New Job

Back in the day, I almost went to Birmingham University.
But then I didn’t.

I might go now though, because there’s this job I want:

I’ll be absolutely honest: I have limited experience in this field. But can you imagine going to a party, chatting with some people, and when they’ve told you that they’re an accountant or work in advertising, you get to mention that you’re a Galactic Archaeology Research Fellow?

As you might expect:

In addition to planning and developing research contributions to the subject area using methodologies, critical evaluations, interpretations, analyses and other appropriate techniques, the successful applicant will work on developing, validating, and applying methods to dissect the Milky Way discs at various epochs.

I dissected an apple in the kitchen just this morning, so I’m sure that just a bit of scaling up [note to self: really  big knife] the Milky Way discs will be fairly straightforward as well. And I’ll have to dissect them at all of the epochs, because I mean, how else are you going to:

…quantify the role of secular processes that have shaped the present-day thin and thick discs

if not by:

…combining constraints based on spectroscopic, astrometric and asteroseismic observations, determining the vertical and radial properties of the Milky Way’s discs and reconstructing their star-formation history with unprecedented temporal resolution.

possibly (if I’ve managed to gauge the day with unprecedented temporal resolution), all before lunchtime. Because your afternoon will be spent working on the old Asterochronometry project to:

 …determine accurate, precise ages for tens of thousands of stars in the Galaxy by developing novel star-dating methods that fully utilise the potential of individual pulsation modes, coupled with a careful appraisal of systematic uncertainties on age deriving from our limited understanding of stellar physics.

before you head down to the pub for drinks with the nerds.

In short, this job sounds exactly what I’ve been  after for a while now. A new challenge in an exciting field, before heading down to the pub for drinks with the nerds.

And I’m only short of two of the two entry requirements:

– A PhD in Physics/Astronomy and
– Experience and expertise in Galactic structure, chemical evolution and dynamics, stellar populations studies from large-scale surveys

But nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I’m sending them my CV, because the chance to:

capitalise on opportunities provided by the timely availability of astrometric, spectroscopic, and asteroseismic data to build and data-mine chrono-chemo-dynamical maps of regions of the Milky Way probed by the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, K2, and TESS and reconstruct the early star formation history of the Milky Way’s main constituents

just sounds too good an opportunity to risk missing.

I will arrive at the interview in a dressing gown, and will be carrying a towel.