Expert: Philip Stahl - 6/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: I want to become an astronomer. I have a Biology bachelor's degree, but I am willing to get a degree in Astronomy since I want to become an astronomer. What are my chances of ever getting a job as an astronomer? Who would pay me the kind of salary they get? Are there really jobs out there in the field of astronomy that pay decently?

ANSWER: Hello,

Unfortunately, the job prospects in astronomy are not that good. Most of this can be blamed on recent budget cuts in the pure science areas, which include astronomy and physics. Newly minted Ph.Ds are finding they have to do successive postdocs to stay in the game, and others have to rely on adjunct teaching jobs with little or no security.

I suppose that a fraction of these will get established and find solid careers, but they are at the top of their game, and were already publishing numerous papers by the time they received their Ph.D.s

I met some of them at a recent Dynamical Astronomy Division meeting in April. Some of them are working on new critical research areas like the YORP effect (which you can google to learn more).

So, bottom line, the prospects are not so good, and especially if you are expecting a salary in the > $75k/year category.

Consider it just from a *time* point of view, and saying you are "willing to get an Astronomy degree". But do you know what that entails? Assuming you haven't taken a single course in astronomy, or stellar astrophysics or advanced physics, Calculus, differential equations and analysis - that could mean up to 90 semester credits or more and three years merely to reach the B.Sc. level!

Then add on all the graduate (mid-level, Masters) coursework, that's another two years. At minimum!

Then the Ph.D. coursework and also preparation for the comprehensive examinations. (These are generally 3 hr. exams to be taken in each specialty area, like advanced mathematics  (complex analysis, Fourier analysis etc), plasma physics, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, electricity & magnetism etc.) Then there is the thesis to do, and getting through the oral exam.

Add on two years minimum for the Ph.D. work.

So let's assume you are 22 now, we are looking at an additional 7 years minumum just for PREPARATION! After that, expect at least three postdocs of a year each and you are age 32 years old before you even begin looking for a (possible) tenured post. And bear in mind, you will be competing with much younger candidates who have already garnered much more experience.

Generally, it is extremely difficult to change fields in midstream, or change once one has already committed, say to a specific major or baccalaureate program. It takes years of further effort and absolute determination to reach that goal.

I do not wish to deter you from it, but only show the reality of what you are up against (and also bear in mind that budget cuts could well get worse if the economy sours even more, for whatever reason)

Hope this helps. If you are still interested, please consult some of the other past answers which deal with this topic.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: This is a completely unrelated question but you seem to be very knowledgeable about stuff space related. I'm absolutely fascinated with the successful landing of the Phoenix lander and the Spirit/Opportunity rovers. Do you think that NASA will get more money from the gov't because of the discovery of soil that can support certain plant growth like asparagus? I know that the Phoenix mission was limited in what it could do because of budget cuts so it wasn't as equipped as NASA scientists wanted it to be. So do you think that the gov't may allocate NASA/JPL more money after a promising discovery such as this has occurred?

Answer
Hello,

All I have heard in the news is that the Martian soil is found to be "likely to support life". I've heard nothing about asparagus or any particular form of life. Right now, I think most Mars planetary scientists would be elated if they could just find a threshold to support lichens - and then the lichens themselves.

But without an actual discovery of evidence for life, I don't think an ongoing Mars discovery program will be sustained in future budgets. One has to look at the big picture here, and that means devoid of what one desires, or apart from emotions.

The truth now is the economy is in tatters, the dollar is tanking and oil prices are going through the roof. Balance of payments, deficits are soaring. In this environment there simply isn't the wherewithal to support the sort of technical missions needed for Mars life searches.

What VietNam taught us, is that an aggressive space (Apollo) program cannot be pursued while money is going down the drain in a long, drawn out war. The same thing is just as true now.

One thing for sure, the money poured into Iraq in just two years would be more than enough to fund a top of the line Martian life discovery program.

But it seems we will never know what might have been will we?