Astronomy...?

Question

I love it! and have been an A student in a couple of college courses in it. I find it really interesting but can't think of any real jobs you could do to make money with that type of education, do you?

Answer 1

Yes - teach it!

Professor/lecturer of astrophysics, or even just a part-time teacher of GCSE astronomy at an HE College!

The thing is that you have to be really good in this field to get anywhere, so for example those who operate sophisticated machinery in order to explore the solar system (like radio telescopes or NASA projects) are usually very highly qualified astrophysicists.

However, if you really enjoy this field, you could consider being a technician for such machinery!

Think laterally and I am sure you can find a job which would get you money and the opportunity for doing or at least seeing astronomy - even if it is being a caterer for the boffins!

Answer 2

You could try finding employment at a planetarium.  Maybe you could be the chick who walks around with a tray of fresh chocolate chip baked cookies in the shape of the planet Saturn...lol hehe :)

Answer 3

So some career advice.  When i was in high school, i was really good in chemistry, physics and math.  That's why i went to an Engineering school and got a Mechanical Engineering degree.  And i knew pretty soon that i'd made the right choice, because job after job i did nothing but write computer software for brokerage firms, banking firms and a stock exchange.  At automotive firms, my Mechanical Engineering degree was utilized by having me maintain software that keeps track of the financial details of dealerships, and distribute computer based safety training materials to workers.  And so on.  Boundary problems in differential calculus - the math that rocket science is based on - has really come in handy for writing inventory programs, and handling the inevitable problems that the users discover in data entry.  You know, you have to type in the numbers - no letters, just numbers, then click on the Submit button.  Don't click the button first, you have to type in the numbers. Explaining this is very difficult, especially when it's for the ninth time in a single day, and to the same user.

The astronomy club has been a welcome outlet for nervous energy.  We host star parties, and show the heavens to groups of boy scouts and girl scouts.  I never get tired of showing Saturn to someone for the first time, and they then examine the scope to see where i've hidden the image of Saturn.  But all they see when they examine the telescope's mirror is a distorted image of their own face, which doesn't look much like Saturn at all.  Outreach is where it's at. And that's just what i'd expected would happen after spending so much time and money to put together a scope that would let me study faint nebulae, clusters, double stars and galaxies.

And outreach is the only reason i'm here on Yahoo! Answers.  It's not to earn points, or advance on the standings, or to sound smart (even if half the answers i give are wrong), or bash the 2012 nonsense or some other agenda.  The Universe is a strange and wonderful place after all.

Answer 4

Definitley. To get a real job however, you are best off getting a PH.D. However, a masters will do if you want to work for a researcher. You could teach it at a university or highschool or middle school if you wanted. However, if you do decide to go to grad school and get a PH.D then you could become a full flegded astronomer. You could be employed by NASA or a government agency or you could try to get a job at an institue like SETI. Or you could set up your own research program, alot are funded by the government though so you will need some results. You could also start your own public outreach business. You could start your own business in which you have programs that would teach the public astronomy. There are alot of things you could do, plus an astronomy major looks pretty good at alot of job interviews, it means that you a smart! Plus just being able to point to a point of light in the sky and tell people all about it is pretty cool.

Answer 5

Most astronomers have a PhD in astronomy or physics.  With a PhD, you can work for universities (teaching and/or doing research), national labs, and NASA.  Pretty much all professional jobs in astronomy involve doing research, so you really need a PhD if you want to work in the field.  And if you want to get a PhD in astronomy, you should major in physics in college.

Without a PhD, your choices are much more limited, but you could work at a museum, teaching high school (or community college with a masters), or for an observatory or lab, running telescopes or reducing someone else's data.