It is your hope of hopes, your dream of dreams. It is that job you have been salivating over ever since “Career Day” in kindergarten. It is your dream job. From time to time, Sweeps will delve into what it takes to be an astronaut, fashion model, publicity representative to the stars, FBI agent or male prostitute … well maybe not male prostitute.

As a child, many of us gaze up at the stars and dream of rocketing to them, but have you ever sat down and tried to make the dream a reality?

Well, surprisingly enough, becoming an astronaut is not an impossible goal. Assuming you set yourself on the right track now, you could find yourself looking down at this little blue ball called Earth as you “bravely go where no man’s gone before,” to quote Star Trek.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Web site, it takes no more time or effort to become an astronaut than it does to obtain a graduate/post-graduate degree for any other career. The foundations, said Colonel Charlie Bolden, deputy commandant of Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy, lay in an early interest in math, science and space exploration.

“Start with the basics and get them down first … you can’t do anything without math and science,” said Colonel Bolden on NASA’s Web site.

According to NASA, the focus in college should probably remain the same. Although the “minimum requirement” at NASA is a bachelors degree followed by at least three years of related and challenging career work, most astronauts have gone on to further education. A particular degree does not necessarily matter, but what does matter is getting the best possible grades to get into an accredited Master of Science program.

“One would do well to plan a major in a science or engineering field,” said Michael Fortner, an associate physics professor. “Take courses, planning to go on to graduate studies in the chosen field.”

Physics professor David Hedin said taking and doing well in physics courses are a key to academic success.

“In the Master of Science program in physics, you are required to have an undergraduate degree in physics,” he said. “But we have had a number of successful majors who had degrees in biology, engineering, other sciences and even English. We require them to take some undergraduate courses in physics before they can take classes for graduate credit [400 level and above].”

But good grades and a snazzy degree are not the only things you are going to need to land yourself a seat on a space shuttle. NASA also strongly suggests that applicants have internship or co-operative experience, but there is not any one specific kind of experience that they look for. NASA, like any employer, just looks for quality work experience, be it through becoming a TA or interning at a local office.

So that’s that — you have your degrees, you have your experience; the hard part is over, right? Not quite.

Unlike ordinary jobs, where you simply send in a resume and maybe go to an interview or two, NASA gets a little bit pickier when selecting the next Sally Ride or Neil Armstrong.

“NASA looks at more than just the courses one took,” Fortner said.

Once you have become qualified on paper, you will need to fill out U.S. Government Application Form 171, slap down your 37 cents and send this bad boy out to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There you will be reviewed and analyzed based on height (sorry shorties, but you have to be at least 58.5 inches tall to ride the shuttle), experience and expertise against the 4,014 other applicants, all-vying for the average 20 openings every two years. If you are one of the lucky 118 applicants selected to continue on with the application process, you will have to undergo several days of interviews and medical examinations, as well as some serious orientation.

What exactly does the Astronaut Selection Board look for in an applicant, you ask? Well, for one, you had better have the end-all-be-all of teacher recommendations. From there, they will judge you based on work experience, potential, motivation, cooperation, communications skills and adaptability.

Congratulations! You made it through, so it’s all champagne and caviar for the rest of your days as you live it up as one of America’s elite astronauts, right? Well, if that’s what you were expecting, I am afraid you are wrong. Astronauts, for all their glory, are still paid on the standard government pay scale, starting at about $39,000 and topping off around $78,000 per year.

Oh well, so you won’t be rich. At least you can be assured that your name will go down in the history books. And you’ll be one of those few individuals who dared to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”