Yes, I agree with all your points. I look back on astronomy as having given me, and many others, incredibly useful training, and along the way, some scientific

Yes, I agree with all your points. I look back on astronomy as having given me, and many others, incredibly useful training, and along the way, some scientific output. (Although at the time we probably thought much higher of our own self-worth/importance scientifically than after leaving and seeing it in comparison to the "real world"). And you're right, compared to other industries/fields, astronomy gets a lot of bang for its buck and definitely produces a lot of good along the way. Most people end up leaving astronomy at some point (sooner than they thought), but go on to good things in other fields.