Hey Raina, 

In regards to your question about which one is more fulfilling, I think that academia and industry work can have an equal impact in different ways. I agree with your point about how academia is important because the professors themselves shape the future engineers that could go into either academia or industry. From my experience at NJIT, I have met professors in the biomedical engineering department that have such a positive impact on me personally. Their enthusiasm and love for biomedical engineering was displayed through their teaching style and how committed they were to making sure that their students understood what they were teaching. Because of these classes, even if the course material was difficult or not something I enjoyed, I was able to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the different aspects of biomedical engineering, giving me a more positive impact during my degree. Professors like these can really help motivate students and push them to be a better biomedical engineer. I also agree with how academia is involved with many amazing scientific discoveries. There are so many labs here at NJIT, and just by talking to the professors that run it, it is so interesting to see how there are so many research areas, whether it is tissue engineering research, exoskeleton research, or creating a rehabilitation device with sensors. It is great to see how some of the things that are being developed are being presented at important conferences or even being patented.

Meanwhile, in industry, it also amazing to see how products are being developed and manufactured that can change and improve healthcare. I don't have professional industry experience, but I was given the opportunity to intern at a small start-up that created a neurorehabilitation device and was in the stages of testing it on different populations to make sure the device was accessible for different populations and needs. Also talking to people working in industry, they always express how they always feel like they are being rewarded when they see the product that they worked so hard for is having such a positive impact on people's lives.

Personally for me, I am interested in working in industry rather than academia, but I do not think that academia has a lesser impact. Both of them are equally important in my eyes, and both of them had a great impact on me in different ways. Although, I must add that my opinion of this has been formulated based on my experiences as well as talking to people in both academia and industry. As a student, it is easier to get more positive opinions for academia from professors and research labs. We would have to make an effort to reach out to an industry professional to get their view on industry. Do you think that, for us as students, these two paths are displayed in different lights and therefore affect our opinion on them and their impact?

Hi I do feel they are both highly impactful with their contributions to society and work together. From my experiences in schooling academia has given an abundant amount of opportunities to be at the cutting edge of science and to expand everyones ideas and questions on a given topic. These questions usually are the same ones needed for industry and academia to catapult concepts to applicable solutions. While I personally have had little to few opportunities with industry it seems while a given market is driven by demand and regulations, industry makes grand impacts on scaling and product efficiency which in turn could provide care to millions. I believe they both need each other to thrive and push the envelope ,which in sense feels as if they both win regardless of who's success it is at a given time. From my experience many professors that I've learned from also have huge impacts in industry from product advising and so on, leading  has led to their IP contributing to both realms. I feel like industry understands the impact academia has as well on device development and invests heavily into research and employment for individuals with expertise. So in summary they equally impact society and support each other without taking away from the other.

I agree that both industry and academia both have great impact and promise, but I'd like to add that how fulfilling each is highly dependent on your unique needs, personality and abilities as a person. For example I feel like working in industry would feel more fulfilling and productive to me due to its faster nature and more concrete development cycles. I find the research part of academia much more intimidating due to the larger amount of uncertainty that comes with exploring a new avenue of research. The pressure of relying on grants by consistently making new promising discoveries and publishing research articles would cause me much more stress than meeting company deadlines for deliverables. Additionally, I would feel extremely fulfilled if a product I worked on developing directly sees use addressing medical needs. It is much harder to see the endgame results of research because the developed technology typically takes years to be fully tested and approved for use. However, working in academia as a professor sounds fulfilling to me as well, because imparting knowledge and wisdom on biomedical engineering students would allow me to directly see the impact on their studies and careers. There are many different factors of both academia and industry that should be weighed before one commits to either path, and I look forward to learning more about each through this class!

When comparing academia and industry, I believe fulfillment comes down to the timescale on which you see your impact. For instance in academia you may spend months doing research and writing a paper that may not directly cause a notable shift or change the field in a notable way, but instead adds to the working knowledge of the field. It may take collaboration with other peers and researchers, all contributing to the field together like pieces to the puzzle over years until a meaningful breakthrough is made. On the other hand, in industry you may be contributing to projects and products that get released and implemented with patients quickly. Often you are not designing whole new devices from scratch, but modifying or improving small changes on products already in production. Outside of your project team and company, there is little collaboration as your peers are often competitors in the marketplace.

