the_police909

Hi,

Even though my main goal right now is to do patent law, if that option fails, or if I decide I'd rather be an engineer than lawyer, how would I do neural engineering? I'm planning on getting a EE/Neuroscience degree from a decent school, and I know I have to get a masters generally in BME, but is that it? Are there plenty of jobs available as well or what? Also, this is a shallow question, but do neural engineers make good money? I don't need to live a life like a lawyer, but I would at the very least like to afford an infiniti G35 sedan, a two story house, or essentially other good, but not necessarily amazingly spendy items, but is that life easily possible being a neural engineer?

sky

Talk to california_love8, you two are made for each other.

the_police909

umm OK. Anyone with a serious reply?

seaweed

no you are very unlikely to make a lot of money. most neural engineering research is still taking place in academic setting.

there might be some research projects in a few biotech/pharm firms, but i have to say the job market in this field is very limited, and i don't see a strong potential in commercializing this research area, at least not yet.

Ctheflute

seaweed is right in that most neural engineering research is still in the academic setting. You may have a difficult time getting into the field with just a masters in BME - most I know of in the field are PhD candidates, post-docs, or professors. A few companies are working on neural engineering, but they are mostly focused on a few focused areas (deep brain stimulation for instance). The extremely long time for FDA approval on these types of devices is a real problem for new companies looking to get in on this work. If you're interested in brain computer interfacing and/or neuroprosthetics, those types of research will mostly be found in academia for now. From what I have been able to find out, jobs are competitive and pretty limited in what region of the country they are in. There's a trend towards more neural engineering research labs opening up, but their success will rely a lot on the amount of funding available.

As far as the money, its all depends on the quality of your work. The top researchers in the field are definitely living quite comfortably, and the laziest just minted phds are on the other end of the spectrum. If you are a valuable contribution to the field and have wise spending habits, then it is quite likely you can make enough to live comfortably with a few of the big ticket items of your choice :-)

steevee

I would really like to see lazy PhD graduates :O

UriA702

Steve - I believe he was implying upon receiving a PhD might be inclined to see their wages as unfair or whatever the case may be and do minimum research w/o contributing much to the field. In which case they may have a difficult time landing the good positions and getting raises vs the others who are actually stamping their foot as a key researcher in the finding.

I would not consider a PhD for that you may end up burning out and stuck in a position where you are left with no choice but to work in that industry. If your interests truly are experimental neuroscience and why not go EE and then graduate school get into the nueroscience. In my opinion that would be a safer route considering EE graduates are typically paid better, it can serve as a huge safety net considering the limited number of careers available specifically concentrating in Comp. Neuroscience or other related fields.