Hello,

I agree to the part where you have said in BME we learn a little bit of everything. When we start BS no matter what your major is we learn a little bit of everything. By the time we reach our senior year some people can figure it out which track they want to follow. For others they want to find out while working in the industry. For some people who want to do their masters in BME, they start to following a specific track which they're passionate about. In my opinion, as you go higher up in any kind of major, it all starts to merge together. As a BME student I have taken classes where I have to study about electrical engineering, programming, CAD, physiology. These all seems very different subjects, but at the end it all starts to make sense. I personally following Biomedical Instrumentation track as I have studies Instrumentation engineering in my undergrad. Coming from a different background me following Biomedical Instrumentation track makes sense. In future I want to work in medical device industry. So knowing little bit of everything I think is going to help me to get a job. 

@eh76

You raise an excellent point on the connection between the work of a BME as it relates to direct human involvement. As BMEs we are the largest engineering based profession that directly obverses the human body as the main body (no pun intended) of focus. We use the same mathematical and scientific concepts that other fields of engineering such as mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc. use. The only difference is our particular focus on the human body and the effect the human body has on our subsequent engineering practices and devices. That is to say, in any career path a BME will focus on a particular aspect of the human body, whereas most other engineers may not limit themselves to human subjects. We have an obligation to ensure that the research and development of medical devices are performing successfully for the sake of our companies and personal values. We also have a responsibility to help solve every medical problem out there affecting all lives. As long as bodies fail, BMEs are needed.

As for the jack of all trades discussion, I agree that students who have yet to decide on a career path have a vast sea of opportunities in front of them. A master of none is simply one who has yet to make that specific destination known, or one who knows the destination but does not have the skills or materials necessary yet. Whether you are a student looking from the shore or a professional on your boat well into your career, a master of none does not mean they are unqualified. Unless it is an expert position, one may have knowledge in several aspects of their field without being an expert. This may seem as an advantage over someone who may be an expert on one topic but with less broad experience on a larger field than a "master of none". Certainly, however, if you are a student on that shore, the first job you take is a monumental decision that will affect the rest of your career. You may still not know your exact destination, but you're regardless making progress somewhere, and hopefully it is forward progress. It is up to you to use the opportunities and connections in your current institutions to figure out the destination and the journey there.

Biomedical Engineering is interface between engineering and healthcare. Biomedical Engineers work in the design, programming and development of equipment used to diagnose and treat patients. Studying  biomedical is more specialized, so you can learn about Mechanical , Computer, Electrical.

You will learn about so many things and know different ideas.

BME is a very diversified field but we could definitely try and select a track that we would like to specialize in and try to opt for career options related to it but being a Biomedical Engineer we may be required to work in fields that may not be under the field of interest that we may be seeking for but still it falls under the task that are handled by a biomedical engineer hence its not a bad idea to have an over view of what kind of roles we are required to play in industry and probably we may like that position later on.

I totally agree to Parth about Bme. Bme is a wide multidisciplinary field where students from almost many undergrad departments like ECE, E&I, Mech etc. do their masters in Bme as, it just need interest and little info on it to choose your track. Choosing track like biomaterials and tissue, bio mechanics and bio-instrumentation; is one of the main step to do first. But even if we aren't clear of picking between two tracks, get relaxed and choose up the course that is common for both tracks. Further we would get to know clear desired destiny afterwards. Overall get to know an overview of job roles for bme in the outside world.

Thankyou!

In my opinion, I agree with Dr. Simon that BME is a diverse degree. I am a bachelor of BME and now I am in a MS of BME program. When I was an undergraduate student, my required courses include mathematics, physics, chemistry, physiology, digital electronics, analog electronics, image processing and so on. These courses also are core courses in other majors. Although I will use some of the knowledge I have learned during my internship, I never feel that I am an expert in a certain field. I think this is the reality of majoring in BME, to be honest, I don't think it has any effect on my work or internship, because in my experience, the knowledge needed for work has been learned in the classroom.

