What Career Opportunities are Available with an Astronomy Degree?

[KayVee]

Since I was a little kid I've always found the outer space to be fascinating. I'm currently studying to become a Maritime chief engineer. It includes a lot of calculating electrical circuits, mathematics and physics (We call them level C, B and A - A being highest) at college level, and some chemistry. It takes three years.

I only need to supply with some chemistry when I'm done, and then I can apply to a Astronomy course in Copenhagen.

Can anyone give me some feedback on my idea? Is there a lack of astronomers, income and what else i can use this degree for..ect..

And, Do I need to get a PhD in astronomy to be able to look for a job?

I also notice that there are not many astronomy topics here. Is astronomy just boring, compared to physics? Or is it just plain useless?

 

[twofish-quant]

Can anyone give me some feedback on my idea? Is there a lack of astronomers, income and what else i can use this degree for..ect..

At least in the US, there isn't a lack of professional astronomers. However you can use the skills that you learned in astronomy to get a reasonably well paying job on Wall Street, which is where I ended up.

Also there are some parts of astronomy where you can do good work without being a professional. If you spend about US$10,000, you can put together a decent lab that you can do thinks like variable star observations.

And, Do I need to get a PhD in astronomy to be able to look for a job?

To get a formal academic position, you need a Ph.D. and usually two three year postdocs. However, never, never get a Ph.D. for career reasons since you probably won't get a formal job even with the Ph.D.

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[KayVee]

twofish-quant: I live in a very small country, with a population of 48.000, give or take. I plan to live other places in the world, like the US maybe, and there make use of my astronomy degree, outside of academia. And when I return home (And I probably will), a school teacher is pretty much the only work I can get, with a degree in astronomy. So, If I don't need a PhD. in astronomy, I sure ain't going for it

Is there a lot of chemistry work involved in the astronomy course? I've never had chemistry and I always hear bad things about it