<p>My son had pretty much decided that he would major in ChemE as an undergrad because it is a nice solid undergrad degree that gives him good options for employment or grad school (established major, could go to bio as a grad student, etc). That was until he visited and fell in love with Duke where they have no ChemE major! Now he is willing to go with Biomedical or even Mechanical as an undergrad so that he can attend Duke. I'm concerned that he is making a rash decision at the 11th hour. He has three other schools still on his plate (Rice, Penn and Northwestern) where he can get the Chem E degree as originally planned. Any advice? Is it true that you usually need at least a Masters Degree to find employment in Biomedical Engineering?</p>
<p>It is surprising how many students transfer out of Chemical Engineering once they have an introductory class about it. Students that enjoy Chemistry do not necessarily enjoy Chemical Engineering. I suggest that your son do some research about what the different Engineering disciplines entail...The first 1 or 2 years of engineering curriculums are very similar so your son will not lose that much time if he changes between engineering majors--obviously it is best if he doesn't have to change, but it is not unusual for students to change their major.</p>
<p>My son is graduating with a Computer Engineering degree this spring (with 2 job offers), and my daughter is a freshman in Biomedical Engineering...she also has heard that it is difficult to get "interesting, well-paying" jobs with only a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering, but she loves her major and plans to get at least a Masters degree (if not a PhD!).</p>
<p>I would be less concerned about how easy it is to get a job after graduation, and be more concerned about finding a major that captivates your son...Engineering is an extremely difficult curriculum made a little easier if he loves what he is studying. If he works hard and does well in his classes (more likely to occur if he enjoys his major and the school) the jobs will follow. The students that have the most difficulty finding engineering jobs after college are those that have a low GPA (especially under 3.0--above a 3.5 are most desirable), those that have very specific expectations about where they want to live and how much they want to earn, those who do not show any leadership outside of class, and those without any applicable summer work experience.</p>
<p>here's a question: I originally wanted to do chemE, but then thought about attending a liberal arts school where chemistry is big. If I plan to major in chemistry undergrad, would it be nearly impossible to be accepted and do well in chemical engineering at an engineering school? Since I obviously won't be taking any specialized classes, would I be at a HUGE disadvantage at grad school? Thanks.</p>
<p>I talked to a Case student, and she said ChemE's main advantage ot BioE/BiomedE is that it's much more broad, and you can get jobs after graduation. She said that the chem and chemE curriculum's were really different though. It seems to me ChemE grad school is for those who majored in it. Wouldn't the grad school prefer a chemE to a chem major? I'm just rambling on really. Anyone know?</p>
<p>Hey deuxanfants,</p>
<p>I wrote down more about what NU's unique offers on the "NU vs Mich engineering" thread you created; you may want to check it out.</p>
<p>As for your son's leaning toward Duke, I am not surprised. Duke has a gorgeous campus to start with. My concern is your son doesn't have much idea what he really wants to study. While Duke is very good at BME, it's a great choice only if he ends up enjoying this field. ME is a pretty different thing from BME/ChemE; picking ME simply because there's nothing else to choose from at Duke sounds shaky to me. Duke's other 3 disciplines really pale compare to its BME and sometime I wonder if you are not BME, will you have some kind of inferiority complex. ;)</p>
<p>I think I remember you wrote that your son might also be interested in business-related fields. That's precisely why I think NU (or Berk/Mich) is a better choice since it has more disciplines to choose from. BME/ChemE (even ME) are all in top 10/15 and it has a very strong IE (ranked #4) program. I'd seen quite a few chemE switching to IE when they found that chem (or other traditional) engineering was too dry and that IE seemed to be a fun hybrid of engineering and managment. Both NU's econ and IE depts are consistently in the top 10.</p>
<p>Just curious, how was your visit at NU?</p>
<p>ecnerwalc3321,</p>
<p>It will be quite a bit of disadvantage. The thing is chemE and chem can be pretty different depending on what specific area you get into. So research research before jumping into any decision.</p>
<p>Chem don't take as much math, physics, or the specialized engineering courses b/c ChemE is very different from chemistry. it involves it but it is different.</p>
<p>deuxenfants,</p>
