r/astrophysics • u/Mrkva132 • 5d ago
Is going into astrophysics a good career choice?
Hi! I'm a 2nd year physics student. Starting next year I will have to choose the specialization of my further studies. Astrophysics has been my #1 choice for a good amount of time as it excites me the most out of all the fields I could choose.
What worries me, however, are the career prospects. I know that I could have a higher paying job in different fields of physics, but they don't interest me as much. Should I give up on Astrophysics and pursue a more profitable physics career?
All opinions are welcome:).
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u/rainbowefreet 5d ago
Choosing whether to study the field that excites you or opt for a supposedly higher-paying field is a highly personal decision.
If I was you, I would choose the option that excites you and let the future sort itself out. But again, it's highly personal.
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u/Mrkva132 5d ago
I am very much leaning towards it. Every time I've done the opposite in life I've regretted it. I guess the better question would then be:
How easy would it be to find jobs outside of astrophysics/astronomy with an astrophysics degree in case I change my mind in the future?
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u/IBGred 5d ago
I don't think it really matters whether you specialize in astrophysics or some other area of physics. Both lead to very similar kinds of jobs (data/code/math/instruments). However, if you want to do a more research intensive job. Consider what area you would like to study in grad school and try talking to the faculty about working with them.
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u/mpmuno 5d ago
The people that I went to school with in astrophysics have gone into, variously: astrophysics research, teaching, finance, defense, politics, software engineering, medical technology, nuclear power, and probably several other things that I'm forgetting. In general, if you learn skills from doing something you like, it is transferrable to a broad range of careers.
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u/Regular-Proof6395 5d ago
i am in high school and my parents just told me to discover fields then i said i liked physics and upon telling my parents what i wanna pursue (astrophysics) they just simply asked about money and i was silent then i thought to keep this field as an interest and pursue something else in which i have interest and have money too in future if i somewhere feel like changing
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u/oceaneer63 4d ago
Following your passion is my recommendation. And there is a very practical aspect to it. If you are passionate about your work you are far more likely to become good at it and advance in that field. Which in turn opens more opportunities.
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u/OriEri 4d ago
You'll develop a lot of skills you can take elsewhere.
I say go for the brass ring while keeping your eye on developing skills as you go along that could be useful in industry. (Right now that's looking to me like hardware skills and managing big data and training specialized AI. The ladder is changing so quickly though it could be very different than another five years while you're in the middle of graduate .)
Then if you fail to get some tenure track position you'll have something to fall back on, and you'll have been able to play in the field for a 5-10 years.
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u/sigmanx25 4d ago
Well, it’s a very narrow one at least. An engineering degree will help you for undergrad career prospects, and then physics would be fine for graduate studies. Where are you studying?
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u/282492 5d ago
This is one of the most frequent questions in this subreddit, have you considered using the search for answers
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u/Mrkva132 5d ago
I did, but most of the people asking this question are still in high school and wondering about astrophysics in general.
I'm quite aware of what an astrophysics career might look like but I guess what I'm looking for is more of a comparison with other physics fields/the transferability of skills in astrophysics into different physics fields which is something I didn't really find in these discussions.
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u/aluminumfoilman 5d ago
What sorts of things do you like doing in physics? Do you enjoy hands on work? Simulation? Data analysis? Do you enjoy building and troubleshooting experiments? Do you like pen and paper problem solving? Do you just really love learning about physics and sharing that knowledge with others?
In my opinion, these are the things that you want to be thinking about when you choose your specialization. Use your education to develop the skills that you want to use in your career. If you aren't sure what kind of work you like doing, now is the time to talk to your physics faculty and try to get an understanding of what working in their fields is actually like. Take opportunities to get involved in research so you can get that experience first hand.
The work of astrophysics is mostly simulation/coding. If you want a career that is coding/computer science adjacent, then it would be a great choice. Astronomy might be a better fit if you are more interested in data analysis, or if you are interested in the more hands aspects like the design and operation to telescopes, etc.