Hey guys,
I was wondering what type of careers I can go into with a neurosci/psychology degree? Honestly the only one I know of is clinical psychology, but I do know there are a lot of other graduate programs. I dont think clinical is the right path for me, but I was wondering what kind of jobs/careers I can get. I was thinking of a PhD program in cognitive aging, (suggestions for other areas?) but I’m not sure what job i would have. I want to make sure that my career is financially strong too and I don’t have to worry about jobs. Should I be worried about that with a BS in psychology? My GPA isn’t the best, I had a rough couple of years. My GPA is about 2.9.
I know people with psych degrees who did a lot of statistics and a little programming, now work in data science.
I think the better question is whether you need a PhD to do what you want. Frankly, you don’t get a PhD because you want one and then think about what careers to pick; you get a PhD because you want a specific career that requires a PhD - namely, doing research. Most people who get PhDs in cognitive psychology/neuroscience get one because they want to be a professor at a university or college, doing a combination of research and teaching. You could also use it to do research for defense laboratories or government agencies, or some industry research in biotech or pharmaceutical labs depending on the kind of cog psych/neuro you’re interested in.
But, you don’t want to spend 5-7 years earning a PhD only to realize that you want a career that you don’t need a PhD before. That’s time that you could be accruing experience in a career that you want, not to mention lost income and retirement savings/investments. So…do you want to devote your career to doing research in psychology, at least for a large chunk of it? Or are you just looking for a financially secure career that has plentiful jobs (for which I absolutely don’t blame you)? If you want the latter, a PhD in psych might not be the best route there.
Most careers don’t require a specific major; they’re more about what skills and experience you have.
Also, it will be difficult for you to gain admission to a PhD program with a 2.9 GPA. If you really want one, taking time off to work as a research coordinator for 2-3 years, and taking a couple of graduate classes as a non-degree student to show that you can succeed on the graduate level, would help.