselves as more than forecasters. While meteorologists are classically associated with weather prediction, the computer-centric nature of the disciple (i.e., weighing information provided by supercomputer-generated model simulations), students with additional experience accessing and processing the vast amount of digital data within the model files will have a professional and earnings edge. These students may also prove marketable to companies and fields outside of meteorology simply because weather and climate datasets in some ways epitomize the idea of 'big data.'

ScoreForecasterUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $56,441

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 7.11%

Black or African American 3.62%

Hispanic or Latino 6.59%

Unknown 7.84%

White 74.31%

Gender

female 32.42%

male 67.58%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a forecaster

Explore forecaster education requirements

Most common forecaster degrees

Bachelor's

72.8 %

Master's

12.6 %

Associate

9.8 %

Start to develop specific forecaster skills

Skills	Percentages
SQL	17.46%
SAS	16.43%
PowerPoint	14.54%
Visualization	12.73%
Data Analysis	12.44%

Complete relevant forecaster training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New forecasters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a forecaster based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real forecaster resumes.

Research forecaster duties and responsibilities

Manage all phases of marketing campaign projects from requirements gathering, sales goals, list pulls, and final ROI analysis.
Execute detailed daily briefings communicating to senior leadership the tropical cyclone conditions and potential impacts to DoD resources.
Create purchase orders and release materials to satisfy the MPS.

Apply for forecaster jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a forecaster job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams