With all of this time on my hands, I’ve found myself stressing out about what I’m going to do in college. More specifically, I’m unsure of what I really want to major/minor in. For the past two years, I’ve been deadset on going to Duke for BME. Lately, I’ve found out that a BSE in BME is not the best for the job market, which is worrying me.
Let’s just say a miracle happens and I get into Duke…should I still major in BME? I heard that it’s not super difficult to double major in BME and ECE because of the overlap, but what I want to do after college focuses more on different disciplines, including drug development and delivery, genetic engineering, etc. Should I just double major with ECE because it’s easier to get a job with ECE or should I try to minor in something like Chemistry or Biophysics?
Also, I plan on getting a Master’s, but I don’t know if I should get it in biomedical engineering or a physical science. I love science, and just the study of it brings me joy, but I want to know if just getting a Master’s in something like Biochemistry would not be helpful for getting a job. I know this is way into the future, so feel free not to address this question. Thanks!
One of my friends who is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering who works in the Medical space says not to major in Biomedical Engineering…but to major in whatever aspect is interesting to you, be it Mechanical, Electrical, Material Engineering.
“IMO, never do BME undergrad. Do a “core” engineeirng program like ME or EE and internships or projects in BME. Why? Medical device companies still prefer to hire them. They want “core” engineers for those jobs after undergrad and will train them up in the physiology etc they need to know. This is a major issue worldwide for undergrad BME and similar programs”
I’m in the same boat as you. I like Biology and Physics, and so the natural thought is to progress to Bio-Engineering or related.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it tbh. A lot of people swear by BME undergrad curriculum and others treat it like Satan’s fungus. Personally I don’t really see the problem as long as you graduate with a marketable skill set. You might have an easier time in another engineering major but IMO, you’d probably be fine doing BME.
I wasn’t BME but worked in aerospace. Engineering projects, no matter the industry, require teams of specialists. Choosing a specialty, like mechanical or electrical, gives you the knowledge to go into almost any industry including BME.
There are people with LOTS of majors involved in drug development and delivery and genetic engineering. Biology, chemistry, physics, math and stats, and many non-STEM majors as well. The real question is what do you want to do in drug delivery?
That said, I do tend to advise students to take broader/more general majors, as you can apply them to a wider range of things. Specialization is really more for grad school, IMO - were it me I might try a more traditional engineering field and take some classes in biomedical engineering.
