What can i do with Astrophysics degree as a career??

I have a Masters in Physics with Space Technology, and I am just (4-5 months) about to finish my PhD in Quantum Physics. One possible career would be to continue as a researcher, although ensure you have a real passion for the subject, it can get quite hard in research.

Other people I know who have an astrophysics degree have gone into banking, one now pilots 737's for easyjet, another is a teacher, another started his own job. Physicists are generally well renowned for being good at problem solving (and numbers), so lots of jobs are extremely suited.
 
You could do a PhD followed by working at anything from the Institute of Physics, Royal Society, National Physical Laboratory, CERN, JRC or any of the other respected research institutes. Loads of places if you want to stay in Physics and research :cool:
 
Thing is I really want to study astrophysics because I am fascinated by it... so I would like a career that is related to that... that is why I havnt chosen a careers im interested in first...
 
engstrom0304 said:
Thing is I really want to study astrophysics because I am fascinated by it... so I would like a career that is related to that... that is why I havnt chosen a careers im interested in first...
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Study it, get a good degree and if you still love it go for a phd, there's so many jobs you could do with that degree anyways so once you have it the worlds your oyster
 
From what I can tell people with undergraduate degrees in physics end up more or less everywhere. Just apply to jobs you like the sound of and hope for the best? :p
 
I originally did Applied Physics (clue is in my forumname!) which involved lots of electrickery, but ended up taking a job in the nuclear industry, I didn't even realise that was what I wanted to do until I did my MSc. I for one, would say it is quite early to decide what job path to take and in the mean time, do astrophysics if that is what you would like to study. Courses like that don't "tie you down" to astrophysics or nothing.

One of my physics lecturers once asked me if there was anything a physicist can't do....I'll never forget that.
 
A good thing about doing a degree that has such academic merit with it is that it will get you accepted into all sorts of jobs where employers are just looking for proof that you can learn. So aside from the typical Astrophysicist job associated with that degree, careers in management, consultancy, etc that commonly recruit from a pool of ability rather than specific capability will lap you right up.
 
I'm attempting a masters in astrophysics at the moment. They give us careers talk pretty much every couple of weeks. Surprisingly, there isn't much you can't do with a physics degree. Its a difficult and highly respected course that touches upon, if not, encompasses a lot of trades/subjects.

My advice would be don't just do it becuase it sounds cool/impressive. It is a hard degree (E.M modules are horrific). But if you really want to go for it then good stuff :)
 
In my experience, Finance or IT ... with a minority continuing on to further research.

Finance because some of the maths you should cover on the course can be used in financial modelling and hence can be useful in getting roles in that sector. IT because most Astrophysics (not to be confused with Astronomy) projects involve heavy computer usage, programming and use of large, multi-node compute clusters (probably running some flavour of Unix) ... as after all you can't easily fit a galaxy in a test tube to experiment with :)

Research places can be limited hence there can be quite a bit of competition for them.

memyselfandi (MPhys Atrophysics)

p.s. Rocket science is easy ... General Relativity and Quantum Physics really used to do my nut though ...

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I fancy boys said:
My advice would be don't just do it becuase it sounds cool/impressive. It is a hard degree (E.M modules are horrific). But if you really want to go for it then good stuff :)
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I'd agree with this ... Astrophysics isn't a handful of hours a week and doss around drinking type degree if you want to be able to get a good grade.
 
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