FAQ / tips / resources for students
In this page, you can find some general information and tips related to space careers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Scroll down to see information related to ESA.
Scroll down to see information related to ESA.
- How to become an astrophysicist?
- I wrote an e-book on my journey of becoming an astrophysicist through personal recollections, lessons learned, and practical tips. At the same time, it's an informational read for anyone interested in space with plenty of astronomy facts woven into the story. Find it here: Chasing Space Dreams: Lessons From My Path in Astrophysics.
- Another recommendation is this page with lots of advice by Katie Mack: https://www.astrokatie.com/solicited-advice
- This post by Yvette Cendes is also insightful and covers ways to get into astronomy, job prospects, PhD.
- My field/major is x. Can I work with space?
The good news is that many fields connect to space.
Here are some examples of STEM fields besides astronomy and astrophysics:
Chemistry -> Astrochemistry
Study of chemical processes in interstellar space, and study of elements in objects such as comets.
Biology -> Astrobiology
Study of the origins of life and the search for life beyond Earth.
Geology -> Planetary science
Study of the geology of objects such as planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, meteorites.
Medicine -> Space medicine
Includes studying the challenges of the space environment and the physiological consequences it has on the human body.
Psychology
Research on human behavior in space, behavioral effects of high-stress conditions, conducting relevant experiments.
Computer science/software engineering
Essential to technical aspects of space missions.
Aerospace engineering
Includes many subfields of engineering related to aircraft, and spacecraft. See Wiki's List of aerospace engineering topics.
You could also look up space law, and space architecture.
It can be useful to search [your field] + space applications, e.g., “engineering space applications”.
- How can I do something at ESA?
To learn about ESA’s opportunities, go to esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA, plus see their LinkedIn page.
See more information on ESA below.
Note that applying to opportunities on ESA’s homepage requires to be of one of ESA’s member state nationality.
However, any nationality can apply to contractor jobs, which are listed on LinkedIn. - Is coding necessary to know as an astrophysicist?
I do think so, since projects where coding is not used is rather an exception. I recommend taking coding courses during your university studies, or learning with online courses.
See Astroniz YouTube channel for Python and Machine Learning tutorials with a connection to space science: these videos give a good idea of problems that benefit from coding. - Jobs/salaries
If you want to learn about opportunities in astrophysics in general/see examples of jobs and their salary, I recommend browsing positions on this page: jobregister.aas.org
- Universities in Europe
University admissions and applications are specific for each university in a different country. Universities have pages for international students on their websites with explanations.
ESA
Opportunities at ESA start from the master's level:
Anyone from ESA member states and cooperating members can apply.
Member states: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Associate Members: Latvia, Lithuania.
Cooperation Agreements: Canada, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia.
You can read more about the opportunities at ESA’s career page.
My advice for applicants
Opportunities at ESA start from the master's level:
- Internships can be carried out during master’s studies. Students work on projects for 3-6 months (duration depends on the project).
- For master’s graduates, there are the Graduate Trainee positions (see below).
- For those with PhDs, there are research fellowships.
Anyone from ESA member states and cooperating members can apply.
Member states: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Associate Members: Latvia, Lithuania.
Cooperation Agreements: Canada, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia.
You can read more about the opportunities at ESA’s career page.
My advice for applicants
- When applying to a project, it helps to have some sort of prior connection with the project’s topic. For example, I applied to a position about micrometeoroids impacting the Gaia space telescope and my master's research project was related to Gaia's astrometry.
- Check the requirements in the advertisement, and give examples of how you meet these requirements in the cover letter.
- Try to get prior international experience that proves you are capable of working in such an environment (int'l summer schools and workshops, semester abroad/studies abroad, working on a project within an int'l team).
