Talking about increasing diversity in the field of meteorology
Achieving a fulfilling career in weather is not easy, particularly for people of color, but one person is hoping he can help pave the way for others to have success.
By
Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 15, 2022 11:40 AM EST
|
Updated Feb 15, 2022 11:41 AM EST
AccuWeather speaks with Bill Parker, a meteorologist-in-charge with the National Weather Service, about confronting the disproportionately low number of Black meteorologists in the U.S.
The path to becoming the National Weather Service's first African American meteorologist-in-charge wasn't an easy one for Bill Parker. Still, he hopes to help set the stage for others like him to achieve greatness in the meteorology field.
In a recent interview with AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Geoff Cornish on AccuWeather Prime, Parker talked about the hurdles he had to clear to get to where he is now.
Being born and raised in New Orleans naturally piqued his interest in meteorology at a young age because he was exposed to several hurricanes, Parker recounted. Apart from his up-close experiences with weather, Parker enjoyed math and science from a young age, but it wasn't until a high school statistics course that he realized he could make this interest in weather a lifelong career.
In the statistics course, the teacher began to teach about POP -- an abbreviation for what meteorologists call probability of precipitation -- and that is when Parker knew he wanted to be a meteorologist.
The college decision wasn't easy for Parker.
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He originally wanted to go to Florida State University, but he couldn't attend the school due to financial restrictions and he encountered similar issues when he considered Texas A&M. Ultimately, his uncle shared an article showing that Jackson State University had a meteorology program. Since Parker was familiar with the university because his uncle had played football there and knew he could afford it, he pursued a degree from Jackson State, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson State is about three hours north of his hometown and is one of 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. In fact, Jackson State is the only HBCU that offered a meteorology program at the time.
Bill received the Modern Day Technology Leader Award at the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Awards. (Photo via NOAA)
Even though the meteorology program was smaller compared to the other schools he was considering, looking back on it, Parker said he is thankful for his time at Jackson State.
"I had a professor, who I always say, he understood the value of the meteorology degree in my hands before I ever understood the value of the meteorology degree in my hands," Parker said. "I'm thankful for Jackson State."
Parker's journey after college wasn't one he had imagined either. After the door failed to open for him on the broadcast side of meteorology, a door opened up for him within the National Weather Service after he completed a summer internship with the office in Slidell, Louisiana.
Parker was then offered a full-time position at the NWS office in Jackson and has since moved up to meteorologist-in-charge, a position he does not take for granted.
There is still a disproportionately low number of Black meteorologists within the field, and even though the number is growing, it is still a challenge for meteorologists of color to get a start.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Parker recently spoke with AccuWeather's Geoff Cornish during an AccuWeather Prime segment about ways to increase diversity in meteorology.
"When it comes to meteorology, this field that we're in, there is not a whole lot of minorities," Parker said, "so the opportunities of getting jobs is tough."
According to Parker, Jackson State's meteorology program has been around since 1975. Of all of the meteorology program graduates, only about 20-30% of them actually end up working in the weather enterprise.
Parker said breaking into and staying in the field all comes down to building relationships.
"Rather than coming to hear our story, we need partners who will come and be a part of the story at Jackson State University. We need people in the weather enterprise to come and visit and meet our students," Parker said.
Bringing those relationships to schools like Jackson State will help open the door for students in search of internship opportunities in the meteorology field, which could eventually bring that percentage of students who eventually find a career in the weather enterprise up even higher.
"When I was in elementary school, I knew that the police force was coming -- Officer Friendly, we used to call him. Officer Friendly was gonna come and talk about safety in the neighborhood and talk about what a police officer is and what he does," Parker said in an interview last year with AccuWeather. "Well, we need to do the same thing in the field of meteorology. We need to make [it a] purpose to go out into these communities and to reach out to these children and expose them to our field but also give them hope that they can become a meteorologist as well ... When it comes to meteorology and other physical sciences, there is just not enough exposure."
Parker emphasized that exposure and interest in the field of meteorology should be for all people because the weather doesn't discriminate.
