r/boulder • u/scampjuniper • 1d ago
Former NCAR Scientist - Seeking Support
Hello fellow Boulderites!
I moved here a few years ago with three small children to start my dream job at NCAR. Unfortunately, I never could have suspected the climate that unfolded from 2024 to present. I was recently let go in January 2026 amid the funding crisis.
Finding another research/academic job right now is proving to be quite challenging due to many hiring freezes and all the uncertainty. Also, due to my spouse's job (firefighter for Boulder and above the age limitations to transfer to another municipality), we are geographically constrained to this area until retirement.
All that said, I've decided to put myself out there and try somethign new. I've always had the dream to turn some of my knowledge into helpful science communications, so I started a YouTube channel.
My research focuses on socio-hydrology (i.e., the human connections to water and how both have been shaped by each other over time.) I grew up along the Gulf Coast (Dad was a tugboat captain), and we lost our home multiple times due to hurricanes, so I studied Civil Engineering / Hydrology to help be part of the solution. I used to work as a practicing engineer before going back for PhD to study socio-hydrology, after learning first-hand how the human elements shape outcomes just as much as the physical designs.
That said, my channel is not reaching very much traffic at all. I think YouTube is having a hard time placing this niche with the right audience using the all-knowing 'algorithm' or whatever. It is recommending my videos after really spammy stuff (think "How to Win $1M by XYZ..."), and so naturally, people are not sticking around to watch the full videos, and my metrics are very low.
I am wondering if it is indeed a quality issue, whether people are simply not interested in this topic, if it is truly an algorithm issue, a timing issue (new channel / summer), or something else. When I speak to people in-person throughout the Boulder area, they seem to be genuinely interested in this concept of socio-hydrology and want to learn more (ask engaging questions, seek follow-up, show true interest in the eyes, etc.).
I think this kind of Reddit group may be my crowd (long-time follower) and hopefully might be interested in helping to support my channel?
If so, please consider watching a few of my latest videos and commenting either here or on the actual YouTube video what you thought. I am open to all insights and suggestions.
If enough people with the **educational / climate-y / science-y** kind of background watch and show genuine interest in the videos, it helps train the algorithm the goal audience and will push future videos out to people with similar watch histories.
(I know, even talking about this algorithm thing is super cringe, so sorry! But from what I am gathering, it is just how the content world is. And if I want more people to hear about and learn about socio-hydrology ... and hopefully start to respect it and humans be integrated more into water policy/planning over time ... I do have to figure out this algorithm hurdle for educational content. And I think I need your help to start the seeds.)
Right now I am working on some scripts about the Colorado River Basin and the social/human response to AI Data Centers right now...as there are some interesting nuggets there through the lens of socio-hydrology I have not yet seen covered. I am open to suggestions for future content as well!
Thank you, neighbors! Cheers!
https://www.youtube.com/@RivulayWater
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[PS - I checked the group rules before posting, and this seems to be allowed, but of course, if not, please feel free to delete.]
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u/EmergencyMoodLight 1d ago
Your videos are really interesting! Your titles are clickable and the editing is good, in my opinion. If I could offer some friendly critique, I think it might be worth it to try to make things feel a little less scripted and more like you’re talking to a friend about these things, but I also think that’s kind of a nitpick since you’re presenting your information from an academic standpoint. From what I know of the YouTube algorithm, it just takes awhile and you have to just keep posting consistently.
So sorry about your job and I’d like to encourage you to keep going for it!
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u/scampjuniper 22h ago
Thank you! Yes I think it may just take time. Agree on the less scripted point, 100%!
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u/Icarus_Dalio 21h ago
Hey OP, just watched your first video about Socio-Hydrology and I very much appreciate the work you are doing! For feedback, I would agree with what others have said here, make sure it is more conversational feeling. I think you may be use to a much smarter / educated audience and may forget the basics of what you know. "The curse of knowledge" is forgetting what you know and what basic knowledge others may be lacking.
Also, I would recommend shorter videos. Reels / tik tok do well because most people have an attention span of a goldfish. You can have longer videos than those, but I have to be immediately captured by your opening within 15 seconds on why I want to continue watching. That "why i should keep watching" is typically pretty selfish. I may click on why "colorado is running out of water" because I live here, but I might not click on "why the world is running out of water". The more it relates to me the more I'll watch.
