Biomedical Engineering: Scope, Options & Benefits

[Ali Inam]

Ah,

I am a very new student of Biomedical Engineering and am in my first year. Though I am enjoying it, as it consists the mixture of electrical engineering and implementation of human anatomy with advanced courses in computers.

But, the problem is that there are many people who are disregarding my elected field !

The just say that I should have opted a PARENT engineering filed such as ELECTRICAL or Computer ENGINEERING as (they said) that BM Engg has got very little scope WorldWide

Any ideas ? !

I still have an option to change my field in my fist year

 

[gretun]

Really? I thought biomedical engineering is pretty cool, I mean you can figure out ways to make yourself immortal

 

[Ali Inam]

IMMORTAL ? !

Cool idea though !

I can be the new Lord Voldemort


What I am confused about is the people keep saying that it is a very much SOFT OPTION, as compared to other technologies !

 

[Theorem.]

In what way disregarding?
biomedical engineering is a very good field with lots of potential. Additionally there is always demand. Of course, in a field such as bio-med, you can't expect to just get by and be successful. What area are you planning on working in specifically? Any specific areas of interest?
-Theorem

 

[Choppy]

My response would be to counter with who are "they" and what makes them experts in the scope of biomedical engineering? Based on what data are they drawing conclusions?

It's my opinion, that as an undergrad, you don't need to specialize in BME if that's a field you're interested in. There is perhaps some validity in the idea that it's too specialized to do as an undergrad, but again, there are just opinions. There are a lot of opportunities in BME these days and once you start taking some signal/image processing courses you can just laugh when your colleagues call it a "soft" option.

 

[Ali Inam]

To Theorem,

I am actually thinking about getting involved in Robotics, well as I'm only in my first year, so it is still too soon to think about that. But, I have been doing a little research on some of the sub-fields of BM Engg.

 

[Ali Inam]

My response would be to counter with who are "they" and what makes them experts in the scope of biomedical engineering? Based on what data are they drawing conclusions?


What they actually are comparing the BM Engineer are with those technicians who are currently working in hospitals for repairing any damage to the machinery.

I've tried to convince them that there is definitely some difference between a TECHNICIAN and a qualified ENGINEER !

 

[fasterthanjoao]

I've tried to convince them that there is definitely some difference between a TECHNICIAN and a qualified ENGINEER !

Well, of course there is a difference between a technician and an engineer - but you should probably do a bit more research into what health-care based bioengineers actually do. The jobs can vary but maintenance (repairing and testing machines) is a very big part of it. Bioengineers (and medical physicists, to an extent) can have some capacity to ensure that machinery is operating just as it should be - they are the ones that understand how it works and what is needed.

Other duties depend on the position, but bioengineers may work in things like prosthetics and orthotics within a hospital, designing and maintaining prosthesis, for instance. There are also many research (academic and industrial) positions for bioengineers - due to the nature of interdisciplinary work, there is a huge number of projects to be undertaken.

I agree with the point that Choppy has said - it isn't necessary to specialise in something like biomedical engineering at undergraduate level. I would say it's potentially even a disadvantage - my department pays preference to students with degrees in fields like mechanical engineering or electrical engineering, and teaches them the biology they need to know. If it were me, I would choose the type of engineering I enjoy the most, and see if you can pick some biology electives along the way.

 

[Ali Inam]

I chose BM at this level with a hope that I can switch myself to any other field at the Masters Level. Depending upon the situation and the demands of BM engineers.

On the other hand, even if I do enjoy this field, I may still carry on...

You won't believe my family background, with my dad a marine scientist, my uncle and gran father Electrical Engg and my other uncle is an IT expert.

So, I was the first one in my family !

I was attracted towards this area mainly because I found that it is relatively new and it might have better future prospects.

The city I live in produces over 1500 electronic engineers every year and only 200 biomedical engineers !

 

[fasterthanjoao]

I chose BM at this level with a hope that I can switch myself to any other field at the Masters Level. Depending upon the situation and the demands of BM engineers.

This is the reason I said you should consider taking your degree in one of the major types of engineering. With a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, you would easily be able to take a masters or PhD in biomedical engineering (it is expected that applicants will have mechanical or electrical engineering background) - but you will find it very difficult the other way around.

I think you'd find it near impossible to switch to a different type of engineering at graduate level if your background is in bioengineering.

 

[Theorem.]

This is the reason I said you should consider taking your degree in one of the major types of engineering. With a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, you would easily be able to take a masters or PhD in biomedical engineering (it is expected that applicants will have mechanical or electrical engineering background) - but you will find it very difficult the other way around.

I think you'd find it near impossible to switch to a different type of engineering at graduate level if your background is in bioengineering.

This is very true. If you aren't entirely sure on which specific area you would like to go into, then it would be a better (and safer) choice to choose one of the major types of engineering. As fasterthanjoao stated, if you're a good student you could easier take a masters/PhD in biomedical engineering, but you couldn't do the converse.

 

[FirstYearGrad]

I don't think the demand is there for BME relative to the output of BME's. I have this conspiracy theory that the only reason it gets so much attention is that women flock to it unlike other engineering disciplines.