<p>How much of a difference does it make in employment and education to major in nuclear, chemical, or bio molecular engineering as an undergrad and doing your graduate work in biomedical engineering versus biomedical undergrad and graduate work? I just want to know because so many schools have very small undergrad biomedical engineering programs in comparison to some of the other engineering disciplines offered. Also, since biomedical engineering is often thought to be dominated by employees with graduate degrees more so than other engineering disciplines , could it even be beneficial (in terms of economics) to major in a different, related area?</p>
<p>Don’t major in BME for undergrad. You won’t get enough depth to get anywhere.</p>
<p>What NeoDymium said is true, the more I look into BME now the less I want to go into the major! Lower starting income than others, fewer job opportunities because the field is very new, and you won’t get anywhere with an undergrad because almost all job openings are for those with masters. Although my family is fairly stable financially, I am looking to get a job right after undergrad then continue my education. If you’re like me then BME isn’t the best major you should take. Look into it more though, if you really think the course is great then just go for it and don’t think about what others say</p>
<p>If you were planning on doing BioE for grad, choose a undergrad major where knowledge and experience would transfer. For example, you may want to consider mechanical engineering, or maybe chemical.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m just noticing the issue of getting few job opportunities from undergrad in the field and it’s starting to change my undergrad interests to more chemical, bio molecular, or mechanical engineering. It won’t affect future applications to biomedical engineering grad school though, will it?</p>
<p>You should pick one of Chemical, Mechanical, or Electrical to go into a Bio(Med)E grad program. Pick it based on this:
Chemical if you want to work with the biochemical side of the work. Tissues, cellular level, etc.
Electrical if you’re more interested in making electronic medical appliances. Designing tools similar to the AED and the like.
Mechanical if you’re somewhere in the middle on the issue.
As long as you take a core of a BioE undergrad (about 4 classes, which means maybe 2 electives), you’ll be fine applying from a different engineering major.</p>
<p>How does Materials Science play into the whole scheme of undergrads for BioMed PhD program thing?</p>
<p>Dear PoppinBottlesMGT,</p>
<p>Material Science is a fine major, especially if you want to do drug-delivery, or tissue engineering. Biomaterials/Bio-compatibility is a very active research area in BME. If you take Biomaterial-type/Tissue-E courses you will definitely be a good candidate for BME PhD programs. </p>
<p>Please take a look at this link, many of the research topics are sub-areas of material science: [JHU</a> Biomedical Engineering: Research Areas: Cell and Tissue Engineering](<a href=“http://www.bme.jhu.edu/research/cte.php]JHU”>http://www.bme.jhu.edu/research/cte.php)</p>
<p>Best wishes,
-DV</p>
<p>That’s very interesting, thank you for the link.</p>
<p>(Still not sure what I want to do, that that seems like a pretty good way to keep two or three of my top contenders open until late in the game.)</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks everybody! Just wanted to make sure going into a different undergrad engineering major was the right path and it’s good to know that it is, since most colleges have such small BME undergrad student bodies and BME doesn’t really give many employment options out of undergrad</p>
<p>I would agree with what most people say about choosing a more “traditional” engineering field for undergrad UNLESS you are absolutely set on going to graduate school, in which case it won’t matter as much. I was going to follow what everyone was saying and do chemical engineering but decided at the last minute to do biological engineering. Although Biological engineering may be considered more broad than BME I do not regret my decision at all and I’m actually glad that I chose BioE for a couple of reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I knew that I wanted to work on biological problems but I wasn’t sure if I was more interested in the tissue/cellular/molecular (ChemE), biomechanics/biofluidics (MechE), or photonics/optics/devices (EE). I thought I was more interested in the ChemE side of things but later found out that I am more interested in the EE applications. Because biological allows you to try different disciplines, it may be a good choice if you’re not sure where you fit in.</p></li>
<li><p>The curriculum at my school allows for MANY electives… Many more than the other engineering disciplines. This allows me to choose engineering electives from EE, MechE, or ChemE depending on where I want to specialize. I’m planning on filling most of mine with math electives.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And as far as job placement and salary with a BS… Check out this link which gives the job placement for my school specifically. Of course, it may be different for yours. (notice the steady increase through the years)
[Destination</a> Study](<a href=“http://enrollment.missouri.edu/Reports_and_Data/destination_study.php]Destination”>http://enrollment.missouri.edu/Reports_and_Data/destination_study.php) </p>
<p>Biological engineering is indeed finding its place in industry. Things that you (and others) may read on the internet about BioE being useless with a BS simply are not true anymore. These articles people are reading from 3,4,5 years ago talking down on BioE majors are no longer true and it will only get better for us!</p>
<p>I’d tread lightly with speculation about something like a degree. A degree should always be an almost certain return on investment, not a gamble. Relying on some reckless extrapolation to support the value of a major is not a wise decision.
However, spending the first year as an exploratory engineering year is a good choice. Most first years of engineering are the same and allow you to do this, if you so desire. That way, if you’re not sure, you’ll get a chance to learn more.</p>
<p>What core classes are the one’s you refer to for the biomedical graduate?</p>
<p>This post really helped me figure out most of the things. I was planning to apply for a Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program for Fall 2014 but considering the posts in this thread, I have decided to change my mind. </p>
<p>I want to get a job after the undergraduate rather than going for a graduate degree right away. I realized that I need to take more of a ‘‘traditional’’ engineering field, as NeoDymium said. </p>
<p>NeoDymium and jbrussell93, I wanted to ask you both something more on that. </p>
<p>Now, I am thinking of choosing one of these courses as my undergraduate major.
- Biological Engineering or,
- Chemical Engineering or,
- Biomaterials Engineering.</p>
<p>So will these courses help me get a job after the undergraduate AND also allow me to apply for the graduate Biomedical Eng. degree later? And are there any other courses similar to the ones I listed that provides depth in the engineering, create job opportunities and also go for BME later? Biotechnology maybe? Molecular Biology??? Please reply. </p>
<p>I have to sort out the colleges again now.</p>
<p>Jbrussell93, please explain to me, what is biological engineering? I ask due to my frequent reading of curriculums that appear to show an agricultural based education rather than the molecular biological one that I expected. I found that MIT and Stanford had the biological engineering programs I expected.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Note that [Accredited</a> Program Search](<a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramSearch.aspx/AccreditationSearch.aspx]Accredited”>http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramSearch.aspx/AccreditationSearch.aspx) lists different accreditation categories for:</p>
<p>Agricultural Engineering
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering
Biological Engineering</p>
<p>
I’d suggest looking into chemical engineering and materials science. Both of those are pretty good for that purpose, and you should pick which one you like more.</p>
<p>Thank you NeoDymium. I am learning more about Chemical Engineering and yes, it is interesting. Chemistry never troubled me in high school, in fact, I loved it. Anyways, what if I don’t find Chemical Engineering in most Uni? I don’t want to take Mechanical Engineering. But, I have found Biomechanical Engineering better. Does that fit the mould - jobs and Biomed E? If yes, I will apply to the unis as either ChemE or Biomech E.</p>
<p>I agree with NeoDymium. Biomechanical Engineering is a very interesting field just like Anthropology.</p>