My user name is just a nickname I've had for years. Astronomy has always been my favorite hobby, and I "almost" went into that as a career....but reality set in and I realized 3 things. #1 There aren't that many jobs for astronomers, #2 that astronomy, as a profession involves lots of higher math (and I'm not good at that!). And finally, #3 real astronomers don't get to enjoy and appreciate the heavens above them because they are mostly looking at numbers and figures and computer data and not through a telescope with their own eyes!
I went to the Texas Star Party about 10 years back in the 80's and 90's and found out that the professional astronomers were excited to "look" through my small 10" reflector telescope! And they had 80 and 100" scopes at their observatory! But they never got to "look" through them, only CCD's and computers did. They just looked at the numbers and digitized, enhanced data. Not nearly as much "real" fun.
Astronomersmith