Neuroscience and Psychology double major...possible future careers??

I will be a junior this fall at University of Colorado in Neuro/Psych double major. I’m unsure what my options are in pursuing a possible career that is not require medical school. Couple questions:

  1. Jobs for my major with a BA? I am planning on getting a masters at the least, but want to hear some options here.
  2. Curious about getting a criminology masters and looking into the psych side of this, as in studying the behaviors of people who commit crimes. Is a masters in criminology a good idea for that? Also would this be a limiting job option?
  3. Unsure what behavioral neuroscientists do…anyone in the house want to chime in on that one?

I am going to be attempting to get into a research lab this next year and understand fully if that is the direction I would like to go with my degrees. I am not afraid of the course work and long haul of school that comes with a possible M.D., but I’m unsure that I want to spend the majority of my 20-30’s constantly in a hospital. Yet, I would like my ending salary in all of this not to be too shabby as its not the easiest course load ever.

Would love to hear everyones thoughts on this, especially experienced students. thanks!

  1. There are lots of jobs you can get with a BA in this area - too many to list. Most of them are going to be not directly related to neuroscience or psychology, though. What kinds of careers do you find interesting? If you didn’t want to be a doctor, what kinds of other things might you like to do?

  2. No, it’s not. If you want to do applied research in this area (like criminal profiling or forensic psychology), a PhD is probably the way you want to go.

  3. Behavioral neuroscientists are researchers that study the connection between the brain (neuroscience) and behavior. That can mean many things - like what parts of the brain are responsible for what kinds of behavioral responses in humans, or how human social interactions are interpreted by the brain, etc. Most behavioral neuroscientists are affiliated with academic institutions; a great number of them are professors who teach and do research at universities. Some behavioral neuroscientists are employed solely as researchers, usually in university labs, but also potentially in government/military labs and agencies, at think tanks, or at private companies.

To become a behavioral neuroscientist, you need a PhD in neuroscience.

Neuropsychology is a great field. To become a neuropsychologist, you’d have to get a Ph.D. in psychology or a PsyD. Then you’d have to do a fellowship (you’d get paid for it) in neuropsychology. Sounds like a long road, but the options are vast and flexible with that background. You can specialize in children, evaluating and treating them for learning disabilities, brain disorders, behavioral disorders. Or you can specialize in adults who have been affected by neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, etc. It’s a well-paying field, and you can work as much or as little as you want if you have a private practice.

To add to that - neuropsychology is a specialty of clinical psychology, so to become a neuropsychologist you’d have to get a PhD or PsyD in clinical psychology specifically, at a program that offers a specialization in neuropsychology. Then yes, you would go do a fellowship in neuropsychology.