Astrophysics comprises of a study of a broad spectrum of heavenly bodies. It's a promising field that you would excel in only if you have an in-depth interest in space, celestial bodies, stars and so on. To pursue astrophysics as a career,

1. You must excel in physics and mathematics as its quintessential in high school towards being a good astrophysicist.

2. Graduate with either a BTech degree or a BSc degree in any domain that you're interested in from a reputed college. Doing it in either a science or mathematics field would prove to be extremely useful. Doing an internship from NCRA, IUCAA, ARIES, Vigyan Prasar etc would get you that much closer to fulfilling your dream of being an astrophysicist.

3. However, if you're an exceptional student, you can apply for the Dual Degree Program at IIST. IIST provides seats to students based on their JEE scores and also takes their grade 12 marks into consideration. IIST provides you with a BTech degree in a tenure of 3 years and then depending on your CGPA, the college assigns you the subject that you'd pursue your masters in. They only enroll 20 students a year of which only 5 of them get into Astronomy and Astrophysics.

4. MSc Physics is only taught in a few colleges in India like IISc, IIA, and IIST. Colleges like DU and Pune University offer a few courses in astronomy and astrophysics in their MSc Physics courses as options.

5. Varied colleges like CAA, IIST, NCRA, TIFR, ISRO, ARIES, IISERs, ICSP provide a Ph.D. The criterion to do a Ph.D. is mostly a strong background in Physics.

Astrophysics isn't viewed as an extremely popular course that students usually flock to in India, causing it to be offered by only a few universities. But since it's a niche course, the scope of it is diverse and enormous. One can either opt to become a Research Scientist or pursue teaching as an occupation in Universities or work in the industry. Research Scientists are employed lavishly since they're of immense importance in carrying out varied research-oriented programmes. In Universities, they are sought out to teach in physics departments. In various industries, astrophysicists with experience in sophisticated astronomical instrumentation are employed as they're a valuable asset in the organization. All of these varied occupations and opportunities that astrophysics leads to provides a good pay and financial stability. It's a subject that'd never lose its importance and never go out of trend. If it interests you, go for it without a doubt as it is indeed a career path with a lot of scope and an endless pool of possibilities.