<p>I would one day like to become and orthodontist, which I know is very difficult. I was wondering which major would be best in order to get into dental school. Right now I am torn between biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering. I also want to have a back-up plan in case I don't get accepted to dental school. Which one do you think is the better option? I am also interested in physical therapy, epidemiology, and oncology.</p>
<p>Well, Biomedical engineering is a well paying job. You can find work in pharmaceuticals, which is one of the top paying industries, and in research hospitals, like UCSF, etc. They figure out how things works, and how to manipulate them to make them better. Like how to make a hemophilia drug or cancer drug for those that suffer from them, by working on the cause it self. And the pay is well above $50k. Its in the 6 figure range …</p>
<p>I think you really need to work out what you really want to do. Do you know what each major has in store for you? Do some more research on the top 3 you are interested such as Orthodontist, Biomedical Eng. and Mechanical Eng. If you majored in Engineering, you will not want to go into dentistry. To answer your question, Biomedical Engineering because that is closer to dentistry than Mechanical. In Biomedical, you study the advancement of medical equipment by studying materials such as metals, ceramics/glass, polymers, and even nature.</p>
<p>For example, titanium is used for dental implants because titanium is inert.</p>
<p>If you want a “back-up” plan, mechanical all the way.</p>
<p>“Biomedical” engineering is difficult to get a job with just the bachelor’s degree. Almost all of the actual practicing biomedical engineers have master’s.</p>
<p>Mechanical is much more broad and encompassing, has many different jobs you can apply mechanical principles in. A much better back-up plan. </p>
<p>While you could potentially get extraneous engineering jobs with the BME degree, you’re much more limited than the mechanical engineer is.</p>