I do definitely agree that BME is really broad degree that overlaps into a lot of different fields. In my opinion, when starting out, it's definitely good to some a variety of skill sets, rather than just one. Companies want to see that you're capable of adapting and learning new things. This can be hard if you've only focused on one skill and learning new ones on-the-job can be challenging (especially if this is later in life). I'm still in the early stages of my career so I feel like knowing "a little bit of everything" has helped me so far.

However, I do think as you get more and more settled into your career and you've figured out what areas you want to focus on, it's better to hone and develop your skills so they target that specific area.

My advisor used to tell me "biomedical engineering is a third mechanical, a third chemical, a third electrical, and a third biology". And from what I have seen of the major, it is true. We may not go into very deep detail of many things, but we have the foundations of everything. Graduating with a BME degree means that you can, on your own, learn the knowledge that you would need for a job in any of these fields before your first day at the job. BME, in addition to giving the ability to learn multiple different disciplines, is a complete discipline in itself. There are so many jobs out there specifically for us, and there are also many jobs out there not looking for us specifically but with the right communication we can fill and prosper in. Our knowledge coming out of college has some gaps in it compared to other professions, but BME's will have an easier time picking up on ChemE stuff than an ME will. And that is true for many other disciplines as well. This fits perfectly in industry because the lines separating disciplines all but disappears on the job.

One of the obvious advantages to earning a BME degree is that it exposes to all of the different fields that fall under Biomedical Engineering (e.g. Bioinstrumentation, Bioinformatics, Medical Imaging, Nanotechnology). This is particularly helpful to people who have yet to choose a specific field and are still exploring the medical field. Learning a little about multiple different areas makes you well-rounded as it’s important to not “put all your eggs in one basket.” Having a variety of skill sets can make you indispensable depending on the skills you have. A company is more likely to keep a particular employee if he/she exceeds the requirements of the position. A major disadvantage to being a BME major is that you would require more experience and education so that you could specialize in one particular area. In other words, you would need to do a master’s degree of Ph. D. if you wish to gain expertise in one particular area of interest, so this can be a financial burden. The fact that the BME major is a diverse degree implies that there are more job opportunities available (e.g. Industry, Academia) for a BME major. If you decide later on that you wish to move away from one field, you can do that. If you have a specialized degree, such as Electrical Engineering, it will be more difficult to change to a different field. The BME major is unique in that it is a diverse major that encompassed different subjects, which is helpful in job/internship positions because employers will expect skills that are not included in the job description from an applicant.

Biomedical Engineering is very diverse field as the name suggests it is combination of both biology and engineering. There is constant research going on in this field which includes prosthetics, medical devices, surgical devices. I think industries are having new technologies which need to be adapted. There are instruments which help to diagnose, treat diseases which alleviates the pain and disabilities. Biomedical Engineers require lot of knowledge of several areas of the engineering and its applications. Biomedical Engineering requires constant training and education to keep them up to date in terms of latest and advance technologies.

Thank You!

I want to sidetrack a little and compare BME to ME. My degree is in mechanical and when I graduate with my MS it will still be under mechanical. Similar to BME, it gives a broad perspective on different fields. You will delve a little into chemical, biomedical, chemical and electrical with the main focus of the degree on materials and studying moving parts. There is actually a lot of overlap between the two if one were to choose to focus on biomechanics. As such, I personally feel that having this broad range of skills is a great advantage, regardless of the degree.

Coming from industry, I've had exposure to industrial giants (Stryker & BD), medium companies (Nuvasive & Globus), and small/startup companies. At the large and possibly medium companies, you may not use everything you learned in your studies because each person is more specialized. You may end up using only 1/5 of the education you received and usually end up having to learn on the job. Like at Stryker, I never had to take an anatomy course, but my first few weeks were me studying the different bones and muscles/ligaments.

But for small/startup companies, you will usually have a lot of hats so the diverse experience is very useful. You end up using a little bit of everything you learned. I'm not saying this is always true but for example, one of the companies I interviewed for post undergrad was with a small medical device company. They worked as a third party design firm based in Connecticut. They've worked on complex assemblies which required electrical work and they've worked on products that involved various fluid output (pre-filled syringes, applicators, etc). They've also worked on projects that required unique mechanical solutions.

I also personally think that the real fun is in the start-ups/small companies, since you'll end u with a very diverse skill set and dipping your hands into the entire design process.

Is there anyone here that has had similar experiences or maybe even one that counters my entire point?

Yes, I do agree that biomedical engineering is useful because it is a diverse major, you learn biology, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, etc. Biomedical engineering not one skill set, it’s multiple. Knowing all these skill sets are useful because you can branch out to other careers besides biomedical. However, knowing is not helpful, you need hands on experience because jobs need people to do the worked that is being asked, they need to apply their skills, the science background should be known by everyone. These skills sets are good if you want to teach because all you learn is information that is why there should be practical course, so BME students can be prepared for internship/job opportunity. BME students are prepared academically but not for real world jobs/ internships.

