Astrophysics Aspiring Student: Should I Choose NIT Jamshedpur Mechanical?

Ans: Congrats Aratrika for having made to admission lists of many good Colleges. I would like you to explore BS-MS 5 year program at IISER and see if their curriculum aligns well with jobs at ISRO, NASA etc. Also explore if you can exit after your BS program. And take a decision yourself.

Ans: Velavan Sir, to get admission into Engineering Physics in any one of the top 4-5 IITs, your son should score below AIR-4500 in JEE Advanced though the Closing Rank for Engineering Physics for other IITs is around AIR-17-18000. After completing his UG in Physics or Engineering Physics, he can try for his PG/PhD in Astrophysics with Indian Institute of Astrophyics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) & Raman Research Institute. Abroad universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Astrophysics with entrance exams like SAT, bypassing JEE.
All the Best for your Son's Prosperous Future, Sir.

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Ans: Hi Puneet
Your son has an excellent percentile in JEE Mains, and his interest in Astrophysics is great for a research-oriented career.
There can be two ways either with B.Tech or B.S Course.
B.Tech in Engineering Physics / Electrical / Mechanical / Computer Science
Followed by an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Astrophysics
Recommended if he also has an interest in technology, instrumentation, or computational astrophysics.

B.Sc. in Physics / Astrophysics
Followed by M.Sc. Physics / Astrophysics
Ph.D. in Astrophysics
Recommended if he is deeply interested in theoretical physics and cosmology.

IISc Bangalore – BS (Research) in Physics, followed by M.Sc./Ph.D.
IITs (IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi) – B.Tech in Engineering Physics / Physics
IISERs (Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research) – 5-year Integrated BS-MS in Physics
IIA (Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore) – Ph.D. programs in Astrophysics (after M.Sc.)
IUCAA (Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune) – Ph.D. in Astrophysics
TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai) – Integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D.

For abroad he needs to appear for SAT after 12th for UG courses & GRE for PG courses.


Scope & Career Opportunities in Astrophysics
Academia & Research: Professors, Scientists at ISRO, NASA, ESA, etc.
Observatories & Space Organizations: Working with telescopes and space missions.
Data Science & AI: Many astrophysicists work in AI, ML, and big data analytics.
Finance & Consulting: The analytical skills from physics are in demand in finance.