Observe, research, and interpret astronomical phenomena to increase basic knowledge or apply such information to practical problems.
Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 117 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.
| Percentile | All U.S. workers (BLS) | H-1B sponsored |
|---|---|---|
| 10th — entry pay | $78,010 | $66,495 |
| 25th | $99,920 | $74,500 |
| Median (50th) | $128,820 | $83,500 |
| 75th | $166,000 | $100,900 |
| 90th — top pay | $195,190 | $123,459 |
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BLS projects employment of astronomers to grow 7.8% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 100 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →
Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.
| Wage level | LCAs | Share | P25 | Median | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 73 | 62.4% | $69,680 | $77,923 | $88,000 |
| Level II | 24 | 20.5% | $84,048 | $90,508 | $107,195 |
The 2 most-filed job titles inside SOC 19-2011, from 117 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.
| Job title | LCAs | Share | P25 | Median | P75 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Associate | 11 | 9.4% | $77,962 | $91,921 | $108,000 | +7.65% |
|
Research Associate · full pay range (11 LCAs)
P10$71,800
P25$77,962
Median$91,921
P75$108,000
P90$108,623
Median by H-1B wage level
Level I$94,22210 LCAs
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| Postdoctoral Scholar | 10 | 8.55% | $77,118 | $81,136 | $81,967 | +5.37% |
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Postdoctoral Scholar · full pay range (10 LCAs)
P10$74,000
P25$77,118
Median$81,136
P75$81,967
P90$86,028
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Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.
How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