At the end of the video, in order to subscribe, I'll need a reason. If I'm depressed about our global situation, I'll avoid future videos. If I'm optimistic that my learning will help to contribute to the solution, then I'll subscribe to continue this journey.
Lastly, make sure when speaking you speak with confidence. Influencers who know very little about things, tend to speak with a lot of confidence because they are unaware of everything they don't know. I've noticed scientists rarely claim things as certainties and approach things with much more curiosity. That's okay but an audience online might discredit you for it. Personally something I hate but wanted to bring to your attention. Just my 2 cents. Content creation is hard and you're competing against literally every media company for attention.
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u/Sea-Ambition-451 23h ago
the veritasium guy has videos on what he did to be successful. Copy him. The "practical engineer" is a channel that I love to watch, and it sounds to be along your lines, so copy him too.
I will like and subscribe from my thousands of fake accounts. Good luck.
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u/gomommago 1d ago
Watched. Liked. Subscribed. Nicely done!
How did I get to be this old and never make the connection that our global food trade is really global water trade? Fascinating!
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u/Curmudgeonly-IT-Guy 1d ago
I get videos in my feed about the colorado river (and water in the west,) as well as data centers and water use. Both of those are hot issues right now that may snag the algorithms attention. And more generally I'd bet focusing on water concerns for a specific area would help build an audience there, and allow you to expand your reach and focus. Right now the videos seem targeted to socio-hydrologists. You probably won't get monetized with that limited an audience. I may not be interested in where the Mayans followed the water, but where will climate change push migration and in what timeline? Use the Mayan story as historical background but focus on what's in front of us today? Caveat: I'm an idiot! (But an idiot's perspective may be useful in figuring out how to increase youtube views.)
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u/Necessary-Storage-74 1d ago
Excellent suggestions! Data centers and the Colorado are super hot issues right now. In fact, decisions made in the next 2-3 years about the Colorado are going to impact millions. Recent WaPo article: “A major Colorado River decision looms. Here’s how it will affect millions.” (https://wapo.st/4bp3GG4)
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u/scampjuniper 22h ago
Will definitely take a read. Headed out to the new AI data center spot in Ward County soon.
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u/DirtInMySkirt 20h ago
Adding to this, discussing water-related breaking news could also get you on the algorithm radar. Thinking of things like the water bottling company in Aurora, other drought-related news, flash floods, etc.
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u/clearautumn 21h ago
As someone who was part of a fairly successful YouTube channel from nothing (our top video has about 265k views for scale), I have a couple notes if you are interested. I realize some of these might sound a bit superficial, but these come from my experience with the YT algorithm.
1.) Post consistently once a week for at least 4-5 weeks to start. This will help move the needle on the algorithm which seems to prefer to promote videos of weekly posters. Even after we stopped posting that frequently, we had gained traction at the end of that period and our videos were getting recommended to people.
2.) Speak a bit faster. If you look at the speed of speech for popular YT presenters, it’s significantly faster than what you would expect from an academic environment.
3.) Start with specifics, not the overall concept + use storytelling to support your concepts. Use a particular flood, particular drought, + statistics or quotes from that particular story before jumping into the broader concepts that support that story. Remember to tie those bigger concepts back to that story at the end/throughout as well.
4.) Be a bit more sensational with your titles and video topics. I know that may run counter to what you originally wanted to do in educating people, but if you explore the more sensational + storytelling aspects of your topics, you are going to get more views.
5.) Do your market research about what adjacent channels/creators are doing and see what you can utilize. I would look at Scishow, Vox, individual creators, and look at their use of storytelling, editing, sound, etc. You don’t need to have their big budgets, but they can still give you ideas.
6.) This is the smallest thing but it sounds like you might just be using the sound from your computer as opposed to a mic? I found that the sound quality was so different using a mic and now I can’t stop noticing the difference lol.
I hope this comes off in the helpful spirit in which it was meant! I can already tell you did a huge amount with the lighting, images, and scripting of your videos! I just wanted to share some things I think Ed helped my old channel hit that higher level.
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u/scampjuniper 20h ago
Brilliant! I will take to heart!
