Many people have obscure, seemingly small interests. You'd never expect to turn a passion for something like astronomy to become a real career. This is a conversation I actually had with a co-contributer to this site. We were discussing career selection, and he pointed out that he had a passion for astronomy, but had no idea how to make this into a career. So, this article will be about how to best turn this into a career, with the example of astronomy, by combining an interest with a large field.
Astronomy initially seems like a small field. Afterall, not many groups outside of research are willing to pay for astronomers. So, what are some ways you can make a career like astronomy work? Well, the first way is to combine it with a larger interest. Let's say you enjoy astronomy, but also computers. Well, computational astrophysics is a field with a ton of new research and opportunities. This is something that can be applied to any field. Almost every industry can and will be changed by tech, so having both tech and an interest can lead to research positions and jobs that, with just a degree in that one specific interest, wouldn't necessarily help.
Another way to make an obscure interest into a career is a bit more straight forward: specialize and be the best in the field. If you become an expert in a very narrow field(When I say expert, I mean PhD, years of research, being published, ect), and if that field has virtually any demand, then you will have opportunities. This route can be more difficult, as you will need to take YEARS to become a true expert, and almost everyone in academia knows it can be extraordinarily draining. Still, the route has a lot of benefits, and is worth further research if it sounds interesting.