<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm an aspiring neurosurgeon/neurologist and was planning on majoring in either neuroscience or economics. For econ, its obvious that I could go into business in case med school doesn't work out, but what can I do with a neuroscience major? </p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>EDIT: btw, I will not want to go into being a professor or something like that. I want something in which I can probably wind up with around 100k at the very least as a back up</p>
<p>you can't do a lot with only a BS degree in neuroscience or any bio-related majors. you'll find urself working as a sales person or a research assistant or a lab technician.
the starting salaries for most biology graduated students are 30K~40K.</p>
<p>however, it's another story if u decide to go to med school and become a neurosurgeon/neurologist.</p>
<p>med schools are well known for their notoriously competitve admissions. on top of that, there are many bio students out there who are trying desperately to get into med/pharm/dental schools after realizing the job prospects for bio are not good at all. you can imagine the admissions will probably become more and more competitive.</p>
<p>so you're recommending I go with econ correct?</p>
<p>What is the difference between people with just, lets say, a biochem degree and people with a nuerosceince degree? Because, a person with a biochem degree can still do research on things that deal with neurological functions, but people with a nueroscience degree can't do research on things that deal with anything outside neurology. So, isn't it smarter to major in something like general biology, or biochemistry?</p>
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so you're recommending I go with econ correct?
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it really depends on how much effort you decide to put into college. i'd say a medical degree is still very useful and offers a lot of opportunities. i was simply pointing out what you might expect if you decide to go to med school.
since you pointed out you want at least 100K as a backup if you don't get into med school, biology is obviously not a good choice.
personally, i wouldn't recommend econ unless you go to a highly prestigious school. econ, in many shools, is a very easy major and you probably won't receive the proper training you want to get.
i'd recommend ChemE since the degree requires you to take most of the pre-med courses, and the starting salaries for ChemE graduates are among the highest of all college majors. getting 100K is very possible if you work a few additional years. but chemE is a hard major and it's difficult to maintain a high GPA.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What is the difference between people with just, lets say, a biochem degree and people with a nuerosceince degree? Because, a person with a biochem degree can still do research on things that deal with neurological functions, but people with a nueroscience degree can't do research on things that deal with anything outside neurology. So, isn't it smarter to major in something like general biology, or biochemistry?
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</p>
<p>i'd say the degree itself is not the main issue here, espeically when you are comparing bio-related majors.
what really matters are the classes you take and research experience.
for example, you can major in neuroscience and still take biochemistry and physical chemistry just like all other biochemistry students do.
similarly, if you are a biochemistry major, you can still take classes in neurobiology or conduct undergrad research in neuroscience.
it all ends up the same.</p>