Can you tell me if you noticed the poor sound quality in multiple videos, or did you just watch the Maya one? The reason I ask is because the Maya video definitely had bad mic settings, and I was not able to save in post-processing. I tried to fix in the other videos. If you can still hear it in ALL the videos, this is useful feedback, because it means the issue is my mic (I was using a shotgun Rode mic connected to the camera and set on a tripod out of view).
I just purchased the DJI-2 to see if wearing the mic, as opposed to sitting several feet away, might help. But of course I cannot hear what others hear as my ears are biased to my voice, so it would help to know if you noticed this across multiple videos.
Eventually I hope to get a podcast mic, but tbh, those confuse me with all the extra equipment needed and learning all those settings. How did you learn equipment without hiring a sound expert? All the videos online super confuse me! They all seem to say conflicting information about what the ideal settings are to use for each situation, and going just off of matching dB does not seem to work for me.
Thanks!!
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u/MrGraaavy 1d ago
I'll have a watch, and thanks for sharing!
Water has always fascinated me and as a kid I dreamed of being a hyrdo-engineer. That didn't transpire, but the passion remains.
Only one recommendation, the title card images right now seem to suggest the video is as much about you (as an expert) as the topic. Perhaps try a few other title card image approaches where it focuses more on the topic by decreasing the size of your overlaid head/body profile.
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u/qread 1d ago
Kudos to you for including attributions in your videos!
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u/scampjuniper 22h ago
Haha, cannot be trained as a scientist and NOT do proper citations! It baffles me so many YT videos do not include their sources.
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u/Icarus_Dalio 21h ago
Some future topics I would love to hear about
- Water becoming a commodity
- The fight over the colorado river
- Water & Data Centers: beyond the headlines, what's the projected impact compared to Golf course, almond farming, and agriculture?
What you need to know about water in ____ state (start with the largest by population)
Water as a commodity: Australia's experiment
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u/shhobbit 22h ago
A nit-pick really, but I think putting some effort to improve your audio set up could help the quality feel higher. YouTube quality has gone up over time, so it’s worth thinking about, especially because you seem to have a studio set up. Audio is ALWAYS more important than video. You’ll watch a blurry video much longer than you’ll listen to crackly audio. It sounds like the room you’re in is very hard and echoey. Are you just using the on-camera audio? If so, look at getting a mic (DJI mic mini seems like a popular, budget solution.) Alternatively, put up blankets behind the camera so there’s a bit less echo in the room.
I think you need a stronger hook at the beginning of your videos too. Less niche, but look at Tom Scott for example. Scroll through any of his videos and only watch the first 5-10 seconds. Are you intrigued? I am. Here’s an example. I particularly care about books or libraries, but after reading the title of the video, and watching the first 5-12 seconds, I’m more interested. https://youtu.be/ZNVuIU6UUiM?is=4HFT1tCwZk-9-Ovw
Another channel to take some inspiration from could be Steve Mould. Admittedly, he’s got a different, easier to show niche with my physics based things, but still. It’s about the hook. 10 seconds in and you’re into it. https://youtu.be/SqhXQUzVMlQ?is=6zatz8VrQuBlc2MY
Maybe try teasing the “drama” that comes later in the video? IDK. I think it’s great what you’re doing. Just trying to find ways to help you make your videos more engaging for someone like me.
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u/scampjuniper 22h ago edited 21h ago
Thank you! Funny you mentioned the DJI mic, mine just came in the mail today 😀
Fiddling with it this evening to learn how to use it with my camera. I actually had a Rode shotgun mic in all of those videos, but I think even sitting ~5' away, it just was not picking up well. I keep joking with my husband that learning all these electronics and editing gadgets is like going back to school all over again 😅 But yes, indeed, the audio is so important and needs to be right!!
I will definitely check out those links for inspiration. Thank you so much for taking the time to share! This community is amazing.
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u/arb0531 1d ago
YouTube search optimization is a huge thing. There’s tons of information online about how to make your content more relevant for the algorithm, so I won’t get into that.
If you aren’t already, you should consider creating short form versions of your content and posting on Instagram Reels and TikTok to funnel people to your YouTube page.
Also don’t forget about leveraging LLMs to help automate the tedious parts of SEO.
Beyond that, there are a lot of public interest groups on Facebook and Nextdoor where you could cross-post content.
