What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Astronomers in the U.S. earn more than $128,820 a year — the middle 80% land between $78,010 and $195,190. About 2,120 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Astronomers”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$128,820typical pay / year
2,120people in this work
$195,190+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing1
Study the formation of galaxies
+Measure and model the stellar mass and gas distribution in the deep field images, combine with my…
Study the formation of galaxies
+Measure and model the stellar mass and gas distribution in the deep field images, combine with my spectroscopic redshifts, run the population fitting until the galaxy merger fraction converges, and produce a draft methods section with figures for internal review by Thursday.
The tools that do the workPythonjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Keeping the record3
Present research at conferences
+Prepare a 12‑minute conference talk summarising the new galaxy growth rates, assemble three illustrative…
Present research at conferences
+Prepare a 12‑minute conference talk summarising the new galaxy growth rates, assemble three illustrative figures with uncertainties and a one‑page takeaway slide for panel discussion, then email the talk to my coauthor Dr. Alvarez for comments by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Work with space engineers and data analysts
+Draft a concise technical brief for the engineering and data teams listing the pipeline inputs, expected data…
Work with space engineers and data analysts
+Draft a concise technical brief for the engineering and data teams listing the pipeline inputs, expected data rates, calibration steps, and three unresolved anomalies in the latest run, request a coordination meeting next Wednesday and attach the sample light curves.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordPythonESCOjob descriptions
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Teach astronomy or astrophysics.
+Create a 75-minute undergraduate lecture on observational techniques in astronomy, include one live demo…
Teach astronomy or astrophysics.
+Create a 75-minute undergraduate lecture on observational techniques in astronomy, include one live demo reducing an imaging dataset, a graded take-home observing assignment, and post the lecture notes and reduction script by Monday morning.
The tools that do the workPythonMicrosoft PowerPointESCOjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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The daily work16
Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers.
+Analyse the night's reduced spectra and imaging time series, quantify signal-to-noise and false-alarm…
Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers.
+Analyse the night's reduced spectra and imaging time series, quantify signal-to-noise and false-alarm probability for the candidate transient, compare to archival lightcurves, and prepare a one-page significance assessment for the observing board by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workPythonO*NET
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Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues.
+Review Maya and Arun's draft observing proposals and their preliminary reductions, give written feedback on…
Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues.
+Review Maya and Arun's draft observing proposals and their preliminary reductions, give written feedback on methodology and statistical treatment, schedule two troubleshooting meetings next week, and mark where each must tighten error analysis before the thesis committee review.
The tools that do the workPythonO*NET
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Raise funds for scientific research.
+Draft a two-page case for support describing last year's results, the proposed instrumentation upgrade,…
Raise funds for scientific research.
+Draft a two-page case for support describing last year's results, the proposed instrumentation upgrade, expected science return, and a detailed budget justification to send to the university research office and two targeted foundations by the 25th.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Serve on professional panels and committees.
+Prepare concise talking points and a one-page briefing with recent metrics and conflict-of-interest…
Serve on professional panels and committees.
+Prepare concise talking points and a one-page briefing with recent metrics and conflict-of-interest disclosures for the selection committee, circulate them to panel members and the department chair two days before the meeting, and track RSVPs.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointO*NET
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Conduct question-and-answer presentations on astronomy topics with public audiences.
+Assemble a 45-minute Q&A plan: five topical slide prompts, expected public questions with brief…
Conduct question-and-answer presentations on astronomy topics with public audiences.
+Assemble a 45-minute Q&A plan: five topical slide prompts, expected public questions with brief plain-language answers, and two live demonstration outlines, then send the run sheet and speaker notes to outreach by Thursday evening.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointO*NET
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Direct the operations of a planetarium.
+Update the planetarium's monthly schedule, confirm volunteer ushers and the dome technician for weekend…
Direct the operations of a planetarium.
+Update the planetarium's monthly schedule, confirm volunteer ushers and the dome technician for weekend shows, order replacement filters listed in inventory, and publish the revised visitor-facing program by Friday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Perform theoretical research
+Draft a theory paper testing whether turbulence-driven accretion can explain the observed spectral slopes in…
Perform theoretical research
+Draft a theory paper testing whether turbulence-driven accretion can explain the observed spectral slopes in the recent low-mass protostar sample, run the analytical derivations, produce figures of predicted spectra, and list the assumptions and observational tests needed.
