Current position: Neurophysiology Technologist, which includes hooking up patients with electodes to collect their EEG and ECG recordings while they sleep and to flag any anomalies in the collected polysomnogram that may indicate a possible sleep disorder.
How did Neuroscience help you?
In terms of how my minor helps with the position, firstly by fostering my inital interest in the field of mental health. Secondly, my degree has given me the tools I would need to be able to jump into a position like this. For instance, providing basic knowledge that I am now able to build on in more depth, such as recognizing a polysomnographic recording and knowing generally what brainwaves look like in various stages of sleep. This allowed me to quickly gain more in depth knowledge about how the recordings appear in the case of someone with a sleep disorder.
Advice for other students:
My advice for students entering the job market is, don’t be afraid of volunteering. Volunteering to many is a scary idea because it means that you’re spending time away from a job that could be earning you money. What you get out of volunteering, however, are the connections in your field and the recognition that you are a hard worker, and that’s what gets you where you want to be. I wouldn’t have been offered my current job if I hadn’t started volunteering at the Royal Ottawa Sleep Lab and showing that I was serious about my passion for the job.