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.
Simulation IT Team
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: Within the Simulation IT Team, scientific software engineers design and maintain specialist systems to provide models that can be analysed and tested. Simulation software models real-world environments to support Met Office scientists and enable the development of products and services for Met Office customers. During this placement you will be given an overview of Science IT in the Met Office and will take part in a programming exercise using Python, with a simplified example of a numerical method, similar to those used in our models.
Software Development Team
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: Our team of Software Developers builds and maintains digital services, providing data for the Met Office public website and app. We work in a devops environment, implementing technical designs, improving and maintaining our existing code base, and identifying issues with the software and operating procedures of software. This placement will provide you with an introduction to the work of the team, working in a devops agile environment, with the opportunity to meet and work alongside a variety of staff, from Solutions Architects and Software Engineers to Product Managers, Delivery Managers, and a Technical Lead. Activities will include attending the daily team scrum, an introduction to ticketing, and discussion of Agile, among other things.
Apply hereProduct Management Team
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: Our Product Management team works closely with Markets and Service Delivery experts to ensure that Met Office products are fit for purpose now and in the future. The team is responsible for managing the lifecycle and demand of products that rely on the skills and expertise of Operational Meteorologists and others, and involve the provision of data, forecasts, assessments, and advice, which can be delivered in person or as a push service. As our day is varied, you could be involved in things like product review conversations or assessing the next improvement opportunity.
Apply hereFinance Team
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: This placement involves an introduction to the various parts of the Finance team – looking at cash management within Finance Operations, seeing how we manage our money in and out; discovering how Finance Business Support staff work alongside Met Office business areas, providing support and challenge to their numbers; gaining an appreciation of financial accounting processes – annual report & accounts, and investment business cases; and learning what Plans & Performance and Demand Management teams do. You will also gain experience of our financial systems and using Excel.
Apply hereProject and Programme Management Team
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Corporate Technology Teams
Location: Exeter, Devon
Dates: 15-17 July 2025 (3 days)
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: Our Corporate Technology teams provide and operate a suite of business applications and technology services that enable the productivity and effectiveness of everyone working at the Met Office. Their purpose is to ensure that employees have the tools and support they need to work efficiently, while operating safely within the boundaries of our security policies and corporate standards. On this placement you will explore the work of a range of Corporate Technology teams, including Digital Workplace, ServiceNow, IT Asset Management, Corporate Apps, Microsoft Apps for Business, and Generative AI.
National Climate Information Centre (NCIC)
Location: Exeter, Devon
Dates: 15-17 July 2025 (3 days)
Application deadline: Monday 28 April 2025
Work placement outline: This placement with the National Climate Information Centre (NCIC) will provide an introduction to climate monitoring both for the UK and globally. You will talk to experts in climate monitoring and learn about observation techniques, both ground based and from satellites. The observations provide useful information on past and present climate, setting recent changes into a historical perspective. You will find out how we generate the statistics, maps and plots which communicate recent climate change and have a chance to write a monthly weather summary and take part in some important data rescue work to improve our historical records.