I,m a teenager interested in astronomy as a career and i would just like to say im so happy i found your website it has really helped me understand more of what i need to do to get a career in astronomy. and i would just like to ask if you would put out another podcast or send me an email that would let me know a little more about scholarships and internships and things of that nature so i can have an advantage in this as a career path. I would be very thankfull if you would post something of that nature so I would love to know how things like amateur astronomy could help me into my career of choice.

Cheers,
Doug

You see, I have a teenage daughter, a sophomore in high school, who is taking her first physics class and loving it. After her first week in the cass she declared she wanted to become a theoretical physicist. We recently watched an episode of "The Universe" on the History Channel called "Beyond the Big Bang" and that's when she said that a cosmologist is what she wants to be. Her physics teacher, a member of the local astronomical society, invited us to a public lecture by Mike Brown from CalTech on his discoveries that led to the reclassification of Pluto. Afterwards we contacted Dr. Brown by e-mail and as part of her career exploration hours for Girl Scouts she will be shadowing him for a day at his work.

We are just beginning the college quest and she is already beginning to set her sights on a grad program in astrophysics/cosmology, probably preceded by a degree in physics or math. So you can imagine how incredibly timely this podcast episode was! Last night as we drove to school to pick up her scores on the recent PSAT test, she declared her goal to be to find out what caused the Big Bang and, thus, win the Nobel Prize. I suggested for that, she might want to listen to subsequent episode of Astronomy Cast on how to win the trip to Sweden.

Thanx, Fraser and Pamela, for your entertaining/informative show. You're helping a father and astronomy newby ride on is own daughter's coat tails. See you in Stockholm in about 20 years!

I truly liked this episode. As a 50 something software engineer I reconnected with my childhood interest in astronomy about a decade ago. Since then I've retaken all the math and physics I forgot from years past, and will finish my Masters in astronomy from James Cook University this summer. Hopefully I'll get to teach an evening Astro 101 class at the local community college where I volunteer at the observatory. Like you, Pamela, I really enjoy the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) aspect of astronomy. What a great tool to get folks excited about science!

Another career opportunity for those who who like science and education is secondary physics teaching. There is a tremendous demand, and you get the better students by default. That is something I've investigated.

Thanks for all your work with Astronomy Cast. You do a wonderful job of making it all understandable.

Joe K

What a great podcast production you've created here! I just recently discovered it on iTunes, and now anxiously await each week's edition. Regarding careers in astronomy, I am a volunteer with Project ASTRO (http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astro/project_astro.html) which is a way to pair up with a local school teacher and help in educating and inspiring kids. My "day job" is running a consulting firm but astronomy has always been my passion, if not career. Project ASTRO is a great vehicle to share this passion without being a professional astronomer necessarily.

Sridhar