It has only about forty years since physicians and scientists who were trying to perfect the best methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation segued into studies of brain resuscitation research. The first publicized court case of parents fighting to turn off their brain-dead daughter's respiratory ventilator occurred in the 1970s with the case of Karen Ann Quinlan. Today, almost a decade into the new millennium, we are still studying the brain. Scientists are getting some answers, but there are still so many questions.
A person seeking entry-level technician positions involving the study of the brain must have at minimum an associate's degree in one of the allied health fields. You can become an EEG technician, responsible for administering electroencephalographic tests ordered by doctors. These tests look at brain waves so that doctors can diagnose disorders such as epilepsy or tumors. Sometimes the test can pinpoint an area of the brain affected by trauma or injury. EEG technicians must first make their patients feel comfortable and then conduct an in-depth interview about the symptoms that caused them to seek medical help; this is followed by the actual test itself, which the technician marks and prepares for the supervising physician.
Another entry into the field of brain science is through the job of a radiology technologist. These techs administer tests using computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine isotopes, or other methods to examine the brain. Nuclear medicine technologists usually have an associate's degree and then take an additional year of study to qualify in this specialty. Radiology technicians seek extra experience or study to qualify for CT and MRI technician positions. Radiology and EEG technicians are at the lower end of the pay scale, at about $30,000–45,000 per year; nuclear medicine techs can earn as much as $65,000 or even more, depending on their level of expertise and responsibility.
More and more medical centers are establishing sleep labs to study quirks of the brain in people who have complaints about sleeping or dreaming. The technicians who work with these patients are called polysomnography technologists, or sometimes just sleep-lab techs. These people must make their patients comfortable enough to sleep while hooked up to equipment; then they must maintain observation during their patients' sleep, record data utilizing complex equipment, and score the tests afterward. You can earn about$45,000 per year watching people sleep—more if you have certain certifications.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are trained to intervene when someone is in a health crisis. As mentioned previously, an EMT's ability to keep a person's circulatory system going during a heart attack can mean the difference between brain death and a full recovery. Of course, paramedics work with all type of medical emergencies. However, at the most highly trained level, the EMT-paramedic, the professional is certified to administer drugs either by mouth, or with an intravenous needle if necessary, and can also perform endotracheal intubations. To reach this level you need an associate's degree in this specialty, and each of the fifty states has its own certification or licensure requirements. The average salary is about $27,000; however, those who advance to administrative positions can reach as much as $45,000.
Many rehabilitation or occupational therapists choose to specialize in a neuroscience area, working with patients affected by strokes or who are recovering from successful brain surgery. There is much to learn about how a person's brain helps or hinders them in relearning basic skills. Another example is the work-related head injury; an employee formerly skilled in his daily job performance might find it difficult to reason what the next step in a simple sequence will be. Researchers and therapists work hand in hand to help these people. The minimum requirement for rehabilitation therapist is a bachelor's, usually a master's, degree. Average salaries in this field are $40,000–$60,000, and more for specialists or administrators.
If you are taking your career to a higher level, you will begin with an undergraduate degree in one of many bioscience fields such as psychological science, physiology, biology, or biochemistry. You can major in biotechnology, pharmacology, or genetics. A nursing degree with emphasis on the neurological sciences is another entry into this fascinating field. Other researchers have obtained a master's degree in public health. If you have an undergraduate degree, you might consider matriculating into your local university's master's program and seeking a position as a research assistant in brain research. Areas range from pharmacology to stem-cell research. Salaries in the academic world at the research-fellowship level vary from $40,000–$80,000 depending on area of study and geographic location.
Only you can identify the passion and commitment you feel to an exciting career in one of the brain sciences. You can find the best listings of neuroscience or psychological science jobs at SciencesCrossing.com, where experts have combined the most-complete listing of careers in this field into one easy-to-search database. You can search by area or salary; you can plug in your current credentials or areas of interest. You will form a professional partnership with the staff at SciencesCrossing.com that you will want to maintain even after you find the one position that meets all of your career requirements. Visit SciencesCrossing.com today to see what career possibilities are open to you.