Astronomers are generally well-versed in instrumentation, remote sensing, spectral observations, and computer applications to unusual problems. Job security may be somewhat less certain than in government and academia since there is no tenure or civil service in industry. The salaries, however, are often correspondingly higher, especially at mid-management levels and above. In practice, most companies protect their good employees, but the choice of work within a given company may be limited. In exchange for some loss of choice, there is the likelihood of getting a job that is technically challenging and that provides great opportunity for both intellectual and professional growth.
Industrial employment offers a wide variety of nontechnical career paths as well.
Although a Ph.D. is useful for industrial jobs, it is less often a formal requirement. When I was a child, my parents sat me in front of the TV to watch the space flights. My dad bought me a telescope when I was five, and we often used it to look at the planets, or we'd lie on the hood of the car and just look up. In fourth grade, my teacher read A Wrinkle in Time to the class. I pursued my bachelor's degree in physics, but with an astrophysics option.