How do I become a Ufologist?

[Rob817]

Alright everyone,

i've always taken an interst in UFOs and ET's and I am reading a book called "Out of the Shadows: UFOs, the Establishment and Official Cover Up"
and find it fascinating reading about the stories of the fighter piolts in WWII being chased by these "foo fighters".

I am an undergraduate at the University of Manchester studying Chemistry and don't actually think I want to be a chemist - lab work is a bit boring when you're recording numbers all day long. But I think without a doubt that my degree will provide me with the analytical skills required.

So basically my question is how do I become a Ufologist? Is it even an established career, can it provide a source of income? I'm not interested in how much it pays at all just want to know if it will provide me with enough to live off! I heard people do is a hobby instead and do all there own research, isn't there an established organisation that you can work for?

Sorry for the long post, all help will be appreciated!

Cheers,

Rob.

 

[Xanatico]

There isn´t really a proper job called ufologist, and I don´t see how you would make much of an income. The few people who manage to make money off UFO´s do it by writing books and holding lectures, and I doubt most of those are particularly ethical. You´d better just stick to it as a hobby.

 

[PeniG]

Writers write. Knitters knit. UFOlogists log UFOs. It really is that simple.

Most of the best UFOlogists are writers (including journalists) who became interested in the topic and chose to write about it. Whether this provides them with a living wage or not depends on a lot of factors, not all of which are within their control. Others are dedicated amateurs who chose to devote their time to it, in the same way that they might devote it to football, birdwatching, volunteering for public service, or local archeology. You can do that on your own hook, if you're really good and/or idiosyncratic, or you can connect with a local UFO group. The group has the advantage that it can gather together people with diverse expertises (your chemical knowledge is only directly useful when trace evidence needs analyzing; another's psychological knowledge is only useful when evaluating eyewitness reports; etc.) and the disadvantage of the tendency of politics to interfere with productivity in any social unit. If paid employment in the UFOlogical line ever happens, active and experienced volunteers should have the edge in obtaining it, because there's no formal qualification yet. The first professional UFOlogist working for a university will define the field and set qualifications.

Google and watch the local bulletin boards and news stories for the groups that are active in your area; or start one yourself by advertising, if you can't find one that doesn't strike you as raving lunatics or an excuse for a cozy social club. Read everything you can get your hands on, even (especially) the obvious trash. Learn good interview and evidence-handling techniques. Be proactive. Do what you love.

Ditto for any other line of work you care to enter.

 

[Anonymous]

And thay get called loony's for believing ufo's which is so wrong.

 

[Kondoru]

http://earthlights.org/

More appropriate as to your background.

 

[rynner2]

I suspect that being a MIB is a more lucrative career than being a Ufologist!

 

[azuredoor]

So basically my question is how do I become a Ufologist?

There's no such job

Is it even an established career,

No

can it provide a source of income?

No

I'm not interested in how much it pays at all just want to know if it will provide me with enough to live off!

No

I heard people do is a hobby instead and do all there own research, isn't there an established organisation that you can work for?

No

 

[rynner2]

We'll take that as a No, then?

 

[circlebeginning]

On a more positive note...
Are you only interested in Ufology or are you generally feeling that this thing called "science" is a bit bigger and has a social and historical impact?

If so, there is the option of studying the History of Science and then...if you feel like it doing Ufology as part of your dissertation - plenty to play with there - and then all things being considered - maybe a PhD....

Is it being a Ufologist that is the thing or an interest in science beyond bunsen burners and beakers? If it's the latter...plenty to interest you.

Fortean subjects need people with hard science backgrounds - it diminishes the Us and Them mentality that sometimes creeps in

 

[circlebeginning]

I suspect that being a MIB is a more lucrative career than being a Ufologist!

That is a job I think I could do.

But then the MoD refused to even interview me...or send me a form...de4spite excellent quals and refs....I don't know why..

I want to be a MIB now....

 

[azuredoor]

We'll take that as a No, then?

Ok ok, maybe there is one job, good luck getting it though!

Ministry of Defence
Directorate of Air Staff – Freedom of Information
5th Floor, Zone H
Main Building
London
SW1A 2HB
Alternatively you can contact us on any of the following;
Telephone: 020-7218-2140 (24 hour Answerphone)
Fax: 020-7218-7701 or 020-7218-2680
E-Mail: [email protected]

If you are interested in abductions then the appropriate organisation to join is the police, abduction being a crime.

 

[skinny46]

On a more positive note...
Are you only interested in Ufology or are you generally feeling that this thing called "science" is a bit bigger and has a social and historical impact?

If so, there is the option of studying the History of Science and then...if you feel like it doing Ufology as part of your dissertation - plenty to play with there - and then all things being considered - maybe a PhD....

There is another field which lends itself splendidly to this phenomenon ...

Psychiatry.

 

[Xanatico]

You could always try to become an urologist instead.

 

[Ideasman]

There are of course the TV Ufologists.

How did those 'lone gunmen' in 'UFO Hunters' get the job? I just caught them on the History Channel tonight after watching 'Monster Quest' (which is actually not bad). I do suspect it is a trailer park lifestyle unless you get the attention of the media or publish a relatively succesful book. Journalism is one route in. Cryptozoology seems a little more lucrative.

 

[IvanVolle]

Do you have to "want to believe"? Or is that only a prerequisite for F.B.I. agents?