Astronomy is a field where one looks into the great expanse of space and tries to find something that will bring the world a little closer to fully understanding the universe. The road to becoming an astronomer is not easy, as one must get an excellent education, hope that there are actual job openings, and then obtain a steady position. In order to be an astronomer, it is required to have a doctorate’s degree in either astronomy or physics (“Physicists and Astronomers”). After finishing their studies, an astronomer can really only hope to be lucky and secure a position working for the government, a university, or a college (“Astronomer Job Description”). If they somehow find a job, an astronomer’s job varies heavily depending on where they are employed (“Careers in Astronomy”). The first step with nearly every career is experiencing an education that will help them succeed through life.
First of all, an aspiring astronomer has to figure out a plan for their education, specifically their postgraduate education. In high school, a student should take as many mathematic courses possible, such as calculus and statistics (“Astronomer Job Description”). After high school, it is highly recommended to get a Bachelor’s degree in physics, as it gives a background in both natural sciences and mathematics; a few courses that should be taken in college would be thermodynamics, classical and quantum mechanics, and electromagnetism (“Physicists and Astronomers”). Graduate school is more important than which college someone chooses; this is because it shows whether your education was high quality or not to employers. Some of the top graduate schools for astronomy would be Princeton, Caltech, UC Berkeley, and University of Chicago (Kallm...
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...’t do much else. Once a secure job is found, whether it be with the government or a college, the astronomer then must adopt the responsibility of helping the human race become more knowledgeable about the universe. That is the true purpose of being an astronomer; perhaps there is something out there undiscovered that will shake the very foundations of what we know.
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"Astronomer Job Description." All Job Openings. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
"Astronomer: Joe: Questions and Answers." Career Cruising. Web. 06 May 2014.
"Careers in Astronomy." American Astronomical Society. American Astronomical Society, n.d. Web.
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Kallman, Tim. "Ask an Astrophysicist." NASA's Goddard Flight Center. NASA, n.d. Web. 06 May
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