astronomers astrologists!!!!

"Astronomers astrologists" does not make sense. The two are opposites. One is a person of science (except in Kansas (sp?)), the other is a person of myth.

 

I think you mean astronomy when you talk about space, etc. But if you're that fuzzy about the correct terminology, then maybe it's a passing fancy? Not trying to bust your b****, but correct terminology is really important in medicine and science so if you're pre-med or pre-astronomy, time to start getting it right.

That aside, the only person I know who made big $$$ in astronomy was Carl Sagan. He did it by popularizing space and planetary sciences and creating a royalty stream from the general public. The problem with astronomy is that it has few practical applications on earth and is one of the sciences that requires a lot of public sponsorship, hence not much extra money is available. Aside from astronomy, there is aeronautical engineering which may have more opportunities for making $$$, particularly given the success of SpaceShip One and the resulting commercial space race. Aeronautical engineers probably have the typical distribution of a few upper-income success stories, some more upper/middle-income experts/executives, and for the vast majority solid middle-income engineers.

 

As ylshih was saying: how are your math skills? Much of astronomy is a branch of physics these days, and without math you won't be getting far.

 

ever thought about starting your own religion? its more likely that you'll make big bucks out of that than what you were thinking of doing.

 

With these 2 joysticks on my astrAlogical-with-an-A Universe Grasper, I am able not only to control the black hole immediately below it, but the billions and billions of dollars which circulate within and without the quantuum leap of faith-based religions, be they are new, or as old as butterflies which long ago emerged from the cocoons of stagefright to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Sounds like an easy class...either that or you are maximizing your true potential by going to medical school.

 

become a Astrologist, get yourself a 1-900 phone number and call your self "Mr. Cleo". you'll make millions. unlike an astronomer.

 

I am not sure of the question. Doctors make so much more money than astronomers it's like comparing Ferraris to Totota's. A Toyota is a great car....but it ain't a Ferrari.

One of my past high school friends is an astronomer at UTexas. He works at the McDonald Observatory. He is basically a college professor that spends time at McDonald between semesters.

He makes squat. But he is consumed by his research in quasars. He would do the research for free. That is often the characteristic of dedicated scientists, so it sounds to me like unless you have a desire for astronomy that overshadows your desire for money, I would suggest that the term "Doctor of Medicine" is a better choice than "Doctor of Sciences" if monetary reward is the most important consideration.

There aren't many astronomers that have the public persona of Carl Sagan. I would imagine that Dr. Sagan died wealthy, but I would be surprised if there was a Ferrari in his garage.

 

I'm not sure of the details of his financial legacy, but there are a few organizations that appear to have been gifted with his copyrights:

http://www.carlsagan.com/

Cosmos Studios & the Carl Sagan Foundation somehow own the rights to the Cosmos series and other of his copyrights. Cosmos Studios has also been funding an experimental solar sail project, which isn't cheap. His wife is the CEO of both. So it appears that a substantial portion of his legacy is going to further his dreams.

 

you mean you finished 1st quarter differential calc as a freshaman, or FINISHED calc as in finished single variable, multi variable, diff eqns, adv calc, etc with 100% A+.

also HS math is weak. 1 semester to learn single-variable deravitives, please, and with all this extra credit BS................

IMO calculus is easier than advanced algebra.



but if what you are saying is all true and such. there are a couple problems. how long are you willing to go ferrari-less. as going to med school incurrs large debt that may take a long time to pay off. doctors are in a shortage and often work very long hours (meaning less time to drive cars than a normal person). however, you can make lots of money. im sure there are lots of doctors here that can tell you that.

astronomer, you have to love what you do, not do it for the money (but thats just a general rule of career thumb)

aerospace engineer, im currently studying that. starting ~60k. very little debt comming out of school if any. supposedly you will never be out of work because the engineer deficite. i dont have to be uber wealthy, as my dream ferrari is "only" a F355B (but koenigsegg, thats a different story)

but its your life, we cant tell you what you should do

 

If you really love it, you’ll find a way to make money doing it. Over the next few decades I think people are going to become much more interested with space in general, and a long with those people's interests will come money.

 

a good forum for nerds like you and I...

http://www.thespacesite.com/

 

You should become an astrologer to the astronauts.... When you are in space you are closer to the stars and planets and they will align in different ways so they will obviously influence life differently from regular people on Earth. I think the lack of good astrological guidance is why NASA is having so much trouble, they need to take a more cosmic view.

 

very interesting thread. I was in a similar situation. I am the same age and I just graduated with a B.Sc. in Physics--a subject that has fascinated me from a young age. However, I find theoretical physics, mostly cosmology, most appealing. Anyway, to address your question, SDuke hit the nail on the head. Unless one is absolutely captivated by the field (astronomy/astrophysics), it is quite difficult to stay afloat. People who succeed in those fields do NOT care for financial success. They are financially secure, don't get me wrong, but they don't care much about materialistic things. Being a doctor would be rather rewarding financially and there are many sub-fields within medicine that are really interesting.

But I must warn you out of experience. Although your interest in Astronomy/Astrophysics maybe genuine, you might be blinded by reading the many articles such as the ones in Discover etc. which give a skewed picture of what the fields are about. What I mean by this is that the articles are meant for laymen--people who are not really familiar with the actual principles or underlying concepts (theoretically/mathematically) and therefore have many "flowery" terms that make the topics sound awesome, which they are. But you have to be sure about that. Take several physics and astronomy courses and read a lot about it before making a decision.

Physics is the underlying science of the universe. Studying it can be frustrating at times but there is NOTHING like understanding how things work and sometimes why things are the way they are. An example--why is the sky blue? The particles in the atmosphere are about the same size as the wavelength of blue light (~400nm) and so they scatter "blue" light very effectively whereas the other wavelengths are too large to be scattered.

Here's an interesting tidbit: When one swipes a credit card in the card reader (at a store etc.) the moving magnetic strip creates a current which goes through as data to the card center to be "approved" for a purchase. This is essentially Lenz's law. That's why if the card is not swiped fast enough, it doesn't work properly. "Please remove card rapidly". LOL.. Anyway, Physics is great and a fabulous subject.

 

I haven't read the whole thread but I think the best advice I ever recieved was to just do whatever you enjoy the most. I can't think of anything where there isn't "Ferrari" money to be made, you just have to mix hobby with business sometimes. I think a lot of FChatters are good examples of this. I knew that those stories about people only in it for the money and failed would ring true for even me if I chose to go down that route.

Good luck.

 

Thread Hijack:

Where you go to school? I'm an ME over at Cal Poly SLO. I have a bunch of aero friends, generally a very sharp group.

 

pm should work now if you still want to send me something....

 

If you want an unhappy life, chase the money. After you've gotten some of the things that money can buy, you'll start wishing you'd gone into the profession you're interested in. People who love what they do, are generally happier. While people in science don't get rich, if they get tenure at a good school, they earn a decent wage, and some of them can even afford a Ferrari. I think full professors at Cal earn about 150k or so. Not super great, but a living wage.



Art