Need advice with Astrophysics graduate degree

[zomgbre]

Hi there,

I'm currently working on my BS in Physics with plans to do an Astrophysics grad degree. However, I'm not sure if I should go Astronomy or Astrophysics. My university I attend currently does not have an astronomy degree, so I chose to do physics. (I had to go to this university because I didn't have much money.) I'm not even sure what university I should go to to get an astrophysics degree. Most looked quite expensive...any suggestions?

Also, I really want to end up working for NASA...so which degree would be best and what kind of graduate school choices should I make based on this goal?

Whatever I end up doing, I really want it to involve astronomy or space. :)

Thanks for your help!
Aspiring Astrophysics/ Astronomer Bre

 

[cmos]

It really depends on the school. The general trend, however, is that if you are interested in observational astronomy, then you do astronomy. If you are interested in calculating/modeling astrophysical phenomena, then you go into astrophysics. Some places, to paraphrase Caltech, have the attitude that modern astronomy is essentially astrophysics.

Some schools will lump the astrophysics people in with the astronomy department, while other schools will lump the astrophysics people in with the physics department. Other schools will simply have single departments comprising both physics and astronomy.

My suggestion would be to figure out which schools you are interested in, and base you decision individually with each school.

As far as working with NASA, they are generally interested in both types of people, but I'm not sure what the actual demand is.

 

[twofish-quant]

I'm currently working on my BS in Physics with plans to do an Astrophysics grad degree. However, I'm not sure if I should go Astronomy or Astrophysics.

Pretty much the same thing.

I'm not even sure what university I should go to to get an astrophysics degree. Most looked quite expensive...any suggestions?

Generally speaking you will be getting funding to work as a teaching or research assistant so this won't be an issue. One thing that has alarmed me is that I'm starting to hear of people getting admitted to graduate school without funding which was totally unheard of when I went to graduate school in the 1990's.

Hopefully this is just a temporary thing, and state legislatures will see reason so that by the time you are ready to apply, things are back to where they were before. If not, then it means that the US science is going to hell, and you'll have bigger things to worry about than graduate school.

Also, I really want to end up working for NASA...so which degree would be best and what kind of graduate school choices should I make based on this goal?

Be careful what you wish for. There are some cool and interesting parts of NASA. There are parts that are seriously dysfunctional. Instead of focusing on a specific career goal, it's better right now if you expand your experience so that you can find a cool job somewhere. You may find that you really don't want to work at NASA but at JPL, SpaceX, or ULA.

Also, if you really think that the US should have an active space program, then I'd start learning a lot about politics. There are some very good blogs that talk about NASA funding and the choices that are being made, and I'd get interested in that. see http://www.comspacewatch.com/ Take some poli-sci courses and learn to be a lobbyist.

One final thing. Learn Chinese. I'm hoping that the cuts and general dysfunction in the US space program is merely a temporary thing. But the worst case scenario I can think of is that the US public decides that they don't want to be the world leader in science and space, in which case it will be very useful to know how to speak Chinese. In the 1960's, my parents came to the conclusion that their skills were not useful in China, and so they ended up in the US where they can do useful things. I still have a lot of hope that the US won't turn its back on science and space, but it's a possibility that you have to consider, and if it happens, you may have to make the same sorts of decisions my parents did.

 

[zomgbre]

@twofish

I really hope we get back on track with innovation and science. Those are my main goals and why I'm interested in physics and space. I am just worried there won't be a place for me...

 

[twofish-quant]

I really hope we get back on track with innovation and science. Those are my main goals and why I'm interested in physics and space. I am just worried there won't be a place for me...

There may not be, but at some point you have to realize that there are things that are just out of your control.

In 2007, there was a really good chance that the world could have ended up in a great depression that is ten times worse than what actually happened. One thing that I was thinking about was what I would do if everything fell apart. If I ended up selling apples and living in cardboard boxes, at least I can think about neutrino physics.

One thing that people seem to be worried about is that if they choose something "practical" like law and finance, they will get a job, and if they choose something "abstract" like physics they won't. That curiously doesn't work because if things blow up, there end up with no jobs for anyone, and with physics, you've at least learned physics.

 

[ParticleGrl]

One thing that has alarmed me is that I'm starting to hear of people getting admitted to graduate school without funding which was totally unheard of when I went to graduate school in the 1990's.

I went in the 2000s and it was not unheard of in some departments, even at some very good schools. Something like 1/5 of the math phds at my institution one year came in without funding or only partial funding. I imagine the trend has accelerated dramatically in the recession.

Part of the problem is that once administrators find out people are willing to pay, its hard to go back to a system where they don't.

 

[twofish-quant]

Part of the problem is that once administrators find out people are willing to pay, its hard to go back to a system where they don't.

What's even more frightening is that in the "good old days" people got funding for being teaching assistants. If we don't have grad students being serfs, then that means that you have lots of undergraduates that aren't being taught basic science and engineering. One thing that I've found alarming is that resources in universities have been devoted away from teaching scientists and engineers toward executable MBA programs, that bring in money, but just make rich people richer.

Also, I think you'll find that people *aren't* willing to pay. If you look at most graduate programs, most students were Indian or Chinese, and a Ph.D. is a cheap and easy way of getting into the US. What I find massively alarming is that I'm seeing a brain drain when it comes in terms of China.

One thing that I've been telling people getting into physics now is that their main issue once they get out around 2015-2020 is to try to repair the damage to the US science infrastructure.

 

[zomgbre]

What's even more frightening is that in the "good old days" people got funding for being teaching assistants. If we don't have grad students being serfs, then that means that you have lots of undergraduates that aren't being taught basic science and engineering. One thing that I've found alarming is that resources in universities have been devoted away from teaching scientists and engineers toward executable MBA programs, that bring in money, but just make rich people richer.

Also, I think you'll find that people *aren't* willing to pay. If you look at most graduate programs, most students were Indian or Chinese, and a Ph.D. is a cheap and easy way of getting into the US. What I find massively alarming is that I'm seeing a brain drain when it comes in terms of China.

One thing that I've been telling people getting into physics now is that their main issue once they get out around 2015-2020 is to try to repair the damage to the US science infrastructure.

Grad assistants and TAs get paid at my University...and it also has one of the lowest tuition in the US. However, it only has one doctoral program. (Multiple masters though, just not in Physics ofc...our physics department is quite small, but because of that the faculty spend a lot more time with you with directed studies etc.) :( Unviersity of West Florida if you are wondering.

Well, I just hope I'll be useful with a physics doctorate. :\ You kind of got me scared now twofish...if all fails I can fall back on web development...haha. (As I already do that for a living.) Not to mention I could always go to another country...I did just finish taking Japanese 2 ...aced it. :)