I’m a 3/5 year materials engineering student, and I’m less and less interested in the bulk of materials engineering the more I learn. I’m interested in nanomaterials and advanced materials, but becoming more and more interested in biology/nutrition/neuroscience/psychology. I’m all over the place, changing a lot personally, and chances are I won’t even be interested in engineering apart from the money.
My current plan is to graduate, work a few years, then travel for a while or work on personal projects while figuring myself out. I have the opportunity to get a minor in Biomedical engineering for only 5-11 extra credits (lots of overlap courses) and it looks like a great option for broadening my options later in life if I continue down my current trajectory of interests.
Any advice would be appreciated, am I wasting time, money, and effort for something that just spruces up a diploma marginally, or would this likely be a valuable addition to my education?
It depends on the minor! I’m getting a minor in technical writing and I’m actually going to use it in the future to try to get a job in the field, even though I’m computer Science! I spoke to a Google representative and they said that they really value certain minors so it pretty much depends on which one and if it’s useful in relation to your major. That seems like the case in your situation, so I’d say that you’re doing the right thing!
Stop. Getting a minor is an advantage only if it is broadly applicable in your field (like math, chemistry, or physics in your field) or helps focus you to a specific desired career or academic path. A biomedical engineering or technical writing minor would fall into this second category but ONLY if that is the work you genuinely want to do! It will make it harder to get work outside that area because (1) it makes you look like you are more interested in doing that one thing and (2) it means you are less competitive in other areas where people used those credits to better focus.
Remember that if, as it seems here, you don’t really know what you want to do yet that there are lots of opportunities to specialize later. A masters degree is becoming increasingly common and in many specialties is all but required. If you are uncertain, keep your studies as broad as your interests and only narrow them when your interest is more defined.
Don’t get a piece of paper saying you want to work in a field until you are certain you want to do so.
My question is - why wouldn’t you take courses in Biomedical engineering if it interests you and taking them doesn’t interfere with your educational progress under your main degree? My husband works in advanced materials research and honestly, he’d love to see a bio background on an incoming engineer - it’s the future of materials research. To work in research you’d need more than a bachelors and it sounds like you have a lot of personal growth to do but by all means, pursue the areas of studies that enrich your education and may be part of your future career. It’s win-win.
@CaMom13, that would completely depend on the classes chosen towards the BME. Most will not be applicable to materials. More importantly though, the OP has stated they are no longer interested in materials. My advice is to do some serious soul searching over the summer. Picking up a minor willy nilly isn’t going to do anything for you over the summer. Figuring out what facet of materials you will enjoy. Are you at your 3 institution or have you transferred?
If OP is no longer interested in materials and wants to move into biomedical then the question is what courses will help them get into grad school, whether that is a minor or not. Taking those courses will generally hurt them in trying to get a materials job, but are the best way to start to transition into biomedical.
Note that there are doubtless biomedically-focused materials jobs that would like to see the coursework and/or minor, but those are still materials jobs!
A) Why does it cost more if you are a full time student paying tuition? If you are paying tuition for an educational experience and BME is an interest, are you concerned about time required for exploring?
B) Materials engineers work in all fields, they were a great resource for testing, failure analysis and manufacturing processes in every one of my ME jobs across all the industries where I held jobs. BME is very broad, DH ran a large medical equipment division and material issues impeded development and manufacturing on a daily basis. Don’t discount the theoretical core you are learning. The job of your choice may be very different. You are being trained as a critical thinker and problem solver.
C) Your resume should be updated for specific job applications. Listing all minors is not a requirement. D1 has an entrepreneurial minor viewed as a big asset for some opportunities and a commitment ?for others. She adds or omits the minor as she sees fit.