sethu said:
Hi I'm 27 years old, and planning to return to university as a mature student to study physics/astrophysics as major. I have gone through websites, reading materials, articles, and I have not found any satisfactory answers for the job descriptions of an astrophysicist. So what to expect to be an actual astrophysicist ?(Usually some people daydream of finding a new planet, or discovering a new thing and getting world famous in a single day, but I would like to know how the job would be in reality).
You're not likely to find much in the way of a job description because a lot of what astrophysicists do depends on the particular problems they are researching and the stage of their careers. Most astrophysicists work in academia: i.e. they are professors. Typically this involves both teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level as well as doing research and other administrative duties (sitting on various committees). For tenured professors the research is largely self-directed and funded by grants that the professor is expected to obtain - so a great deal of time and energy goes into preparing grant applications. In fact, once a professor's teaching obligations are done, the grants are applied for, the committee work is done, the graduate students and post-docs are all met with and moving in the right direction, there actually isn't as much time left over for personal research that one might think - unfortunately. There's also not an insignificant amount of time that goes into writing papers, preparing talks, acting as a journal referee, and general reading to keep up with the field.
And that's if and when you get to be a professor. You have to go through undergrad (4 years), graduate school (another ~ 6 years), and post-doctoral positions (4-6 years), and THEN you get to apply for a tenure track position. And even then you're not guaranteed tenure. You have to go through ~ 5 years as an assistant professor, after which time the university can still let you go.
So a master's degree in astrophysics is not going to get you very far in that race I'm afraid.
My second question is 'Is it possible for a mature student/non traditional student to become a researcher in physics or astrophysics?'
Sure. Your chances are not really any worse than for anyone else. But just remember, they're quite low for everyone. At lease as far as "mature" student goes. I don't know what you mean by "non-traditional." There are a lot of other bigger things to worry about than your age. It might be a slight disadvantage. It might also be a slight advantage - mature students tend to be a little more focused and sometimes relate a little better to their professors. There are enough obstacles in front of you that you don't have to make your age another one.
And the next question is 'Can people find jobs in astrophysics field by completing masters degree without doing Phd?'
As mentioned above, there are not a lot of jobs in astrophysics to begin with. Since most of them are university positions, they'll require a PhD. And even if a PhD is not required - there are a lot more PhD graduates than there are jobs - so you'll be competing against a pool of applicants who have PhDs. With an MSc, you might be able to find work as a research assistant for a given project somewhere, but that typically won't be a career-type job.
I am thinking of studying upto master's, then find a job on the same topic, and would be doing a Phd as a part time.
Why would you aim to do the PhD part time? A PhD is very difficult to do on a part-time basis. Remember that PhD students are usually supported by some kind of stipend or research assistanceship or teaching assistanceship.
And my last question is 'What is the difference between astrophysicist, theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist, and what are their job nature?'
The difference really lies in the problems that they work on. It's not like a profession where you have to pass a credential examination to adopt a legally recognized title. An "astrophysicist" is someone who works within an astrophysics group, usually within a department of physics. A "cosmologist" is someone within that group that works on cosmology problems. Sometimes the department might me organized in a different way - the cosmologist might be part of a "theoretical physics" group.
EDIT: Sorry an earlier version of this post had a couple dragon pictures attached to it. That was just a copy and paste error from my kids playing around. Nothing wrong with dragons - just not relevant to the discussion.
