Fancy a career Climate and Weather? Go after Thomas Vanhamel!
What is your job to be precise?
I work as a meteorologist at the KMI.
Did you know from a young age that you wanted to work in space?
As a child, I was already interested in the weather and the earth. So working at the RMI was a dream job even then!
What is something that people are often impressed by when you talk about your job?
People are often curious about how weather forecasts are made. They then usually know the weatherman/woman on TV but how these forecasts are created they often don’t know very well. This requires processing a large amount of information and data (satellite images, radar images, calculations of different computer models, …) in a short time (to meet deadlines). Fortunately, we do not work alone and consult with the team, especially in case of dangerous weather.
What is a crazy space idea you absolutely do not believe in?
The atmosphere remains chaotic and partly because of this, weather forecasts will always contain errors. I never believe that we can know exactly where and when showers are going to fall, for example, or that we can predict a heatwave in winter in the month of July.
“People usually know the weatherman/woman on TV, but how their weather forecasts come about they often don’t know very well.”
What advice would you give to young people interested in your career?
Young people who would later want to pursue an exciting job in meteorology/climatology, I recommend following their passions in their school path. A direction with sufficient sciences (and mathematics) is necessary, though. There are several opportunities to work at the RMI: for example, as a researcher on weather and climate models, ICT person, engineer, operational meteorologist or climatologist. To get an idea of what the possibilities are, it can be useful to make contacts and go to open days. There are also a number of opportunities outside the RMI: for example, as a researcher at a university or research institute, private market, media, etc. The opportunities are not very extensive, though, so a dose of luck (and perseverance) are needed. Going to work abroad is also an option.