💡 Why it matters: Very few astronauts are selected, but space agencies and companies keep sending people to orbit and the Moon, and they pick people with strong science, engineering or flying skills. Most start in another career first.
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦2M – ₦5M
- Mid-career
- ₦5M – ₦12M
- Senior
- ₦12M – ₦30M
≈ ₦417k – ₦1M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇺🇸 United States
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇨🇦 Canada
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Train for years in spacecraft, spacewalks and emergencies
- Run science experiments in orbit
- Maintain and repair equipment on the space station
- Stay healthy and exercise every day in space
- Share the mission with students and the public
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Staying calm under pressure
- Teamwork
- Science or engineering knowledge
- Physical fitness
- Learning new skills fast
Get ready at school
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- The UK has no national astronaut corps; the European Space Agency (ESA) has selected astronauts from its member countries, so check its current rules
- Work for a space agency or company abroad, or join the armed forces and train as a pilot
🇺🇸 United States
- NASA selects astronauts only every few years and only US citizens can apply
- Military test pilot, researcher, engineer or doctor careers
🇨🇦 Canada
- The Canadian Space Agency selects astronauts only every few years and only Canadian citizens can apply
- Military pilot, researcher, engineer or doctor careers
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Work hard in Physics, Mathematics and other sciences
- 2Earn a degree in engineering, science or medicine
- 3Gain several years of demanding work, such as research or flying
- 4Apply when an agency opens selection and pass tough tests
- 5Train for years, then wait for a mission assignment
⏰ A day in the life
On the space station, your day starts with a check of the air system and a call to mission control. You run a science experiment, repair a broken fan and exercise for two hours so your muscles stay strong. Through the window, you watch the Earth pass by every 90 minutes.