Excerpts from an ESA interview about my time as a YGT (known as EGT since 2025)
2021
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1. Hello Mari-Liis, to kick off, tell us what you do at ESA
The goal of this YGT project is to study the space environment where Gaia operates. Gaia is a space telescope that has observed nearly two billion stars, but we can also use it to collect other types of data. I'm advised by Dr. Jos de Bruijne, who has been working on the Gaia mission since 2002! As the first part of this project, I analyse how smoothly Gaia rotates in order to find out when tiny, rocky particles called micrometeoroids have hit it. These particles are smaller than a grain of sand, but Gaia’s measurements are so precise that they can reveal when the spacecraft’s rotation changes by as little as 0.001%! Still, their appearance in the data is extremely tricky to uncover and this calls for methods like machine learning. The second part of the project aims to trace back properties of the impacting particles such as mass and velocity, and pin down their statistics. I combine the spacecraft’s geometry and properties with a model of the expected number of micrometeoroids per year, and simulate millions of particle impacts. A comparison between the simulation and measurements might allow us to improve the model. Knowing this particle occurrence tells us more about how cosmic dust is distributed in the solar system. Also, it’s important to know what kind of conditions a spacecraft will have to endure once ‘parked’ in space in the same spot as Gaia, a special gravitational balance point called the Lagrange 2 point. Once concluded, our work will be particularly useful for missions to the Lagrange 2 point. |
At ESA-ESTEC Wormhole (the Space Science Faculty's common room).
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2. What did you study?
My bachelor’s degree is in physics from the University of Tartu, Estonia, and I followed this with a master’s degree in space science from University of Liège, Belgium. During my studies, I was involved with a variety of projects like CubeSat engineering, observations with ground-based telescopes and exoplanet simulations.
3. Have you always been passionate about space?
No, space became my thing when I was about 16. Becoming a scientist had never occurred to me before that. So if any readers are considering a career in this field, don’t worry if you haven’t always been obsessed with astrophysics. You don't have to be a maths or physics wizard from the very start. It can be scary in the beginning of university studies, but it gets a bit easier every day.
4. What’s your advice to someone who would like to apply?
First, definitely apply! The application procedure itself makes you assess your experience and goals, and it can give you more clarity about what exactly you want to do. For your cover letter, think about distinctive experiences or qualities that would help you work on the project.
For the interview, prepare to answer very technical questions but don’t forget about what ESA does on a wider scale. If your project is about astrophysics, be informed about missions in other areas, such as Earth observation, and the other way around.
Memorable moments from the YGT time
For example, during my first months I had the opportunity to visit ESA’s Astronomy Centre in Spain as part of an annual science conference. We also headed to the deep space antenna that towers over the hills in Cebreros, and communicates with Gaia and other missions. Seeing jaw-dropping facilities like this and meeting people from all phases of mission development has shown me the incredible efforts that go into space exploration.
I appreciate sharing these insights with others, so another memorable opportunity was introducing our missions at the 2019 ESTEC Open Day in the Netherlands to over 9 000 visitors.
And there’s the community. Along with other YGTs, we shared the experience of coming to a new country and a unique work environment. My advisor and team made me feel welcome here right away.
My bachelor’s degree is in physics from the University of Tartu, Estonia, and I followed this with a master’s degree in space science from University of Liège, Belgium. During my studies, I was involved with a variety of projects like CubeSat engineering, observations with ground-based telescopes and exoplanet simulations.
3. Have you always been passionate about space?
No, space became my thing when I was about 16. Becoming a scientist had never occurred to me before that. So if any readers are considering a career in this field, don’t worry if you haven’t always been obsessed with astrophysics. You don't have to be a maths or physics wizard from the very start. It can be scary in the beginning of university studies, but it gets a bit easier every day.
4. What’s your advice to someone who would like to apply?
First, definitely apply! The application procedure itself makes you assess your experience and goals, and it can give you more clarity about what exactly you want to do. For your cover letter, think about distinctive experiences or qualities that would help you work on the project.
For the interview, prepare to answer very technical questions but don’t forget about what ESA does on a wider scale. If your project is about astrophysics, be informed about missions in other areas, such as Earth observation, and the other way around.
Memorable moments from the YGT time
For example, during my first months I had the opportunity to visit ESA’s Astronomy Centre in Spain as part of an annual science conference. We also headed to the deep space antenna that towers over the hills in Cebreros, and communicates with Gaia and other missions. Seeing jaw-dropping facilities like this and meeting people from all phases of mission development has shown me the incredible efforts that go into space exploration.
I appreciate sharing these insights with others, so another memorable opportunity was introducing our missions at the 2019 ESTEC Open Day in the Netherlands to over 9 000 visitors.
And there’s the community. Along with other YGTs, we shared the experience of coming to a new country and a unique work environment. My advisor and team made me feel welcome here right away.