-I need some advice on pursuing biomedical engineering if anyone can provide some.
-Background: I am a freshman in college, currently undecided, looking to apply for a biomedical engineering program. I originally wanted to pursue medical/dental or a pharmacuetical field, but du to financial and other circumstances, could not. I am interested in how the human body works and into the subjects that are dealt with medical and dental fields. Hence, to stay close to the healthcare field, I looked into biomedical engineering, which is obv. closely related to the human body and medicine.
-My biggest concern is that, I’m not particularly strong in math or physics, and I do not know how I would do in the engineering courses, since they are all based on heavy math and physics… Also, I don’t like to tinker, or build stuff, so would that be a problem?
-Can someone not strong in the engineering disciplines survive biomedical?
-Any advice?
-Thank You.
Doing BME as an undergrad makes it more difficult for you to find an engineering job. If that is your goal, you are better off pursuing a more traditional engineering discipline (e.g., mechanical, electrical, chemical) while taking some life sciences electives.
If your goal is to go to a health professions school, then go ahead and do BME undergrad.
@umcoe16 so if you want to do biomedical engineering and not pursue health graduate school, you find any good job? I heard that bioengineering and biomedical engineering are the same thing and that there are a lot jobs for them…
^^also do you feel that someone who doesn’t like to build or tinker with things and isn’t so strong in math or physics can make it in engineering, even if it takes more than the traditional 4, if you take less classes per semester to avoid work overload if you’re not that smart?
The issue is that most BS degrees in biomedical engineering are (right or wrong) perceived as being very generalist and not particularly focused in any area of expertise in engineering. In other words, many of the BS level jobs in biomedical type companies can often be filled equally or more effectively by other engineers like electrical engineers or mechanical engineers. Once you reach the MS level and above where biomedical engineers start to really specialize, the degrees can be worth quite a bit more.
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering are not the same. BME is an engineering discipline and Bioengineering is a biology discipline. BME is most frequently device centric while Bioengineering is tissue related. Physics and math are helpful in both. Graduate degrees expand the job prospects immensely for both degrees.
That’s not true. Bioengineering and biomedical engineering are usually the same. Most are administered by their respective college of engineering, often with some relationship with a college of medicine as well, and typically biomedical and Bioengineering departments don’t coexist on the same campus, much like Bruce Wayne and Batman. They’re the same.
At Umich, undergrad BME focuses on more breadth and application than depth. My understanding is that a number of employers would rather use somebody who studied an area of engineering in depth, and then just teach them all the biomed stuff.
I often hear of seniors in BME who do not even know how to analyze a basic circuit.
would it be best to take 5 years to finish a BME degree or any degree to get better grades and spread out our classes if you are not that sharp in the math/physics disciplines? would employers care?
Employers won’t care, but you need to consider the costs associated with that decision. You’ll have to eat and pay for housing whether or not you’re a student or in the work force, so that’s a wash. An extra year of tuition and the lost year of wage isn’t anything to sneeze at though. You’d be talking likely $65,000-$100,000 total depending on starting salary and your tuition.
Of course it doesn’t look bad to take courses over the summer, but it is best to avoid it so that you can spend summers doing things like internships that will make you much more employable.
Also one more question to anyone who can answer, would it look bad if I were to take less classes per semester in order to make the program more manageable? Like if I were to span out my classes to finish in 5-6 years? Would employers look poorly upon that or no?
I’d say it’s best to start with the 4 year goal and keep on track with the various course sequences. However, it’s not uncommon for engineering students to end up stretching it out a semester or two due to various factors. If the family budget will allow that flexibility (if needed), it’s helpful.
Id like to share with you a sample schedule of classes over a four year span for a school on my area. Would you think that spanning the courses so you graduate in 5-6 years including summers would be easier on the gpa, especially if you think that you are not strong in math and science?
You just need to get started, be well organized, have a strong work ethic and know, even if you take a single class, some of them are going to be hard. You’re asking us to predict the future and give you permission to much longer than typical to guarantee success. No one here can do that. If you succeed it will be FAR more about your horsepower and work ethic than the number of hours you take. Don’t overthink it. Good luck.
