This is
future-changing work
Work experience at the Met Office
This is
future-changing work
Work experience at the Met Office
An introduction to the Met Office
The Met Office work experience programme consists of two distinct phases. The first is an online work experience. This stand-alone programme is available to all UK-based students aged between 13 and 18, and all who register are guaranteed a place. As part of this programme, you’ll explore typical roles in the Met Office through a series of videos, projects and webinars and learn all about the common skills and qualifications needed to pursue a range of careers, from Forecasting, Engineering and Data Science to Cyber Security, and Customer & Stakeholder Management. Following completion of the online programme, you can apply for a second phase of work experience - a two to three day in-person placement, for which limited places are available.
Forecasting your Future (online work experience)
We’ve teamed up with Springpod, a specialist careers platform, to offer a fascinating insight into the work of the Met Office. This online work experience is designed to develop your knowledge and skills and provides the opportunity for you to tap into individualised support from Met Office staff across the organisation via an online chat system. The online programme can be completed across a work experience week or at any other time of the year, with the bulk of your time spent on exciting work-related projects. Once you’ve finished the programme, if you’d like to find out more about a career at the Met Office, we encourage you to apply for our in-person work experience programme.
Ready to get started?
Find out more about the ‘Forecasting your Future’ online work experience programme by visiting the Springpod website, reading more about the programme and creating an account. Use the link below, click on the ‘Start’ button and follow the registration instructions.
In-person work experience
In-person placement opportunities are available across the year, with a variety of teams, including Forecasting, Technology, Engineering and Communications.
Am I eligible to apply?
To apply for in-person work experience, you must have completed 'Forecasting Your Future', the Met Office online work experience programme. You'll also be in one of the following academic year groups at the time of the placement:
England and Wales. Years 10, 11, 12 or 13 (up to 31st August)
Northern Ireland. Years 11, 12, 13 or 14 (up to 31st August)
Scotland. S3, S4, S5 or S6 (up to 31st August)
Finally, you must be studying in the UK, either in formal education or being home-schooled.
Current opportunities
The application procedure for an in-person placement is based on our Met Office job application process, to give you experience of what it is like to apply for a job vacancy with us. Please be aware that you’ll need to submit all the work-based assignments you completed during the online work experience, as part of your application. So, please make sure you have them downloaded and ready to attach. Our in-person placements are highly sought-after, so the more effort you put into these assignments, the more likely you are to be offered an in-person placement.
The in-person work experience opportunities listed here are now live. Please follow the relevant links to apply. Further in-person placement opportunities will be added over the coming weeks and months. So, you may like to bookmark this page and regularly check for updates. We wish you luck with your applications!
Field Service Engineering team
Location: Watnall, Nottingham
Dates: 10 - 12 June (3 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: Field Service Engineering involves the maintenance, repair and calibration support of the vast majority of operational instrumentation, equipment and systems within the Met Office; from the tipping bucket rain-gauge to the complex system of equipment at Weather Radar sites. This placement may also involve insight into Lidar maintenance and an Autosonde weather balloon launch.
Communications & Engagement – Content team
Location: Exeter
Dates: 24 - 26 June (3 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: Our busy Content Team, helps to communicate weather and climate science in engaging, innovative ways. You’ll learn how the team creates content to suit a wide range of channels including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X. You will work alongside designers, video editors and presenters to experience what it’s like creating and publishing content. With an interest in design, video and social media, you’ll be encouraged to take an active role in brainstorming sessions and feeding back on the content the team create.
Education Outreach team
Location: Exeter
Dates: Two placements are available 1-2 July (2 days) and 3-4 July (2 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: The Education Outreach team works with teams across the Met Office to provide outreach opportunities for young people aged 3-18. We aim to increase knowledge and understanding of weather and climate and help young people discover the wide variety of careers within the Met Office, broader STEM sector and Civil Service.
Hazards and Resilience team
Location: Exeter
Dates: 8-9 July (2 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: The Hazards and Resilience team are responsible for providing weather information to the emergency services, industry and government, to support preparedness, risk reduction and crisis response. The team enables the UK Resilience Community to make better informed decisions to protect lives and property. To do this they manage and run the National Severe Weather Warnings Service (NSWWS), Space Weather (MOSWOC), Flood Warnings (FGS & SWFHIM) and the Hazard Manager Help Centre. This placement focuses on the technologies underpinning these services.
Climate Science team
Location: Exeter
Dates: 9 - 11 July (3 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: This placement will be centred around completion of a mini project related to changes in West African monsoon rainfall as the ocean warms, supported by the Climate Science team. The project will involve some coding – depending on your level of ability, this could be as simple as making small edits to existing code, or could be designed to be more complex.
Climate Knowledge Integration team
Location: Exeter
Dates: 16 - 17 July (2 days)
Application Deadline: Tuesday 7 May 2024 (10pm)
Brief description of work area: The Climate Knowledge Integration team sits within the ‘Climate Science’ area of the Met Office. Our work focuses on communicating the latest climate science from the Met Office in an accessible and useful way, mostly to decision-makers in UK government departments. Our aim is to help ensure decisions and policy related to climate change are informed by robust scientific evidence.