Photo: Chris Hope (CC BY 2.0)
Job description
The work starts with a full medical history interview, followed by neuropsychological evaluations covering things like intelligence, attention, language, memory, and sensorimotor function. Neuropsychologists diagnose and treat conditions ranging from strokes and brain tumors to degenerative diseases and dementia in adults, and they work with pediatric patients on developmental or organic learning disabilities as well, sometimes assisting with evaluations before and after neurosurgery like deep brain stimulation. Findings get written up as detailed clinical reports, and the job includes counseling patients and families through what a diagnosis means. It's precise, structured, fast-paced work requiring a PhD or PsyD with a neuropsychology specialization, and pay runs from about $55,000 to $169,000.
Pros
- High upside earning potential, up to $169k, with faster than average growth (4.3%)
- Deep, meaningful patient work diagnosing and helping treat brain and nervous system conditions
- Work spans testing, diagnosis, and patient counseling, offering variety beyond routine tasks
Cons
- Above-average hours, expect more than a standard 40-hour work week
- Requires a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) plus a neuropsychology specialization, a very long training path
- Fast-paced work with real deadlines and mistakes that carry serious consequences for patients
A typical day
The first patient arrives at 9 for a four-hour testing battery: a seventy-year-old whose family noticed memory lapses, working through structured tests of attention, language, memory, and executive function while the neuropsychologist observes not just scores but how the patient approaches each task. After lunch comes the interpretive work — scoring the battery, comparing results against normative data, and integrating them with the MRI report and medical history to distinguish, say, early dementia from depression masquerading as it. Late afternoon holds a feedback session with a different family, explaining what a traumatic brain injury means for their son's return to college. Report writing fills the gaps — each one a document neurologists, schools, and courts may rely on.
Tasks at the job
- Interview patients to obtain comprehensive medical histories.
- Write or prepare detailed clinical neuropsychological reports, using data from psychological or neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct observations, or interviews.
- Conduct neuropsychological evaluations such as assessments of intelligence, academic ability, attention, concentration, sensorimotor function, language, learning, and memory.
- Diagnose and treat conditions involving injury to the central nervous system, such as cerebrovascular accidents, neoplasms, infectious or inflammatory diseases, degenerative diseases, head traumas, demyelinating diseases, and various forms of dementing illnesses.
- Diagnose and treat pediatric populations for conditions such as learning disabilities with developmental or organic bases.
- Provide education or counseling to individuals and families.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled setting, and most of the day is spent sitting at a desk.
The pace is often fast, with real time pressure to meet deadlines, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day. Precision and accuracy are essential to the work, and the work is highly structured, following set procedures.
Education necessary or common
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in clinical psychology, plus a neuropsychology specialization
Common college majors
Licenses & certifications
- PhD or PsyD in clinical psychology
- State psychologist licensure
- Board certification in clinical neuropsychology (ABPP-CN)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- AP Psychology — the entry point to the whole field
- AP Biology — the brain is the organ in question; biology is not optional
- Anatomy & Physiology — take it if offered, focusing on the nervous system
- AP Statistics — test interpretation is statistics against normative data
- English/AP English Language — the report is the product; writing must be precise
Clubs, activities & competitions
- HOSA or psychology club
- Volunteer with a memory-care facility or brain injury association
- Science Olympiad — anatomy and physiology event covers neuro content
- Science fair project on memory, attention, or cognition
First steps you can take now
- Take a free online neuroscience course to see if the brain itself fascinates you
- Volunteer at a nursing home or memory-care unit and talk with residents
- Read a book by a neuropsychologist or neurologist about clinical cases
- Map out the training path: it's a doctorate plus a two-year specialty fellowship — know that going in
