I Want to study Neuroscience

[SpiltPaint]

I've been wanting to further my education, I'm a 29 year old single father with custody. I've been off work for several years since I incurred a brain injury due to a head trauma, but I want more for myself.

Early this year both me and my son were diagnosed with ASD, I was already interested in the brain to an extent prior to this, but now I just can't escape the need to know more at a higher, more comprehensive level.

So yeah, I now feel compelled to study Neuroscience and want to do a degree, my problem is I can't find any degrees to study for Neuroscience, only In biology or psychology but I'm unsure which would be the better path?

I am looking at doing a bachelors/undergraduate degree and maybe that's why I can't find Neuroscience? Is that something I'd have to master/PhD in afterwards? I understand this is no short study.

My other question is has anyone done a degree in a field of science and how difficult did you find it? My concern isn't the difficulty of the work itself as I've passed aircraft engineering in the past and have always had an interest in science. It's coping with all the deadlines and the going to university itself, when I did aircraft engineering I ended up doing alot of the coursework from home in solitude, and would go in for practical work; so I'm referring to the social side of it all. I've also come across an online university and wondered If that'd be a better fit.

Thanks for any replys

 

[Darkkin]

Neuroscience is available at a BA level and goes up to the PhD level. It is something that will require clinicals and lab studies in a hospital setting. A Google search on neuroscience BA study programs brought up a number of universities that have programs available (US).

 

[Thinx]

In the UK there's quite a lot of varied masters, BA and Diploma or other courses in Autism and related areas. This would generally be more in the social sciences area, but content and entry requirements differ. Some are online courses. Check what you could do in terms of employment after qualifying, for these or any trainings.

 

[SpiltPaint]

Neuroscience is available at a BA level and goes up to the PhD level. It is something that will require clinicals and lab studies in a hospital setting. A Google search on neuroscience BA study programs brought up a number of universities that have programs available (US).

Thanks, I should've stated I'm from the UK. Though after saying neuroscience was available as a BA, I did check and it is available here to. I guess I have to decide how far I'm willing to travel for it to be specifically neuroscience.

My issue here is some universities require an A-Level in Biology, and some don't. Cause I went into railway and then aircraft engineering I don't have that specific qualification. I'm not sure if the ones I have would be OK or not so I guess I'd have to check, but that could have an effect on distance I'd need to travel.

In the UK there's quite a lot of varied masters, BA and Diploma or other courses in Autism and related areas. This would generally be more in the social sciences area, but content and entry requirements differ. Some are online courses. Check what you could do in terms of employment after qualifying, for these or any trainings.

Yeah I've been looking through and there is alot of choice, and I noticed that too that alot of the autism and mental health related topics are under the social and health care categorys. Which is great they offer them but that's not necessarily what I'm looking for.

I guess I'm being to specific and wanting something that fits exactly the parts I'm interested in studying, the physiology of the brain, genetics and evolution.

So maybe I've answered my own question there and biology could be better as a whole, it also appears to get more specific to your field of choice the further down the line you study.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

In the US, the field is called "neurology" and patients that seek help would look for a "neurologist". Neurology, to summarize, would be the study of neurological systems from primarily a "medical" or "biological/anatomical" perspective. Neurosugery, is a branch off of that degree.

 

[Stuttermabolur]

It depends on what exactly you are after. Do you want to study neuroscience/neurology, or do you want to make a career of and work in the field of neurological sciences?

If it's the former, you will probably be fine, and finding a neuroscience course or biology/biochemistry with a focus on neurology seems the best fit.

If it's the latter you can come at it from a bunch of different angles. I would start with figuring out your end goal (university research group, biomedical firm, tutoring) and then working towards it by gaining skills or expanding your curriculum vitae in a way that would be beneficial to your employer/useful for work. You can go at it from a bunch of different angles. Studying neuroscience to a high level (at least master's) is the most clear cut way, but there will also be fierce competition, and lab work/organization/grant work can be difficult for people on the spectrum. I know that mathematicians/statisticians or people from associated fields are in high demand, and it would help distinguish you from the rest of the field if your primary focus is numbers with neurology as a secondary focus. However, I don't know how interested you are in that side of things. In your case, it might make the most sense to leverage the skills you have already acquired in engineering and apply for biomedical engineering or something related. If there is a project node at the end of the course, you can do a project related to the neurology of the brain (I know some people studying biomedical engineering who did brain projects).

