Study exasolar planets in particular terrestrial ones

[lubuntu]

Hi,

I have posted here a few times but lately I think I have been refining my interests somewhat so I want to compare my goals up against the reality.

I think I would like to work in a field of study exasolar planets in particular terrestrial ones that may harbor Earth like life. Now some you engineer types might find this sort of pursuit naive, but I would like some feedback on a few things.

I figure this would be a pretty good time scale to study such things since when roughly when I am getting out of grad school or toward the end the Terrestrial Planet Finder or a similar mission will probably be close to being launched.

1. The current school I am in has only a pure physics program with no real astronomy or astrophysics courses. I know I wanted a degree in physics and not astronomy but Does this hurt my chances of getting into a program to do this sort of work? Furthermore, which schools are on the forefront of such research anyways?

2. Getting an internship in this sort of field, be it something like SETI or something else, what is out there for undergrad research opportunities in this field.

3. I hear the term astrobiology used a lot, and while I find biology interesting I don't really want to have to take a bunch of courses in it and I don't really see how general biology applies very well to this sort of field, the type of stuff a premed or something takes. What sort of biology background if any is needed for someone who would like to work in this field.

 

[djeitnstine]

Hi all,

in a nutshell, my question is: With a minor in CAD/CAM and a focus in propulsion what areas of design can I get into? What I'm asking for is sort of a small list of jobs (and short descriptions) that I may be able to get with my degree. I really like designing things, but I have been looking at job listings and have only seen things such as structural engineer (design related?), systems engineer (fuel systems etc I presume) and so forth. What I would really like to do is more stuff directly related to the engine itself. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for but I just want to say I designed an engine you know? (j/k)! Haha.

 

[sci09]

Hello, I am employed as a scientist with an undergrad in physics. I work on space weather-related projects and am looking at masters opportunities.

One that has peaked my interest is Space Systems. However, I can't seem to find a whole lot of info on what someone with a Space Systems master does. I cannot determine if the degree is truly technical (eg Astro Engr, or a space science track in physics), a little fuzzy (eg Space Studies as offered by institutes like UND), or somewhere in the middle. I'm looking at Florida Institute of Technology's program and while their course descriptions certainly seem technical, I don't see the difference between this and Astro Engr (you can look at their course offerings at http://www.fit.edu/catalog/documents/2010-2011.pdf).

I can't believe that the degree is just a box-checker as it is offered by some accredited institutes as well as the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Is there anyone out there who would be able to help?

 

[logically]

http://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/scientist

Just curious as to the specifics on Air Force Scientist. It doesn't seem like there is that much information available.

I'm not worried about the specifics of serving in the military; I was AD enlisted and currently National Guard Enlisted finishing school.

What fields do they do research in? How often to Scientist get to conduct research in areas that the AF is not currently researching? Any details not listed on the above link would be appreciated.