According to the National Science Foundation, biomedical engineering is the fastest growing branch of engineering for student enrollment. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that biomedical engineering jobs account for only 21,300 of the total 1,681,000 engineering jobs.
It is also one of the most popular majors for women, second only to environmental engineering. One of the reasons for this is that women are attracted to engineering because of the humanitarian impact. Biomedical engineering is one of the few engineering fields of study that is almost 50% female! This is huge, compared to mechanical engineering, which is only 15%.
I can relate to this because when I started college, I was a biomedical engineer. After researching the various types of engineering, this was the only type of engineering that really aligned with my interests. The thought of designing medical devices or prosthetics that would impact peoples’ lives was really exciting. I was not interested in building machines or bridges. Going into college, I felt if I was not in biomedical engineering, I would not major in engineering. I was all in!
Or so I thought…
Turns out I didn’t graduate with a degree in biomedical engineer, but mechanical instead.
Why?
Well, I learned much more about the degrees and what companies are looking for over the years. I want to share this with you so you can make the best choice for your future.
Here’s what you should consider to determine if biomedical engineering is a good major for you.
Determine What You Want To Do
First, you need to identify your goal. After earning your bachelor’s degree, do you want to work or go to grad school?
Get A Job
If you want to get a job after college, you need to assess which discipline you want to pursue. The field of biomedical engineering can be broken down into three main categories: tissue engineering, biomechanics, and bioinstrumentation. Biomechanics overlaps mechanical engineering and bioinstrumentation overlaps electrical engineering.
If you want to pursue tissue engineering then, biomedical engineering is the best major for you. However, if you want to pursue a career in biomechanics or bioinstrumentation, you may want to consider a different degree. There is a disconnect between industry and academia. Don’t worry, I will expand on this in a minute.
Go To Grad School
If you are planning on going to grad school, then majoring in biomedical engineering might be the right undergrad degree for you.
You see, most biomedical students have a challenging time finding jobs and end up going to grad school as a result.
During my first year of college, I befriended many upperclassmen. We often discussed their job searches. The one thing many of the biomedical engineering majors said were they were having a hard time finding jobs. Some wished they had not chosen biomedical engineering as a major. In contrast, I did not hear this from their counterparts in other engineering disciplines. This is one of the main reasons I changed majors.
I had no interest in going to graduate school. My plan was to get a job right after I obtained my undergraduate engineering degree.
However, biomedical engineering might be a good major if you are interested in going to graduate school for engineering, medical school, pharmacy, dental, or law.
So why do biomedical engineers have a challenging time finding a job? Let’s look at the degree requirements and the expectations of industry.
What are the disadvantages of biomedical engineering?
The main disadvantage of biomedical engineering is the curriculum. In order to make room for the biology and anatomy courses, the coursework includes less engineering classes. This is not a disadvantage per se, since you are taking the relevant engineering courses as opposed to taking ones that you will never use. Yes, I’m referring to you heat transfer!
What does industry think?
Industry views this as a disadvantage. They think that since biomedical engineering students didn’t take more engineering classes, that they had an easier time getting their degree. Therefore, they may not be as prepared as their mechanical or electrical peers.
Notice I said think. This is their perception. So even though it might not be reality, it doesn’t matter, since their perception is their reality.
In fact, this is the reason you see so many biomedical engineer grads going into quality engineering, as opposed to being a design engineer.
I have seen this in my own experience. Working for a multibillion dollar medical device company, it might be surprising to know the majority of the engineers I worked with in Research and Development (R&D) were mechanical engineers.
I knew of two biomedical engineers in the product design department- that’s it! In contrast, there were more biomedical engineers in the quality and post market surveillance departments.
Furthermore, when we recruited students at career fairs, we were told to look for mechanical engineers as opposed to biomedical. I saw this disconnect first hand. The students coming to our booth were biomedical engineering majors, but we were looking for mechanical majors.
This isn’t the students’ fault. The colleges would tell the biomedical engineers to target medical device companies, even though that isn’t what we were looking for. This disconnect makes it challenging for biomedical students to find jobs in the medical device industry.
What should you major in if you want to be a biomedical engineer?
