<p>I am currently an electrical engineering major at Case Western Reserve University. I want to switch to Biomedical Engineering, however there seems to be a lot of uncertainty as far as the ability to obtain a job after graduation is concerned. Will going to a good BME school like Case increase my chances of getting a job after graduation? Case also makes you pick a "specialty" in BME, either materials, mechanics, bioelectricity, imaging or instrumentation.</p>
<p>hey, I'm a junior BME at Case (bioelectricity specialty). I would have to say, with all honesty, that your best chances for employment (both summer and after graduation) would be to stick with the EE if you can. I have a pretty strong academic record, and have applied for summer internships at 15+ nationally recognized medical companies (plus lots of smaller ones), and I've gotten exactly none. I think industry a lot of times doesn't understand what BME is, or specifically what BME at Case means compared to other programs that don't have as much specialization. </p>
<p>I have seen a lot of summer opportunities for electrical engineers working at medical companies on equipment design, testing, etc. These are also the types of jobs that EEs can expect to be able to get after graduation if they're interested in the medical industry. BMEs with only a B.S. are typically designated as glorified machine techs. </p>
<p>If you're interested in going to grad school though, BME may be a better choice. BMEs with Masters degrees or higher get to do equipment design, work in research labs at major medical companies, etc.</p>
<p>My best advice to you would be to get involved with some medical research on campus (either in the EE department or BME department). It would probably be volunteer, but I've found you can learn a ton by just getting involved. If you're interested, send me a PM with what specialty or type of research you're interested in, and I can give you some recommendations of professors that are doing research in that field that are typically welcoming to undergrads looking to get some experience.</p>
<p>If you're at Case you should look into doing research at the Cleveland Clinic. They have a huge biomedical engineering research department that really covers a broad range of topics. I did an NIH-REU program there and it was very helpful. I think it’s what got me into grad school.</p>