Anyone here a physicist/astrophysicist? Jobs question

pontalpha

I've an engineering related degree but for a while now I've been thinking I'd like to go down a different route. I'm working at the moment but putting thought into saving up (for probably another couple of years) and going back to college via the mature student route looking at astrophysics. Just wondering really what the situation with employment in this area is, particularly in or around Dublin? For personal reasons I'm not sure if emmigrating is an option and working in/commutable distance from Dublin is pretty important for me.

Thanks.

fret_wimp2

I suggest you post this question in the General forum on irishAstronomy.org.

There are a number of astrophysicists on that site who are always eager and willing to help. Great bunch of guys there so be polite!

Timfy

Worth keeping an eye on the back pages of New Scientist magazine... a fair few positions are advertised there every week.

srsly78

Very few jobs in this area unless you go PhD route. I have a physics degree and use it in software/finance area. Most physics graduates don't actually work in physics, they put numerical/problemsolving skills to use elsewhere.

Even if you do go PhD route it sucks being an Irish Astrophysicist. Take the ESA for example, all jobs are doled out based on a countries contribution. Ireland contributes a tiny amount, and thus gets a tiny amount of jobs from it. The only jobs here in the field are lecturing/postgrad positions.

pontalpha

srsly78 wrote: »

Very few jobs in this area unless you go PhD route. I have a physics degree and use it in software/finance area. Most physics graduates don't actually work in physics, they put numerical/problemsolving skills to use elsewhere.

Even if you do go PhD route it sucks being an Irish Astrophysicist. Take the ESA for example, all jobs are doled out based on a countries contribution. Ireland contributes a tiny amount, and thus gets a tiny amount of jobs from it. The only jobs here in the field are lecturing/postgrad positions.

Well that's probably that knocked on the head

I would imagine lecturing jobs don't open up too often either.

Thanks for the replies.

Alun

srsly78 wrote: »

Even if you do go PhD route it sucks being an Irish Astrophysicist. Take the ESA for example, all jobs are doled out based on a countries contribution. Ireland contributes a tiny amount, and thus gets a tiny amount of jobs from it.

That's only for staff positions in ESA though, which are few and far between these days. Lots of jobs are contracted out and then the only relevant thing is the nationality of the company, not the individual. I worked at ESOC for a while and the good people there just hopped from company to company as contracts ended and new ones were granted depending on what country was the flavour of the month, contributions wise.