# Identity crisis from my career goal lol help



## Celtsincloset (Feb 17, 2014)

Even if you suck at maths, you may still find a role in that industry. And you can hopefully be able to strengthen any such areas of weakness, and pass the related tests for your course, such as mathematics.

Little FYI, give yourself a good platform to work from too: be healthy enough to study well, because there is stress with schooling and the more healthy your way of dealing with stress is, the better your outcomes.


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## xraydav (Jan 3, 2013)

Amenochu said:


> My career goal was changing for a while until I decided to stick with degree of neuroscience. YES. THIS. I feel like this is what I can stick with a for while and it's genuinely interesting. I know I have to get a phd in psychology for that and I'm down to that. Now the thought of neuroscientist is really appealing to me. I think I have that scope in the region where I am too but I'm not sure how much it's worth it. I have seen many in perC who has had degree in neuroscience studied about mbtis and all. I wanna do that too, but is it worth the wait? What about the career choices?


Neuroscience isn't about the "studies of mbti" itself but how such variables relate to biological processes and the computational side of such processes. In other words, algorithms, etc which are derived from brain and psychological theories. 

It's just like studying any other science. You need to learn a shit load of statistics, remember many neurobiology terms and even some IT or mathematics/engineering related theories. (This is especially true for the field Computational Neuroscience)

Since you're so interested in neuroscience, you should be telling us what journal articles you read about the topic that peaked your interest and that will guide your ability to discern which particular field of neuroscience you want to specialize in and then we can tell you why that is valuable. 

If you want to study MBTI related stuff just go into cognitive neuroscience, which deals with experiments that try to prove cognitive concepts on a biological or other scientific level but that's much more broad than mere MBTI theories. If you study that you may just end up having to study many theories that you were not initially interested in for example, search up any empirical study about the lexicon, that's a big topic in cognitive neuroscience. I was really passionate about particular neuroscience books, so I started a psychology degree to get into the masters of neuroscience program. Though you have to learn about other theories, _which you may or may not have much interest in to make the grade_. 

Of course it didn't really work out for me because you have to have mathematical level expertise to be a pro at certain psych subjects like statistics (which has zero to do with my passion for neurobiology or neuroscience or anything of the like) and the other thing is you have to study nonsense subjects like "cultural psychology" which vaguely touches upon sociological aspects of psychology and pathology that dont necessarily make sense to anyone and hard to follow; definitely not something people who are passionate about neuroscience want to pursue. 

Despite all this, I DID devise a cognitive psychology experiment that is still underway with a very busy professor at my university. 

After dropping a law degree to pursue psychology and neurosciencd out of academic and research passion, I would recommend the path of neuroscience to no one.

Search up any "neuroscience" job in your area, there are very few of those jobs. (Which is the purpose of a degree after you leave with the certificate itself, and enter the corporate market)

Most jobs you will get with even a Masters of Neuroscience, would be a general job in research as some assistant somewhere publishing other people's findings and not your own. 

That being said if you somehow go in with your passion for MBTI and miraculously ace the statistics exam needed to get into neuroscience diploma at least, that will be an achievement but unfortunately, considering the tough and eccentric marking schemes of my own psychology professors, not a likely path for me, or most others who attempted a psychology degree. It's known to be highly competitive, meaning, not even highly dedicated students get into a psychology postgraduate program or in other words, neuroscience. 

I'm not a cynical person, I'm a realist. I don't like discouraging people from following their passions, I followed that path as well and really, that way was right when I was 20 and was a a kid who had nothing to lose but I'm much older now and my friends are kids having kids, and we need to be a bit more responsible with the limited time we have on this planet. 



> I feel like If I won't be in a career in this path I would probably be bored for life.
> Also kindaaa wanna show off to a narcissist too who basically said I CAN'T because THEY COULDN'T.
> Idk.
> Is being a neuroscientist a good choice? I just want to be stable about this idea.


I used to find neuroscience like 100% the most interesting thing in the world, but now I'm bored by the job prospects of working in neuroscience for the rest of my life. Like in a small lab, with a moist towel somewhere, getting meagre pay and having to stick with technical software, endless statistical analysis and a supervisor who just invalidates my existence. 

That dream died a few years back. 

Stick to an undergrad degree, that will get a job somewhere that you like just for that undergrad degree alone. Like I'm starting an LLB again,(which I initially dropped), BEST DECISION of my life. No regrets.

Considering all this if you still want to go down the psychology route, maybe it really is your destiny and you should trust your inner instinct and go with it. 

If your inner intuition says so, follow it and if it's not working out and your intuition says something else, just change your path and be determined with reaching the right objective this time.


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## Amenochu (Mar 2, 2021)

xraydav said:


> Neuroscience isn't about the "studies of mbti" itself but how such variables relate to biological processes and the computational side of such processes. In other words, algorithms, etc which are derived from brain and psychological theories.
> 
> It's just like studying any other science. You need to learn a shit load of statistics, remember many neurobiology terms and even some IT or mathematics/engineering related theories. (This is especially true for the field Computational Neuroscience)
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing your experience! I like wanted to know about this kind of experience so I can get if I can get to the result I'm expecting somewhat. Also, for me it's the opposite lol! I wanted to go for llb but I noticed I was doing well in psychology academically than the other subjects (not like academic position matter that much) and here in my region there's less people in the field of neuroscience. So other neuroscience researchers are upgrading this sector whereas for law institutions, I feel like I would have to run around alot more here. I was kinda I mean actually in an identity crisis for this lol. So I decided to go for this instead of law. It's quite challenging. I like itxD


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## IamAlexa (Jan 28, 2021)

@Amenochu , quantify all the variables that are relevant to decision making. 
Example: interest: 8.5 in field A, 10 in field B. Scope: 9 in field A, 6 in field B. 

