Overview
The name neuroscientist is a broad covering for the many different branches to go underneath it. For example, Culture neuroscience looks at the beliefs of a group of people and how those beliefs shape people’s minds. Another branch is Affective neuroscience which is research done on animals to see how the animal’s brain reacts to emotions. There is many more pathways it has do with your preference has as lot about what kind of neuroscientist you want to be in. You can learn more here.
Neuroscience can have a variety of working fields. For example, many pharmaceutical companies need to experiment on animals to understand the side effects of their products. Another branch is teaching the future neuroscientist by being a teacher or professor. There is the possibility of working for a private medical laboratory that can conduct experiments to be later be published. You can learn more here
If you plan on working in a research lab the typical week can be around 40 hours a week. A lot of time is spent on the effects of the medication on the brain and whether those effects are going to fundamentally change the way patients do everyday functions. You probably will never see the patients unless you have research were you need to gather data from a patient. This field can be based on what you want to work with if you want to just look at numbers and research then there is a field for that. You can learn more here
Some of the many skills you need is the mindset to always want to learn more about the brain so you can have different ways of curing diseases, along with having the mindset to always learn. As while as the ability to come up with solutions in pressure situations.
Pathway to Become
It would be advised to take all the science related to neuroscience like some of them would be biology, microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology. One of the two options that you can take is to get a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience or other one is to get a PhD in neuroscience. Most people who get a bachelor’s degree end up stopping getting a higher education and working in a basic science position.
Some neuroscientists who become medical physicians have to take the state exam admired by their state’s board of medical examiners. Another possibility in a different branch is if you would prefer to work with children the you can get a certification in child neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. You can learn more here.
Personal Take
I personally have always wanted to do something with brain anatomy and the idea that there are still many fields that are opened when you become a neuroscientist. With becoming a neuroscientist you can find a job that is made for what work hours you want. But it is the drive to keep learning about new discoveries that drives me to want to do something in the medical field.
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