How hard is it to get a job in astrophysics?

[bfd050203]

im trying to become an award winning physicist (I know, I am ready for the grind, I am 15 and ready to start) how hard is it to first get a job in this area right out of college after a phd? any way to make 70-80k and go up to make 6-figure salaries in research for the government or in a lab? again I am only 15 and I am not sure how the real world works. how hard is it to get a job in actual astrophysics? thank you in advance

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Much better odds to get a teaching job at a lower tier college, make 40-60k, and do your research on the side.

Tenure track, research oriented faculty positions at R1 institutions have a much higher supply of new PhDs than new jobs to be filled. Same for gov labs. The supply and demand for teaching faculty at lower tier colleges and universities is much more favorable. Of course, the pay is lower, the prestige is lower, and you got to spend a lot more time teaching.

 

[jtbell]

The supply and demand for teaching faculty at lower tier colleges and universities is much more favorable.

It's still not very favorable, at least for tenure-track positions. At the small private liberal-arts college where I taught, whenever we had to fill one of our tenure-track physics positions, we got something like 50 to 100 applications.

 

[Mark44]

It's still not very favorable, at least for tenure-track positions. At the small private liberal-arts college where I taught, whenever we had to fill one of our tenure-track physics positions, we got something like 50 to 100 applications.

I agree. I was on many hiring committees at the Seattle-area community college where I taught. When a math teaching position was announced, we would routinely get 100-150 applicants. It's much easier to get part-time employment, but if classes get cut, part-timers are the first to go, and there is no guarantee that you'll get classes in a given quarter/semester. Not to mention that the pay is not very high.

I am currently teaching part-time at a different CC. I do it because I enjoy what I'm doing, certainly not for the pay.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

It's still not very favorable, at least for tenure-track positions. At the small private liberal-arts college where I taught, whenever we had to fill one of our tenure-track physics positions, we got something like 50 to 100 applications.

At the schools where I have taught, we averaged about 40 applications, but only about 10 of those were PhDs.

PhDs with excellent English skills and teaching experience usually made the phone interview stage of the process.

 

[George Jones]

Three years ago at my small (approx. 3000 students), isolated (7-hour drive to closest larger city) Canadian university, we had over 60 applicants for an eight-month Physics Lecturer position.

 

[eri]

My university has about 5,000 students, as of yet still no physics major, and offered no research space or start up money. When they hired me, they got over 200 qualified applicants for the position.

It's not easy to get a job at any university. My grad school wasn't an R1, but got over 600 applicants for an astrophysics job 10 years ago. It's easier actually got get a higher-paying job in industry, but then you almost certainly won't be doing astrophysics - there's really not any money there. Same for most government labs; they want people who do more experimental physics, they rarely hire in astrophysics. NASA does, but most scientists working for them need to earn their salary in grant money every year, they don't have a fixed salary.

I know very few astrophysicists making over 100k. I just got tenure, and I won't get to the 100k level for another 10 years or so, and I'm making more than most of my friends in academia and elsewhere.

Physics, especially astrophysics, is unlikely to make you rich or famous or win you big awards. It's a ton of work, a lot school, and any science field takes a lot of slogging through idea after idea and experiment after experiment to even reach a publishable result, much less one very many people will care about. It's great that you're so excited about physics, but you seem to have unreasonable expectations about science in general.

 

[berkeman]

When they hired me, they got over 200 qualified applicants for the position.

Awesome, congrats on such amazing work. I think your students are very fortunate.

 

[alantheastronomer]

im trying to become an award winning physicist (I know, I am ready for the grind, I am 15 and ready to start) how hard is it to first get a job in this area right out of college after a phd? any way to make 70-80k and go up to make 6-figure salaries in research for the government or in a lab? again I am only 15 and I am not sure how the real world works. how hard is it to get a job in actual astrophysics? thank you in advance

After your PhD., if you still want to do research, then the usual next step is to become a post-doc, but the competition for those positions is stiff, though not impossible to get, but the salaries are nowhere near the amount you're expecting! My advice is to listen to Eri's advice in post #7.

 

[Stengah]

After your PhD., if you still want to do research, then the usual next step is to become a post-doc, but the competition for those positions is stiff, though not impossible to get, but the salaries are nowhere near the amount you're expecting! My advice is to listen to Eri's advice in post #7.

The prize postdocs all have salaries of about 70k.

http://www.stsci.edu/institute/smo/fellowships/hubble/hf-formal-guidelines.pdf
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16575/nsf16575.htm
http://cxc.harvard.edu/fellows/fellowsCfP2016.html

 

[WhitCRed]

In my opinion, money and fame should not be the driving force behind becoming a Physicist. More so, a burning desire to help yourself and other people better understand the fundamentals of existence. If money and awards come along the way then it should be more of a bonus, complimenting the real success of altering perspectives in your personal and professional lives and steering humanity in a more positive direction.

 

[alantheastronomer]

Hey there! - You with the stars in your eyes...

 

[Dr Transport]

Although I am not working in astrophysics, it took me 20 years after my PhD to get a government job and 10+ years to get 6 figures. I started in the low '70's and figure out how fast you'll move up at a nominal 3% raise per year. Promotions help because they are in the 5% range, but that only happens once or twice in the 10-15 years it takes to become a senior guy. Given that, I am within 5% of the max a govt employee an make without going into management or becoming an executive which takes you completely out of any technical work what so ever.

good luck pal...you're going to need it