Quantify first, and then see. You will get a better picture.


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## Amenochu (Mar 2, 2021)

IamAlexa said:


> @Amenochu , quantify all the variables that are relevant to decision making.
> Example: interest: 8.5 in field A, 10 in field B. Scope: 9 in field A, 6 in field B.
> 
> Quantify first, and then see. You will get a better picture.





IamAlexa said:


> @Amenochu , quantify all the variables that are relevant to decision making.
> Example: interest: 8.5 in field A, 10 in field B. Scope: 9 in field A, 6 in field B.
> 
> Quantify first, and then see. You will get a better picture.


That's good idea, thanks!


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## xraydav (Jan 3, 2013)

IamAlexa said:


> @Amenochu , quantify all the variables that are relevant to decision making.
> Example: interest: 8.5 in field A, 10 in field B. Scope: 9 in field A, 6 in field B.
> 
> Quantify first, and then see. You will get a better picture.


This is good but it changes depending on time.

Like when I was 20, interest would have been 8.5 in psychology but now at 25, it's 5.4.

That's the thing with passion or interest, there is a chance it may deteriorate with time.

I think people should experiment with their passions, but also keep a good eye on real utility and skills , like would you like to be a legal professional day in and day out who actually provides legal services to a small company somewhere and gets good pay from it? That's the utility argument. That person is not interested in learning about legal principles, but is interested in the practical reality of engaging in giving legal advice and earning better money from it directly. The person ends up with better life outcomes, due to higher salary, because of a tired sacrifice, and ends up with more property, a fancier car, etc because of such compromises than the average arts or psychology student , who is more difficult to fit into the structure of a corporation, because the director doesn't necessarily need an arts or psychology major to drive profits up in his business. Maybe he needs an advertiser once in a blue moon, but not necessarily, an arts graduate. Same with a psychology major. The only reason an organization would hire them would be for research or counselling purposes. And for research that could hire any other graduate, like a biomedical science or science graduate who was taught more about lab processes and lab devices than a psychology graduate.

@Amenochu You're already in the psychology program, so you have some understanding of neuroscience and what it is. Most likely you will progress to final year where you will have that sneaking anxiety about a real job, and have to take an internship and see what it's really like working a laboratory or to apply what you learned.

So either way, you will face the reality of what it's truly like to be a neuroscientist, so from there you can switch if you don't like it. So basically, nothing is final.

Anyway, if you started something, as one should know and do, you are obliged to finish it, even if that seems impossible or hard, simply because it's not good to let go of anything, or letting go becomes an unhealthy character trait, which no corporation would value in a person either.

In the end, you're applying to a company for a job to be a neuroscientist and that job _may not be 100% of what that company does. _

For example, say you're a director of a clinic and you need someone who specializes in neuroscience to give advice to a neurosurgeon, they just make up some job to fit those interests and put up an ad and ask for a "Clinical neuroscience advisor", and write down in the ad list, "degree in science needed, preferably masters in a relevant field", expecting anyone who knows about the job itself through the interview process.

You go for this job and pass the interview, and they find out you learnt a lot through your postgraduate diploma and think it's okay to hire you because since it's a postgraduate diploma it's a bonus for the director because they're saving more money because they dont need to pay them as much as say a PhD. It's a win-win situation, but not necessarily the optimal situation for you.

You work there and you slowly realize that other co-workers aren't really talking and you're just kinda stuck in a small lab, do your service occasionally report to a supervisor in the clinic and the director and they don't necessarily validate you emotionally and are pretty critical in their requirements and schedule.

The director also is not planning on promoting you because it's a clinic and there is no other position in the clinic they can promote you to unless you had management experience or a qualification. So, there is no chance of getting a higher pay, the promotions are all going to management trainees, who were trusted with supervisory roles and could yell when needed.

You've done this a couple of times and notice no one is really paying attention to your ideas and they dont want to publish anything of your own; that is happening somewhere else and maybe at a university, which requires you to do a Masters or PhD and you don't have the GPA for it, because 3rd year was too difficult.

You're so underpaid,that you can't necessarily publish anything anyway, and can't start your own centre and do things your way. You feel stuck there.

What would you rate your level of interest or passion in the above scenario?

Say you did a management qualification straight after the psychology degree, you apply for the same job and get it but these managers notice you're more qualified at management than them! They never did a management qualification, so they put you in charge of a supervisory role to test you out and then after some time training, they make you a manager there. Now you're in charge of the lab at the clinic. You're classified as a clinical executive, you hire other neuroscientists,and get better pay than them. The director speaks with you and you ask for a favour in finding a person to publish your ideas and they are receptive make some calls on your behalf and you're publishing outside university authority.

You start your own centre, the centre publishes their own findings and makes their own recommendations to other organisations. You're now head of a neuroscience company, and you advise bigger companies like AI companies, etc on cognitive neuroscience matters.

What would you rate the second scenario in terms of passion or interest. Most definitely higher than the first?

You got everything you wanted than when compared to the first, because you chose utility and a rational option than passion which is usually something like hoping your emotion or love for something would override everything else. There is so much more to implementation than basic passion for an activity, from the outside but from the inside, that seems like the only thing that matters.


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