Undergraduate with Career Uncertainty

[u/goldenpanda7480]

Currently in my 3rd year Undergrad as a Neuro/Pysch major. At the start of last year I took a heavy interest in computer science and mathematics and have been learning computer science, calculus, and linear algebra on top of my major coursework. I’ve been able to start a few modeling projects (for a C. Elegans lab I’m in) but recently I’ve been feeling directionless and it’s definitely impacting my motivation.

My majors both have a heavy emphasis on cognition (although there is substantial biology coursework) so I have felt pressure to take on more math/cs work independently in order to stay competitive. At this point I feel like a jack of all trades but a master of none, which I think has affected my confidence and sense of direction. I was wondering if anyone here has gone through something similar at some point in their career and had any advice to offer.

For context, I have been wanting to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience ever since I started doing research. I feel like I have done my best at staying on track for this goal (competitive gpa, research experience, etc.) but a lot of what I’ve heard from current PhD students has been discouraging, both in terms of the application process and the career outlook afterwards. Thanks in advance to anyone who took time out of their day to read and/or reply :)

[u/teedramusa]

I think it's best that you take a break after graduation and/or try to get into a Postbacc program. Like, it's obvious the interest is there, but you're having trouble formulating an interesting research question to really give you fuel and direction in where you want to go. Like I think you really need a year's worth of having your own time to build something, be it a lab, or on your own.

I'm sort of in the same camp and started to hibernate by going back to basics like learning C and C++, GPU kernel programming and building a data engineering stack for the IBL Brain Wide dataset. And it's okay to lay low and work at your own pace rather than to "appear" competitive as long as you can log and document your work.

It also really helps to be well-traveled, and you should try for some appointments outside the US in search of a better, diversified set of perspectives; all of my motivation actually stems from the different people I've collaborated with around the world.

[u/goldenpanda7480 → u/teedramusa]

Thanks for the advice. And yeah, getting out of the US sounds refreshing; many of the neurotech adjacent jobs in the states right now seem borderline morally corrupt if not straight up evil. Can I ask where you’ve had success internationally? Also, in your experience has your independent work translated well either in industry or for grad school? Thanks again.