Hello! I have seen some other posts in this subreddit and just had a few extra questions regarding other posts on becoming an astrophysicists.

I have currently been accepted into Computer Engineering at University but will make the switch to Software Engineering after my 1st/2nd semester. I chose this career because it has high demand, and wage is also significant to me as long as I am not miserable and decently satisfied with my job. I'm good with computers and coding is something that interests me.

Becoming an astrophysicist/astro-biologist would be like lowering the wage by a significant amount but by increasing that satisfaction level by a high amount as well. It's like having a really decent paying job that you like or having a average paying job that you love. I just don't know if it's worth taking that leap of faith since there isn't a high demand in astrophysics jobs. Doing research really entices me and having a shot at applying to NASA is exciting to me. What I want more detail on is a wage comparison between the two careers. I have ofcourse searched up wages for the two but they don't necessarily give reliable numbers that matter such as starting salaries for different positions (research company, NASA, a professor, etc.), list of careers in the field sorted by wage or popularity (x% are professors x% do research full time, x% are professors that do research on the side, etc), how these wages differ in different cities or in Canada where I reside.... really just need all the information I can get. I like making decisions when I am really informed on the subject.

Also what is it like applying to NASA? Are there a lot of astrophysicists that work there? Are there other well known space organisations or rather smaller organisations or companies?