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Master's in Neuroscience - Job prospects? Industry vs Academia

Hey all, I'm due to start a Master's in Neuroscience this September at a great uni. (Previous degree: Biomedical Science 2.1).

I'm worried it'll be a waste... I'd like to go into research but probably in industry rather than academia (probably due to the poor pay I hear a lot about).

After spending a year off trying to get a good placement/lab job I've had no experience.

Can someone please help me understand my prospects with a Master's in Neuroscience and what my possible options might be? Is neuroscience the wrong subject to go into if you want to work in bigpharma research/industry?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you
Original post by idungoofed
Hey all, I'm due to start a Master's in Neuroscience this September at a great uni. (Previous degree: Biomedical Science 2.1).

I'm worried it'll be a waste... I'd like to go into research but probably in industry rather than academia (probably due to the poor pay I hear a lot about).

After spending a year off trying to get a good placement/lab job I've had no experience.

Can someone please help me understand my prospects with a Master's in Neuroscience and what my possible options might be? Is neuroscience the wrong subject to go into if you want to work in bigpharma research/industry?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you


Hey, I'm not doing neuroscience but I'm in a similar situation with regards to industry vs. academia as I'm about to do a masters in Psychology.

I actually got offers to do MRes in a couple universities but then asked admissions if I could switch to clinical or counselling psychology as it would help in the private sector but I really do think my passion is with research and academia.

Let's say you did get an MRes in Neuroscience, would you consider a PhD? That's usually an option and I feel as though it would be more beneficial in academia to have a PhD rather than just a masters, as that way you could go into lecturing too. But for pharmacy industries I am sure they'll be focused on research experience so having an MRes and PhD would be great for job prospects (I don't know what it's like with a masters in your industry I'm afraid). I think research is a good route even if you want to go into industry as the field you want to go into is pharmaceutical research.

Good luck!
Reply 2
In the same situation as you OP, I have an offer from a great uni in Neuroscience and from my research, the prospects are that there are jobs out there! It is all about how you sell yourself to the employer over anything else. Knowing what they are looking for and how you have fulfilled this requirement and being able to talk about it, this is why employers want experienced people so they don't have to explain things over and over.

However, neuroscience is a sector that has seen lots of cuts due to the lack of progress in the past years, despite large investments from pharma companies. This has meant there are fewer jobs but the problems remain, a case of low-hanging fruit being picked. So over time, there will be an increased demand for employment due to the strain that neurological disorders put on the NHS etc.
But there has been promise in the area with, I think it was, Eli-Lilly producing the first alzheimer's therapy to reach Phase III in 27 odd years. But the industry faces lots of issues, like the patent cliff and me-too/biosimilars which are forcing it to become more moral or strategic depending on your cynicism..

So on the whole I, though biased, think doing an MSc in Neuroscience is fine, you will find work and have lots of transferable skills; most consider it a stepping stone to PhD more than a final qualification. Though if you do a grad scheme afterwards you should be ok with employment if you don't want to do another postgrad qualification.

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