can you have a masters degree in physics and astronomy(double major) and have a good paying job in astronomy?
i dream of becoming an astronomer, but, i want to raise kids, and don’t want them during college. if i get a P.H.D i wont get out for a while, and that will scratch my idea of a family. so i want a masters, but im not sure if you can get a good job. give me all the details!!
There’s not a lot you can do in the field of astronomy with just a masters (but you could get jobs in other fields with it, especially if the masters is in physics instead – and you’d be studying most of the same things). You could work for NASA or a national lab as a data analyst or programmer, or teach high school or community college, or maybe work for a museum, or get a job as a telescope operator at an observatory (those are usually in pretty remote spots though and require working all night). If you want to do research, you really need a PhD in the field. I know many, many astronomers who had kids while in grad school, both women and men – one of the most famous women astronomers (Vera Rubin) and her husband had 4 kids while they were both in grad school for astronomy – and all those kids grew up to be astronomers as well.