An aerospace engineer, Howard is Jewish and lives with his mother Debbie. His father left both of them when he was 11 and has not heard from him since, with the exception of a letter on his eighteenth birthday, which he refused to open. In season 8, he discovers he has a half-brother, Josh. Unlike Sheldon, Leonard and Raj, Howard lacks a PhD, earning him Sheldon's scorn. He defends this by pointing out that he has a master's degree in engineering from the elite MIT and that the apparatus he designs are launched into space, unlike the purely abstract work of his friends. He himself goes into space at the end of season 5, training as an astronaut and serving as a payload specialist on the International Space Station, although he often annoys his friends by constantly talking about space. He has a marked sense of humor, which Leonard and Raj occasionally appreciate. In the early seasons of the show, Howard fancies himself a ladies' man and devises outrageous pick-up lines (mainly with Penny), which have limited success with women. In season 3 he starts dating Bernadette, and although they later break up off-screen, they get back together and later get engaged in season 4 and get married at the end of season 5. In season 6, Howard finally moves out of his mother's house and into Bernadette's apartment. Howard also has a tendency to waste money on ridiculous things and often argues with Bernadette over money due to his oddly low income as an engineer and her high income, resulting in Bernadette often giving Howard allowances. In season 8, Howard' mother dies whilst in Florida (following Carol Ann Susi's death in 2014), leaving him devastated. He and Bernadette later move into her home.