Diverse major like BME is less known and demanded than computer science and mechanical engineering for sure. But that doesn't mean we should only focus on the downside of its diverse nature. Instead, I think BME is significantly useful in locating more jobs, and thus, more employers in the job market will see us available for the position because of its advantage of making us a bridge between different major fields. In terms of knowing not much in each field, I still do not see it as a big problem. A lot of industrial jobs for BME students doesn't require very detailed grasp of the knowledge as to be a rocket scientist. Overall grasp of multidisciplinary knowledge is not everything, it is the ability to seamlessly work with pharmacists, specialists, physicians, and general engineers as a group that makes biomedical engineers stand out in the industry.

What is funny to me is that there is no "Biomedical" industry, but rather it is the Medical Device industry or pharmaceuticals. I feel that is because the biomedical engineers are doing jobs that mechanical engineers, chemists, or electrical engineers are doing, but that BMEs are hired because we have the ability and knowledge to apply our engineering knowledge to the human body. That gives us an advantage in the medical fields since we are able to look at the bones and muscles as beams and ropes, and understand how mathematical equations apply biologically.

My first job in the medical device industry didn't use most of my classroom knowledge, however, I was able to understand the concepts of how this device we manufacture interacts with the body, why and how it achieves its goals. I feel that my BME education was able to prepare me for that, more than the education of a mechanical engineer.

Biomedical engineering is very broad, combining engineering techniques with human biology to develop medically relevant technologies. Training in biomedical engineering provides options beyond the academic world. Opportunities are growing for biomedical engineers in industrial research, and biomedical engineers are increasingly finding jobs in hospitals, where they oversee the safety, and maintenance of medical technologies. Biomedical engineers are well prepared for employment in many areas of the health care industry, including medical assist devices and human tissue products.It involves studying all types of engineering ranging from electronics, computers, mechanical, chemical and nanotechnology. Research opportunities in this field are huge. The major drawback is biomedical engineer has base knowledge of all types of engineering but in-depth knowledge of none field while the in-depth knowledge effects job performance .

Biomedical engineering is so diverse that students are required to select a specific track to focus on. However, BMEs are competing with other engineers who are more knowledgeable. It is one of the biggest disadvantage for BMEs, the fact that we touch on different fields, but we do not go as much in-depth as the other majors. Sadly, the reality is that many recruiters will rather hire someone who is a master in a subject than someone who only touched upon a subject. In my personal experience, as a BME student, I have had to work extra to demonstrate I have the same skills or more. It has also reduced the number of opportunities for me. However, BME provides us with the background understanding that draws our passion for the healthcare industry, which personally, I think it's important for us in our career. I think that as students, we can continue to improve our academic preparation to give us a unique place in both research and industry.

Biomedical engineering students compared to other majors like chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering etc. BME gets to learn a little bit of all other areas since BME is consist of three different tracks Biomaterial and tissue, Biomechanics, and Bioinstrumentation. Before we get to decide which track we are interested in learning in-depth. We are exposed to all three tracks which teach us not only about human body related topic but also a little bit of chemistry, mechanical and electrical. That way we can broaden our knowledge in different areas and able to learn and utilize when we receive an opportunity in the industry. Even though having the knowledge from a different aspect of areas, it is still a challenge getting an opportunity in the industry because as years go by, the biomedical related industry is changing in every way. We must stay updated with recent research education and medical devices development. So I think having a biomedical degree is both good and challenging in some way.

Yes, it's true that Biomedical Engineering curriculum exposes you to a variety of fields. You are required in your sophomore year of college to take some courses that introduce you to the different tracks that exist within the biomedical field such as biomechanics, bioinstrumentation and biomaterials. This helps you determine which one of these areas you have more interest in so you can make a decision, which I think is great. However, I think that once you make your decision you should be able to focus solely on the classes that will prepare you best for jobs within your choice of track. You shouldn't be required to take any more courses that are more related to the other tracks than to your own. That way you can become an expert at what you want to do and find a job more easily.

The diversity of the BME degree is definitely a double edged sword. On the one hand it shows that you are capable of learning many things that are only tangentially related, but it means you are a master of none of those things. This can be good or bad depending on who is hiring. If the company you applied to is looking for someone with a variety of skills and who will have to learn how to do many different tasks then a BME degree is something they will probably seek out. But if they are looking for someone to do purely one of the many topics we learn about then it can hurt us. In the role I work in for my co-op I am doing many different unrelated functions, and my BME degree has certainly helped me be more well rounded which helped with this. But perhaps I was not considered for a more lab focused role because there are chemistry or chemical engineering majors who are much more suited for work in a lab developing formulas. So this begs the question, is is better to be a jack of all trades but master of none or a master of one trade?

I believe that novice in many is better s it shows an ability to learn, which I believe is the most important skill anyone can possess.

In my experience so far in the BME field, there are more cons than pros. One of the cons is what you mentioned above, BME is too broad. In the company I worked for, a lot of the engineers studied Mechanical Engineering. Most of them said they decided to obtain a more specific degree while taking BME courses on the side. This allowed them to be more marketable to employers. I was involved in the interview process of searching for interns. I noticed that for our manufacturing intern position, we leaned more towards students who majored in manufacturing over BME. I do believe BME is a great field, but I feel like it takes a little more work than other engineering fields.