What career options are there for astrophysics majors? Is a post-grad degree necessary?

I have a degree in professional physics and I have made a niche for myself. I would say that if you want to do anything in the field of astrophysics, you would need to go to a grad school. (Yeah, E&M is a pain in the ass) Spherical Harmonics are evil! Some options I have seen for astrophysics are operating telescopes for places like Keck and Aeracibo. Otherwise, with your background in physics, you could probably do optics, engineering, or pretty much anything scientific. You should try talking to a scientific temp agency like Lab Temps about what they might have for you. Whatever you do, don't sell yourself short. Physics is a very lucrative major. The only problem is that so few people do it that you'll be hard pressed to find it on a job description. Just let employers know that if you can solve shroedinger and maxwell equations, you can solve pretty much any problem.

You might also try the ring of national labs like Argon, Fermilab, Brookhaven, Los Alamos, and others. bear in mind that right now these labs are vastly underfunded, so they aren't really hiring at the moment, but with all luck this will change soon.

You need a PhD minimum. A Masters might get you an observing or assistant position. but to be a scientist, only a PhD will do. That is just to start. You then have to do postdoc work... the training is not too unlike an MD pipeline if not longer...