Neurology is one of those fields that you truly need to have a "calling" for. No one wakes up one day and say "I think I want to do neuro". Most people are fascinated by its complexity but very few are willing to deal with its day-to-day grind. I've already mentioned some of the reasons that make it undesired (time consuming H&P, never ending undercooked consults, lack of objective diagnostic tools, vague chief complaints, high proportion of psychogenic to real organic presentations, big mismatch between patient's/family's expectations and what can be done, etc...).
On the other hand, there are aspects of the field that make it a great choice:
1. Early specialization. Don't need to do an entire residency before gambling on your chances of getting in (as the case in IM subspecialties)
2. Fellowships aren't necessary, and they are relatively easy to match into
3. Big reliance on basic medical science knowledge (cell bio, neuroscience, pharm). That's why the field attracts nerds
4. Very fertile ground for research and innovation. Even in epilepsy, one of the most straightforward and understood branches of neurology, the amount of unknown greatly outweighs how much we already know.
5. Your history and physical exam matter a lot. Specially in times when physical exam skills have atrophied and every other doctor dot phrases "rrr, ctab, ntnd, and CNII-XII intact b/l", the physical exam section of a neurologist's note is perhaps the most important part. In fact, most of the consults we get are because the consulting physicians unable/unwilling to spend the extra time/effort to listen and examine the patient. Not their fault. Can't expect a hospitalist who has to churn through 20+ patients to have each patient get up and examine their gait.
6. Tons of variety and you never see the same pathology presented twice.
7. Very robust job market. Getting a job in large cities is not an issue. As a PGY-2, I started getting offers.
8. Though not great, income is above average for nonsurgical nonprocedural fields.
9. Can choose to work exclusively inpatient or outpatient. Can do both simultaneously. Can work form home (teleneurology or intraoperative EEG monitoring).
10. Tons of respect and admiration from the general public.