My (step) grandfather is actually a professor of neurology who has done research on whale brains, and he is very cynical and distrustful of academia. It might make more sense for you to find work at a firm as there is not much money to go around in wages when it comes to grants. Keep in mind that schooling can be expensive (particularly in the UK) and doesn't leave a lot of room to make money on the side. I would look carefully into any grants available, especially as you are a single parent.

Of course, it might also be simplest to keep this as a hobby/interest of yours. That way you will never burn out and it will be less risky for your career. I have no idea which ones of those ideas fit your circumstances or personality best, but it is something to reflect on when you decide your course. I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do!

 

[Rasputin]

I've been wanting to further my education, I'm a 29 year old single father with custody. I've been off work for several years since I incurred a brain injury due to a head trauma, but I want more for myself.

Early this year both me and my son were diagnosed with ASD, I was already interested in the brain to an extent prior to this, but now I just can't escape the need to know more at a higher, more comprehensive level.

So yeah, I now feel compelled to study Neuroscience and want to do a degree, my problem is I can't find any degrees to study for Neuroscience, only In biology or psychology but I'm unsure which would be the better path?

I am looking at doing a bachelors/undergraduate degree and maybe that's why I can't find Neuroscience? Is that something I'd have to master/PhD in afterwards? I understand this is no short study.

My other question is has anyone done a degree in a field of science and how difficult did you find it? My concern isn't the difficulty of the work itself as I've passed aircraft engineering in the past and have always had an interest in science. It's coping with all the deadlines and the going to university itself, when I did aircraft engineering I ended up doing alot of the coursework from home in solitude, and would go in for practical work; so I'm referring to the social side of it all. I've also come across an online university and wondered If that'd be a better fit.

Thanks for any replys

I can’t speak regarding Neuroscience degree requirements, but I have completed a Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems and a Ph.D. degree in Human Science with specialization in Organization Leadership. (My undergraduate education was in Mathematics and Chemistry.)

I enjoyed graduate school, and did not find the demands too great. Also, I worked full-time while in graduate school. The keys for success, in my opinion, are to have a strong interest and a natural love for learning, develop good rapport with your academic advisor, and begin thinking about research as soon as you are admitted to a doctoral program. In my area of research interest, virtual team leadership, I began surveying research literature to identify gaps in research during my first year of my doctoral program. I then focused my research on aspects which had not been researched very much. All of this was self-directed, as you must be internally motivated or driven to complete a doctoral program. I found it enjoyable, but most of the people I started the program with failed to complete their degrees.

If neuroscience is a special interest, and you have the ability and drive to do the work, you can succeed.

 

[Thinx]

Have you looked at:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-prospects/neuroscientist

It has just the type of information you need, including prospects for suitable placements and how to get them, and the different fields available, plus degrees suitable to enter the fields. They say you're likely to need a postgraduate degree, but entry degrees required for those seem quite varied.

Looks like a fascinating and growing field for study and work. Not sure what the fees are but you probably need to work to study unless you have savings.

 

[SpiltPaint]

Appreciate all the replys, thank you.

After some time reflecting I think ive decided on which path to take. I'm going to choose Biology, after looking through all the different modules and courses it seems It would align more closely with what I want to study. There is a bigger pool of modules to chose from and some are pretty specific and I think overall covers more what I'm looking for. There are modules about the brain regarding things like autism, ADHD ect. But also modules on cell biology, genes and species. I know this won't be as neuro-specifc as if I studied neurology itself, but overall it covers more of the topics of interest, neurology, genetics, evolution and mutation.

It's early days so I didn't want to get carried away and throw myself into the deep end of being in highly social environments day in day out, not truly knowing how I'd perform. Right now I guess it's a hobby, but it keeps becoming more of an interest, so yeah eventually I would like to turn the interest into a career. I've done some research on some online universities and they are accredited and accepted courses, and it appears many people take the route of doing the undergraduate online, and then go and do the Masters in your field of choice at a lab.

I feel this is a better fit for me, being a single parent and having the responsibility of school runs and his extra curricular activitys it makes sense for the learning to be flexible for me. Then when my son is a bit older I could do the Masters with a more hands on approach.

As for the finance side of it, the online university is substantially cheaper and I don't believe I'd need to take any loans out and could pay it out of savings. The courses do have practical parts where you'd meet at a university labs do learn certain things every several weeks, but primarily the workload will be self learning. Having ASD I feel that self learning already comes natural to us, and is something I do anyway and usually always have a book regarding some sort of science, philosophy or history at hand.

Anyway, I'm rambling on now so thanks again for the replys everyone. Enjoy your day!