Weather observer vs forecaster

The differences between weather observers and forecasters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a forecaster has an average salary of $56,441, which is higher than the $51,408 average annual salary of a weather observer.

The top three skills for a weather observer include DOD, federal aviation administration and radar. The most important skills for a forecaster are SQL, SAS, and powerpoint.

Weather observer vs forecaster overview

	Weather Observer	Forecaster
Yearly salary	$51,408	$56,441
Hourly rate	$24.72	$27.14
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	619	489
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Weather observer vs forecaster salary

Weather observers and forecasters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Weather Observer	Forecaster
Average salary	$51,408	$56,441
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $98,000	Between $34,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	-	Bellevue, WA
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between weather observer and forecaster education

There are a few differences between a weather observer and a forecaster in terms of educational background:

	Weather Observer	Forecaster
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Meteorology	Meteorology
Most common college	SUNY Stony Brook	SUNY Stony Brook

Weather observer vs forecaster demographics

Here are the differences between weather observers' and forecasters' demographics:

	Weather Observer	Forecaster
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 70.4% Female, 29.6%	Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 7.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% Asian, 7.1% White, 74.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between weather observer and forecaster duties and responsibilities

Weather observer example responsibilities.

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Collect and plot coordinates using GPS units.
Answer requests for technical information regarding regional products from field meteorologists, DOD customers, and other users.
Prepare and release radiosondes, collect and disseminate upper air data using GPS navigational equipment and RRS software.
Produce up-to-date training seminars in PowerPoint.
Collect and disseminate marine weather observations from vessels in Alaskan waters.

Forecaster example 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.

Weather observer vs forecaster skills

Common weather observer skills

DOD, 18%
Federal Aviation Administration, 15%
Radar, 10%
Air Traffic Control, 6%
Data Quality Control, 6%
Weather Station, 6%

Common forecaster skills

SQL, 17%
SAS, 16%
PowerPoint, 15%
Visualization, 13%
Data Analysis, 12%
Regression, 7%

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Weather Observer
Weather Observer vs Forecaster

Updated January 8, 2025

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