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/sci/ - Science & Math


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2402472 No.2402472 [Reply] [Original]

What does it take to become an respected astronomer if someone is 20 years old, barely passed high school, do to a general "fuck you school" attitude, and wasted a year in community college taking architecture courses.

Or some sort of researcher in a field that has potential to advance mankind...

>> No.2402574

dicks

>> No.2402596

effort?

>> No.2402598

I would say 5 years of studying and another 5 years of practicing before you're there.

However, if you are 20 atm you do have the time allright.

>> No.2402607

Just start putting in effort? Get motivated? You're nowhere near hopeless in that situation, and look how young you are! Who can put much weight on the shoulders of someone who cannot even legally drink?

>> No.2402615
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2402615

Know thyself, you must, young Padwan.

Through all things, the Force flows, but only those who train with dedication can master it. Useless, much of your training will appear, but discourage you it must not. Humble beginnings, any great tower must have. Smoother, the climb becomes as you carry stones higher.

>> No.2402618
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2402618

>>2402615
For your feet, always up, always harder, but curving, your path is. Return then, do you, to the beginnings. A great ring, have you made, and no work, have you done.

>> No.2402633

prove nibiru or whatever

world kaos

shit dont matter

>> No.2402752

That is a multifaceted question, but I will try to do my best explaining the process from where you stand now. one of the first things that you will need to look is are: what level of mathematical maturity do you posses? By this I mean what was the last math class that you took, and understood, it could have been precalc, or it could have been algebra.

Another consideration is: how much are you willing to spend on an education? If you are any less than one hundred percent sure that you want to do this even if you are only 99.99% sure, then maybe you should start by seeing what your local community college offers for physics and math classes. Any math course that you can handle and get a good grade in (not less than B for now) that is listed as a prerequisite for calculus is a good class for you to take, I don't think that many community colleges go above calc II so at that point you would definitely know if it is for you or not.

Then would come finding the right college for you. Many Colleges and universities do not offer an entire major in astronomy, out of all of the colleges and universities only 94 offer either astronomy or astrophysics as an undergraduate major but almost every institution offers a physics major (there are over 800 of them) and the majority of physics departments offer coursework in astronomy or astrophysics. Thing to consider are cost, location, and departmental strengths. If you can't afford Brown or MIT (then you are like the rest of us) that is fine, just excel in your undergrad course work so that you can get a get into a good grad school [more about that later]. You need to decide if you want to live at home, or at you're college. If you live at home, then it is less expensive (a whole lot less expensive.) Also be sure to look into what the physics department of college that you are looking at is know for. if it is know to have an amazing acoustics concentration, then it might not be the best for you.

con't

>> No.2402761
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2402761

>>2402618
Flipped the shit out, did Newton, when Robert Hooke corrected his orbital path drawing. Hope remains, as long as life remains. A machine, you must not become.
>>2402618
Of the troll side, you must be wary.

>> No.2402762

con't
Be sure to graduate with not to much less than a 3.5 to give yourself the competitive edge that you might be seen as lacking coming from a community college. Graduate Schools can be selective, especially if they are the good ones but don't let this discourage you! If you want to be an astronomer then you can I believe in you! Grad School is where you will really want to focus in on the astronomy now that you have four years of physics and math as a background here you should go for somewhere offering an astronomy degree. If you feel really confident in yourself, you can apply for a Ph.D program right out of your undergrad years, but most people get a master's degree first. The master's degree is usually 2 years, and the Ph.D is between 4 and 6 depending on where you go and how quickly you work through the research and courses. I hope that if you really like astronomy enough to want to become a respected astronomer the length of time that you need to spend in school won't discourage you, if it is what you are really into, the it will be immensely interesting from the time that you start working on your Ph.D onward. At this point cost become less of an issue, because if you do well enough at the undergraduate level, and go to a highly respected grad school, you should get stipends equal to the cost of tuition, fees, books, a minimum-wage job, yes you can get paid to go to free Harvard. You should expect to quit any job that you may have now though, because they reason that if they give you that stipend then you won't need to work outside of research, and you can be a T.A.

con't

>> No.2402766

con't

Ok so that was fun you made it out of Grad school horray! This may be your third or fourth graduation ceremony, but this time you get to wear the really really fancy robe! Time to get to work most famous astronomers get to be that way by having published several papers (you would have one or two at this point keep going you can do it!) then writing a book explaining it all in simple terms so the rest of us understand the crazy science-mumbo-jumbo-gyspy-talk that you have devoted your life to it is important that you keep the math in this book to a bare minimum people don't seem to like math as much as scientists do. Remember too keep up the research and continue publishing papers, if any new major discovery comes bout then you might want to write another book to keep yourself in the public eye.

Any questions?

>> No.2402782
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2402782

At the rate medical technology is advancing, your life expectancy is very very high. Liek over 9000 years. You have a long time to figure things out.

Chill, enjoy the ride, and don't stop learning. I'm in your situation but I'm 23, if that helps you feel better.

>> No.2402975

>>2402782

Ditto, I'm 22, presently senior towards B.A. in English Literature (I know, shut your faces), but after I graduate, I'm going to start taking classes at my local CC from Algebra II/Physics onwards unto hopefully Berkeley for an Astro-gig.

Don't listen to anyone who says it's too late. There is so much educational material available to the average chimp these days that you should have no excuse short of severe brain loss for failing at your dream.

>> No.2402982

>>2402615
you made my night

>> No.2403003

>>2402975
oh my darling

>> No.2403159

>>2403003

oh babydoll