To me, the difference is being a part of a potentially slower yet collaborative process compared to a faster-paced and competitive one

Both academia and industry have distinct forms of impact, but I believe fulfillment comes down to not only the timescale in which you see your impact, but also the type of person you are. Not everyone is meant to work in the industry, and the same thing can be said about academia. In academia you may not see the impact of your work for months or even years. In industry, you might see the impact of your company's work in no time. As we have learned already, everything in the industry moves at a fast pace, so seeing the fruits of your contribution may not take a lot of time compared to academia where you have to be patient with your work. 

Aside from the timescale, personality also factors heavily into fulfillment. There are engineers who enjoy working in research, discovering new ways to tackle fundamental medical questions, and making breakthrough discoveries. Other engineers enjoy working in a team that takes those breakthroughs from academia and implements them in devices or diagnostics that help everyday patients. To them their fulfillment comes from making the discoveries more accessible to everyone who needs them.

I also believe that we shouldn't limit ourselves to a "this or that" form of thinking. We all have different stages in our career that will go through where maybe a change from industry to academia (or vice-versa) may be the right move. So to answer your question, fulfillment depends on the person you are or where you see yourself fitting best.

I think that this discussion is a great one and that a person’s personality and overall goals play a huge role in whether they would be more fulfilled as a researcher/professor in academia or a worker at a job in the industry. People that are more drawn towards the excitement of studying something that no one else ever has and coming up with the ideas behind new treatments, technologies, or devices would likely prefer academia. In this field, there is more of a focus on the unknown and the early stages of development. I think the type of person that would prefer academia is someone who is more of an independent worker. They like having the freedom of controlling their schedule, time, planning, testing, and documentation. On the other hand, an industry professional is someone who is more drawn towards the end stages of development and wants to see the execution of an idea. Someone who is a team player and who has begun to develop leadership skills. These types of people excel under pressure and a set schedule, having strong capabilities in meeting deadlines and company demands. 

All of this plays a role, but I think the overall deciding factor is if you want to be near the early or late stages of development. I personally think that industry is more fulfilling because your work can be felt and applied to the real world much faster. For researchers it may take up to a decade, or even longer, to see the physical development of their work, outside of publications. For industry workers it may take months or a couple of years, but they will almost always see the influence of their work on the public far sooner. There is a huge difference in making an impact in journals compared to making a difference in the lives of people who need and depend on your work.

Absolutely, I agree with your perspective. While both industry and academia can have their impact on society, it will be absolutely different. Given that I work in CAR-T manufacturing right now, I would say that experience in industry definitely changed my understanding of making an impact in the field. In industry, I am not the person who researched or developed the drug, but at the same time, I'm one of the people who is manufacturing that medicine for the benefit of our patients. Therefore, my experience showed me that sometimes making an impact does not mean researching, developing something new. It could be about translating years of research into practice.

On the other hand, there would be no products in industry if there were no discoveries and research made in academia, so I do not think one of them makes greater impact than the other. They seem to be two phases of the process, each of which is important. Thus, industry needs the academic knowledge for translation while academia creates the progress in the field. What do you think about the connection between industry and academia right now when they cooperate much more in research and development?

The idea of making a difference or leaving a positive impact on the world can be interpreted in my multiple ways. Working in the medical industry does not completely invalidate the idea of going to academia even people primarily see it as a choice of money. People in the industry positively impact the world by furthering the developments of medical devices, changing the preconceived notions the public have on combating diseases, and overall aiding the public in times of peril. The problem is that people most commonly believe that the only goal is to go to the medical industry as opposed to academia because it offers much more money. It is insulting to undervalue the impact the people the work in academia because their role in the community is essentially furthering the career. Not just for the next generation, but the people in academia stand to develop and inspire some new found life the community so further advancements can come to fruition. So finding fulfill meant in either professions is fine, as long as you acknowledge both can bring a large positive impact to the world.