Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
An education in neuroscience prepares students for a wide variety of career paths. In fact, to put it bluntly, the brain is a necessary component for every single facet of human life. Even being a couch potato and watching The Bachelor all day…but especially in academic endeavors. If you can name one job that doesn't require you to use your brain, then that's the job that a major in neuroscience won't prepare you for.
Neuroscience is most readily applicable to careers in health sciences and biology. While there are quite a few jobs available to a neuroscience major right out of college, the majority of high-profile careers require advanced degrees (MD or PhD). If you're looking to be a molecular biologist, get ready to head right back to school.
If you'd like to get right out into the workforce, though, there are some attractive alternatives, such as science writing (including but not limited to writing about men who fold themselves).
Common Career Fields
Biomedical engineer. Remember those amazing gadgets you used to conduct research in your undergraduate career? (And for this job, your graduate career, as well.) You could eventually be the person that makes them. Biomedical engineers design, develop, test, and evaluate products such as medical equipment, artificial organs, and prosthetics. A neuroscientist might work on developing neuroprosthetics like cochlear implants or visual prosthetics.
Doctor. Neuroscience is a great start for students considering a career as a doctor. Once you complete a harrowing four years of college, it's time for med school. After the years and years of school and internships and residencies, you'll have a wide range of challenging and fulfilling career options in the medical field. You might select a more general field like internal medicine or pediatric care. Or you might continue along your path of neuroscience as a neurological surgeon or neuropathologist (one who studies diseases of the nervous system).
Pharmacist. They do more than just put pills in bottles incredibly slowly. Pharmacists check to see if prescriptions are filled accurately and whether they interact with other drugs prescribed to the patient. They also instruct patients on how to use the drugs and what to do about side effects. Neuroscientists may enter this field by studying neuropharmacology, or how drugs affect functions of the nervous system. Neuropharmacists focus on behavioral impacts, such as drug dependence or addiction. They can also work in molecular pharmacology, with a goal of developing drugs for neurological diseases.
Psychiatrist/Psychologist. Perhaps you've spent some time on the couch, crying into your tissues while your therapist nods and scribbles on a notepad. Or perhaps you're completely mentally balanced and have no idea what we're talking about. Right. Either way, you could be on the other side of that couch nodding and scribbling if you choose a career in psychiatry. Neuroscience lends itself well to this career, as it's the study of the brain. Psychiatrists and psychologists are both dedicated to helping patients when something goes wrong in the ol' noodle.
Science Writer. You needn't pursue an advanced degree to become a successful science writer. However, you may want to invest in some journalism courses to understand how to structure a story and effectively communicate complex scientific concepts to mass audiences. Science writers must work hard to be both accurate and simple enough for the layperson. Too much detail, and you lose your audience. Too much padding, and you lose your science cred. While this field is competitive, there is still a great need for science writers, especially as scientific knowledge becomes more and more important to the general public.
Teacher. A neuroscience major with a teaching certificate and/or Master's degree would be well-equipped to teach high school math, including statistics or calculus, biology or chemistry. If they continue their studies to the PhD level, they might pursue a career in academia as a professor and instruct in any of the general science or math courses, as well as upper-level neuroscience classes. Higher education teachers also spend a good portion of their time engaged in academic research. Remember those goggles you wore in undergrad? Dust them off and get back in the lab.
Technician. Technicians offer important assistance to doctors in conducting research. A biological technician works with blood, food, and bacterial cultures. (Hopefully, they wash their hands in between.) Neuroscientists might choose a field such as neuroradiology, which uses imaging methods such as X-ray, MRIs, and CT scans to diagnose diseases of the nervous system. An electroneural diagnostic technician records electrical activity from the brain and spinal cord. Guess where all of this work takes place? Yep, right back in the lab, your home away from home.
Current unemployment of the major
7.2%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
57%Stats obtained from this source.