Jobs for Astronomers: Best Countries for Careers

[Shay10825]

Hello. I am currently a High School student wanting to peruse a career in astronomy. I was wondering if there are better job opportunities for astronomers and astrophysicists in countries other than the United States? and if so then which countries?

Thanks

 

[interested_learner]

The short answer is no. All countries hire their own citizens first.

Most astro majors in the US end up as optical or computer engineers. It is just the way it is. However, if you want to study astro, study astro. If you end up as an optical engineer, you are no worse off then if you gave up before you started and just studied engineering. And who knows maybe you will end up a famous astronomer.

 

[mr_coffee]

thats interesting, why computer engineers? Do they take a lot of hardware/programming courses as well?

 

[Ki Man]

i think that anywhere you find observatories and space programs there will be a need for astronomers, but i think interested learner is right when he says citizens come first.

unless you are some highly respected profesor at a university or something, then it will be a lot easier

 

[Office_Shredder]

I'm sure the daily times is looking for someone to do the horoscope... I bet that pays well :P

thats interesting, why computer engineers? Do they take a lot of hardware/programming courses as well?

I'm not an expert by any means, but it seems that astrophysics requires a lot of numerical analysis and numerical modelling, which means a lot of computational physics. And we all know what that requires

 

[interested_learner]

In aerospace companies, we make everyone into programmers. Someone trained in astronomy makes a dandy algorithm designer or just about anything else. Astronomy is a good (if hard!) education. It is the ability to solve technical problems that we are really looking for. Astronomers have that.