Neuroscience or Chemistry degree Help

Moving out is not an option for me and with a course like pharmacy I think it would be quite difficult to commute

Sorry for the pointless question... I didn't understand that moving was not an option... Have you considered optometry as well? In terms of a "safe" career path it could be good. Coming back to your original question, I hope someone else has more insight, and best wishes for your future

I’m in bit of a dilemma, I originally wished to do Pharmacy at my preferred uni but I’ve fount out that they have strict resit policy which I was not aware of. I’ve applied to foundation year where I can transfer to some science courses including neuroscience and chemistry. And I wanted to know which degree would be better in terms of employability . I don’t want to enter a research field so I’m not sure which ones suitable for me. Could someone please help, I’ve been very stressed about this .

I’m in bit of a dilemma, I originally wished to do Pharmacy at my preferred uni but I’ve fount out that they have strict resit policy which I was not aware of. I’ve applied to foundation year where I can transfer to some science courses including neuroscience and chemistry. And I wanted to know which degree would be better in terms of employability . I don’t want to enter a research field so I’m not sure which ones suitable for me. Could someone please help, I’ve been very stressed about this .

Hiya lovely
Honestly, try not to panic, you’ve actually put yourself in a pretty sensible position by choosing a foundation year that keeps multiple science routes open. In terms of employability, neuroscience and Chemistry are more flexible degrees, but they don’t lead to one specific job in the same way as pharmacy would have, so graduates often go into healthcare roles, pharmaceuticals, teaching (with further training), NHS positions, or general graduate schemes. If you’re not interested in research, neuroscience can be a bit harder to use without additional qualifications, whereas chemistry tends to be more versatile for industry roles like quality control, pharma, labs, and manufacturing.
Overall, if you want flexibility and less risk from strict progression rules, Chemistry is often the safer non-research option, and doing well in the foundation year with relevant experience will matter just as much as the degree title.
Kind regards Aneta PhD Chemistry

Hello! 4th year chemistry master's student here.
In terms of employability I would highly recommend a chemistry degree. Chemistry as a subject has wide applications , which overlap particularly well with all the physical and life sciences. I would say chemistry is a type of degree that does not limit your career pathway, there is so many different jobs that you could get from getting one. These do not necessarily have to be chemistry related. I have received many transferable skills and recognition from my degree. I cannot really comment on neuroscience as I have not spoken to anyone about it. However, my perspective is that I have never heard of a neuroscience industry yet there is loads of different types of chemical industries. So in terms of job opportunities and variability I would say it's likely neuroscience is more restricting.
As you mentioned wanting to do pharmacy, it would be good to know exactly what part of the pharmacy degree that was important for you. If you are interested in the manufacturing/synthesis of medicines then I would say chemistry could even be a better choice. After a chemistry degree you should have the knowledge/experience to carry out all basic synthetic techniques required for this area. You could then specialise after the degree , or attempt to do your final year research project in pharmaceuticals or organic synthesis. Like I said before it has many pathways to it, and perhaps it opens up something else.
Most of medicine production you would need or would be better off with very good organic chemistry knowledge! The chemists are the ones making the medicine or designing the new medicine to use which I find exciting. This field is defintitely heavy in research as it does focus on trialling new medicines or new synthetic methods to allow for easier mass production. However, there is many jobs associated to this which are not in R&D rather in the production of the known processes. I can't see how neuroscience would link as closely to pharmacy but perhaps there is research in how certain medicines affect the brain or brain related conditions, but that would be research related.
In summary, if it is work related to making medicines that is interesting for you, many people who do Chemistry degrees end up doing this. So taking chemistry would let you persue pharmacy at a later point if you wanted to, as a Chemistry Degree is simply just less restricting/specialised. This leads to chemistry opening loads of doors, not closing them.
Good luck. I hope you choose what is right for you.
-Dan (Lancaster Student Ambassador)