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Neuroscience or medicine or law!

29 replies

Dunnowhat · 25/09/2022 18:05

Hello

Any advice welcomed. My DD has just done GCSEs (8 grade 9 and 3 grade 7 in Spanish and English lit and Lang). A levels are biology maths and chemistry.

She’s never really known what she wants to do. Doesn’t want to work in a lab (like her dad) or an office, well wfh at moment, like me.

Had an interest in neuroscience but was advised by school to think of medicine as could then specialise in neuroscience later. Medicine was first career that she didn’t immediately dismiss. So she has helped out at swimming lessons for disabled children, done a bit of work shadowing at a hospital. (Very brief and not particularly helpful), and gone through the online virtual medical mentoring schemes.

She’s now decided she doesn’t really want of do medicine. I’m glad as I never really thought it was what she really wanted and it’s so competitive. She has now wondered about law but she thinks essay writing is a weakness. She’s still sort of keen on neuroscience but doesn’t know what she would do with it

Any advice?

Anything we haven’t thought of that might be a suitable career? Would it be best to do a neuroscience type degree and then convert to law after. I guess she couldn’t do law and then neuroscience.

She likes debating. Very into drama. I would say though the sciences are her strong point academically.

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Beetrootandpickles · 25/09/2022 19:49

How about psychology with neuropsychology or with neuroscience. That would leave lots of options e.g. a conversion to law, doctorate in clinical psychology later specialising in neuropsychology (if she wants to work with patients), or neuroscience research in a university.

Dunnowhat · 25/09/2022 19:43

thanks both for your input.
I think she doesn’t want to close off options. Neuroscience and law are quite far apart and while if she did neuroscience she could then go on to do a one year law conversion course , it would probably be financially impossible to do a law degree and then decide to do neuroscience as I guess she would have to pay herself for a second degree.

we have looked at several universities prospectuses on line and gone through all their undergraduate courses to see if there is one that sparks an interest. Back in my day I just did a boring maths degree but now there are numerous different combinations

OP posts:
Lightsabre · 25/09/2022 18:41

We have found going to the university open days very useful. Ds (yr 12) also undecided on degree but has seen some degrees advertised at the open days that weren't on the radar at all so it's worth attending a few (almost all have virtual days too). It's useful to talk to the students on the stalls about admission standards, course content and job/higher ed prospects.

The Guardian and Sunday Times have just released their University guides too.

jgw1 · 25/09/2022 18:08

There is absolutely no need to think about careers, if she is going to do a degree. She should choose a degree that interests and excites her.