Certainly by the time I was in seventh grade, I knew I had to have a long education if I wanted to become an astronomer, but I figured I'd try it, and if I didn't get far enough, I could always end up teaching in high school or math or physics.
I had never used the prefix 'Dr.' with my name, but when I started with NASA, I had to. Otherwise, I could not get past the secretaries.
The first year I was at NASA, I was only responsible for optical and ultraviolet astronomy. Frankly, there wasn't much else.
My career was quite unusual, so my main advice to someone interested in a career similar to my own is to remain open to change and new opportunities. I like to tell students that the jobs I took after my Ph.D. were not in existence only a few years before.
I was scheduled to graduate from high school in 1943, but I was in a course that was supposed to give us four years of high school plus a year of college in our four years. So by the end of my junior year, I would have had enough credits to graduate from high school.
The exciting results from the Hubble, other satellites and probes would not have been possible without innovative solutions to many technical problems.
