What is a Professional Astronomer? - Part IV

So far in the what-is-a-professional-astronomer series, I've stated my assumptions about what it means to be a professional astronomer and what it takes to get there.  Cassi and I also interviewed an astrophysics grad student at Caltech and I looked into alternatives to academia if you have an astrophysics degree.  In the final segment of this assignment, I am supposed to reveal my conclusions from my investigation.

When I was writing up what my initial thoughts were on what it means to be a professional astronomer, I stated that part of the process of becoming one was being a postdoc for a few years.  I also stated that I didn't really know what a postdoc actually was.  I have a slightly clearer understanding now.  Being a postdoc does mean expanding your research a bit, and really getting the sense of what it is like to do your own research.  It also seems like an experience that lots of places, such as universities, national labs, or space industry companies, like to see on your resume.  I believe completing two postdocs is the norm, and that they can be done in different places.

I also learned something that challenged my assumptions about grad school, although this particular assumption I had not written down.  From most of the stories I have heard about grad school, it either sounds  completely unfulfilling, boring, and/or painfully difficult.  So when Kunal pretty much had only positive things to say about grad school, I was encouraged (particularly because grad school is currently my plan for the future).  He may be an exception, but that's ok.  At least I know that it is possible to create an environment in grad school in which one can be happy.

I was also surprised by Kunal's ability to not specialize too quickly.  He may once again be the exception or I may have just overestimated how much one ends up specializing in grad school.  Then again, we do have to keep in mind that Kunal is a third year grad student, so he may not be as far along in the research process as some other grad students.

I've also learned that I should take picking an adviser fairly seriously and that it is ok to keep looking for one until I find a good fit.  I guess that means I should do some research into work done at various universities before I apply to grad school.

The research I did on alternatives to academia also made me change my mind about some of my initial thoughts that I did not write down.  Specifically, that there are not very many.  Seeing that people with astrophysics degrees (and physics degrees) could have careers outside of academia relieved me.  And there were even alternatives to academia that weren't finance!  Good to know.  I also liked seeing the abundance of public science education jobs.  Knowing that space industry is also possible is reassuring as well, but I would like to know when the astrophysics majors picked up the skills needed to do some engineering.  Is it something that they took electives in while in school or do their companies expect them to learn on the job?

So besides helping clarify the steps needed to go into academia, this assignment definitely made me feel a little better about my future.  I no longer need to fear grad school and I no longer need to fear that there is a lack of alternatives to grad school.  It's a nice feeling.