I’ve been doing some thinking over the past weeks about my career, and I now know that I don’t want to pursue architecture anymore. I’ve discovered that I really love learning about outer space and exploring other planets. However, I’m 24 years old and I’m not entirely sure what I should do. I’ve been looking at possibly getting a second bachelor’s degree in planetary science… more specifically from the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU. I took a vacation down there last December, and I absolutely fell in love with the area. I want to go back and take a tour of the school to get more information.
I currently work at an architecture firm in MN making decent money. I’m paying off my student loans and saving my money by living at home. I know that getting a second bachelor’s degree might not make sense financially, but I think it would be a great first step in getting into a new field that I’m truly interested in. Since ASU offers in-state tuition at a cheaper cost, I could potentially move down there and work for a year, and then start school as an in-state resident. But I also need to gain more insight into the scientific field and how I would secure a job after I graduate. My dream would be to work for NASA. I have a deep interest in space, and I’ve finally realized that it would be the most fulfilling career for me, so I want to do whatever I can to get started. I’m excited, anxious, but confused as to what I should do next.
Any information and advice would be extremely appreciated.
The first thing you should realize is that learning about outer space and planetary exploration is very different from the higher-level math and physics that you need to study astrophysics/astronomy even at the undergrad level. So the first thing to realize is - do you have a more casual interest in planetary/space science, or are you actually interested in having a career in that area?
In order to answer this question, before you consider getting any kind of second degree, consider taking a course or two. You might try a cheaper online course through Coursera or edX or something similar, or see if any of your local colleges offers a course in the area that you could take. Take what the first course in the major would be for that major (at ASU there’s a 2-semester sequence that covers the astronomy and geology necessary for majors), but also try to take an introductory physics course.
You should also consider what your career goals are. What would you like to do with the degree? You said it would be great to work at NASA, but NASA hires all kinds of people in different career fields: “scientists (of many kinds - biologists, kinesiologists, physicists, mathematicians, psychologists, etc.), engineers, IT specialists, human resources specialists, accountants, writers, technicians and many, many other kinds of people,” according to their own careers site. Can your itch be scratched by attending lectures and maybe volunteering at a museum or science center?
Second bachelor’s degrees usually aren’t all that useful, and in a lot of cases you can go ahead and get an MS as long as you’ve gotten the prerequisites in a specific field. ASU isn’t very forthcoming about specific prerequisites, but you could contact the departmental administrator in the department of astrophysics and see what kind of coursework someone without an undergraduate major in physics or the geosciences would be expected to have for admission. Alternatively, look at comparable programs to see what their requirements are.