A few years ago I had the idea of building a business that would allow people to financially hedge against bad weather. For instance, if you bought tickets to a sporting event above face value and were afraid that it might get rained out and leave you out a lot of money, you could buy a type of insurance that would pay you off if the weather caused the game to be cancelled. Apparently I wasn’t the only person to come up with this idea. WeatherBill is a San Francisco, CA based startup that is doing exactly that. Many think entrepreneurship is all about having a good idea, but it’s not. It’s about execution. WeatherBill is a perfect example of an awesome idea that is being executed well. The potential for this idea is absolutely unbelievable, and WeatherBill is already beginning to realize it. They don’t call what they offer “insurance” because there is no need for a claims process or a proof of loss. I guess you can call it a hedge, as it allows you to “get paid for weather that’s bad for business.”

Great Jobs Rain or Shine

Of all of the companies that I’ve featured here on One Day, One Job, WeatherBill has to be one of my favorites. I love that I can go straight to their website and get a quote on nearly any weather outcome. It’s dead simple, so if I decide to plan a weekend getaway for me and my girlfriend, I can protect myself against a washed out weekend. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg (not sure if you can hedge against those) when it comes to what WeatherBill does. They also offer the ability to resell their protection plans. They’ve already cut a deal with Priceline, to offer travel protection (like a Sunshine guaranteed vacation), and they have other industry solutions tailored to Travel, Agriculture, Events, Heating Fuels, Public Works, and Ski Resorts. The opportunities are endless. Here’s another example: a retail store can offer to make all holiday purchases free if it snows on Christmas Day. I think this is so cool!

What about jobs with WeatherBill? There are a couple of intriguing options. You can find all of the details on WeatherBill’s Careers page, but the two most suitable positions for new and recent grads are Quantitative Engineer and Business Development Associate. They do have some experience requirements, but I still think that they’re worth a look. I’m fascinated by their business, and if I didn’t already have a business, I’d probably be bending over backwards trying to find a way in. To apply for any of the jobs at WeatherBill, you need to visit a separate site. And no, I’m not going to guarantee the weather for you today, but it’s absolutely beautiful here in Chicago.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• WeatherBill.com
• Jobs at WeatherBill
• About WeatherBill
• WeatherBill’s Blog
• WeatherBill’s Team
• Financial Strength at WeatherBill
• WeatherBill’s FAQ

Will you give WeatherBill a try?

Happy Groundhog Day! Unfortunately, it looks like we’re headed for 6 more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil. That really aggravates me, so I think that I’m done trusting the rodent for my weather prediction. Last year we recommended that you consider working for the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, but this year we want you to actually be able to predict the weather. That’s why we want you to take a look at entry level jobs with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is a government agency “that enriches life through science,” which makes them almost the exact opposite of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. NOAA’s responsibilities range from “daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce.” In fact, “NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.”

From the Bottom of the Sea to the Surface of the Sun

NOAA has a great video that does a nice job of telling their story, so we thought we’d spare you some reading and embed it below. (If you’re reading via e-mail or RSS, you might need to click through to view the video).

So what about entry level jobs with NOAA? You can find all kinds of information about working at NOAA on their Careers page. Unfortunately their Recruitment Events Calendar hasn’t been updated lately, but you can still check out their Career Fields and What NOAA Has to Offer pages. What you’re really looking for though – NOAA’s Jobs, you can find on USAJobs.gov. Right now they have 63 jobs posted in fields ranging from Computer Science to Fisheries Biology and from Program Specialist to Service Hydrologist. They list jobs by salary grade, which makes identifying entry level opportunities pretty easy. The jobs are located all across the country, so location depends on what’s available. You can apply online directly from the job listings on the USAJobs.gov site, so if you love earth sciences, there are probably some jobs for you. Beyond the USAJobs.gov site, there’s also a Student Opportunities page that links to Fellowships that may interest new grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• NOAA.gov
• Jobs at NOAA
• About NOAA
• NOAA Organizations
• NOAA’s Organization Chart

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil was right?

Here at the One Day, One Job headquarters, we’re hunkering down in preparation for a Nor’easter that is about to drop snow on us like Paula Dean drops another stick of butter into one of her recipes. Of course there are no snow days in the blogosphere, so we figured we’d go with what Mother Nature gives us and discuss entry-level job opportunities at The Weather Channel.

We probably don’t need to tell you what The Weather Channel does; however, you might find it interesting that they have 3 separate business units – The Weather Channel, TWC Interactive (their online and wireless presence) and TWC Media (their advertising sales division). Whether you’re a weather junkie or fascinated by media, TWC definitely has some opportunities that will raise your dew point.

As soon as The Weather Channel’s Careers site loads, you’ll probably be annoyed. They thought it would be nice to greet you with music, but you’ll probably want to turn it off by scrolling down to the lower right-hand corner of the page. After that’s out of the way, you’ll see their Flash interface, which looks nice, but leaves us unable to link out to individual pages. With no links, we’ll just tell you a few things to look out for: the Top 10 Reasons You’ll Love Working at The Weather Channel, information on their Green Initiative, a letter from their President regarding diversity, and a full list of benefits and perks. It should be pretty easy to find what you need.

We’re not sure what was more disappointing, the lack of usability on The Weather Channel’s job postings or the fact that you can’t just jump in at the entry-level and become a tv meteorologist. Their applicant tracking system – even though it’s not in Flash – won’t let us link to individual jobs. Even worse, there’s no search feature and TWC’s choice of job titles pretty much sucks. Figuring out which jobs are appropriate for a new college grad requires browsing through each position and scanning for required experience. Lucky for you, we are going to highlight a few (not all) of the most interesting jobs that appear to be entry-level appropriate.

If you want to be a TV Meteorologist or an Editor, you’re probably out of luck – they want 3 years’ experience (but don’t let that keep you from trying). Instead, apply to be a Radio Broadcast Meteorologist or a Production Assistant, since these are entry-level friendly positions that will put you on the career path towards being a part of bigger things at The Weather Channel. Speaking of big things, did you know that TWC has a top 10 cable channel, a top 10 website, and a top 3 mobile site? That means that beyond getting the weather right and delivering your daily forecasts, they need to leverage their popularity through advertising. That’s why there are quite a few positions like Campaign Specialist (no, you won’t be predicting the weather for Obama’s travel plans) and Sales Associate (why do they give their employees the same title as someone who works a cash register?). These advertising-related jobs feed directly into The Weather Channel’s bottom line, which means you’re just as important as the weather guy. If you love the weather, but didn’t study meteorology, these jobs are probably more approachable and realistic for you to apply for.

Most of The Weather Channel’s job offerings are based out of their Atlanta, GA headquarters, but there are a few that are in other offices like New York, Chicago, or Detroit. And for those of you who always wanted to be a star, remember back to the Boy Meets World episode where Eric Matthews fills in for a no-show weatherman. If there is a flu outbreak in The Weather Channel office, maybe they’ll put you on camera after the 12 people in front of you for weatherman succession go down ill – even if you’re in advertising.

Note: On April 23rd we revisited entry-level jobs at The Weather Channel.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Weather.com
• Careers at The Weather Channel
• The Weather Channel’s Job Postings
• The Weather Channel Blog

What’s the weather doing where are you?