<p>Hello,</p>
<p>So previously, I had posted this thread about pursuing a double major in both Bioengineering and Computer Science (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1623619-college-freshman-seeking-advice.html#latest">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1623619-college-freshman-seeking-advice.html#latest</a>) and instead, I had decided to stick out with Mechanical Engineering, as I felt the broadness that the degree itself has fits my needs, but now I am starting to reconsider. </p>
<p>While I was young, I always was considered to be "the engineer" and I enjoyed the label as I have done tons of work related with engineering (from research to internships) but now I am thinking of future purposes (job security). I was thinking what would my job look like in the future, as I don't want to be stuck in one position for a long time, and want to go up the ladder into management, and even executive boards if I work hard enough. I started thinking what the future would like for me, and thus I started to realize that Bioengineering really intrigues me. </p>
<p>Obviously, what I mean by "intriguing" is when hearing about innovation in the medical industry, and pushing for newer and better advancements to make healthcare more accessible and scalable to the demands of greater needs, it really does get me interested. Though my problem now is, I started to think of famous people who are in this field working with related things (<b>Dean Kamen comes to mind!</b>) and assumed that I would then be looking at attending Medical School if I want to pursue something like this? </p>
<p>My major question is, is my thinking correct? Can someone provide more insight onto this, as I have been wrapping this around my head the past few days, and would love to hear more insight onto what I have been able to conclude to, and open to suggestions!</p>
<p>I dont know much about BioE, But the rules for BioMedical are that you need a masters degree and/or med school to get into the big bucks. although a BS in any engineering is not as worthless as say, Native american studies,
Its is probably one of the least useful in under graduate level.</p>
<p>to be honest i would probably go Biomedical or mechanical (I Myself am considering med school) as not many jobs come to mind for a bioengineering undergraduate or even a bioengineering graduate.</p>
<p>That said if you really want to go to med school it will probably be much more difficult to keep a good gpa in any engineering program than say, biology or philosophy major</p>
<p>long story short, if you want to do Bio/medical engineering you need to go all the way to a Masters or med-school. for mechanical you can get good money in the undergraduate level. but make sure to do what you love, your the only one who will be working your job 30-50 years.</p>
<p>if you want to get into corporate an MBA is highly recommended.</p>
<p>I appreciate the comment! Yes, I understand that I should follow something that I love. This summer, I had lined up a technical internship here in Seattle, and even though I am thinking of Medical-Tech, I figured I think about graduate school and what not.</p>
<p>I guess my biggest question next is, if Medical School were a route I want to possibly entertain, how is getting into lets say Top 10 medical school work? I currrently attend the University Of Washington, and even though I hear the medical school is great, I never looked into its rank. Obviously, there is the GPA, MCAT stuff, but what else should I start doing right off the bat to be competitive in my application? I am about to wrap up my first year of college. Additionally, I figure I might stick with Mechanical (or drop it, if a double major requires too much of a commitment) what major would Medical Schools look for? Pre-Med, Biology, Cell Molecular Biology? I feel like I there are tons of those type of majors on campus but I never understood what is important for medical school route. </p>
<p>@dawgshouse, med schools could care less about your major. the reason many students like to take biology and the like for pre med is because it fills up there pre reqs, it is easier, and gives good study skills for med schools (a math quiz and and a biology/medschool quiz are 2 completely different creatures). when med schools pick people they look at work experience,extra curricular activities,GPA,MCAT, and the less known “science GPA” (gpa for all your pre reqs put together) there is also a rumor that med schools frown upon nursing majors because of a solid medical career to fall back on may make people want to quit med school when the going gets tough (not sure how true it is). </p>
<p>if you are worried about costs, the army,navy and airforce offers full ride scholarships for medschool and gives you 2000$ a month to live on during your medical school time. they will not call you for deployment while you are in school and your residency and fellowship. the catch is after school you owe them 6 years of active duty time. and you make a little south of what a regular physician makes after he pays for malpractice insurance. and you have to move where they tell you too. but at least you dont have debt :)</p>
<p>so long story short, volunteer many hours to humanitarian cause mostly in in a medical setting (peace corps looks great as well as army 68w MOS in reserves or active duty), keep your GPA above 3.60 and maybe get a job in a medical setting.</p>
<p>(FYI, bioengineering and biomedical engineering are basically the same thing by different names from my experience and searching.)</p>
<p>@nanotechnology yeah, I am aware of that.</p>
<p>Outside of this thread: I really am interested in hearing what the future holds for many professions such as the medical field, technology, lawyers, etc… some are pretty self explanatory (medicine, business, possibly lawyers with this whole new waves of startups) but I wonder if in lets say 10, to 20 years, would a person need a programmer? A lot of the technology and languages are being automated so its all simply done by few mouse clicks. </p>
<p>Just a thought, I don’t have the data or research to prove which is better, but would love to get insight on this! </p>
<p>If you could predict the types of jobs that would be needed 20 years down the line, you would be everyone’s favorite person. 
That said, I don’t think the need for programmers is going to disappear. However, the nature of what programmers do will likely change. For example, it used to be that all programming had to be done at a very low level, where you had to control every aspect of it. Now programming languages are becoming more high level as the lower-level aspects are automated. I think programming will continue to become more high level, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near the point of computers becoming intelligent enough to program themselves.
For a different analogy: think of the ability to code as being like the ability to read and write. It used to be that literacy was a skill that very few people had, and those with the ability were uniquely qualified for certain jobs. That’s the place we are at with programming. Now, it would be unimaginable in our society to be employable or functional without literacy skills. That’s where I think we’re headed with programming. I think at some point everyone will have to have basic computer literacy skills. But just because nearly everyone knows how to write doesn’t make this an obsolete skill for a career on its own; we still need writers today in various fields. It’s the same with programming. Over time, the role will change, but it’s not going away.</p>