Pay for astronomers varies according to qualifications and experience.

• With a PhD (but without postdoctoral experience) you can expect a starting salary of between $50,000 and $55,000 a year.
• With a PhD and some postdoctoral or work experience you could earn $60,000 to 80,000.
• With several years' experience and increased performance and responsibility, pay could rise to about $100,000 a year. This depends on how well you perform, for example, publishing scientific papers, reports or books, and securing research funding.
• Professors at universities could earn up to $150,000.

Postdoctoral fellows earn between $50,000 and $55,000 a year. Pay is fixed for the term of the fellowship, which is usually two to three years.

Many astronomy PhD-holders begin their careers in a postdoctoral research position, working with experienced astronomers or astrophysicists as they continue to learn about their speciality.

You may need to do two or three postdoctoral fellowships (usually lasting two or three years each) before getting a permanent teaching position.

After getting a job as a junior lecturer at a university, you could move up gradually through seven or eight levels from lecturer through to professor. Promotion criteria include publication of scientific papers or books, and gaining research funding.