eCosmology

What type of jobs are there in the astronomy field?

If you want to work in the astronomy field, what types of jobs are available to you? How much would you earn per year? Descriptions or links, if possible, would be appreciated. Thank you.

Public Comments

1. meteorologist, like the weather man or someone on the weather channel, they are all meteorologists and any job in the astronomy field will be a lot of money
2. Just about anywhere, from planetariums to prestigious universities. See link below.
3. You can get a position way up in the astronomical stratosphere. But you have to be a real star !
4. You have to really love astronomy, because at all levels it doesn't pay nearly as well as jobs of similar difficulty in other fields of endevor. That being said, it's great to be paid at all to do astronomy.
5. There aren't a lot of jobs available in astronomy if you don't have a PhD. Most astronomers work at colleges and universities, national labs (like NRAO, NSO, LLNL), or NASA. You need a PhD for those jobs (research and teaching). A few astronomers work for observatories, planetariums, or museums, and there you don't need a PhD (usually). You can get by with a masters or even a 4-year degree. With a PhD, astronomers typically make $60,000 - $120,000 a year. With a masters, more like $40,000 to $60,000 (you can teach at community college or high school with a masters). Without a masters and a job in astronomy (not another related field, like physics or computer science), probably not more than $40,000.
6. There are alot of different jobs, depending on what your interests are.