What Can You Do With A Degree In Neuroscience?

I've had so many requests from students interested in a degree in neuroscience that I decided to share with all my readers the array of opportunities available for graduates. Enjoy!Research and Education

• Research/Teaching: overall options to consider
• Professor, Research lab head (principal investigator), running a lab of scientists, post-docs, technicians, and students (teach at undergraduate/graduate level);

o Basic/Clinicalo Academic/Biotech/Pharma (private sector) / NIH (public sector)o Levels of analysis: molecular through cognitiveo System: theory and modeling, experimental animal, clinical, social o Focus: development, function, disease

Medical school faculty (less teaching, more fundraising)

• Other research positions: research scientist, technician, lab manager, etc. [Note: research may be purely clinical working with patients, etc]
• Instructor, lecturer, or guest lecturer (may also have a research position)
• Dean (may also teach and do research)
• Run an academic program (advisor, coordinator, etc)
• High school, junior high, elementary science teacher
• Run a (neuro)science program at a youth education center (city-wide program for public schools create a program for private schools, summer programs, etc.)
• Teach Neuroscience to medical students
• Teach the public about Neuroscience (non-profit organization, Allen Brain Institute, etc.)
• Teach Neuroscience to adults (continuing education programs, run seminars for companies who want employees to understand brain/health better, train hospitalemployees about the brain)
• Work to improve funding for science education
• Teach Neuroscience abroad (developing nation or other)

Health-Related Careers

• Clinical psychologist (e.g., specialize in behavioral neuroscience)
• Physician (MD or DO)-neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, optometry...
• MD-PhD (clinical practice and research)
• Nurse (for example, in neuro ward, neuro-oncology, pediatric neurology, etc); Nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant
• Speech & language therapist (especially important for neurological patients with damage to the left hemisphere, or children with neurodevelopmental disorders)
• Occupational therapist for adults (especially important following stroke, loss of basic function to take care of one's self, etc)
• Physical therapist for children (teach how to compensate/alleviate developmental disorders, e.g. SPD, autism, ADD, motor disorders, etc)
• Audiologist (assess hearing function in children, babies, and adults)
• Nutritionist (a neuro background give you a unique perspective on how nutrient and metabolism affect the nervous system)
• Social worker (a neuro background would help you to understand the specific issues affecting neurological patients upon re-entering their environment followinghospitalizations)
• Clinical research- could work at a number of levels, from technician to research scientist
• Pharmacist (specialize in how drugs mimic neurotransmitter in the brain)
• MRI technician, histopathologist, public health, biostatistician, epidemiologist, medical forensics, develop neuroprosthetics
• Technician for other neurological procedures e.g., deep brain stimulation; genetic counseling
• Radiation physicist (calculates precisely how radiation should be used to target tumors)
• Administrator or coordinator (neurology ward or team or neurology residents)
• Run a public service project in an underserved area with limited medical care
• Veterinarian

Global Health

• Run a clinical research project in another country (or work for one)
• Run a public service project in a developing nation (or work for one)
• Work for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)- specialize in neurological disease
• Global health reporting and/or data collection- focus on neurological health

• Careers at UN, NGOs, MSF, OXFAM, USAID, World Bank Business & Law

• Neuroeconomist or economics consultant
• Chief-Scientific Officer (CSO), Executive Director, or other high-level at a private company, non-profit foundation, government institution, or academic program
• Marketing or advertising consultant (What is going on in the brain during decision-making?)
• Equity consultant, analyst, or broker for an equity firm, venture capitalist, or hedge fund (Is a biotech or pharmaceutical company a good investment?)
• A spokesperson for a neuro-company; educate the public on research going on within the company
• Patent lawyer (e.g., draft a patent application to secure intellectual property rights for a neurobiological technique or product developed at Princeton)
• Lawyer (specialize in neurodegenerative disease cases, child development, etc)
• Consultant

Government & Policy•   Work for a governmental office (CDC, NIH, FDA, etc.) that oversees public policy

        toward neurological disease, the aging brain, etc

• Capitol Hill Staffer (work in congressional office, science/health-related initiatives)
• Congressional advisor (advise on policy for the care of children with neurodevelopmental disease, intellectual disabilities, autism, epilepsy, etc)
• Advise on policy for the care of persons with psychiatric problems, etc
• Grants administrator and/or reviewer (Program manager- NSF, NIH)
• Global Health Organizations

Writing & Publishing

• Scientific journal editor (Neuron, Cell, Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, etc)
• Scientific journalist (correspondent or columnist)
• Science book publishing (writing, editing, recruitment of writers)
• Creative writing about the brain – for children or adults
• Write biographies of famous neuroscientists

• Web design and writing for the NIH or other neuroscience organizations
• Science education blogger
• Produce science education material web/print (Scholastic, Nature Education, etc)

Consulting (advising with a neuro background)• Management consulting (specialize in biotech, pharma or healthcare companies);Non-profit Research or FoundationsCreative Sector

private consulting firm

• Lobbyist (for foundations, biotech, etc)
• Library (medical or other)

• Grants specialist –evaluate research portfolio, set funding priorities
• Patient outreach
• Discovery specialist for a research foundation (coordinate academic and biotech research to cure a specific disease)

• Graphic designer for any company/ organization on this list
• Design web-based scientific education material (NIH, Scitable, University ScienceCenters, Startup companies)
• Science consultant for the media (TV, movies, books, etc)
• Artist specializing in how the brain perceives things
• Architect who specializes in how the brain perceives spaces, color, texture, emotion, etc
• Toy designer- use knowledge to make brain-developing toys
• Musician/instructor (understanding hearing and the brain and its role in composition, performance)
• Write Neurosci-fi screenplays
• Web design, art, and/or writing for any neuroscience organization