Crosspost: New Astronomy Bachelors: What Comes Next

Today's crosspost features a report from AIP's Bachelor's Degree Recipient Follow-Up Survey. The survey covered three academic years from 2021 to 2024 and summarizes the responses for astronomy bachelor's degree holders upon graduation.

The report revealed that the awarding of astronomy bachelor's degrees hit an all-time high at 982 in 2024 (most recent survey data). Of those degrees, 41% were awarded to women, and 56% of astronomy degrees were a double major, most commonly paired with physics.

Upon graduation, 51% of degree holders entered the workforce, and 42% were enrolled in a graduate program for the following winter, with 7% unemployed. Those who entered the private sector in STEM jobs drew notably higher salaries than non-STEM private sector jobs and college or university jobs.

For all insights from the New Astronomy Bachelors: What Comes Next report, visit https://www.aip.org/statistics/new-astronomy-bachelors-what-comes-next. 

Crying at Work

Time Magazine recently published an article about the benefits of crying at work.  This article resonated with me because I have cried several times in professional situations.  I cried in my thesis adviser's office when a project I had been working on for many years seemed to have failed.  I cried in my undergraduate adviser's office as I struggled to write my honors thesis and felt the deadline looming.  Most recently, I cried at work when a coworker asked about the loss of my relationship, and I was unable to stifle my emotions about it.