Can some one tell me about career in Astronomy.?

Question

WANNA BE IN NASA SOME DAY.

Answer 1

Better start studying, but I think it would be a great field to go into. Good Luck!

Answer 2

An acute need for young scientists in the field of Astronomy is present. The following possibilities are open for a career for a physics / mathematics / engineering graduate with a specialization or a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics :
Research Scientist : Several research institutes and government organizations employ research scientists in various academic grades for research oriented programmes.
University Faculty : There will be more openings in the universities, especially in physics departments, for specialists in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Industry : Experience with sophisticated astronomical instrumentation and the expertise gained in computer programming and handling data can serve as valubale assets for jobs in industry
IIA has a full-time Ph.D. programme for which the students are selected through an entrance exam, followed by an interview etc,.

Answer 3

You've already got some good answers about becoming an astronomer and some of the plusses and minuses.

Just thought I'd point out that if your real goal is working for NASA, most people who work for NASA are not astronomers. They need engineers of all sorts (electrical, mechanical, ceramics, etc.), computer programers, medical, specialists in all the hard sciences, etc. For example, you could go to medical school, do some work in dive (SCUBA) medicine, then apply for a job at NASA--astronauts need to worry about the bends just like scuba divers, then if you don't get into NASA, you've still got a good degree that'll keep you in a good job.

Answer 4

An astronomical career is not your everyday job. Students study to the very extreme to attain the schooling & training to be astronomers. & yet, a large student percentage who graduate with advanced degrees competing against the very best minds in the world do not receive careers in astronomy. The careers & opportunities are limited. Even well known & published astronomers have difficulty finding telescope time for their research. However, many astronomers make astronomical discoveries by culling the information from past observations made by earth & space based telescopes. So much data is now coming from observations, that there is only time to store the data, but not to analyse much of it. With these problems said, I wish your endeavors & hard long work success.

Answer 5

this is worth reading... its by an astronomer, Dr. Odenwald's Career Diary

What are the pros and cons of a career in astronomy?

The good things about astronomy are too numerous to count. For many of us, it is a pleasure to be studying the universe. The pluses are that you get to do this as a DAY JOB!!! You are actually paid by your college, or a government contract or grant, to investigate some very exciting aspects of the universe and the objects in it. You are doing work that is truly fundamental, and contributes to the sum total of human knowledge. Your research papers and findings will live on for hundreds of years after you are gone. You might even get to name a new category of astronomical object, or discover something very remarkable and unexpected. Perhaps a new neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way that was hidden from view until you decided to use some new technology to look for it! During off- times, you can even write books or articles for the layman that express your excitement, and communicate some of the exciting discoveries about the universe.

The down side is that the quality of jobs in astronomy is decreasing as more temporary positions lasting 1-2 years, at low salary, are offsetting the traditional secure, tenured or civil service, positions. Most of us are constantly under stress since graduate school, about whether this is our last job in astronomy or not. Many young astronomers may get a 'post-doc' after a long hard battle to get a Phd, and then find their careers terminated because there were no openings for them. Even us 'middle agers' have these stresses, with spades, because after 10 or 15 years as active researchers, some of us may find ourselves too expensive for what we do than younger astronomers willing to do nearly the same work at 20 - 30 percent lower salaries, and with less experience. I have not seen any examples of this, but I cannot imagine it isn't happening. Does this sound familiar? The other stress is the repeated forecasts that the NASA space research budget will be declining by over 30 percent in the next 7 years. For many astronomers, NASA grants are the difference between astronomy as a career and a hobby!

Would I get into astronomy again if I had it all to do over? Yes...absolutely, but I sure would have conducted myself a bit differently in graduate school. I would have 1) Made certain that I got into a very active research group doing projects that consistently won grant money, 2) Tailored my interests to projects that I was technically capable of executing, and 3) Got out of graduate school as fast as I could to beat the crowd!! I mention Point 2 because many of us went into graduate school thinking that we wanted to be cosmologists studying general relativity and black holes. We wasted several valuable years spinning our wheels, in an area that was badly overcrowded with physicists and REALLY SMART PEOPLE!

Is there a future to a career in astronomy?

There most certainly is a future in astronomy, but our society cannot provide long-term job stability for more than a few thousand astronomers so you must prepare yourself for alternate careers as a safeguard. Astronomy is now in its Golden Age for discovery. We will not pass this way again, and when it is over in a few dozen decades, it will become increasingly more difficult to support the number of astronomers we now have in this society.

Answer 6

You pretty much need a degree in physics, so you'd better be good in math. Also, I hope that you're not under the misconception that you will be spending your day looking through telescopes and learning about the planets. Astronomy is hard work and a serious science. During school you'll be using advanced calculus to track objects and perform calculations. We're talkin some serious math geek stuff here.

Answer 7

You could contact NASA to enquire about careers in astronomy. Ask them about the requirements and criteria. It's never too late to plan. :-)

Answer 8

things are definitely looking up in the field of astronomy...good luck on your nasa goal...

Answer 9

You need to be good at mathematic, calculus, and things of that nature to accomplish many mathematical computations needed to be an astronomer.