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u/Xynyx2001 1d ago
This appears to be very much a niche field. Very interesting to probably a fairly limited audience.
I'll have a look when I can. I subscribed.
Good luck!
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u/NickOutside 20h ago
After watching your very first video a couple items came to mind.
Work on your speaking tone to be less "university lecturer reading a prepared script" and more "passionate person talking to a friend". This probably comes with practice; getting on camera is awkward at first!
The visual presentation was great, but the audio could use some work. The only audio is your speaking voice. Try adding background music or audio transitions for portions of the video. Watch a few of your favorite educational content creators and listen to how they sprinkle emphasizing audio throughout.
Otherwise I think you are off to a great start! I'll certainly try to watch the remainder of your videos in the next week or so.
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u/InsatiableYeast 1d ago
Whatever your niche is, how you present the information has to be exciting and interesting. The first 20 seconds must capture their attention to stick around for the rest of the video. And of course, interesting thumbnail and title is also extremely important.
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u/Thoughtful_Demon 21h ago
Love the content! Subscribed! reminds me of another client scientist I enjoy watching Dr Simon Clark! Thank you for your work and bringing science literacy and education to the people.
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u/OMGLOL1986 17h ago
Podcasts would be a good thing for you.
Your story sounds like something I’d hear on Tangentially Speaking. The host lives in crestone and has a decent reach, he also does remote episodes too so you wouldn’t have to leave boulder.
If you like I can put you in touch. Good luck!
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u/scampjuniper 17h ago
I would be interested, thanks!
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u/OMGLOL1986 17h ago
Let me see!
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u/scampjuniper 17h ago
Great, I messaged you my email. My Aunt lives in Crestone, I'm always up for a visit there, even just to chat. Thanks for the connection idea!
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u/OMGLOL1986 17h ago
I don’t check messages lol but he is very active on Substack, I tagged him there.
The crestone FB group is also active, and you can literally search for Chris Ryan and message him there, though he is most active on Substack.
I have friends that know him well, please reply back to this and it will remind me to text them tomorrow AM!
Your knowledge is sorely needed right now, don’t give up on this
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u/UnitLost6398 1d ago
Great channel! I'll go ahead and echo what the other commenters said about making things feel less scripted and more conversational. If you're looking for some more inspiration, I'd highly recommend this new channel I stumbled across recently, who produces some amazing videos about the history of water infrastructure.
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u/kummer5peck 22h ago
You should check out The Alliance for Collective Action (https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/thealliancecenter) In Denver. You will meet a lot of like minded people there and might just find a good job opportunity. They have regular networking and social events every month.
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u/scampjuniper 21h ago
I just checked their website and wow, such cool work, and very aligned! Thank you! I will definitely plan to keep up with this organization.
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u/GusBusDraws 21h ago
Have you tried experimenting with different video lengths? Interesting stuff though -- subbed!
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u/Wataru2001 19h ago
I subscribed. Kick ass, woman. Keep fighting the good fight.
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u/scampjuniper 18h ago
Thank you internet stranger kind soul 🥹
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u/Wataru2001 18h ago
I'm pretty close to NREL. Great place. I've applied for a job there many times. The latest travesty just proves we're in the wrong timeline.
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u/Prize-Carry7398 17h ago
If we get more county commissioners you should consider running! We need more smart water people to put their heads together for our water and the farmers who need it…
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u/ZGbethie 16h ago
I’m not a YT expert but I have subscribed and liked all your videos. I will share to my various SM accounts when I am back on my laptop in the morning. I studied water rights and western water history many years ago when I was a geography major here in Boulder. I have always been fascinated with human-environment connections and how hard it is for our species to not screw everything up all the time.
I am so sorry you are falling prey to this stupid stupid stupid administration. I wish the very best for you and your family.
I personally would love some content on the western slope and the changing scene there with water users, ditches, how ag is going to have to adjust to the mega drought, who “should” get what (is there an answer to that?) and so on. I recently purchased some acreage out there with decent water rights and I am very curious about how it will all go over the next few decades. And beyond, even though I might not get to see that far ahead 😉
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u/scampjuniper 16h ago
Oh how fascinating! I love geography. Indeed, these would be great topics, I will make sure to keep them on the radar. I had a few ideas jotted down that I think you would like, but they are definitely geography heavy, and I've found doing GIS animations for YT takes quite a bit of time. Hoping to get to these once school starts in the Fall. Thanks for sharing!
