Biomedical or Computer engineering?

Which do you think is a better overall education for engineering and why? What pairs better with a physics background?

If you are talking about undergrad, most people recommend against doing biomedical as an undergrad. Many biomedical engineering programs are so focused on applying many different disciplines to medicine, such that you do not really study an engineering discipline in depth. Very few employers hire undergrad biomedical engineering students for internships, and it will also be very difficult to find an engineering job with just a bachelors. You will find that most people who are doing biomedical engineering as an undergrad do not have the goal of becoming engineers, but are rather to go to medical (or some other health professions) school.

I was thinking of dual degrees in physics and engineering… but my main objective is a Ph.D in Bioinformatics and possibly Med school with a focus on research. Since Bioinformatics combines elements of both biomedical and computer engineering, its hard for me to decide which route to pursue. I would like to study an engineering discipline in depth though, so maybe computer engineering would be better for me. Anyway, Thank you for the feedback… I appreciate it!

Dual degrees aren’t very useful, as ultimately you are only going to make use of one degree for your career. To do a dual degree, you are almost certainly going to have to take extra semesters. That extra tuition and time is not going to get you any extra return, thus it is not really a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

If very few employers hire undergrad biomedical engineering students for internships, the time it would take to get a job would be comparable to the time it would take to earn the extra degree. Not to mention the career options would be expanded into two fields rather than just one. If I retire in one field, I would already have a solid foundation in another field without having to go back to school undergrad. So although in the short term it may not be financially advantageous, there is long term potential. I want to teach eventually though… Thats why I want two.

If you like Physics and Engineering, there is a major called “Engineering Physics” as well.
http://physics.case.edu/undergraduate-programs/undergrad-degree-programs/bsdegree-engrphys/

If you want med school then I would look for majors that have a lot of overlap with the med school pre-requisite courses as it difficult to fit in all the engineering courses already.

good program, does it prepare you for the state exams?

Engineering physics is a very flexible degree, where you can choose tailor your courses such that they align with your career and/or academic goals. You are expected to study pure physics and mathematics more in depth than the typical engineer, thus that is why the program is called engineering physics. You will take a coherent series of engineering courses that are chosen with your interests in mind, thus you will have some form of concentration or specialty.