Hello!
Can someone please answer any of these questions?
I originally thought I’d major in Bioengineering, but I hear that students in this field learn a little bit of everything and nothing about one specific area (which puts them at a disadvantage, since they have less expertise than ChemE’s and MechE’s).
–Is this true for students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering?
If I majored in this field, I’d want to go into research - centered around fighting diseases, cancers, and such. I’m not as interested in the medical devices / artificial organs / tissue generation.
-Are my interests well suited for this field?
Although the Bureau of Labor Stats says that the job oulook for bioengineers is great - faster growth than that of most other jobs’, are the job prospects really that great in the current market? I’ve heard of many who’ve graduated with a BS/BE in Bioeng who are struggling to find jobs and was wondering if generally, this is the case.
-Is the outlook poor for those w/a bachelors? For those with grad school education who’re in research?
-Can anyone who’s graduated with a bachelor’s in bioeng share their experiences about the job market?
I’m also extremely interested in Material Science and Engineering, but my parents are nervous about my choice, since they haven’t heard much about the field. I’m interested in nanotech, biomaterials, drug delivery, etc. The college offering me the best aid package (half tuition) don’t offer Material science as a major - only as a minor.
-How are the job prospects for Materials Scientists?
-If I’m going into research, should I seek graduate school education? Is it unwise to major in another related (bioeng or chemeng) field for my undergraduate studies, then specialize in materials for a masters or PhD, or is there no harm in not initially majoring in the field I’d like to pursue?
-What do chemical engineers do? I may be pigeonholing their work, but when I think of ChemE’s I think pumps, manufacturing, modelling, and processing of goods, which doesn’t sound too interesting to me. Although I know of some Chemical Engineers who do pharmaceutical work, I’d like to know what jobs are most available for ChemE’s.
Since your medical research interest is not particularly in medical devices / artificial organs / tissue generation, what is it in? If it’s in molecular or cellular biology, then degrees in molecular/cellular biology will give you more pertinent information for doing molecular/cellular research than a biomedical engineering degree.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm) indicates civil engineering and mechanical engineering as the engineering disciplines with the solidest prospect of jobs. For each of these BLS predicts more than 100,000 openings 2014-2024 (only 10,900 for biomedical engineers). Chemical engineering and materials engineering are considerably weaker. The chemical industry has largely gone overseas.
I guess a point in doing a biomedical engineering degree with a view to eventual work in molecular/cellular research is that if you did not go on to do any graduate study, you could work as an engineer. You’d be in a better position than if you’d done a biochemistry degree. But, except for the fact that you wouldn’t be as prepared to go on to do molecular/cellular research, you’d be in a still better position with a mechanical engineering degree.
A graduate degree is pretty much a given for employment in research, unless you’re just a technician following the directions of persons with graduate degrees.
It’s largely possible to do a graduate program in a field other than that of one’s bachelor’s degree. Admissions people generally allow “transfers” from somewhat different fields, although there will end up being more courses you have to take. You can do a bachelor’s in biochemistry then an MS or PhD in biomedical engineering, or vice-a-versa.
Actually, these days, it’s not uncommon for researchers in departments of biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and even chemical engineering or electrical engineering to do molecular/cellular research. In my mechanical engineering graduate program, there were several professors working on topics like cancer cell biology, cell microfluidics, and cell and tissue micromechanics. Engineering is very versatile in the problems it can approach.