The Story of Why I Quit Biomedical Engineering in College

This is the story of why I quit my major of biomedical engineering after only semester right after joining Boston University and immediately switched to Computer Engineering. In fact, what’s funny is that I the decision to switch out happened really quickly. I basically decided to switch out 4 months of starting college. Talk about giving a major a chance.

Originally, I wanted to be a biomedical engineer because I wanted to take some engineering that would take advantage of my generalist skills. I was good at math, computer science, and biology. Because of that, I felt like biomedical engineering would be cool, like hey, look at me, jack of all trades. However, I didn’t really have a real plan for what I would do with biomedical engineering. I just had the idea that if I went to college with a hard engineering degree then I could get any good paying job that I wanted.

I came in all excited for biology and took a molecular bio course for my first semester. Besides, this is the very first bio course of the whole major. How tough could it be?

Well, those were my famous last words. That course had weekly quizzes, and I literally could get like 40% on those quizzes. I had no idea how anyone was able to understand this material. The course ramped up from beginner level of learning what a gene was to really complicated proteins. I made friends with two buddies in the course, and they struggled just as much as we. We got together to study sometimes, and all we could talk about was how we had no clue what the heck was going on.

The worst was the bio labs. The lab would be like, go find this solution of liquid in the room, and then after that, mix it exactly in this amount with the pipette. Lord help you if you mix it improperly halfway through the lab, because once you improperly mix a compound, there’s no going back. You have to start all over. Anyways, my lab partner and I would frantically try to mix these solutions like a mad scientist, get weird data, and realized we mixed something wrong halfway through the experiment. Furthermore, the time you get in the lab is fixed, and you can’t reschedule labs. If you mess up halfway, there’s no redos. My lab partner and I managed to mess up our final product, so therefore it was a waste to start the next lab with our solution that didn’t make sense. I’m sure if we kept cooking more, we would have grown some otherworldly organism that is an abomination to humanity in our test tubes.

Anyways, that course gave me nightmares about biology, and it is what really made me realize that Bio was not right for me. I did not enjoy working in bio labs, and I realized that to enjoy biology, you have to really enjoy memorizing lots of biological facts. It’s not like math where you can derive from first principles. You have to actually memorize a lot of the work that people did before you.

During this time, I also was working on a research project with a professor working in machine learning and image recognition. He asked me what my major was, and he was shocked to find out that I was a biomedical engineer. He asked me why I was doing biomedical engineering, and that it didn’t align at all with my project. I just told him that that was what I picked. He told me that I should become a computer engineer.

I started looking at the job prospects for Biomedical engineering, what I would be working in when I graduate, and how much money I made. The data was not good. Basically, biomedical engineers were the lowest paying engineering to graduate from my university. Furthermore, upon further reading, it seemed like being a biomedical engineer pigeonholed you specifically into the biotech industry, whereas the other engineer’s covered a very big pie.

I had lunch with my parents one day and I told them all that i learned. I told them that my research professor told me that I should switch since it didn’t fit my goals. I told them about the salary and job prospects. My dad insisted that I was still just being lazy and giving up too early.

The thing that finally sealed the deal was when someone was overhearing our conversation from another table. This honestly must have been fate, and something that sounds made up, but it’s real. This girl was listening to our conversation and said, “Hey, I heard you were talking about biomedical engineering. Listen, I think you should drop out and switch majors. I graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering and literally couldn’t find any job in the field.

It’s rare that you have moments like this happen to you in life. But I felt like, everything lined up. The professor telling me to switch. This random girl telling me exactly what I was thinking. The data that I found online. Me hating the bio course. And in hindsight, I made exactly the right decision.

[TheBMELife]

Hi Joie! My name is Meri, I am a biomedical engineer (just graduated this past May). I came across your video a few days ago. I was really interested in listening to someone who has considered the major but decided to opt out. I am glad you found a major that was a better fit for you and your expectations. However, I decided to make a video reacting to this and giving my opinion as someone who went through and LOVED the degree. I understand your point of view and again, I’m happy that you found something you enjoyed! BUT, I completely disagree with calling BME a bad major 😅 Anyway, i will be leaving the link to the video in the comments, so people who might be thinking of doing OR quitting BME can listen to two different sides :) wish you the best in your future endeavors!

[BlairKim]

Me, a high school senior looking at BME with Boston University as my top choice: *nervous laughter*

[Vim_Tim]

This video rambles a bit, but you make some important points. I finished the degree and quickly realized that Biomedical Engineering is not for engineers: it’s a good degree for those who want to do research or medical school. However, medical device companies want “traditional” engineers for R&D. Kudos for understanding your goals before graduating.

[ftft]

Joie, it is so rare that a person gets to see that they have made the wrong career choice early on and pivot to a much better option like it happened for you. Kudos for listening to your own gut feelings and your professor who told you to get out of bme.

[KhmerH]

great video Joie. I would like to add: money is important in life. It's the resource you'll need in to survive. However, in my opinion, it should not come before job fulfillment or career satisfaction or the feeling that you've made a difference in the world. Speaking from my personal experience. Wish you all the best to come!

[Badnads]

Me a biomedical engineering student doing a double major in computer science engineering: *Laughing in pain*

[nikishri]

*me switching from Computer engineering to BME after my first year in college* : H U H

[besarbamyrtaj]

I'm a sophomore in college studying BME and my experiences so far are very similar to yours. Thank you for the insightful information!

[prayashthapa]

I'm thinking of doing medical robotic for masters at Imperial College London and hopefully, I'll enjoy it

[bsad]

Ngl it sounds like you don't deal with failure well and struggle applying the lessons learned by failing

[jaideepmandloi]

Hi man, I am currently in med school and I really like creating stuff. I was also thinking of switching my field to bioengineering but I realised that I don't want to do a job in it, I want to open my own research startup and I don't need to have a degree for that, I can just be a doctor and do this in my free time. I am currently learning how to code.
thanks for this video!

[rosieyves]

i hate biomedical engineering but I can't quit it because im half way into it and my parents won't allow me to quit it i don't know what to do 😭

[dumbexplainations]

In biology you usually have to work towards a PhD to actually invent cool stuff. There's just too much to learn.
Either you act as a sad underling to a PhD - or you're just a mechanical or electrical engineer that works in healthcare.
Either way, unless you're getting your PhD I wouldn't recommend a bioengineering degree.

[andresallegre]

oh god i was so sure i wanted to study BME time's running out :`(

[lshuarckyma]

this condition is same in india but the harsh road bump added to indian students is that most of the top indian eng. colleges either dont allow to switch the department or the change would be a competition it self as all the lower branch ( as per the present mindset of students) or even core branch students in engineering just want to switch to CSE

[Discussions]

Good decision. There are way more jobs in the IT industry. Computer Engineering is way more marketable than Biomedical Engineering.

[Fcycfvyvvyvtfutg]

Excerpt in the description is good. xD (Its faster to read it than watch)

[headinclouds]

you guys are only focusing on the JOBS, not on what you really Love or passionate about!

[neiltagyab]

I want to take biomedical engineering. But i already have 2 courses.

[OneThreeInvisible]

Amazing!
Bro thank you. This was really eye opening for me. I was deciding on if i wanted to major in ChemE, BioMedE, BioChem, or CSE. This just made my decision wayyy easier. because i crossed out BioMEDE.
Btw what do you think about those other 3 majors?