30yo CS Masters Student existential crisis - is pivoting a pipe dream?
hey gang,
looking for some guidance and a reality check - i’ve read through the wiki but wanted some more specific help
I’m 30, trans (sharing this as the wiki specifically calls out ageism and sexism), and spent a massive chunk of my 20s dealing with cancer treatment, so I’m starting a bit late on the “proper education and career” front (i think i have a pretty good excuse).
Currently i work in a devops role, i don't have a Bachelor's degree, but i landed professional entry into a Master of Computer Science. i’m one year in with a 6.3/7.0 GPA, but i am having a massive crisis of faith about my direction.
bluntly, i hate where the wider tech sector is heading. between the constant layoffs and the pressure to push corporate products that are actively making the world worse, i feel incredibly disillusioned.
About a year ago I saw Saturn through a telescope for the first time and cried, since then my passion for astro has grown - reading books and learning consumer level information as much as i can. i don’t remember having so much hope as when the Artemis mission happened - i was really inspired.
im good at swe, and its a viable, potentially well paying (if a little shaky) career but i think ive realised i want to work on something that actually fills me with joy and embraces the unknown for the betterment of all of us.
my ultimate goal would be working in computational astrophysics, observational astronomy, data science, or radio astronomy (basically not straight theoretical physics) but i need to know if this is a ridiculous idea or something semi-viable.
pros and cons of me today
- pros: i have a strong IT/Ops background and solid Python skills. im currently doing the University of Arizona 'Time and Space' course on Coursera during a mid semester break and have found the content fairly manageable so far.
- cons: my math and physics foundation is practically non-existent. my only postgrad exposure is some discrete maths and DS&A subjects in my degree. i have very low calculus or physics knowledge. i’ve purchased Carroll, Ostlie, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics and am acutely aware of how little i know (but hey i’m working through it slowly)
- other: i have EU citizenship, which might open doors overseas later especially as Aus doesn’t have a large space/research sector in comparison to elsewhere.
i’m currently considering changing my MCS (stopping at the Grad. Dip) to a Masters in Astronomy/Astrophysics, the potential courses I’ve found have pathway courses for maths/physics intros and there’s an online option that would easily work for me or i could try and get into a more challenging but better respected interstate face to face program.
Questions:
- my guess is that my background makes me non-competitive for academia, which makes working in industry/adjacent unlikely so even if i changed courses i’d still probably run into the same outcome my current masters gives me - would that be correct?
- so then is it smarter to just keep astronomy as a dream? (get a tech job to pay the bills, and just buy a nice telescope and keep up to date on literature) is a professional pivot realistic?
- instead of traditional academic research, would I be better off targeting research software engineering or high performance computing? ie, can I pivot into the infrastructure side of with a CS background and a Astronomy masters, rather than chasing a traditional PhD?
clear skies, and thank you in advance :)
juno
(also on mobile so sorry for formatting)