Apparently, getting a legitimate engineering job with only a B.S. in BioE is really hard since 1) bioengineers learn a little bit of everything, but depth in nothing and 2) there aren’t many biomedical device companies.
I will finish my junior year of undergrad in May, and I am struggling in my EE courses although I could handle all the core engineering classes (i.e., calc 1-3, phys 1-3, dfq, chem for engineers, intro to engineering design) and the intro to biology for engineers class I took in my first semester. I think biology is interesting, btw.
Grad school for bioengineering is out of the question for me because:
my cumulative GPA is a 2.9 now (God knows how much it will decline after this semester)
should I switch my major in the upcoming semester, I will graduate in 6 instead of 4 years.
Engineers can go into quite a few different fields after graduation. You’re right about getting a job though with a 2.9, you will not be highly recruited, but many engineers have engineering jobs totally unrelated to there specific major. Don’t just try for bio-engineering jobs. At this point I would finish the engineering degree and, if you want to, “switch” majors, you can by getting a masters in something else. You’ll finish in 6 years but with a Masters in some subject you like instead of a Bachelors. You will be able to get into non engineering masters programs with a 2.9, and even some engineering masters programs. Lots of kids graduate with less than a 3.0 and go onto engineering careers.
Where did you get this impression? There are loads of biomedical device companies. It is a massive industry that employs a massive number of people. However, these companies tend to hire engineers with degrees in traditional disciplines like ME, EE, and ChemE.
While having a sub-3.0 GPA isn’t going to do you any favors, why are you already considering yourself out of the running for engineering jobs? Do you feel you won’t be able to complete your engineering degree, and are planning to switch out of engineering? Or do you think you can finish your degree?
You probably wouldn’t get a job at a medical device company straight out of college even if you were an ME or EE major with a >3.0 GPA, unless you had a significant amount of internship and co-op experience. Medical device companies tend to hire engineers with 3-5 years experience, and you’d likely find yourself working in a different industry for a few years regardless. It is possible to get an engineering job with a sub-3.0 GPA, albeit more difficult, and you could still potentially transition to the industry of your liking after gaining a few years of experience.