For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
Talking about increasing diversity in the field of meteorology
Achieving a fulfilling career in weather is not easy, particularly for people of color, but one person is hoping he can help pave the way for others to have success.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 15, 2022 11:40 AM EST | Updated Feb 15, 2022 11:41 AM EST
AccuWeather speaks with Bill Parker, a meteorologist-in-charge with the National Weather Service, about confronting the disproportionately low number of Black meteorologists in the U.S.
The path to becoming the National Weather Service's first African American meteorologist-in-charge wasn't an easy one for Bill Parker. Still, he hopes to help set the stage for others like him to achieve greatness in the meteorology field.
In a recent interview with AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Geoff Cornish on AccuWeather Prime, Parker talked about the hurdles he had to clear to get to where he is now.
Being born and raised in New Orleans naturally piqued his interest in meteorology at a young age because he was exposed to several hurricanes, Parker recounted. Apart from his up-close experiences with weather, Parker enjoyed math and science from a young age, but it wasn't until a high school statistics course that he realized he could make this interest in weather a lifelong career.
In the statistics course, the teacher began to teach about POP -- an abbreviation for what meteorologists call probability of precipitation -- and that is when Parker knew he wanted to be a meteorologist.
The college decision wasn't easy for Parker.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
He originally wanted to go to Florida State University, but he couldn't attend the school due to financial restrictions and he encountered similar issues when he considered Texas A&M. Ultimately, his uncle shared an article showing that Jackson State University had a meteorology program. Since Parker was familiar with the university because his uncle had played football there and knew he could afford it, he pursued a degree from Jackson State, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson State is about three hours north of his hometown and is one of 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. In fact, Jackson State is the only HBCU that offered a meteorology program at the time.
Bill received the Modern Day Technology Leader Award at the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Awards. (Photo via NOAA)
Even though the meteorology program was smaller compared to the other schools he was considering, looking back on it, Parker said he is thankful for his time at Jackson State.
"I had a professor, who I always say, he understood the value of the meteorology degree in my hands before I ever understood the value of the meteorology degree in my hands," Parker said. "I'm thankful for Jackson State."
Parker's journey after college wasn't one he had imagined either. After the door failed to open for him on the broadcast side of meteorology, a door opened up for him within the National Weather Service after he completed a summer internship with the office in Slidell, Louisiana.
Parker was then offered a full-time position at the NWS office in Jackson and has since moved up to meteorologist-in-charge, a position he does not take for granted.
There is still a disproportionately low number of Black meteorologists within the field, and even though the number is growing, it is still a challenge for meteorologists of color to get a start.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Parker recently spoke with AccuWeather's Geoff Cornish during an AccuWeather Prime segment about ways to increase diversity in meteorology.
"When it comes to meteorology, this field that we're in, there is not a whole lot of minorities," Parker said, "so the opportunities of getting jobs is tough."
According to Parker, Jackson State's meteorology program has been around since 1975. Of all of the meteorology program graduates, only about 20-30% of them actually end up working in the weather enterprise.
Parker said breaking into and staying in the field all comes down to building relationships.
"Rather than coming to hear our story, we need partners who will come and be a part of the story at Jackson State University. We need people in the weather enterprise to come and visit and meet our students," Parker said.
Bringing those relationships to schools like Jackson State will help open the door for students in search of internship opportunities in the meteorology field, which could eventually bring that percentage of students who eventually find a career in the weather enterprise up even higher.
"When I was in elementary school, I knew that the police force was coming -- Officer Friendly, we used to call him. Officer Friendly was gonna come and talk about safety in the neighborhood and talk about what a police officer is and what he does," Parker said in an interview last year with AccuWeather. "Well, we need to do the same thing in the field of meteorology. We need to make [it a] purpose to go out into these communities and to reach out to these children and expose them to our field but also give them hope that they can become a meteorologist as well ... When it comes to meteorology and other physical sciences, there is just not enough exposure."
Parker emphasized that exposure and interest in the field of meteorology should be for all people because the weather doesn't discriminate.
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For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo