ASTRONOMY
Essential Skills and Qualities for Astronomy For being astronomer you must be observant and capable of making sense of what you see. Astronomers are typically good at math, very analytical, logical, and capable of sound reasoning (about science, anyway). Computer literacy has become a necessity. While not all astronomers are skilled computer programmers, all should be comfortable using a computer for editing files, transferring data across networks, and analyzing their astronomical data and images. Other valuable traits are patience and determination for sticking to a difficult problem or theory until you've seen it through - which can take years. The final product of scientific research is the dissemination of the knowledge gained, so don't overlook the importance of communication skills like effective public speaking at professional meetings and the ability to publish well written articles in scientific journals. As the field becomes more competitive, these communication skills are becoming increasingly important. |
