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| Year | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 265 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 263 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 285 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 297 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 278 | 0.00% |
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $54,018 | $25.97 | +4.5% |
| 2024 | $51,699 | $24.86 | +8.4% |
| 2023 | $47,679 | $22.92 | +5.1% |
| 2022 | $45,383 | $21.82 | --4.0% |
| 2021 | $47,255 | $22.72 | +0.6% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 2 | 0% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 1 | 0% |
| 3 | Alaska | 739,795 | 0 | 0% |
| 4 | California | 39,536,653 | 0 | 0% |
| 5 | New York | 19,849,399 | 0 | 0% |
| 6 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 0 | 0% |
| 7 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 0 | 0% |
| 8 | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 0 | 0% |
| 9 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 0 | 0% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 0 | 0% |
| 11 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 0 | 0% |
| 12 | Vermont | 623,657 | 0 | 0% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 0 | 0% |
| 14 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 0 | 0% |
| 15 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 0 | 0% |
| 16 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 0 | 0% |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 0 | 0% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 0 | 0% |
| 19 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 0 | 0% |
| 20 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 0 | 0% |
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge | 1 | 1% | $60,594 |
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Oklahoma
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Liliya Williams: If a person is interested in finding out answers to questions that relate to the Universe, its origin, structure and evolution, galaxies, stars, and planets, that person would likely make a good astronomer. Basically, one has to be interested in doing research in those areas.
Liliya Williams: Professional astronomers usually love their jobs, and would not want to do anything else. Research is captivating and a source of great satisfaction to most.
Liliya Williams: There is a wide range of what astronomers do. Most do research, which can often involve analyzing data, writing code, and writing papers. We also work with undergraduate and graduate students, teach, and write grant proposals. Those who build instruments spend much of their time in the lab. Most of us spend most of our time at the computer. Students entering the field take classes, teach, and work on research projects with their advisors.
Sean Matt: As astronomy becomes more data-intensive, computing and data-handling skills only become more relevant. At the same time, since the ultimate goal of science is human understanding, it will be increasingly challenging to make *sense* of the analysis of large datasets and increasingly sophisticated numerical simulations. Therefore, the “classical” skills of having a firm understanding of physics, etc. will always be necessary. Another essential skill now and in the future is communication, both in written and verbal form, both in discussing with an expert audience and with the lay public, and all audiences in between. Finally, as the field becomes more competitive for jobs and funding, a critical skill is writing proposals (including job applications).
Sean Matt: One needs a PhD to have a career in astronomy related research. And in the early career stages, research experience, outputs, and quality are the most important factors improving chances of employment. So I’d say getting research experience as soon as possible (as an undergraduate, ideally) is good. And during schooling (undergraduate and graduate), work to gain as many different kinds of research skills and fundamental knowledge (of physics, mathematics, and astronomy) as possible. For the research, it is good to work on different types of research projects in different research areas (and requiring you to pick up different skills)—not all at once but via successive projects that are unrelated to each other. As a PhD student, toward the last few years, it is most important to focus on a single area and develop a niche in the form of a novel research area or research tool that you have mastered. After the PhD, the usual path is to go into a postdoctoral research position. It is also important to further deepen and broaden research productivity and expertise, during this time. Furthermore, this is a stage where you want to develop your independence and show that you can find and follow and answer your own research questions. For a career path that will eventually involve teaching or leading research groups, it is also helpful to gain experience teaching and/or mentoring junior researchers and/or participating in outreach activities. This can be done during graduate school or as a postdoc. Similarly, the sooner you can get experience applying for funding and other competitive resources (like telescope and computing time), the better. Finally, be realistic and have a backup plan. Getting a long-term position in astronomy and astrophysics is one of the most competitive endeavors (statistically comparable to being a professional sports player or astronaut, that kind of level).
Sean Matt: Frankly, if you are motivated by earning a high salary, astronomy and astrophysics is not a time-effective way to do that. Skills of an astrophysicist, particularly with regard to computing, scientific knowledge, and general problem-solving, are prized in other industries with competitive salaries, for example in data science. But professional astronomer salaries are not high compared to the level of schooling and temporary positions typically required before finding a long-term position. Generally speaking, if you focus on salary as a professional astronomer, you would probably do best to move jobs as frequently as you are able. Commonly, new hires make comparable or sometimes higher salaries than people who have stayed at an institution for a long time. Salaries in the US are typically higher than those in other countries. I’m not sure, but I believe jobs at government labs in the US are higher for early career positions than university posts, but the latter can for some people be higher than government labs (i.e., universities might have a wider range of salary possibilities). Private universities usually pay higher salaries than public, I think. This is widely varying.
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Physics
Richard Anantua: There is a greatly expanding wealth of astrophysical data recently coming to light from state-of-the-art instruments such as the Event Horizon Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Gravitational waves have also been detected a decade ago by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory. With these recent developments we can now probe the universe in unprecedented ways.
Richard Anantua: An Astrophysicist uses observational instruments or mathematical models to enhance our understanding of systems found (on various scales) throughout the Observable Universe. As a theoretical astrophysicist who studies black holes, I use the output of simulations on a daily basis to compare plasma physics models to the latest image observations around the supermassive black holes M87* and Sgr A*
Richard Anantua: An Astrophysicist uses observational instruments or mathematical models to enhance our understanding of systems found (on various scales) throughout the Observable Universe. As a theoretical astrophysicist who studies black holes, I use the output of simulations on a daily basis to compare plasma physics models to the latest image observations around the supermassive black holes M87* and Sgr A*