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Should an Aspiring Astronomer Consider Working in Other Countries?

-- | May 2, 2016

Question: Hello! My name is Tyr. I’m 17 year old from Israel and in a few months I’m going to graduate from high school. I’ve been fascinated with physics, astronomy and mathematics since I was a little boy. When I was 10, I realized Israel is not moving forward in those fields, so for the last 5 years I’ve been making my plans on moving to the U.S. where I could pursue this dream. With the coming elections, though, it would seem that NASA is going to remain very underfunded and the job pool may remain small or even shrink. I was thinking about learning German or Swedish so I can go get a job at ESA or the university in Uppsala. What are your thoughts? Do you think I should move to Europe or to the U.S., or stay in Israel altogether and hope for the best? — Tyr

Answer: It is always useful to think beyond your country of origin when it comes to careers in the sciences. Most sciences are an international endeavor, and astronomy is no exception. Many astronomers originally from one country find employment, sometimes permanent, in other countries. It is difficult to predict where one might end-up, so the best course of action is to remain open to possibilities for employment in other countries.

Jeff Mangum

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