Science
What you can do with Astronomy and Astrophysics
Stars, planets and the physics of the universe.
- Careers
- 3
- Early career
- $67,000
- Mid-career
- $105,000
- Growing fast
- 0 of 3
How these numbers work: A major does not have its own salary. Early and mid-career pay is what people who hold this degree earn at the start of their careers and midway through them. Career pay comes from the 3 careers an Astronomy and Astrophysics degree commonly leads to, and counts everyone in those jobs, including people who have been doing them for thirty years. The two answer different questions, which is why they do not match.
The New York Fed does not report Astronomy and Astrophysics on its own. Its early and mid-career figures here are for Physics, the broader group it places this major in.
67% of people with this degree go on to a graduate degree, so the higher-paying careers below usually mean more school after the bachelor's.
0 of 3 careers this degree leads to are projected to grow faster than average from 2024 to 2034.
Set on Astronomy and Astrophysics?
Save it as your major and PlanexAI will shape your dashboard, career matches, and study plan around it.
3 careers this degree leads to
Physicist
$172,250Research how matter and energy behave, powering everything from quantum computing to medical imaging.
- Middle half of workers
- $111,720 to $222,760
- Growth
- About average
- Openings a year
- 1,700
Work-life60Remote68- Theoretical Modeling
- Experimental Design
- Mathematics
- Programming
Natural Sciences Manager
$167,220Lead research teams and R&D programs, translating between the lab and the organization.
- Middle half of workers
- $119,430 to $221,540
- Growth
- About average
- Openings a year
- 8,500
Work-life59Remote66- Research Program Management
- Scientific Judgment
- Budgeting
- Team Leadership
Astronomer
$128,820Study stars, planets and the universe through observation, theory and computation.
- Middle half of workers
- $99,920 to $166,000
- Growth
- Slower than average
- Openings a year
- 100
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Programming
- Research
Related majors
Set on Astronomy and Astrophysics?
Save it as your major and PlanexAI will shape your dashboard, career matches, and study plan around it.
Where these pay figures come from
Early and mid-career pay is the median annual wage of full-time workers who hold a bachelor's degree in that major, ages 22 to 27 and ages 35 to 45, from 2024 data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (IPUMS). Published as Outcomes by Major by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.