I am 21 years old and live in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language! Well, kinda speaking the foreign language! I am a native english speaker and would like to be an astrologist but what would I have to do! I understand that to study well, I would have to move to America or England to understand properly but I dont have school grades because I... well... long story, does that mean I have to go through school again and do physics and astrology, then university? I just dont have a clue what I have to do but I have a love of the stars and deeply interested in physics and astrology!
2007-01-28 04:31:56 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
First off you are going to want to clear up the differenc`e between astronomy and astrology... An easy mistake if your first language is not english, but it makes a big difference!!!
Astrology, though it literally means the study of stars, is the pseudoscience (sort of a religion, really) of trying to determine ones fate by the position of the planets and the stars. I have to assume that since you also mentioned physics in your question, this is not what you meant.
Astronomy, the naming of stars, is the field you seem interested in. If you want to become an astronomer, my best advice is to go lie down and hope the feeling passes. If you still want to get into it, realize that you are going to be doing a LOT of math, science, and work for very little credit and very little money. This is the reason I stuck with being an amateur, went to school for something else, and came back to Astronomy when I was done learning to make a living.
The Astronomical community seems to be hard to break into at any serious level. You have to be really good to get a good job doing it. There is a constant battle for project funding, scope time, etc.
The best advice I can give is read everything you can get your hands on. Buy books, anything by Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Brian Greene, and I'm sure other people can mention more. If you are up to it, get a college Astronomy text and try doing the homework problems in it. I taught myself a lot about how things work this way... If the pull of the knowledge is great enough, the math will come. You won't be able to help it. i'm currently trying to teach myself Calculus, though I suspect that I'm going to have to take a class...
If after you've dove in a bit you still think you would like to make a career out of it, you will have to eventually wind up at a university or college, and get a degree, before anyone will take anything you write or say seriously, especially if you are looking to propose a new idea.
On the other hand, you don't have to become an astronomer, you could become a teacher. That would pay better and be a way for you to stay up on all the new and exciting things that are happening in the world of astronomy today.
Best of luck, hope I've been helpful!
2007-01-28 04:36:03 · answer #1 · answered by ~XenoFluX 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Xeno is correct. If you want to be an astronomer, you really can't work as one without a Ph.D. And that's basically a Ph.D. in physics with astronomy tacked on - so it's often MORE work than a Ph.D. in physics.
Start with some night classes - make sure you can do high school level math and science (algebra, geometry, trig, precalc, and even calculus, as well as physics and chemistry). The astronomy will come later - either in undergrad or grad school.
There are thousands of universities in the US, most of which will offer physics majors and at least a couple of astro courses - you're bound to get into ONE of them. You will want to major in physics with double majors/minors in math and astronomy, if possible. Then apply to grad school in astronomy or astrophysics.
It's a good 10 years of work once you reach the college level - you might just want to go the amateur route instead if you want to play with telescopes and stare at the stars. That's how I started out.
2007-01-28 13:13:40 · answer #2 · answered by eri 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please tell me you mean astronomer and astronomy.
If you really do mean astrology, then you don't need school, physics or hardly any science, just a star chart to show the posisition of the planets (from earth, not the sun), and a good line of BS.
2007-01-28 12:46:41 · answer #3 · answered by Walking Man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Astrology is 6000 years out of date and is based on the stars influencing your behavior and action.
Astronomy is a science dealing with planets, stars and the like.
Quite a difference...
2007-01-29 00:17:35 · answer #4 · answered by CA Bravo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you mean an "astronomer"? An "astrologist" is a practicioner of a fake "art," like palm reading.
2007-01-28 12:36:39 · answer #5 · answered by Joseph C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