Salary or Remuneration of an Astronomer

Salary of an Astronomer depends on various factors such as years of experience, geographical location, the industry that they work in etc. Below are given a few scenarios where the salary differs according to the variables.

• Average salary of an Astronomer is between the range of $ 57,790 and $ 126,250 and the hourly wage rate is between $ $ 27.78 and $ 60.70.

Average Salary by Years of Experience

• Average salary of an Astronomer having an experience of five to nine years is between the range of $ 35,375 and $ 85,459.
• Average salary of an Astronomer having an experience of ten to nineteen years is between the range of $ 50,491 and $ 131,863.
• Average salary of an Astronomer having an experience of twenty years and more is between the range of $ 64,500 and $ 136,000.

Average Salary by Industry

• Colleges, Universities and Professional schools pay Astronomer a hourly mean wage of $ 35.16 and a annual mean wage of $ 73,130.
• Scientific Research and Development Services pay Astronomer a hourly mean wage of $ 47.02 and annual mean wage of $ 97,800.
• Federal Executive Branch pay Astronomer a hourly mean wage of $ 63.46 and a annual mean wage of $ 132,010.

Average Salary by State

• In the State of California an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage of $ 38.30 and an annual mean wage of $ 79,670.
• In the State of Arizona an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage rate of $ 40.30 and an annual mean wage of $ 83,470.
• In the State of Massachusetts an Astronomer earns an hourly wage rate of $ 52.72 and an annual wage of $ 109,670.

Average Salary According to Metropolitan Areas

• In the metropolitan area of Washington – Arlington – Alexandria, DC – VA – MD – WV Metropolitan Division an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage of $ 57.37 and an annual mean salary of $ 19,330.
• In the metropolitan area of Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage of $ 36.00 and an annual mean wage of $ 74,880.
• In the metropolitan area of Boston – Cambridge – Quincy, MA NECTA Division an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage of $ 53.37 and an annual mean wage of $ 111,000.
• In the metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona an Astronomer earns an hourly mean wage rate of $ 39.31 and an annual mean wage of $ 81,760.

The profession of astronomy is largely populated by males who comprise 89% and the females in comparison to them are only 11%. They are largely covered by the common health benefits and 88% said that they receive medical benefits, 63% said that they receive dental benefits and 58% said that the receive benefits for vision correction. 8% of the population of Astronomer said that they did not receive any health benefits.

To get in this profession one needs a lot of hard work and good fortune.

Skills Needed for the Job

Other than the education that is required by an Astronomer there are certain skills and abilities also which an Astronomer should have to be successful.

• An Astronomer should have excellent observation skills so that he can make sense out of what they see.
• They must have an interest and aptitude for maths, basic science and physics.
• They must be analytical, logical and be capable of sound reasoning.
• Must be a computer literate as they have to work with the computers a lot for work such as transferring data and also interpreting and analysing astronomic data and images, editing files etc.
• Astronomer should be comfortable public speakers and also have good writing skills in order to publish articles in scientific journals.

Duties and Responsibilities

What an Astronomer does has an effect on various studies that are conducted all round the world. Their findings and analysis opens new vistas on how we understand the universe and all of its components. Many people do not know what an Astronomer does and to explain this, duties and responsibilities of an Astronomer are enumerated below.

• Astronomer study heavenly bodies and other phenomena in the universe and based on this study certain inferences based in terms of basic physical laws are made which help in the research of basic scientific knowledge or to solve practical problems e.g. navigation.
• Observes these celestial phenomena with the use of ground based or space based telescopes, cameras, instruments etc.
• They calculate the orbit and position of the sun, moon, planets, stars, nebulae and galaxies and determine the shapes, size, spectra, brightness and their movements.
• Based on their observations or observations of other Astronomer they write theories and scientific papers.
• They are into the study and research of structure, extent and evolution of stars, stellar systems and the universe.
• They deliver lectures on astronomy and astrophysics and conduct workshops and seminars for those interested in astronomy.
• They raise funds for their scientific research.
• They help in the design and develop new electronic, optical or mechanical instruments and software for research in astronomy.
• In museums with planetariums they develop astronomy related programs for the general public.

Educational Requirements

This is a field of highly trained and educated people and requires a background in physics and mathematics which is very much essential. This is a researchers’ job, unless one is working in a planetarium and it needs higher qualifications to get into. There are very few professional Astronomer in the United States and the American Astronomical Society, which is the major professional Astronomer society in North America and has around 7,700 members inclusive of scientists from other fields such as physics, geology and engineering whose research are closely related to astronomy. So the field is not only highly competitive but also requires grit and determination and a little bit of luck also to get accepted.

• A four year undergraduate degree in physics is required to apply for a graduate degree in astronomy, astrophysics or physics.
• Undergraduate degree offer courses in natural science and mathematics.
• The physics course teaches subjects such as thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics, atomic physics, and quantum mechanics.
• In mathematics one may not have to take the topology courses , but the ones on calculus and advanced courses on mathematics for physicists and engineers are necessary.
• A two to three years graduate program with physics as a major is a must and a double major or minor in mathematics and/or astronomy will be to the advantage. Taking physics is a must if you want to do doctorate in astronomy.
• There are about 75 universities that offer degrees in astronomy through physics or astronomy or a combination of the two.
• Half of these are through the combination of physics and astronomy and the other half impart education in astronomy alone.
• A master’s degree is not enough for most basic research programs and one can only hope to get a job in private industry jobs that would involve applied research or product development.
• A Ph.D doctorate is the minimum required for basic research in industry, a faculty position, and if looking out for a managerial post. This program will take five to six years to complete.
• There is stiff competition to enter the doctoral programs as there are only about 40 such programs in the United States.
• A master’s degree in astronomy may perhaps be enough to join a museum in their planetarium.

About Astronomers

There are millions and billions and trillions of celestial bodies above our atmosphere and humankind has always been curious about these celestial bodies. Astronomy is the study of these celestial bodies which are outside of our atmosphere and to learn about its physical and chemical properties. An Astronomer observes and interprets these phenomena in the sky by way of various instruments. The Astronomer of today or as in modern terms an astrophysicist takes help of physics and mathematics to research the basic nature of the universe and its mechanism and working which includes the easily discernable sun, moon, stars, planets and galaxies. Astronomy uses such a big part of physics that it is sometimes termed as a sub-field of physics.

The instruments which are used by an Astronomer to observe these celestial bodies are high end telescopes, spectrometers, photometers, micrometers, radiometers and cameras to learn about their color, size, wavelengths and orbits. They also monitor their movement details and brightness.

Mostly all the Astronomer are involved in research. Some dabble in the theory of evolution and study how and when these astronomical objects were formed. While others, analyze the massive data which is collected by observatories and satellites and write about their findings in reports and scientific papers. Astronomer work as a team and make use of the huge ground based or space based telescope. But the use of these optical telescopes, radio telescopes etc. are used by them for observation only for a few weeks each year. The modern Astronomer make use of the charge coupled device camera which records a long deep exposure for a more sensitive image rather than peer at the dark sky through the night. Though mostly all work as research scientists, they may also have other duties such as teaching, building instruments or working with administrators in the daily working of an observatory.

All their work helps in the solving of problems in navigation, space flight, and satellite communications. They work in the development of instruments and techniques which is used to observe and collect astronomical data. A few of them work in museums with planetariums. They plan and devise new programs and modify the older ones which are presented to the public. They could also direct planetarium operations.