please help with information about neuroscience as a career

[AngieW in Texas]

My 16yo is very interested in how the mind works. She is Aspie and is NOT interested in counseling (and wouldn't be good at it either). She has read very widely about psychology (books and journals).

 

She is thinking about getting a degree in neuroscience or straight psychology. One of the schools she is looking at has a fast track to get your BS and MS in 5 years for neuroscience or straight psychology. She knows she would need to do either a master's or a doctorate.

 

She thinks she would be interested in research. She wants to work with people, but not in counseling. She's actually quite good with kids. They tend to really like the way that she relates to them.

 

She has also thought about getting a bachelor's in psychology and a master's or doctorate in occupational therapy. She absolutely adored her OT. She would prefer to work with kids. She does have some fine motor issues that are never going to get better. She has a lot of difficulty with buttons and can't tie bows.

 

She is an excellent student and has a 1490 on CR/math and a 2120 overall. The only reason the score is that low is her essay. While she is an excellent writer, she is also methodical and meticulous. That just doesn't work when you only have 25 minutes from start to finish.

 

Any feedback about career paths, training, job outlook, ..., would be nice.

[creekland]

I can't give a whole lot of advice since the field is new to me too, but middle son is going into it next year (at college) so I've been listening in on college visits and thought I'd suggest you expand your option of majors to include behavioral or cognitive thinking. This major tends to focus on the behavior more whereas neuroscience tends to focus on the "nuts and bolts" of the brain more. (Short comparison.)

 

The college my guy will [likely] be attending, the University of Rochester, offers all three related studies (Neuro, Cognitive, and Psychology) and the person we met with said many students come in thinking they prefer one or another, but then take classes in all three and zero in better on what they actually like. Research is available in all three too. So, that's my guy's plan.

 

As for jobs? Lab jobs are often available, but don't tend to pay much. You need to plan on grad school for a decent paying job (hence, research in undergrad is important). My guy thinks he's headed to med school, so I'm not as concerned with job prospects right now, but that's what I've heard along the way.

 

It's a fascinating field of study and I look forward to hearing what middle son has to share with us after he's had some college classes in it.