Astronomy academic/research jobs:Really that hard to get?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the challenges of obtaining academic and research positions in astronomy, particularly focusing on tenure and government-funded roles. Participants explore the job market dynamics and the implications of graduate output from academic programs.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that there are approximately 6,000 astronomers in the USA, suggesting that the job market is limited, especially if half are in industry.
  • Another participant claims that a professor typically graduates around 10 students in their career, with only one needed to replace them, indicating a low turnover rate in academic positions.
  • A follow-up comment suggests that the actual number of graduates may be higher for professors with larger research groups, complicating the job market further.
  • Conversely, a participant points out that some professors may graduate fewer students, emphasizing variability in the academic landscape.
  • It is mentioned that many individuals who study astronomy ultimately pursue careers as engineers or programmers, with one participant stating their company hires many graduates who do not continue in astronomy.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the number of graduates and their impact on job availability, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing perspectives on the job market in astronomy.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding assumptions about the number of graduates and the definitions of job roles within the field, which may affect the overall understanding of the job market dynamics.

Krandor
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I have read lots of comments talking about how hard is to get tenure or government-funding research positions. Okay, but how hard is it? Perhaps some statistical info about it? From what I've heard, there are around 6k astronomers in the usa. Let's asume half of them are working in the industry. That leaves quite a small job environment for astronomy
 
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A professor will graduate maybe 10 students in his career, only one of whom is needed to replace him. That's the starting point.
 
Vanadium 50 said:
A professor will graduate maybe 10 students in his career, only one of whom is needed to replace him. That's the starting point.
It is actually worse than this since 10 would be around the minimum. Some professors with large research groups graduate much more.
 
And some graduate fewer. The point is not that the odds are 10.00000%.
 
Most people who study astronomy end up as engineers or programmers. At our company we hire a lot of University cast offs.
 

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