The complexity of the brain means that it can be studied at many different levels (molecules, cells, systems of interacting cells) by researchers from many different disciplines. So if you are planning a career as a neuroscientist then a first degree in biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology, psychology or neuroscience provides an obviously useful starting point. Increasingly, however, graduates with physics, chemistry, engineering and maths degrees are making crucial contributions to neuroscience, and the more quantitative approach provided by these physical sciences can give their graduates an advantage in some areas.
Being fascinated by problems and wanting to pursue them until you have solved them is by far the most important criterion for success as a neuroscientist – you can learn everything else! By definition, if you are working on something that nobody understands yet, then even your best experimental or theoretical ideas will fail sometimes, and you will have to figure out what to do next.
Developing your career
The standard career route in basic neuroscience research is to do a PhD after your degree. Then there is often a period of three to six years as a post-doctoral researcher in one or two labs. It is not unusual to change subject area after gaining a PhD, to get experience of different techniques and subject areas. It is also common to spend part of the post-doc period abroad, for example in the United States or mainland Europe.
After the post-doc stage you can apply for a university position that will enable you to do both research and teach undergraduates as well. But the most outstanding researchers may obtain an independent fellowship which typically gives four to ten years to do their own research without any distraction. In the first five years of a fellowship, or as a university lecturer, you will be expected to gain research grants, build up your research group and publish good papers.
A career in neuroscience can lead in a vast number of directions. Academic research is not the only career outcome after a neuroscience PhD. For example, Prof David Atwell runs a large PhD programme in neuroscience, and in addition to the academic route, graduates have chosen careers in the pharmaceutical industry, management consultancy, academic publishing, city banks (neural network models can be used to predict stock market fluctuations!) and as patent agents (assessing new neuroscience- and biotechnology-related ideas).
Some doctors choose to do a neuroscience PhD during their training. After completing their medical training they may choose to combine treating patients with doing research, often moving from an NHS specialist registrar or consultant post to an academic post (lecturer, reader or professor) and becoming a leader in academic medicine. Some even get so bitten by the research bug that they decide to stay in academic research and abandon clinical medicine altogether. Nevertheless their background in medicine may help them to push the research in a clinically relevant direction.
