<p>Bioengineering is an awesome field. I definately don't regret getting my BS in it or deciding to go for a PhD. That said, there are an awful lot of misconceptions about this major and the colleges aren't doing anyone a favor when they don't point these things out. While it is an interesting field to study, there are some major problems associated with it. And these problems lead to Bioengineers having a terribly hard time finding jobs relative to other engineers (this refers to people with a BS; for a PhD, bioengineering is often better because there tends to be a lot more money for translational research in biotech and medicine than just about any other field).</p>
<p>Problem 1: "Engineering Lite" - Bioengineering is not ABET accredited at most schools. So BioEs don't have a list of thirty requirements like the chemEs or EEs do. That sounds great right? The problem is that even if you were to work your tail off and do all those hardcore engineering classes, employers wouldn't know from looking at your degree whether you just did the lower division engineering courses and then did two years of integrated biology or avoided any theory classes like thermo, etc. </p>
<p>Problem 2: "Bio"... - Within the hard sciences and engineering, the prefix "bio" or the suffix "for biologists" is often understood as a euphemism for the phrase "for idiots." So that class you took on "biomechanics?" employers are going to look at that and wonder why you didn't take "real mechanics." </p>
<p>Problem 3: You don't have 8 years - Bioengineering is nice to do for grad school, in part because by the time you finish undergrad and your 2 or so years of grad course work, you've had time to acquire depth and breadth. It's pretty tough to acquire both in just four years of undergraduate work, especially considering that the real "engineering" courses are the ones people take in their junior year. </p>
<p>Problem 4: Math, math, math: this really is an extension of problems 1 and 3, but its probably the most important one: although it's true that mechEs, EEs and chemEs study different applications of the math they learn, during their junior year, they're all going to acquire the following skill set: 1) Signal/system analysis and a little (or a lot) of control theory. 2) Ordinary and Partial differential equations (fluid mechanics or E&M) 3) Some form of modeling. BioEs can do this, but usually only if they take classes outside their department. It's cool learning about all the developing technologies out there, but it's better if you learn the set of technical skills that will help you develop them.</p>
<p>Some of you will say that you know someone who was a bioE and has a great job. Yes, there are exceptions, particularly for the flagship undergraduate bioE programs (Johns Hopkins, Duke, UCSD; I expect MIT's biological engineering program will be also); all these programs have in common the required "real engineering" courses that allow them to escape problem 4 above. Some of you will also say that anything medically related is going to have great job security; to that I would reply that if you want job security in the medical industry, go get yourself an AS or a BS in nursing. There's a national shortage. Within biomedical engineering, most of the (engineering BS) jobs in medical devices go to people with a BS in EECs. In biotechnology and pharma, most of the jobs go chemEs. Most of the jobs that bioengineers get are technician jobs within the manufacturing of division of companies like Genentech; now, there's nothing wrong with being a technician. But why do the BS in engineering for that when your chances of getting the job are just as good as the chances of someone who did a BA in biology, which has a much slimmer set of lower division requirements. </p>
<p>Since I've posed this problem, I'll also offer a solution: Bioengineering departments are going to have to make up their minds about what "bioengineering" is. Is it applied biology? Is it medical device engineering? If they want, they can be broad but assign tracks within their department (UCSD does this) to make sure that people get enough depth in a given area. Second, they have to weave the technical math and physics into the curriculum. Companies like the fact that engineers can apply math and physics to solve problems. It's often cheaper to model something on a computer; it's always useful to be able to look at a problem in quantitative terms. These companies need to know that a "bioengineer" will have the same level of theory in their background as a chem/mech/EE. And they need to know it just from seeing the words "BS in Bioengineering." </p>
<p>For those of you in your junior year who don't want to do gradschool or medical school, I would highly recommend that if you do major in BioE you minor in something else to augment your technical skills. Otherwise, if you still have time to choose your major, ask yourself "am I absolutely sure I want to go to gradschool/medschool after I finish my BS? Am I alright with the prospect of graduating to a job that will pay a lot less than the jobs that people in other engineering disciplines get paid?" If your answer is yes to either question, BioE is a fine option for you. But if you're doing engineering in part because you like the technical challenges and the prospect of a pretty good job when you graduate, you might want to think about another major.</p>