From Start to Finish: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Scientist in Psychology and Neuroscience

From Start to Finish: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Scientist in Psychology and Neuroscience helps readers navigate the scientific disciplines of psychology and neuroscience. The text provides practical, real-world advice to a wide range of scientists and those who aspire to be—from undergraduate students mapping out initial career paths to established professors. The book helps early-career scientists develop a plan to pursue a meaningful and fulfilling career, discussing the relative strengths of different types of career outcomes, and carries them through tenure.

Readers learn practical tips for applying to graduate school, selecting a graduate mentor, and using post-doctoral education as a launching pad for a career. The text outlines how to get a teaching appointment or a research-based position at a university, and how to secure tenure in either setting. Readers learn how to apply for a grant, run a lab without graduate students, and establish a healthy work-life balance. Each chapter features an interview with a subject matter expert to provide a fresh perspective and additional advice.

Designed to help readers better understand the various career paths available to them, From Start to Finish is a valuable resource for anyone interested in developing and pursuing a career in the scientific fields of psychology and neuroscience.

About the Author :
Ashleigh M. Maxcey, Ph.D., is a visiting associate professor in the Department of Psychology at The Ohio State University, currently with a summer appointment at Vanderbilt University. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa with a specialization in cognition and perception. Dr. Maxcey’s current research examines how human memory functions.

Geoffrey F. Woodman, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, the director of graduate studies in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, and the co-director of a National Eye Institute T32 to the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Iowa. Dr. Woodman’s research examines how the mechanisms of visual attention and memory influence how we interact with the world around us.

Review :
An invaluable resource that provides multiple perspectives on the issues most pressing to students and academics as they consider all aspects of their career and how to ideally carve out one's own path. These are the topics that are routinely covered in lab meetings and hallway conversations but have never been formalized in this manner until now. Absolutely essential for anyone interested in pursuing or better understanding the ins and outs of a successful career as a Psychologist or Neuroscientist. A text of this type has been needed for some time and this is a resource I will be providing to all future trainees." —Michael Dodd, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Editor: Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics