Biomedical engineering is a misleading major

[koshka]

I was considering Biomedical for awhile, but when I looked at the curriculum, I noticed a ton of overlap with Electrical, so I figured I'd just do Electrical for my B.Eng, then maybe do some kind of Biomed-related major if I ever bothered to specialize later on for a PhD.

You could really say the same thing about aerospace to an extent (although I'd imagine there's a lot more to work with) and mechanical. Aerospace is really just applied Mechanical.

[elvisnnaemeka]

Biomedical Engineering is a good course. You'll get a wide range of skills that will make you eligible for wide variety of careers be it in tech, medical device industry, biotech, pharma, etc.

If you have passion for solving medical problems, go for Biomedical Engineering.

I don't like petroleum, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and aerospace. They're just not that interesting.
Yeah, you may end up not getting a job with a title "Biomedical Engineer". But the broad base of skills you acquire from BME will make you more than able to handle the jobs.😂

[cameleven]

As a biomedical engineering major at one of the top schools for that major, this is still often true. Some programs will add focus areas to your major (such as computational, or devices/electronics) specifically to help with this issue. Those programs help, but the curriculum can still be super all over the place

[Magikarp_With_Dragonrage]

I got interested in biomedical engineering initially due to wanting to be a biotec in a hospital or a prosthetist. Only to realize that I wanted to do research anyway, luckily for me I'm Canadian, one of the current leaders in biomed eng research and an upwards trend in the job market that free healthcare heavily encourages.

[Puzzl.e]

alotta new engineering majors are just a mix of mechanical and electrical applied in one field, I thought biomedical engineering was interesting at some point because I liked both engineering and medicine, but in my fluid class my professor was a mechanical engineering major who had his PhD in applied fluid in biomedical engineering.
and he said that biomedical engineering is just or those who love research, since engineers working in this field are probably mechanical or electrical engineers.

[bigbao]

Agree with you Ali. My country offers a weird degree similar to biomed but you will learn electrical engineering and computer science and premed. Though it's a 6 year long degree. However I heard some people saying it's not worth the time. Because the curriculum is not 'complete'. You will never compete with a pure EE, CS, Med student due to the classes you take is only like half of each discipline. More importantly, whether you want to go to IT or medicine industry. You can just study one of the discipline to get in the specific industry. You really don't need to study that BiomedEECS thing. The only benefits for that program are for students who don't know what to study. And you can find out which area you want to specialize later.

[yofq]

I am still not sure whether to take Biomedical Engineering or Electrical Engineering

[Gallus]

I got my bachelors in biochem & did a masters in bio pharmaceutical engineering/manufacturing, it was very much as the title stated, an interface between pharmacology, mechanics, technology & processing/production. I work as an industrial process developer, it’s been fun so far.

[alphanzher]

I think the classical core-engineering majors are electrical, mechanical, chemical, industrial, and civil. The rest build upon these core disciplines to create new specialized fields. Not learning the core-concepts WILL set you behind.

[RyanLynch]

Georgia Tech has one of the best BME programs in the US, and the career prospects still aren't that good. Unfortunate

[az]

it's an interdisciplinary applied science, it IS useful...specially for works that need medical, tech, mechanical, physics, biochem combined. There are areas where only physics or only maths or one of these subjects cannot fully solve, there needs to be a combination to make things work and biomed engg is one good discipline for such.

[dorsia]

I think its good for a masters degree but at the undergrad level you should stick with mechanical or electrical.

[torren_jeantymusic]

If I wanted to go up to Masters Degree, would it be worth it? I also plan to back it up with at least an aa in something involving Medicine or Anatomy.

[Hehhehha]

agreed, although highly dependent on individual departments/programs, undergrads especially should keep in mind that in many circumstances the holistic approach to BME education can be a negative. would encourage those interested to initially leave out the consideration of ‘biomedical’ and think about traditional disciplines they might be drawn to (e.g., mechanical, electrical, chemical engineering, and for BME i would personally include biochem/chemistry in this kind of grouping), if possible it could be helpful to pursue a BME specialization under the umbrella of one of these, or maybe consider specializing within a broader BME program

[siamesestormtrooper]

Yeah I know a guy with a biomed specialization… hes 23 and will probably still be in college after me cause of how many credits their making this man get

[armadanza]

i wanted to do biomedical when i was looking for colleges. i ended up in mechanical, got slammed in the “weed-out” classes and left the program

[toluwaniawaye]

you are 100% right i wish i knew this 5 years ago before choosing my major

[harisvegito]

What if I do my bachelor's in mechanical engg and then my masters in biomedical engineering? Will it be better that way?

[seanthompson]

I noticed this, I get asked often why i major in electrical when i want to be a biomedical engineer. But i realized the biological aspect of the major was very narrow so i just decided to do electrical and i work in medicine, so hopefully when i graduate my work history with major will be enough to get biomedical job.

[randallmcgrath]

At Michigan State University, they have their biosystems engineering but they also let you have a few different concentrations for mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering, 1 of which is biomedical. They have a biomedical concentration for materials science as well.