Simon Pliscovaz works as an oceanographer at SMHI
In his work as an oceanographer at SMHI, Simon Pliscovaz has a lot of freedom to determine his own working day, from weather warnings to modelling. Not many people have a degree in oceanography and there is a great need for oceanographers.
What do you work with?
“I work as an oceanographer at SMHI and mainly with two things: as an oceanographer on duty and with numerical modelling of the coastal zone. Working as an oceanographer on duty means that we issue high and low water level warnings in collaboration with metrologists and hydrologists. It also involves some contact with the public and the media.”
What do you do on a typical day?
“It’s really varied, because I have a lot of freedom and can decide on my own about my working day. But I work in two different teams, with one team working with weather warnings and projects, and the other team working on technical development and management, where I work a lot with different computational models, both physical with how the water moves and behaves, and biogeochemical with what the water contains and how it reacts to, for example, existing or changing nutrient loads. The work as an oceanographer on duty includes communication, so I get to do films that are used on the SMHI website and published on YouTube. It really is a broad job and there are opportunities to do many different things!“
What is the most fun part of your job?
“Just being able to call myself an oceanographer is fun! I have wanted that for a long time! Then it's fun with all the variety and the opportunity to try new things. If you want to, you can try different things within SMHI, but you can also focus on one thing and plunge yourself in that. We have a lot of freedom, I appreciate that!”
How long have you known that you wanted to become an oceanographer?
“At first, I wanted to be a marine biologist, but in a marine biology class I was looking at a worm under a microscope and didn't understand what I was looking at. When I finally asked the teacher, he told me that I had zoomed in on the wrong side of the worm and that I was looking at the back, not the front as I thought. I decided then and there that I would not become a marine biologist. Then I had the opportunity to work with a researcher in oceanography and I was hooked.”
How did you get the job?
“I applied through a regular job advert. It was not that difficult to get a job after graduation. Not many people have a degree in oceanography and there is a great need.”
Why did you want to study physical oceanography?
“After completing my bachelor's degree in marine sciences, I felt that I wanted more knowledge before going out into the working world, and physical oceanography at the University of Gothenburg was an obvious choice – the master's programme is not available anywhere else. Oceanography is what I find most fun, even though math is not really my thing and I had to spend a lot of time understanding it. I still have my math books from my education in a drawer at work, and sometimes takes them out to refresh my memory.”
What from your education has been most useful in your work?
“Mainly two things: The first is the basic knowledge of how the ocean works as a system that I learned during the first two years of the bachelor's programme. It makes it easier to put things in context and I feel confident in that knowledge. The second is from my master's degree project. It was almost a full year of experience of managing a project by myself, although I had help from my supervisor when I felt I needed it. It was useful.”
Do you have any tips for new students on the programme?
“1) Everything goes up and down. Let it be boring when it's boring and let it be fun when it's fun. 2) Always have snacks with you! Try to keep your energy at a good level, it's more important than you think. 3) Let things take time! Work long-term and not short-term. Sometimes it's hard to understand what you should do with different skills, but it becomes clearer later. I understand much more about the programme now when I work with it every day and use the knowledge I've gained.
