<p>hmm so back to my conundrum. Is there enough room to take biological electives during a CofChem major? I'd say I'm of decent intelligence. Give ChemE a try?</p>
<p>definitely</p>
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...and all these "drug delivery systems" you've mentioned have been around for several decades, long before the age of bioengineering. When you put "BioE" and "drug delivery" together, I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you were talking about sophisticated, electronically controlled devices. You're talking about pills and syringes? No wonder the job market for BioE's is bad...the jobs you're talking about are done by biochemists and traditional biomedical researchers who don't need engineering knowledge to get the job done.
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<p>Right now, obviously electronic devices are the big research topic of the day. But the fact is, drug delivery systems of various kinds have been around for decades. The needle has actually been around for centuries. </p>
<p>But look, I agree with you that the job market for BS BioE's is not a particularly good one. But then again, neither is the job market for BS biologists. The truth is, in the health-care industry, you really need an advanced degree of some kind to do almost anything important. For example, an MS, an MD, a PharmD, you gotta have something. For whatever reason, there just isn't a whole lot for a person with just a bachelor's to do.</p>
<p>Consider this. Here are the job profiles of the Berkeley graduates in BioE, the various kinds of biology, and ChemE. You will notice that BioE's make significantly more than the bio majors, yet the ChemE's make significantly more than the BioE's. </p>
<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Bioengr.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Bioengr.stm</a>
<a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/IntBio.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/IntBio.stm</a>
<a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MCB.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MCB.stm</a>
<a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MolEnvBio.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MolEnvBio.stm</a>
<a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/ChemEngr.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/ChemEngr.stm</a></p>
<p>Hence, my personal take is that I think that majoring in BioE is better than majoring in any of the Bio's, unless you want to go to med-school and thus are aiming for a high GPA (which is difficult to get in engineering). If your plan is to work right after graduation, it's more marketable to get an engineering degree rather than the corresponding science degree. For example, a ChemE degree is clearly more marketable than a Chemistry degree, a ME or EECS degree is clearly more marketable than a Physics degree. </p>
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Regional factors are important. In CA, the pharmaceutical industry is big and industry in general is more diverse. You have oil cos like Chevron and Arco, but many others like Clorox.
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<p>Actually, I think you mean to say that the BIOTECH industry is big in California. Pharma, not so much. Most of the big pharma's such as Pfizer, Merck, J&J, Glaxo, BMS, Wyeth, and the like are heavily centered in the NorthEast, especially around the Connecticut-NYC-NJ-Philadelphia region. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the oil industry in Northern California is really not that extensive, especially relative to the total population. Yes, there are a string of refineries in Richmond, Martinez, Benicia, and a few other places. Yet the fact is, true 'chemical engineering heaven' in the US is undoubtedly the US Gulf Coast (coastal Texas and Louisiana). That is the epicenter of the US petrochemical industry, with literally miles and miles and miles of refineries and chemical plants. </p>
<p>ChemE's coming out of Berkeley, if they stay in the area, tend to work in Silicon Valley high-tech fields, notably biotech and semiconductors, but also things like advanced materials. And then of course there are those who go to consulting and banking. </p>
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hmm so back to my conundrum. Is there enough room to take biological electives during a CofChem major? I'd say I'm of decent intelligence. Give ChemE a try?
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<p>Yes there is enough room. Yes, I would recommend ChemE over BioE.</p>
<p>What's Chemical biology admissions like?</p>
<p>Since on the webiste College of Chemistry Facts it says only around 200 undergrads are in a certain major within the CoC, does this mean that they take about 50 students each year? Then wouldn't this major be RIDICULOUSLY hard to get into? Crap I already submitted "Chemical Biology" under CoC!</p>