Where are the bioengineering majors doing today?

Franks · 10-07-2009, 02:22 AM

What kind of jobs did u guys get? Did most of you pursue graduate school?

Oyama · 10-07-2009, 03:29 AM

Of MANY of my friends (maybe 15 bio-e alums):

I think 3 went on to get an MEng in BioE or BioTechE
1 went to a PhD
Maybe 5 got some type of industry or research position
The rest... still looking for jobs, or at least a job related to their major

Undclrd Stdnt · 10-10-2009, 01:08 AM

Lots of Bioengineering B.S. (and some M.S.) from UCSD from the 80s and 90s are now executives in the start-up medical device industry and have done very well.

rodrick00 · 10-11-2009, 12:56 AM

is there a difference between biomedical engineering and bioengineering? is it true that ucsd only offers bioengineering, but davis offers biomedical engineering? i am keen on making medical devices.

Oyama · 10-11-2009, 01:18 AM

BioE-Tech is probably the closest you'll get

TwylaBloo · 10-11-2009, 01:43 AM

There are different flavors of bioengineering majors at UCSD. Bioengineering: Bioengineering has an emphasis on mechanical engineering courses relative to the other majors - if you are interested in medical devices, you should major in this. Bioengineering: Biotechnology has a more chemical engineering emphasis. Bioengineering: Pre-med if you want to go to med school and want to take more biology and fewer engineering classes. Bioengineering: Bioinformatics if you're interested in computer science.
I think the difference between biomedical engineering and bioengineering is that the latter encompasses both agriculture-type research (i.e. genetic engineering of plants) and biomedical research, while the former pertains strictly to biomedical research. There are probably exceptions to this, however.

ManOfFaith · 10-11-2009, 09:05 PM

Your major doesn't define your career to the point that you won't get the job if your degree doesn't say "biomedical".
Also, keep in mind that BioE: Bioinformatics and BioE: Premedical aren't ABET-accredited.

Schw1ng · 10-14-2009, 05:19 AM

BioE: Premedical is no longer offered at UCSD, they are releasing a new curriculum for a major to replace the pre-med track called Biosystems: Biomedical Devices in 2011 (this will incorporate a higher emphasis on engineering than the previous major did). That may be of interest to you. Also, the ABET accreditation is a nice sticker to have for getting hired off a bachelor's degree. That being said, do what interests you (even if it does not have accreditation), because if you do what you like, you'll probably be good at it, and it will show in an interview as well.

ManOfFaith · 10-14-2009, 03:00 PM

That's good. I never had a high opinion of BioE: Premed.

RCC · 10-21-2009, 12:34 PM

and why is that?

subtle_overlord · 10-21-2009, 01:12 PM

Because the premed major is not officially accredited. It's meant for premed students who happen to have an interest in BioE. It's supposed to be "easier" since premeds have a lot to worry about in addition to the already difficult BioE classes.

ManOfFaith · 10-21-2009, 04:09 PM

Because there's no point in majoring in it if you plan to go to med school. Too much unnecessary work.

RCC · 10-21-2009, 07:15 PM

though BPMED is not officially accredited, most BENG programs in other universities are not. And honestly, you should probably go to graduate school if you wanted to really pursue a career in bioengineering.

Also, it is not pointless in majoring in bioengineering if you plan on going to medical school. Remember choice of major does not matter when applying. If work load was the main issue every premed should logically switch to the easiest major offered or go to the easiest college possible.

I think its more about doing what you want to do and doing well in it. The rest will shine through.

subtle_overlord · 10-22-2009, 05:31 AM

I've always thought bioE/premed was a waste of space. They only graduate a small handful of students per year. Besides, I believe that if you really love bioE then you should also be willing to take on a senior project like all the other bioE specializations. Getting rid of the major forces premed seniors in high school to really consider what they want to study instead of signing up for "bioE" and "premed" because that sounded respectable. If they premeds really loved bioE then they should appreciate it for all that it is and take the difficult classes too.

ManOfFaith · 10-22-2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCC

Also, it is not pointless in majoring in bioengineering if you plan on going to medical school. Remember choice of major does not matter when applying.

Exactly. In most cases, majoring in engineering would produce a lower GPA than majoring in almost anything else. Since majors don't matter, you don't get extra points for needlessly torturing yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCC

If work load was the main issue every premed should logically switch to the easiest major offered or go to the easiest college possible.

They should. Except those rare types of people who find engineering easier than biology.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCC

I think its more about doing what you want to do and doing well in it. The rest will shine through.

Pre-med engineers tend to not have much interest in it beyond "that sounds kind of cool" or "that'll look really impressive on my application" (it won't). People actually interested in engineering become engineers.