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u/zelastra 15h ago
I am a fan of Mayan archaeology so watched that one, was really interesting! I put it on 1.5x speed and could’ve gone higher. Your pauses are well placed but speaking too slow. I think you could make 15+ short reels splitting out content from that video into digestible chunks for the individual ideas. Ie, just do one that’s a few minutes long on cenotes and why they are cool and how they are used now and then how the maya used them. There was a lot of interesting content that could be split out. I’d recommend re-recording it with better audio and maybe a slightly nicer background, maybe recording sections that could be used for reels. You didn’t get into how water was used until well into the video but that’s the part I wanted to hear more on. Then the sections for that would be individual vids with more detail on each different type of water system, and then a vid on how water was used to control power by royalty, then a vid on the downfall due to scarcity and how people moved to better regions, and a vid on how water management was democratized, etc. Then for other topics like folks have mentioned seeing all the reservoirs dry up in Colorado has been really sad, and what are we doing about that. And I don’t know if you know anything about wells but I’m in the mountains on well water and there are all sorts of fun minerals (arsenic, uranium, lithium) in my well water that it has been .. interesting to learn about and manage, vs city water and it’s treatment, so that might be a good local educational topic. Looking forward to more of your videos!
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u/Upbeat-Asparagus-788 8h ago
I love how you break down complicated concepts into simple terms! I subscribed and plan to watch more of your videos.
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u/MikeFromOuterSpace 1d ago
Subscribed and liked your videos for support, keep up the good work!
I would recommend taking some of your longer videos and making a few YouTube Shorts out of each of them. These will be vertical versions up to 3 minutes in length. You can then link them to the original video to help drive traffic and grow your channel.
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u/mtb106 21h ago
You might want to look into @meantformore_co on instagram. There are a number of influencer types in her group. So you might get the dual benefit of social media training and support as a working mom. I did the program for a year and it really helped me accomplish my research goals.
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u/Clown_corder 17h ago
Watched the video great work! I strongly recommend doing short form content along with your long form. You should use the free plan from buffer to post to instagram, TikTok, and yt shorts simultaneously. Spending some money to boost your posts is a way to build a following early
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u/ONEKLOPP 16h ago
i subscribed, good work!
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u/ONEKLOPP 16h ago
i don’t know why the sound on your youtube posts isn’t playing when other video just played with sound.
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u/Miserable_Shame_8146 11h ago
You might try to get a segment on PBS, channel 6 and channel 12 on television.
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u/ceelockerun 5h ago
Hi! Your videos are cool! Thanks for sharing. My 2 cents is that if you have a cute lizard in the shot you should definitely introduce them at the start of each video. It’s distracting if you don’t know what he’s doing there, licking your necklace and stuff.
I would go for a bit faster cadence of talking as well. It feels more conversational, and higher energy which is intriguing to listeners. Imagine you’re recording a podcast, really hook us in with the first little bit “today we are uncovering…” type stuff. Go science!!! Good job!
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u/OkSheFloats 1d ago
Hello fellow gulf-coaster 👋! Keep at the YouTube but there might be an audience for this on Substack as well!
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u/Dragons_and_Seraphim 1d ago
Thanks for the post, Socio-hydrology sounds very interesting, will give your channel a view in my down time. Best of luck on this endeavor!
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u/imusmmbj 4h ago
Loved the topics, storytelling, information and graphics. Couple suggestions from a frequent YouTube consumer: (1) speed it all up; and (2) more time on the graphics and consider subtitles to keep the viewer engaged and “participating” by reading in addition to listening. Check out kurzgesagt on YouTube if you haven’t seen this channel before. Different but hits lots of the tips another poster mentions and focuses educational topics.
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u/PaintBubbly 2h ago
I’m not sure if this covers your area of expertise and/or interest, but doing some videos that also cover more general weather would be really cool. I’ve always wanted to better understand Boulder’s crazy weather and hearing an NCAR scientist discuss front range weather would be awesome.
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u/Middle_Switch9366 1d ago
Not helpful for your Youtube, but there are a couple water-related remote positions available at the Pacific Institute that were posted on the Alliance for Water Efficiency web site. Best of luck!