Can anyone tell me anything about this major? Right now I’m undecided at Umass Amherst (currently a senior in hs) but thinking about it!
Is it really hard? Don’t get me wrong- I’m not afraid of a little hard work, but I don’t want to be stressed out 24/7.
Are there career options afterward? Does it pay well? I would never do a major for the money, but I do want to be financially stable.
What are the different areas of focus within biomedical engineering?
I’m also really scared I won’t be good enough or won’t like it enough. I really like biology. I don’t love physics and math but I don’t hate them. I’m pretty competent in all three of those subjects.
Think of BME as a challenging major, but so are most ABET accredited engineering majors.
The first two years in all of these engineering programs require more study than most high school seniors are used to. Like most engineering majors, you will likely not have as much free time as many other majors. In addition to classroom time, you will likely need 4+ hours of serious study every day in your first year and will learn that A’s are difficult to earn. When I was a first year student at a different college, the average grade on our first physics exam was 35/100 where the average student was used to A’s. About 85% of these students did successfully complete college, but it is just an adjustment.
Why do you want Biomedical Engineering? What drives you? If you really want it, the workload gets lighter and the fun begins!
For me, a sport helped! That first year roommate went on to head research at a major aerospace corporation. I ended up working at the college for ten years in administration. The valedictorian was a very successful MD who always needed help writing essays… and this was an engineering school.
With BME majors ABOUT 1/3 go directly to employment with their BS, 1/3 go on to graduate engineering programs and 1/3 go on to med school. The job placements vary across the country, but many universities keep data on their graduates .
See what one BME can do in these challenging times @ https://www.wpi.edu/news/wpi-researchers-developing-open-source-designs-speed-creation-low-cost-ventilators
U Mass Amherst is a great University. There are plenty of things to do in addition to studies. You need to balance your BME study needs with healthy activities of interest. See https://bme.umass.edu/