Hi,
I’ve seen on theses forums that it usually isn’t recommended to get a B.S. in biomedical engineering if you don’t plan on getting an M.S. or PhD. Is it the same case for bioengineering? If anyone could point out other differences I’d really appreciate it.
P.S. I’m trying to decide between chemical engineering or bio-related engineering. I would like to end up doing medical research, whether in pharmaceuticals or something like stem cells research.
The name of the program isn’t always helpful, but you can look at the specific schools 4 year plan in the various majors and at the department website to see what their emphasis is. Is the program chemical engineering based, mechanical engineering based (prothesis), materials based, electrical based, agricultural based, etc ?
Bio xxx engineering can encompass everything from making fuel from plants to designing medical prothesis. The agriculture component also varies by region.
looking at 4 year plans also puts some reality into what you are thinking … like double majors, 3 minors, we have lots of ideas … but if your program has a full slate of classes, it will all be very tough.
Chemical engineering is a good background for pharmaceuticals for sure … but is process engineering based in most schools whether biochemical engineering or not (think vats of living matter to make enzymes, for example).
Stem cell research would require a PhD … and maybe more in a biology type field than engineering.
Engineering is about producing product … many time … you aren’t going to produce gallons of stem cells …
Bio-engineering and biomedical engineering are often used interchangeably, to be honest. I guess it really just depends on what your institution calls it.
Either way, most people pursuing the major (especially as undergrads) are looking to become healthcare professionals rather than engineers. These people don’t care if they can’t find engineering jobs because that is not their ultimate goal. Once they get into medical school (or dental school, or whatever it is that they get into), they then essentially forget all about engineering.
If your goal is to become an actual engineer, then your best bet is to major in a more traditional discipline (e.g., ME, EE, ChemE) as an undergrad. You can of course take bio-engineering or biomedical engineering courses, and they can likely count as technical electives for other engineering degrees. I think most employers would prefer candidates with this type of background rather than those with bio-engineering or biomedical engineering degrees because majoring in a more traditional discipline typically shows a more in-depth study of engineering.
If your goal is to work as an engineer with your BS degree … yes.
If your goal is to continue your education to the MS level or PhD level, I am not sure that a BS in traditional discipline would be better or worse … depends what you need to sacrifice in the BME department to take traditional ME class, etc. What does your school offer ?
ChemE would be great for pharma … not sure I see that great a niche in the medical devices fields, etc.
Don’t forget medical imaging, medical data, all related to health plus CS.
All specialized fields and very highly complex work will likely require work beyond the BS level. Undergraduate engineering teaches how to solve problems by using standard methods, equations, tools. High level R&D work requires solving problems by going back to core physics with a large dash of math … putting back the terms in the equations that made them easy to solve … and then solving those … through advanced math or writing new algorithms or doing tons of testing to figure out exactly what happens when you do X to Y … does performance increase 5% or does the dang thing break … So you need that advanced fluids class and advanced numerical methods and lots of other classes like the 10 for your MS or the 20 for your PhD, plus some research experience at low pay and the ability to put together say … a thesis … so you can show employers that you will produce something in a lab with a year of funding…
For biomed, you will have to someday take medical and biology coursework that is just not going to be part of an ME or EE degree … and some of those need to be from your fellow explorers in BME, not from someone who knows how to design a circuit or a beam that looks a bit like a leg.
Thank you all for the responses. Everything points to more research being done on what exactly I want to achieve and what is the best fit for that, so I will do so.
I am leaning more towards chemical engineering because of the greater chance of having a job right out of undergrad. I want to play it safe, I don’t have financial security in case things don’t go all that well.
I also forgot to mention that I am a 2nd year community college student, and I will be doing research over the summer at USC.