<p>So this fall I plan on majoring in Bioengineering, and reading many discussions I've noticed the jobs are limited, and most are saying to do a traditional engineering (EE, CE, ME) then get a MS in Bioengineering. I as of now really wanna pursue bioengineering as my undergrad, so any good ideas regarding getting my Masters? Whether I get it in BME, or I get my MBA, or maybe get it in a differnt engineering focus to broaden my views and make me more desirable to engineering companies.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>And feel free to message me as well with some advice on my dilemma </p>
<p>The problem is that many (or most) BME jobs seem to be research-heavy and therefore require advanced degrees. The typical jobs that undergrads fill at the companies in question simply tend to be better filled by mechanical or electrical or other types of engineers who have a more in-depth knowledge of the skills needed for those types of jobs. Getting an MBA won’t help you one bit and doing a graduate program in another field is missing the point.</p>
<p>The bottom line is just that you likely will need graduate training to get a lot of the BME jobs, so if you want a fallback, then study one of the other engineering options and then get an advanced degree in the specific BME area in which you hope to work. Otherwise you need to just be all in for graduate school from the start, which is just a bit riskier.</p>
<p>Ok that makes sense for the most part. But what do you mean by being all in for grad school and it being riskier? And by that do you mean BME undergrad and grad? And if so, is this a good option?? </p>
<p>Also from what I’ve research isn’t the field expanding fast? I’m going to be a freshmen this fall. So I do have a good amount of time ahead of me for the field to grow. </p>
<p>Basically, the jobs that most biomedical companies have for people with only a BS are more likely to go to someone with their BS in one of the more traditional flavors of engineering. After all, BS jobs usually aren’t going want a certain degree of proficiency with one area of product’s design, usually covered pretty solidly by one or more of the traditional branches and usually covered pretty sparsely by an undergraduate biomedical curriculum. So, if a company making and researching new joint replacements, for example, needs someone to help design the materials, they are going to prefer a materials scientist, not someone with one class on materials from a BME program. BME programs tend to touch on a little of everything but aren’t as deep as most other major branches at the undergraduate level so they seem to have a notoriously and deceptively small job pool for those with undergraduate degrees only. Basically, the field may be growing fast but the field hires a lot more people than just those who have a BS in bioengineering or biomedical engineering.</p>
<p>Graduate school solves this problem by providing the specialization that undergraduate BME students often lack, whether that graduate program is in biomedical engineering or in one of the other types of engineering. The most important thing is figuring out what sort of biomedical job interests you and then seeking out the skills that will help you compete for that job, but it in a biomedical department or a mechanical engineering department or a chemistry department or whatever other type of department.</p>
<p>Basically, if you do BME as an undergrad, you simply will most likely end up in graduate school to end up where you want to be because there aren’t a whole lot of undergraduate jobs at biotech companies that wouldn’t be better filled by undergraduates from different STEM programs.</p>
<p>ADDED:
For what it’s worth, I am not a biomedical engineer, nor have I worked for a biotech company. What I say comes from my interaction with biomedical engineers and biomedical engineering faculty.</p>
<p>Ahhh ok!! And appreciate the time you took for the explanation. It really does now make sense to me now. To just confirm so I have it all settled, if I get a BS in BME, then ishould 100% be sure to go for my MS in it, as it will give me the edge similar to people who did a more traditional engineering and then got the MS in BME have as well. If you get where I’m comig from and what I’m trying I say there.</p>
<p>And again, thank you soooo much brotha. </p>
<p>And from you experience/interactions would you say it’s a relatively good field to go in? My plan is to live in California(which ik is hot for BME jobs). </p>
<p>Well if you get a BS in BME, what I am saying is you just have to realize that it likely means graduate school. You can always apply for jobs and see what kind of nibbles you get, it just seems that it is notoriously difficult with just an undergraduate degree in BME. Getting an advanced degree not only should overcome the drawbacks of BME versus other degrees at the undergraduate level, but should also open up the class of more research-oriented jobs and put you at least on equal footing with other people who are qualified for those jobs from other engineering varieties.</p>
<p>I won’t say how good the field is for an incoming student given my lack of firsthand experience, but biotech companies are still plenty in-demand, so it sure seems like there should be career opportunities aplenty in those fields for people with the right skills. Exactly what skills those are will depend on the job.</p>
<p>Hopefully someone around here with more direct BME experience will weigh in to either support me or tell me I am crazy.</p>
<p>From what your saying boneh3ad it makes allt of sense, and either way doing BME or a more traditional engineering I would be going into grad school for the same thing. And in my college path I did anticipate going to get my masters regardless of what discipline I did in undergrad. Do really appreciate your help as it cleared up a lot! </p>