<p>As an undergraduate engineering student, I can tell you that your son will do just fine being a biomedical engineering student at Duke. It might be hard for your son to find a job in the "biomedical" device industry with a bachelor degree. But, if he is really interested in working in the pharma industry upon graduation (like most of the chemes), he can do it with a BME degree. Most people you talk on this board think that BME is a soft engineering field, but a BME degree from a top ranked program is not soft at all. BME students take similar fundamental engineering courses as ChemE students (thermo, heat&mass transfer...etc). If you don't believe what I said, please call Duke's BME department up. I am sure they can provide some statistics to show you that their undergraduate BME students can find jobs in lots of industrial fields.<br>
One last thing, I really think you should let your son go to the place he loves the most. College is more about the experience than just the major. All the schools your son got into are great, and I truly believe that he will find excellent job upon graduation.</p>
<p>My son applied to Duke, Cornell and Northwestern and got into them all. He loved Duke but also wanted ChemE which Duke did not have. It was a tough choice but he decided on Cornell. It was the best decision for him. He loves ChemE. There were also more options at Cornell than at Duke within the engineering dept. He is thinking of minoring in biomedical engineering or bioengineering option and is able to do that at Cornell. The best of both worlds. Your son may love the biomedical engineering at Duke but it sounds like he is interested in ChemE. I think I would rather have more choices. Good luck.</p>
<p>Good for your son. Cornell ChemE will definitely consume all your son's time in college. It's quite amazing how high school students nowadays know exactly what they want to study in engineering. Anyway, an engineering education is more about the way of thinking than the concentration. BME/BE/ChemE are all very similar.</p>
<p>ecc .. thanks for your posts. Are you an engineer yourself? I'm wondering how you know about the job market for BioE's. I still worry a bit about the choice my son made since I would have preferred that he take the route of maizy42's son ... but I felt that it was better for him to be excited about where he was going rather than just resigned to it. And Duke was so far ahead of the other scools in the excitement factor that we just went with it!</p>
<p>deuxen.. I'm sure your son made the right choice. I did read even in Cornell literature that it is a way of thinking and solving problems in the undergraduate engineering program. He can always go to grad school and get a concentration in Chem E if he wanted to or he may love the field he is in and go on to business or whatever. I think in the engineering field you almost should go on for grad school anyway. So much of college are the experiences and if he really felt connected to Duke he should go there. My son felt that way about Cornell. He spent a weekend and knew it was the place he wanted to be. He loved Chemistry from High school and spent a summer at Rutgers in engineering and just knew what he wanted. I think I always knew when I saw his Lego structures he would either be a builder or engineer. Some kids just know. My question is what is the difference between biomedical and bioengineering. My son has an option of taking either.What is the difference? Thanks</p>
<p>Has someone mentioned this: Why doesn't your son go to NU and see if he likes it there for a year.. If he doesn't then just switch out into DUKE. If he maintains a good GPA that won't be a problem. Negotiate.</p>
<p>deuxenfants...I am not an engineer. I am an upperclass engineering student at Cornell. I can't say that I am an expert in BioE job market, but I can tell you that your son won't have any trouble looking for jobs as a BioE major from Duke (assuming he manage to get a decent GPA). As you probably noticed, Cornell doesn't have a very strong BioE, but BioE students are still able to find good jobs in consulting or pharma companies upon graduation. Most of the students chose to get a master degree, because they felt that will give them an edge later on in their career. Since the economy is getting better, more students opt out for jobs right after graduation this year. Undergraduate engineering education is going to teach your son how to think like an engineer. If your son really wants to persue ChemE in the future, graduate studies in ChemE is still possible for BioE major. Your guys probably already made a decision, so this reply is probably irrelevant.</p>
<p>maizy42...BME and BioE are pretty much the same thing, since everybody is trying to focus on medical technology nowadays.</p>
<p>This is an extremely informative thread about this topic, please check it out.</p>
<p>Ecnerwalc, you could do a chem bach and then do a ChemE MS or PhD but you would like have to take up to a full year of preparatory classes before starting your grad classes. Chem and ChemE are extremely different.</p>