Annual Salary
variable
Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Astronauts fly spacecraft and do experiments in space.
Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: days / nights / weekends;
There will be
2.4% more Astronaut jobs in 2027.
As an astronaut, much of your time will be spent training to carry out tasks before going into space. Once there, you could:
You could work at a training centre.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding, cramped and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this career by applying directly.
You can apply for astronaut training with the European Astronaut Corps or with NASA.
You need to be between 27 and 37 years old and able to speak English fluently. It'll be helpful if you can also speak basic Russian because it's spoken with English on the International Space Station.
You'll have an advantage if you're a pilot with at least 1,000 hours of flying experience in a high performance aircraft like a fighter jet.
You'll also need a degree and a postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject like:
You must hold US citizenship or US dual-citizenship to become an astronaut with NASA.
You'll need to:
There's only a small number of astronaut training places available and there's a lot of competition for them.
You'll need to do rigorous physical and psychological testing as part of the application process so you'll need to maintain excellent health and endurance.
You can discover more about how to become an astronaut from:the European Space Agency; SpaceCareers.uk
You'll have several years' training before you're ready for a mission. It may take you years to be selected for a space flight. Once you're selected, you'll get mission specific training. Your flight in space could last between 6 months and a year.
With experience you could:be selected for other missions; move into management, teaching or research; set up your own consultancy business
You can find out more about related career opportunities in space exploration from the European Space Agency.
You'll need: