Exploring the Future of Astrophysics and Nuclear Physics Careers

[Azael]

I am still a undergrad(second year) student. I plan on and will do everything I possibly can to become a grad student after my 4 years as undergrad because physics is what I live for :!) .

The 2 fields I am leanings towards is astrophysics and nuclear physics. Beeing a Astrophysicists has been my dream since I was a little kid. But I want to be realistic and a PhD in a field where the job market is dead wouldn't be that good. Dreams don't put food on the table
What do you guys think the job market in 8-10 years will look like for astrophysicists and for nuclear physicists?

Would it be "easy" to branch into astrophysics from nuclear physics or the other way around??

 

[franznietzsche]

Nuclear physics as a research field is not a big one any more, its been largely transplanted by high-energy physics (or at least this is what one of my professors, who is a nuclear physicist, has told us).

Astrophysics is also my main area of interest. However, as to your question about how easy it is to "branch" from astrophysics to other fields, I would say that it would be easy for an astrophysicist to fairly quickly pick up the material to get current in another subfield. This is simply because astrophysics is essentially the "jack-of-all-trades" field in physics. An example: I've been working on a radiation-hydrodynamics code for simulating the solar atmosphere. I've had to study optics, thermodynamics, fluid flow, and nuclear physics. An astrophysicist has to have a very broad working knowledge of several fields.

 

[Azael]

thanks for the reply. I kind of figured astrophysics is like that, glad to get it confirmed :)