Career

Environmental specialists are needed in companies ranging from clean technology to energy and insurance, as well as among policymakers and governments. The Master’s Programme in Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences also educates all meteorologists in Finland for weather forecasting, meteorological research and aviation safety. In addition, we educate hydrospheric geophysicists to work in the fields of cryology, hydrology and oceanography, and chemists and aerosol physicists to work in companies.

*previously the Master’s Programme in Atmospheric Sciences 

 

Career prospects

As a Master of Science graduating from the Master’s Programme in Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences, you will have a strong background for working with environmental issues and the ability to find innovative solutions to complex problems in the field of environmental sciences, climate change and weather forecasting.

Graduates of the programme have found employment in Meteorological Institutes and Environmental Administration in Finland and other countries, companies manufacturing instrumentation for atmospheric and environmental measurements and analysis, and consultancy companies.

The Master’s Programme in Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences educates all meteorologists in Finland for weather forecasting, meteorological research and aviation safety. As a graduate of the meteorology line, you will be qualified to use the title of Meteorologist (in Finnish: Meteorologi), as defined by Finnish government decree 1039/2013.

Upon graduation, you have a solid foundation if you intend to proceed to doctoral-level studies.

In Finland, meteorology can only be studied at the University of Helsinki.
Doctoral education

The Master’s Programme in Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences is research-oriented, and the degree obtained gives you a good foundation if you are interested in postgraduate studies.

The Doctoral Programme of Atmospheric Sciences (ATM-DP) organises the doctoral education of the divisions and research groups involved in the master's programme, providing a straightforward opportunity for you to continue with postgraduate studies.

Alumni story: Anniina Valtonen works as a TV meteorologist

Anniina Valtonen studied meteorology, the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, at the University of Helsinki. Valtonen works as a TV meteorologist at Yleisradio (Yle), on Yle's morning television and eight thirty news. Presenting a weather forecast on the TV screen is one part of TV meteorologist's work. The other part is preparing the forecast and weather maps for the news broadcast.

“If the forecast says, for example, that low pressure arrives in Finland and reaches Jyväskylä area but then stops in the south, one hundred kilometres away, in meteorological terms, the forecast is quite successful, as the margin of error is small.”

But people in Jyväskylä may feel quite differently. This sometimes leads to Valtonen receiving fiery feedback after the broadcast.

“The weather forecast is a forecast, not a promise. It is a great skill to make decisions and present them publicly to others, knowing that everything you say is uncertain. It requires strength of character.”

Career services

Studies are part of your career. The Career Services at the University of Helsinki supports, in cooperation with the degree programmes, the growth of your expert identity as part of your studies and with separate services. 

From the start of your studies until one year after the completion of your degree, the Career Services supports your career path by:

  • giving career counselling and job-seeking support, 
  • arranging info sessions, workshops and events, 
  • providing suitable job and traineeship offers for students,
  • sharing the university’s subsidy for traineeships and  
  • facilitating group mentoring programmes.
Group mentoring programme: UNITalent

Do you want to build a career in Finland? Get valuable insight into Finnish working life and build your professional networks by applying to our group mentoring programme. 

In the HelsinkiUNI International Talent Programme (UNITalent), a group of international talents is hosted by a local company or organisation. 

Successful applicants will get to:

  • learn about expert work first-hand from a local organisation.
  • hear about different kinds of career paths in a specific sector in Finland.
  • start building their professional network in Finland.
  • support the host in gaining an international perspective by sharing their perspective. 
  • learn career management skills. 

International master’s degree students at the University of Helsinki can apply as well as Finnish students who have completed their degree abroad.

Improve your career options with Finnish

Although international students can get by with English in the Helsinki region, learning Finnish will significantly improve your career options after graduation.

The University of Helsinki offers free Finnish language courses for enrolled international degree students. The beginners and intermediate level courses are not only a way to learn the language, but you also learn more about Finnish culture and get to network with other international students across the fields.

Where students work after graduation?

The University of Helsinki conducts career monitoring surveys to collect information on graduate employment and the skills needs of employers. Career monitoring aims to determine how well a university education can meet the requirements of professional life. The data collected are used, among other things, for developing the career skills of current students.

According to the surveys, general skills gained from the studies include :

  • the ability to describe their skills (this had been the most important factor for their employment)
  • the ability to learn and adopt new things as well as self-direction/initiative
  • cooperation skills
  • problem-solving skills and stress tolerance.
International experience, organisational work or hobbies, and social media activity have been important or highly important for the employment of some respondents, even though these factors don’t stand out at the University level"
Alumni of the Uni­versity of Helsinki

After graduation, the world is wide open and full of possibilities. How can you venture forward to make the career path you want? What kind of work would you like to do? What kind of life should you lead? The Helsinki alumni community is there to support you as you transition from the University to the world of work.

All previous University of Helsinki degree and exchange students, as well as staff, are our alumni. As a member of the University of Helsinki alumni network, Finland’s largest network of experts, you get valuable support, knowledge and contacts for your working life.

More about the programme