head_unit
Posted:
Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:25 am
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1
Location: Los Angeles
|
|
Colleges, career, and other ramblings
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't know an exact answer to your question. However, my mother is head librarian at a gifted school, and I'm sure could find you a very good answer, so I'll ask her. I believe one of her students went to U of Wyoming to study astronomy. Another good "sky" location is Flagstaff, AZ, where a friend of mine lives. Somewhat different astronomy is conducted at the Jet Propulsion Lab here in Pasadena, and CalTech is the closest to that. I would think a VERY important factor would be to study at an instituition where you can actually do real astronomy.
Are you interested in observational astronomy? Do you want to run black hole simulations on a supercomputer? Or are you sure?
And, think carefully about astronomy (or anything else) as a career. Probably takes a masters or even Ph.D. to really get a job. Could be a lot of long cold nights, constant struggling for funding and/or tenure, and maybe not much money and a lot of student loan debt at the end. I'm not saying don't do it, it's cool, but think long and hard about what your life will REALLY be like and if that's OK. If you don't know, ask real astronomers. Maybe you should become a lawyer, or a dentist-at your age, it sounds like going to school forever, but it's just a long slog of hard work. Or maybe become a plumber-good money, no(?) loan debt.
Keep your mind open as well. In college, I put off taking statics and dynamics until my last semester. I thought it would be terrible. Actually, I got an A+ and to this day wonder if I missed another calling. Try taking different things that interest you, to get exposure early on. And who says you need to take all those general education classes early on? (OK, probably a guidance counselor, but tell them you want to try all different stuff).
If you do go into astronomy (or anything, for that matter), try to get an internship and/or study in a foreign country. Sounds daunting perhaps, but probably golden experience to fuel your career.
More after I talk to Mom...
|
|