So now you might be wondering, if you want a job in the medical device field what do you major in? This may be counterintuitive, but hear me out. If your goal is to graduate in four years and get a job as a biomedical engineer, you shouldn’t major in biomedical engineering. Instead, you should major in either mechanical or electrical engineering. You will take more engineering courses in these majors than in biomedical. Therefore, you will be more desirable to potential employers.
If you want to go into the field of biomechanics, then you should major in mechanical engineering. On the other hand, if you want to go into the field of bioinstrumentation, then you should major in electrical engineering.
Next, you should either get a minor or a concentration in biomedical engineering. This way, you are getting the best of both worlds. If your college does not offer a biomedical minor or concentration, that is okay. Use your electives to take biomedical engineering courses.
Also, try to pursue internships and co-op jobs in the biomedical field to gain hands on experience.
Lastly, if the college you are attending has capstone or senior design projects course try to have yours relate to biomedical engineering.
Again, I understand this may be shocking because this is probably the first time you are hearing this. It may not even make a lot of sense since you are probably thinking, if I want to be a biomedical engineer shouldn’t I get a biomedical engineering degree (it is in the name)?
Disconnect Between Industry And Academia
Yes, common sense would lead you to believe this but unfortunately there is a disconnect between academia and industry.
Think of it this way. Electrical and mechanical engineers are lacking in biology and anatomy classes. Where as biomedical engineers are lacking in engineering classes.
A manager in industry would rather teach a mechanical or electrical engineer the anatomy that the device is being used in, instead, of trying to fill the engineering knowledge gap that biomedical engineers may have.
Not only are mechanical and electrical engineers more desirable to employers, there are many more opportunities for these majors. They are needed in every industry, not only the medical device industry like biomedical engineers.
Ultimately, these are the reasons I changed from a biomedical engineer to a mechanical engineer with a concentration in biomechanics after my first semester of freshman year. This was the best decision I made during my collegiate career.
I was able to land my dream internship my junior year. After graduating, I went on to work full time for the same company. It was a medical device company and I worked in the Research and Development department designing medical devices. I never felt behind because I didn’t take biology or anatomy courses. In fact, I excelled and was promoted to senior engineer in only three years.
Biomedical Engineering Job Titles And Requirements
Don’t just take my word for it. Here are some current job postings that I found when I Googled “biomedical engineering” jobs.
What do you notice?
Five of the six require a mechanical engineering degree, where as only three require a biomedical engineering degree.
Surprisingly, out of the three jobs that have the title of biomedical engineer, only one of them requires a biomedical engineering degree- even with biomedical in the title!
Lastly, the Navy job lists a bunch of required courses, as opposed to a specific degree. All of the courses listed are included in a mechanical engineering degree. However, they may not all be in a biomedical engineering degree depending on the college. Dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer may or may not be required courses for biomedical.
It is also important to note that in the real world you are not known as your degree. Instead, you are only known as your function.
For example, if you ask someone in college what a ME is, they will say a mechanical engineer. However, if you ask someone in industry what a ME is, they will tell you a manufacturing engineer
Why?
Because in the real world, many different degrees can get you the same job title, as shown in the image above. You see, manufacturing engineers can have degrees in mechanical, biomedical, aerospace, industrial, and manufacturing engineering just to name a few. Therefore, once you are working, your experience in your role will matter more than your specific degree.
So, is biomedical engineering a good major?
It depends. To summarize, consider the following:
- What do you want to do after you obtain your undergraduate degree, get a job or go onto graduate school?
- If you want to get a job, then determine the type of biomedical engineering you are interested in: tissue engineering, biomechanics, or bioinstrumentation. Here are my recommendations for the engineering discipline you should choose based on your interest:
- Tissue engineering: Get a degree in biomedical engineering
- Biomechanics: Get a degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration or minor in biomedical engineering
- Bioinstrumentation: Get a degree in electrical engineering with a concentration or minor in biomedical engineering
- If you are planning on going to graduate school right after earning your undergraduate degree, then you should pursue a biomedical engineering degree.
Finally, if you are interested in biomedical engineering, you should definitely take an Introduction to Biomedical Engineering course during your freshman year. Most universities offer a course like this. Then, you can find out what the degree is all about and make the best decision for your future.
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