Cognitive Science and Public Health

[heythereshelly]

To be honest, I have absolutely NO idea what I want to do with my life after college. I'm slightly considering majoring in cognitive science, yet I'm not entirely excited about the computer science or math classes that I will be taking. What I'm more interested in are the social and biological aspects, as well as the world of public health. More specifically, I enjoy learning how people learn, and what we as humans can do to improve our cognitive functions.

Are there any good non-premed/engineering careers that I should consider? Is cognitive science even a useful major for those who are considering to work in the health field? I'm looking for a job that will allow me to live comfortably both financially and mentally/emotionally.

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[californicati0n]

I'm not sure what college you're going to, but does it offer a public health major? Because that seems like it would fit you best. Some other majors that come to mind are neuroscience and sociology. Anyways, to answer your question, there are SO many careers in the health field that involve the aspects you're interested in. Public health research is extremely interesting and definitely something you should look into. There are also people that have jobs advocating for certain food and health policies. Are you in college right now? If you haven't started, work with their career center to find out more about potential options. Good luck!

 

[Ohyeah]

You should consider majoring in psychology. Depends on what your school offers, but you should take the basics and shoot for developmental, cognitive, and biological psych electives. You can also include electives like public health, sociology, and anthropology to get the macro-level perspective. Psych is very research-based as a discipline and will allow you to get involved with research in line with your interests, possibly opening doors and planting seeds for future academic/clinical careers (including medicine if you take the other pre-reqs).

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

It sounds more that your interests lie in psychology and neuroscience than anything else. I'd either stick with cognitive science or switch to psychology.

 

[heythereshelly]

Thanks so much for answering guys!

The thing is, I'm going to Berkeley this fall and both their public health and psychology majors are restricted/impacted. In other words, it's kind of tough trying to make it into either major.

Also, I heard that a B.A. in psychology is useless for those who don't get into grad school; then again, who knows how much further a cognitive science major with a concentration in psychology would take me?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Psychology is a major where you make what you want out of it. If you have a goal path then it can be a great thing.

 

[nysegop]

I concur. Psych is a great major.

 

[HSUReddie]

You could always do psych and see where your interests are in four years - then apply to either grad programs in psych or public health. If you really want a career in public health, an MPH is really the terminal degree for that. I would assume a bachelors degree in public health would pretty much just leave you applying to grad programs in public health. Which I personally don't see too much of a point in... Public health students come from a ton of different backgrounds - biology, psych, political science, sociology, anthropology, statistics, etc. They'll take nearly any bachelors degree.

I'd argue a graduate degree in public health is also great for people who feel it will complement their careers in other areas (like psych and medicine)... but I'm sort of biased since I'm about to complete my MSPH. 😛 But, seriously, I think it would be cool to do a PhD in psych and an MPH in behavioral sciences/health education. You could likely do a lot with that.

 

[heythereshelly]

I have nothing against psychology. I've only taken AP Psychology and a class in Cognitive Neuroscience in high school, and they both seem like interesting fields to me. Actually, they've been something that I've been interested in ever since I was in middle school.

What kind of careers can you get with an MPH in Behavioral/Health Sciences? I've actually been considering some of the programs out there, but I don't know if it will be worth it for me.

 

[nysegop]

I have nothing against psychology. I've only taken AP Psychology and a class in Cognitive Neuroscience in high school, and they both seem like interesting fields to me. Actually, they've been something that I've been interested in ever since I was in middle school.

What kind of careers can you get with an MPH in Behavioral/Health Sciences? I've actually been considering some of the programs out there, but I don't know if it will be worth it for me.

You could become a politician with an MPH. You could work for the government (CDC type of thing). You could get into healthcare management. You do some sort of global health (WHO, non-profits, etc.)

You could do consulting for for-profit healthcare corporations.

Here is a list I found somewhere on the interwebs:
• Health Educator
• Research Coordinator
• Healthcare Manager
• Healthcare Policy and Administration
• Biostatistics
• Epidemiologist
• Environmental Management and Analysis
• Healthcare Consultant
• Non-Profit Coordinator or Director
• Global Health Policy and Leadership

 

[heythereshelly]

Thanks nysegop! 😀

I've looked at some of the job titles. Some of them say that entry-level positions require that you have a bachelor's degree in public health., and other jobs that require an MPH degree also require that you have experience in the field.

Do I really need to have a bachelor's in public health? I don't want to major in something that will limit me only to public health positions, like HSUReddie pointed out.

 

[nysegop]

Thanks nysegop! 😀

I've looked at some of the job titles. Some of them say that entry-level positions require that you have a bachelor's degree in public health., and other jobs that require an MPH degree also require that you have experience in the field.

Do I really need to have a bachelor's in public health? I don't want to major in something that will limit me only to public health positions, like HSUReddie pointed out.

In that case what I would do is go to undergrad school and major in whatever you want (Could be anything. Honestly. Could be finance if you wanted to.) After that, get an MPH. That way you have the flexibility of both degrees. The ones that require a bachelors in public health would certainly take someone with an MPH in public health.

 

[ClemsonFirst]

Major in something you think you are interested in. Like go ahead and start with psychology if you think you will enjoy it. You can always do some grad or masters programs after to specialize into a totally different field. Your major does not always dictate your career. English majors can go to medical school; it all depends on how you set yourself up.

Once you get in, talk to your advisor or a career advisor and they will help you set up with internships or shadowing where you can experience different jobs and see what you are interested in and like and don't like. Then you can change your major to whatever you like and could see yourself doing later in life. Lots of people start college undeclared and decide later what major they want. It is hard and daunting, but just know you are not stuck with a major. You can always change majors later on.

 

[HSUReddie]

Yeah personally I don't think a bachelors in public health is really necessary. They will let you apply to public health with pretty much any degree. If you want to be open to changing your mind later, I would definitely just major in something you are interested in. The only benefit I have seen to majoring in public health is that at some institutions (like Tulane for instance) you can do a 4+1 program, where you get your bachelors in public health and MPH in five years instead of six. But really, what is five years compared to six? Not that different.

I will say with regards to the careers nysegop listed... The options available to you are likely going to depend on the concentration you pursue. People with MPH's in epi can obviously pursue different careers than those with MPH's in health education.

 

[heythereshelly]

What kind of different careers can you get in the field of epidemiology? It does seem kind of interesting to me, but I don't know much about it yet.

Yeah, I should definitely make a few visits to the career center soon.