The tools that do the workPythonjob descriptions
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Conduct observational research
+Schedule and execute a three-night run to obtain multiband time-series photometry of HAT-P-32, calibrate the…
Conduct observational research
+Schedule and execute a three-night run to obtain multiband time-series photometry of HAT-P-32, calibrate the frames, produce differential light curves, estimate seeing and extinction effects, and deliver a vetted dataset ready for period analysis.
The tools that do the workLinuxPythonjob descriptions
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Create computer models of space phenomena
+Build and validate a hydrodynamic model of a magnetised protoplanetary disk that reproduces the observed gap…
Create computer models of space phenomena
+Build and validate a hydrodynamic model of a magnetised protoplanetary disk that reproduces the observed gap widths, run parameter sweeps to constrain viscosity and magnetic field strength, and export simulated surface density maps for comparison with ALMA data.
The tools that do the workC++Pythonjob descriptions
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Develop software to interpret satellite data
+Design and implement a pipeline to ingest the new satellite telemetry, decode instrument headers, apply…
Develop software to interpret satellite data
+Design and implement a pipeline to ingest the new satellite telemetry, decode instrument headers, apply calibration tables, flag bad channels, and produce science-ready time-ordered data with provenance for the archive.
The tools that do the workPythonSQLjob descriptions
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Publish research articles
+Prepare the manuscript of our radial-velocity survey: assemble methods, results, tables of orbital fits, make…
Publish research articles
+Prepare the manuscript of our radial-velocity survey: assemble methods, results, tables of orbital fits, make uniform figures, run a final statistics check on false alarm probabilities, and format the submission-ready PDF with cover letter to the journal.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordPythonjob descriptions
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Collect electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves, or particles from celestial objects
+Plan and carry out observations to collect radio to X-ray fluxes and gravitational-wave alerts for the target…
Collect electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves, or particles from celestial objects
+Plan and carry out observations to collect radio to X-ray fluxes and gravitational-wave alerts for the target neutron star merger, record detector settings and timestamps, calibrate instrument responses, and deliver a combined dataset with error budgets for multi-messenger analysis.
The tools that do the workLinuxPythonWikipedia
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Conduct photometry to measure light flux from objects
+Measure calibrated instrumental fluxes for the target list from last night’s CCD frames: subtract bias and…
Conduct photometry to measure light flux from objects
+Measure calibrated instrumental fluxes for the target list from last night’s CCD frames: subtract bias and dark, apply flat-field, perform aperture photometry with sky annulus set to match seeing, convert to calibrated magnitudes using the nightly standards table and record uncertainties.
The tools that do the workPythonWikipedia
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Research the formation, structures, properties, and development of interstellar matter
+Compile and model column density, temperature and velocity dispersion for the mapped molecular cloud: ingest…
Research the formation, structures, properties, and development of interstellar matter
+Compile and model column density, temperature and velocity dispersion for the mapped molecular cloud: ingest calibrated spectral cubes, fit line profiles across the field, map derived physical parameters, and produce a short results table with errors for draft paper figures.
The tools that do the workPythonESCO
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Carry out scientific research in observatory
+Plan and execute the upcoming observing run: select targets with required SNR, create exposure sequences…
Carry out scientific research in observatory
+Plan and execute the upcoming observing run: select targets with required SNR, create exposure sequences accounting for airmass and moon phase, write observing scripts for the night, and log calibration exposures and any anomalies in the run notebook.
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Gather experimental data
+Acquire raw observational data for program 2026A: follow the approved target list, confirm instrument…
Gather experimental data
+Acquire raw observational data for program 2026A: follow the approved target list, confirm instrument configuration before each exposure, record environmental conditions and guider performance, verify data integrity on-disk and flag any corrupted frames immediately.
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Says who?
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Activities this job lives in
The human activities behind the tasks — each with its honest AI ceiling.
The logs, files & records this job keeps
Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.
Related careers
Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.
The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses