Is it worth becoming an astronomer with the debt that comes after it?

I worked my way through college and had a hard time choosing a major. I was in Physics, Geology and Astronomy. I had to drop out for a year and a half to work up some more tuition, but I went back to finish a degree. I took one course in Architecture and I was fascinated, but it would have meant three more years of course work. So, I settled for the quickest way out and got a Bachelor's in Astronomy. As I remember, that year there were about 60 vacancies for Astronomers and hundreds of PhDs graduating. I had wanted to be Carl Sagan, you see, but it turned out they already had one. ;-)

So, I went into Geophysics and had a good career, until now.

You can be an astronomer and contribute to the field as an amateur. Lots of comets were discovered by amateurs and they do things like occultation timing and near Earth object spotting. There was a bright naked-eye comet called Hale-Bopp that I observed many times in the late 90s. It was named for its co-discoverers (Alan Hale* and Thomas Bopp), both of whom were amateur astronomers.

*This Alan Hale was NOT the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island ;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp

Look around and find a local astronomy club and get started right now. They welcome beginners and generally have club telescopes that members can use after some orientation. Given that start, you may want to continue, but the competition is fierce as a professional. I would advise you to give Architecture a chance as well. There are what they call survey courses (one class per week) that you can take in the freshman and sophomore years to get a feel for various subjects.

If you want to work your way through college, Welding is what I’d recommend. Delivery Driving doesn’t pay much and Bartending has occupational hazards.

Steve Campbell

May I suggest you generalize your goal? At this point, focus on being a scientist, rather than an astronomer. (Astronomy is a discipline of science, just as planetary astronomy and cosmology are subdisciplines of astronomy.)

How do you focus on being a scientist?

(1) embrace mystery. Real science is not memorizing formulas, it's looking for things you don't understand and trying to understand them. You need the formulas and facts, but only because they help you know what you don't know. All of science is about standing on the shoulders of tall people so you can see farther than they could. The formulas your teachers ask you to learn are the way you stand on those shoulders.

If your high school is typical, your science classes won't do much to offer that way of thinking about the universe. So do it yourself.

Learn the scientific method: Observe, speculate, prove or disprove, rinse, repeat. As you observe, always ask yourself "what's surprising about this?"

(2) explore all the math you can. Take the hard classes where you risk getting a "C" rather than the ones where you're sure to get an "A". Push yourself hard in this area. Math is foundational to all science.

(3) chemistry ... what I just said. Astronomy these days IS chemistry. If you don't believe me read about spectroscopy.

(4) do you like video games? Kerbal Space Program. Don't waste your time with shoot-em-up garbage or car-theft simulators.

Look, a life in science isn't something you need permission for. It's something you do. If you're doing it you will surely find a university that will help you do it better without sinking you into debt.

Try to take a class or two for high-schoolers at Carnegie Mellon. They probably have some good stuff, and I bet you can get help paying for it. You'll get to know some interesting people.