Hello!
I am very interested in pursuing a degree in Neuroscience (many of the universities I am looking at offer a general neuroscience degree, not specialized to behavioral neuroscience, or whatnot). I am in the process of considering my graduate degrees, and what route I would like to take with my Bachelor’s in Neuroscience. I am interested in perhaps a forensic route or medical school.
So, my questions is: Is it possible to pursue some sort of Forensic Science, using a Bachelor’s in Neuroscience? Also, what sort of jobs or job prospects would I be looking at if I pursued forensics?
Let me know if I need to clarify anything, and thank you for the help!
As I said on the other thread Most, forensics departments hire people with a BS in Chemistry or Biochemistry (molecular biology DNA) and train them for a year on how things need to be done. It varies but they typically have prerequisites like 30 hours of chemistry or molecular biology/biochemistry. They really don’t prefer forensics degrees at all. After working in the field a while, an MS or Ph. D. in forensics might be helpful if you want to move up to director of a lab or something, but I doubt even then that it is really necessary. Specializing at the undergrad level is not beneficial and actually hurts your career prospects. With a chem degree you could at least get jobs elsewhere and just as easily get a job in forensics but not with a forensics degree.
Forensics is usually more of a routine technician job running the same GC test for cocaine over and over again or running an assembly line of DNA tests exactly as the well established protocols dictate without deviating in the slightest. The main thing is the paperwork has to be spotless and completely in order or the Lawyers will go after that. They don’t argue the science as it is really well established they nit pick crap like protocols and forms/dates. From what my contacts in forensics tell me it is a really mind numbing job with all the boring paperwork and routine analysis.
Most forensics technicians are employed by state and local govts and some of them do not pay well at all to put it mildly and a lot of the fabulous pensions and other benefits have been really scaled back or gotten rid of entirely.
I applied for forensics jobs back in the day. In Illinois they had me take aptitude tests which I got A ratings for both chemistry and molecular biology so they put me on a list. Pres. Bush gave the states a huge grant to hire more techs and deal with the DNA back log but Illinois misappropriated the funds and as a result there was a rapist who went free because they couldn’t get the testing done in time for the trial. I never heard back about the job and the list expired. I am not schlepping downtown to take them again.
Neuroscience is a very limited field as well with few prospects for employment. Specializing in such a narrow science at the undergraduate level is not a good idea at all. You only serve to limit your option in a field that already has very lousy job prospects.
Neuroscience is most useful if you go on to a graduate degree or pair it with some other skills (like programming or a computational component). My neuroscience degree has put me in a great position, but that’s due in part to the connections I made in undergrad and the CS/math classes I took to complement my major. If you go into college planning on medical school, have an alternate plan if that doesn’t work out or you change your mind.