How hard is it to become an Neurosurgeon ?

Neurosurgery sounds like a really cool and "sexy" field...and for these reasons it is what I wanted to do until I was in medical school. For the above reasons, it is a long and difficult road to become a neurosurgeon, and once you get there you will have long hours and sky-high malpractice insurance rates. For these reasons I decided to go into a different field.

Very hard. You need:

• Bachelor's degree
  
  


• Complete medical school
  
  


• Get your license after passing the medical licensing examination
  
  


• Intern at a hospital for a year


• Do a residency for 8 years in a Neurosurgery program


• After a little longer, you can also benefit greatly from getting Board certified and licensed in your state. To maintain those licenses and certifications you will need to continue your education throughout your whole career to stay on top of the latest research.

It may sound like a lot, but then again, you're operating on peoples' brains. Just to put things in perspective.