Engineering Signal Processing jobs with a Biomedical Engineering degree

[xicor]

I'm starting a new job search where I'm interested in getting an entry level engineering position so I'm trying to figure out the industries where I would realistically be able to obtain a job as an engineer. I obtained my A.S in Engineering Science, my B.S in Physics, and my M.S in Biomedical Engineering where I had electrical engineering electives in my physics degree and my graduate studies were specialized in neural engineering which consisted of signal processing and imaging applications to the brain. I'm really interested in biomedical engineering but it isn't obvious how I can start out my career path in engineering and I'm questioning if it would be necessary for me to first obtain experience through an company or organization that has starting positions in signal or image processing. At this point I'm trying to figure out what Industries I can consider and if electrical engineering companies are a possibility or not so I can have more of a focus in my job search.

A year ago I was able to obtain a job in quality control in my local town but I have lost interest in the position and am not developing any skills relevant to being able to advance my career. The manager to my position understands this and knows the position only exists to create jobs for the area and they are supportive of me trying to obtain a job and career path related to my education. This year I have started the process for doing a PhD in biomedical engineering but am deciding now to delay further education because I have an enormous debt that I need to tackle aggressively and need to do this right away. The positions I'm considering would have to be in an urban environment because of my disability where one of my employees recommended going to the West Coast where he gave me a contact in Seattle related to neural engineering. With these factors in consideration should I consider general signal processing and imaging engineering jobs or should I focus purely within the medical device and pharmaceutical industries to find a starting job in engineering?

Thank you for your time!

 

[scottdave]

This is my thought. Narrowing your search too much may eliminate some potential employers. You have already narrowed it some by needing an urban area. You need to look at several potential employers, perhaps in a variety of specialties to increase your chances.

 

[paralleltransport]

Signal processing is I think a great option for physics background because it's essentially applied math, with an intuition about the physics of the signals being generated.

The problem though is you do not mention how much signal processing you already know/have learned and how much learning you are willing to do...