<p>Are the prospects as bad as some people say? </p>
<p>I plan to pursue graduate studies in biomedical engineering and I actually want to develop and design new stuff using that knowledge gained from such an education.</p>
<p>Are the prospects as bad as some people say? </p>
<p>I plan to pursue graduate studies in biomedical engineering and I actually want to develop and design new stuff using that knowledge gained from such an education.</p>
<p>The economy isn’t stable enough to accurately predict 5 years into the future. In short, no one really knows what will happen without insider information.</p>
<p>If you do go into it, be sure to go down a specific path (such as mechanical, electrical, chem, etc). I am working at a medical device company, and most people working in R&D are straight electrical, mechanical, or chemical engineering majors. I also know a few who majored in BME in school who are “electrical engineers” at my work. So it may be more useful to go down one of those, and maybe have a concentration relating to the biomedical engineering part.</p>
<p>Specifically, I want to go into R&D.</p>
<p>My college offers programs in bioengineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial and systems engineering.</p>
<p>The only ones I am interested in is bioengineering and slightly, mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>I do have a year to choose my specific engineering major, however since the engineering freshman year program is common to all engineering majors.</p>
<p>Take mechanical. As a BME undergrad you will know a little about a whole lot of subjects, and it’s better to be an expert at just one.</p>
<p>Take a few chemistry classes (1st year and OChem) and a biology sequence on top of that.</p>
<p>So if I were to stick with biomedical engineering, I should take extra classes to top off chemistry and biology. Thanks for that suggestion. In that case, I will take Intermediate Chemistry+Organic Chemistry in addition to General Chemistry and some more advance bio classes. For biology courses, what types of additional courses would you suggest?
Here is a list of available biology courses. <a href=“http://binghamton.schedulizer.com/courses/biology/[/url]”>http://binghamton.schedulizer.com/courses/biology/</a></p>
<p>Here is my course sequence.
<a href=“http://www2.binghamton.edu/watson/advising/current/pdfs/be_2012_guidesheet.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.binghamton.edu/watson/advising/current/pdfs/be_2012_guidesheet.pdf</a></p>
<p>At my school, General Chemistry (CHEM 111) is basically a full year of introductory chemistry squeezed into one semester.</p>
<p>I take that the specific choice of classes is extremely important when it comes to finding a job right?</p>
<p>I think you got that backwards, j814wong NeoDymium said to stick with Mechanical Engineering instead, and in addition to that, take a few chem and bio classes (since that won’t be in your curriculum). Though, from experience, I have yet to use any chemistry knowledge outside of chemistry class… bio might be more useful.</p>
<p>If anything, you should try to take engineering classes with a biomedical emphasis, if that’s the route you want to go - for example, I took a Biomechanics class, which was about orthopaedic implants. It was more mechanical engineering/physics based, but had that biology element to it. Of course, if you’re not really interested in mechanical engineering, you should just stick with bioengineering, if that is what you want to study. Job hunting might be a bit harder though.</p>
<p>Research, internships, and projects are much more important than classes when it comes to finding a job. But if you were to put classes on your resume, upper division engineering classes would be more useful than general chemistry, general biology, etc. Plus, it’s more likely you will have group projects in those upper div engineering classes too, and you can list those projects on your resume ;)</p>
<p>How embarassing… Haha</p>
<p>For the Mechanical Engineering major at my school, there aren’t any formal tracks. It would be very nice to have though.</p>
<p>Considering on R&D engineering careers related to healthcare and medicine, might mechanical engineers and biomedical/bio-engineers have a pretty equal difficulty of ease in finding a job?</p>
<p>Since mechanical engineering is much broader a field compared to biomedical engineering, it would be much easier to find a job with that degree due to the more diverse options but if one were to narrow down prospective careers list to R&D in healthcare or medicine, I’d expect jobs available to balance out for both fields.</p>
<p>Part of the motivation for this decision is because I used to be a pre-med but I decided I would enjoy a field with much more math and creativity involved. I want to do R&D to develop new technologies, devices, and such to help people’s health.</p>
<p>Some other questions
<p>2) How important are graduate degrees? I know that between two equally accomplished engineers save for degree variations, one with a Masters in biomedical engineering will surely get the job over another fellow with on a Bachelors in the field. Between two equal candidates in all but one way, the one with the higher level degree would probably get the management position. Either way, I plan to pursue at least a Masters degree.</p>
<p>3) My college offers a fast-track degree to get a Bachelors in Engineering degree and an M.B.A. How valuable would an M.B.A. be? If I decide to get it, I’d still plan to get a Masters in some field of engineering.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The engineering math series (calculus I/II/III, differential equations, linear algebra), mechanics (statics and dynamics), circuits, organic chemistry (and biochemistry), thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, physiology, are all good useful choices. You don’t need all of them, but the more the better.</p></li>
<li><p>You pretty much cannot get a BME job without a graduate degree. Reputable schools like MIT don’t even have an undergraduate BME program because it’s not a real undergraduate major; it’s a graduate field of study.</p></li>
<li><p>You don’t need an MBA.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions.</p>
<p>Another thing though, how important is one’s undergraduate and perhaps even graduate school when finding a R&D career?</p>
<p>Undergraduate matters for graduate school. Pedigree is important enough in R&D, especially in academia. Try to get into the best school you can for a graduate degree (probably going to have to get a PhD to do R&D). Doing good research work and taking difficult (preferably graduate level) classes will do you a lot of good for that.</p>
<p>PhD programs will pay your tuition and living expenses, so don’t worry about cost.</p>
<p>Ah damn. I’m currently at a state university. I got into much more renowned and higher ranking universities but the financial aid was so bad. </p>
<p>I however don’t have any intent of going into academia.</p>
<p>I think I should consider transferring to a better undergraduate college.</p>
<p>Your research work matters, not your school, for undergraduate.
Just do some research work.</p>
<p>There is no real downside to going to a top school if you don’t have to pay for it. They really do make you a better researcher.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all the great advice!</p>
<p>Read Carnegie Mellon’s explanation of why they don’t offer a stand-alone BME degree. It is really insightful. Here is a tidbit…
Read more at [Carnegie</a> Mellon Biomedical Engineering](<a href=“http://www.bme.cmu.edu/ugprog/major.html]Carnegie”>http://www.bme.cmu.edu/ugprog/major.html)</p>
<p>–Deleted–</p>
<p>I think I’ll do something like that except in reverse. I’ll major in Bioengineering and add on some mechanical engineering course such as Thermodynamics and Materials Sciences since at the end of the day, I am more interested in the bioengineering.</p>
<p>Mechanical engineering is a pretty good option. You take the math series, mechanics, fluids, maybe thermodynamics, and probably circuits. Just add a few chemistry classes and a physiology class and you’re good to go as far as that goes. Alternatively, do ChemE and take mechanics and circuits as electives; whichever of the two sounds better is probably the right choice.</p>
<p>The point is, you have to have a solid foundation in one of the engineering disciplines to make it as a BME. It’s not a real undergraduate major. Only at a graduate level does the major really cover a real curriculum.</p>
<p>From everything I have heard, prospects for Biomed are really good.</p>
<p>BTW, this might be the wrong forum to post this, but if I were you, I would definitely take the pre-med classes. I don’t know how studious you are, or your tolerance for living in the library for a few years, but if you can come out in say 5 years with a BME degree with the pre-med reqs and a near perfect GPA, you are going to leave a whole lot of options open for yourself.</p>