<p>I decided to change my major to Chemical Engineering. I haven't started my upper division specialty courses yet, so I still have time for the petition to go through. I have a few questions.</p>
<p>1) The reason for my decision is because I've seen that the career prospects are a lot better. Chemical Engineers can get the same job a Biomedical Engineer can get, at least that's what's suggested. How true is this? </p>
<p>2) It seems like Chemical Engineering is a broad based discipline. You're in a sense, a jack of trades and can squeeze into any engineering position. How true is this? </p>
<p>3) Graduate school. What kind of disciplinary focus should I pick for my areas of specialization? I'm required to take 4 classes and there are suggested tracks or you can make your own track. One suggested is a 2 course engineering science track that prepares you for graduate school. It's an engineering mathematics/physics series. If I chose this route, should my other two specialized courses be graduate emphasis as well or a field specialty in case I decide on not going to graduate school? Would taking two graduate classes ruin my career prospects if I stick to a BS?</p>
<p>4) I've heard Bioengineering is one of the most rigorous engineering undergraduate disciplines. How does Chemical Engineering stack up? As hard as Electrical or harder? Harder or more steady than Bioengineering? The difficulty won't scare me off, I'm just wondering for the sake of whether or not I can take different electives to enjoy my time. </p>
<p>5) Do the areas of specialization boost your career prospects to the eyes of employers, or do they only care that you have a degree and what your GPA is? To be more specific, are the areas of specialization more to boost our ability to work in specific disciplines? </p>
<p>As far as what I want to do after graduation:
I want to work in either nanofabrication/ nanomachines or medicine research. I like the idea of helping people by designing or developing new ways to medicate or practice medicine. I don't see myself as a doctor only because I can't handle the personal relationship with people dying on me. I love being in labs, I love doing math, physics. If that doesn't pan out, I wouldn't mind working in medical devices, purification or some kind of facility for manufacturing. </p>
<p>Originally with Biomedical, I wanted to specialize in tissue engineering and work with stem cell research for scaffolds and replacement joints/organs, but I feel like something like that would almost always require a graduate degree.</p>