themusk wrote:[
And in many states, in some licensed professions normally thought of as degree-dependent, it's possible to completely substitute examinations and on-the-job training. For example, here in Vermont, it isn't necessary to go to law school to practice law: apprenticeship under a lawyer and a passing score in the bar exam is sufficient. I wouldn't think twice about hiring one of our mere handful of degreeless attorneys: the degreeless route, it turns out, is much harder than the law school route, and, IMO, turns out lawyers who are better prepared for the real world of the courtroom.
Yes, in many states there are examination alternatives to degrees for licensing. Licended professional engineer, CPA, bar exam, etc. are avenues that do not necessarily require degrees, but experience can substitute. And yes, these are very difficult avenues. On the other hand, I've no qualms about working with people who have gone the examination route. Many people who attend university, graduate school, etc. fail those examinations the first time out!
I don't understand why there is an issue, however, since if someone does have a degree, they can so state. If the radio/TV stations that hire these people think it is important, then they can put their meterologists' credentials up. "So and so., B.S., M.S., Ph.D." Same as other credentials.
My impression is that all the radio & TV stations, etc. use the NWS for watches and warnings, etc. They are always referring to these and are pretty careful to defer to NWS for the "official stuff." So yeah, they may advise taking an umbrella to work or tell you to bundle up your kids before you send them out to wait for the school bus, but when there are "official" warnings, they quote the NWS. And this seems to be true regardless of whether they have degrees in meterology or not.
As for people who post on boards, there is no reason to care whether they have degrees or not. The purposes are generally very different! I do not monitor S2K for imminent threats! Granted, if I were messing around on S2K and suddenly a post popped up warning me of an threat to me (e.g. "tornado on the ground near ____ [my location]!"), I'd probably grab my pocketbook (which contains a portable NOAA radio) and head for shelter and then find out if it were real or a hoax once I was in a safe place to do so. But it is much more likely that my NOAA radio would alarm to let me know of this. And I can hear my NOAA radio from where I sit at my computer. And I can directly credit my NOAA radio (the one in the pocketbook) from saving me from immediate and very specific danger on two occasions--once with a 97 year old woman in the car with me. We made it to shelter indoors at the nearest building just as a large tree came down where we had been shortly before! Frankly, I don't care if the person who broadcast that warning had a degree or not!
But what I especially like about S2K are the varieties of opinions and the understanding that builds up over time of not just what is happening, but a sense of why and what causes it. Also, the S2K posts provide a lot of early warning! With good reason, the NWS and the local media do not want to warn of "possibilities" too far in advance because they don't want to have "false alarms" etc. That is understandable and if they do have too many warnings of events that do not occur, then people tend to ignore warnings.
On the other hand, I personally would much rather prepare for something that did not happen that be caught unprepared and scrambling at the last minute. And actually in my case, it does not hurt. I'd probably never get my yard cleaned up if I didn't go out and bring in stuff that would blow around when the possibility of high winds arise, etc. I would not go out and cut that rotten limb once the temperature had dropped and the snow/freezing rain was already falling. On the other hand, if I've gone out and trimmed it and the snow/ice/freezing rain/high wind does not materialize, I've still taken care of a chore that I'd been avoiding!
I was very happy to have a few extra days "warning" about the possibility of the January storm! I got everything in from the yard that needed to come in. I did all the laundry in case we lost power. (What a sense of accomplishment!) I returned and got new library books. I brought some firewood inside. I got my shopping done a couple of days early and made sure that I had plenty of hot chocolate, etc. I made sure I knew where stuff was. I checked batteries in portable radios, etc. Good idea--I found a just about to leak battery in an expensive device. We parked our cars in "storm spaces" (over far enough so that snowblower goes in and out of its place in the garage easily). Checked generator. Now, suppose there had been no storm? So what? I had all my shopping done, all the laundry done (yay! hurray!), the yard was cleaned up, the trash was at the dump, I had firewood indoors (and you don't need a bad storm to enjoy a fireplace in the winter), and a stash of hot chocolate. Further, I did not have a battery leak in a portable TV so I saved money and aggravation there. And I had library books and for once got all the books back before their due date so saved $$. I just did stuff a little earlier &/or more efficiently than I normally would have because S2K posters goaded me into not being my usual procrastinating self. I certainly would not have been angry if there had been no storm! And I owe a special thanks to all of you on S2K who posted the "advance warnings" about a potential snowstorm for our area! My husband also thanks you--the laundry was done before all the drawers were empty! (Maybe you should forecast bad weather more oftenjavascript:emoticon(':lol:')
javascript:emoticon(':lol:'))
Perhaps this is because I'm old enough to remember when weather forecasting was somewhere between non-existent and dependent upon watching animal behavior, and elderly people's arthritis. I don't know very much yet, but I've learned a lot in the last few years... And mostly I learn from reading what people post.
As for differentiating the "good" from the "bad" I don't think that is an issue. As someone said, if you don't like the weather forecaster on Channel A, change channels. You can figure out pretty quickly which ones you want to watch and which ones you don't. The same is true on the boards. On the other hand, you probably learn as much if not more from the questions and the postings of those who don't know as you do from those who are professional or semi-professionals. For one thing, in many cases, those posters are invaluable because they ask the question that you should have asked but didn't for fear of appearing to be an idiot. For another, you learn a lot from the responses people give them. Hey, the first time I saw weather maps it was like looking at Chinese calligraphy, but now I'm beginning to see what I'm looking at.
On the one hand, I strongly believe that people who put in the time and effort to earn degrees should be credited (and should perhaps use whatever the appropriate designation is behind their name); but I also believe that there are people out there whose on-the-job experience and personal study have earned them an equivalent. But I also think there is a place for amateurs of all skill levels on the boards.
One final thought. I am personally very impressed by the seriousness and effort of so many YOUNG people on S2K! We seem to have a lot of people out there who are still in high school (perhaps even a few still in junior high school) and many college students (of all ages). I think I will see some of you on TV or read your postings on the NWS discussions in a few years. You are to be commended! I'm impressed! Some of you will earn degrees in meterology. Some of you may go on to to other things with your lives and as careers, but I'm sure that your will do well in those areas as well and that you will not forget the methodologies, etc. you've learned to apply to the weather. You are really a bright bunch of kids! You are our future!
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or 