Since biomedical engineering is so diverse, there are advantages and disadvantages. To start with a big disadvantage, I've heard cases when biomedical engineering students with biomechanics focuses applied for mechanical positions at medical device companies and got rejected because the company wanted mechanical engineers. However, I've also found that companies that work with the biomedical engineering industry and have a good understanding of how much biomedical engineering students learn in their various focuses appreciate the broad curriculum. Another advantage of the diverse curriculum is it seems to make biomedical engineers popular for project management and positions where they'd be working with various types of engineers. 

In terms of an educational standpoint, I do agree that we as biomedical engineers are trained to be a jack of all trades. For instance, as an undergraduate student at NJIT, the BME courses over the first two years are introductory courses to the three tracks of mechanics, tissue, and instrumentation that one can eventually choose from. Personally, I opted to pursue the BioMechanics track for the second half of my degree, but I still believe that a Mechanical Engineer would have greater expertise in the principles related to mechanics than me. Despite this, I would disagree with the label that we are a master of none. The reason I disagree with this is due to the fact that I believe our diversified education enables us to be masters in merging the multiple disciplines together while collectively applying these principles to relate with the human body.

Therefore, in terms of a career, I believe our diversified education can showcase our versatility in being able to grasp multiple disciplines. The benefit I see that this displays in the workforce is that we can potentially be better candidates as managers for projects such as the development of a medical device. The reason for this is that a Biomedical Engineer as a project manager can utilize his training as a jack of all trades to gain a better understanding of the progress being made by the multiple departments involved in a project such as Mechanical, Electrical, etc. For instance, someone who received an education solely in Chemistry, may not have a better understanding of the exact progress and updates being made by the mechanical branch of the project. Lastly, I believe it is only until someone gains experience in the workforce will they gain a better understanding of the area where they would like to specialize in. As a result, being a jack of all trades as an entry-level worker can allow one to better find the area of specialization that best interests them.

I believe there are advantages of having variety of subjects from different department in BME as there are lots of things require to develop a device. In industry you have to work with other people so knowing little be of everything is necessary because if you are BME and other people in your team are ME and chemical engineers then knowing little bit those majors will help you understand what they are talking about. If you only know BME then you won't be able to work effectively with your team as developing new devices require knowledge of lot of things not just BME.

Knowing little bit of everything will help you know which career path you want to choose because even though you are doing BME and you really like mechanical engineering part of BME then you might consider doing masters in ME or work for ME firm.

I strongly agree with the thought that BME is "a little of everything" which has it's own pros and cons. But I believe it all depends upon the track which one wants to pursue after. If someone wants to go for a biomedical device company or something like that then it would be really useful as for the devices you need to have at least some knowledge of all the fields like mechanical for the movements/locomotion, electrical for the circuitry, biology(of course !! its a biological device) , computer science for the software/simulations, manufacturing for the physical aspect of the product etc.

But if someone wants to go on some specialized domain of physiology,biomaterials or tissue engineering for instance then I believe studying mechanics in depth would not be so useful or studying robotics or some software simulations.

But yes, BME is a little of everything !! it's up to one's goal and aim which makes it useful or may be not so useful !!

BME is definitely a broad degree and depending on where the education is from, can be taught in many different ways- such as theory vs practical. One of the main reasons I decided to pursue my Masters in Biomedical Engineering was because I still did not understand exactly what a Biomedical Engineer does, or what part of it made me excited to be one. 

While looking for a Masters program, I noticed how unique NJIT's course structure was and how it might benefit me compared to the board BME degree in my undergraduate experience. I appreciated the fluidity of the classes. There was simply a list of courses and a stated credit requirement, and that was it. On the contrary to my undergraduate degree where my scheduled was laid out 1st semester freshman year until graduation, I finally got to chose the classes I wanted to take! One might assume this to only perpetuate the board range of topics within BME; however, NJIT also provided guidance in concentrations such as bioinstrumentation, biomechanics etc. So without being forced into any one class, NJIT Masters program allows the student free will to chose whichever classes they want, while also providing the support to hone in on a particular subject. Throughout my academic career, I found this style of teaching and course structure to be the most beneficial when trying to find my own way in the board degree of BME.

I think an under-looked factor in those graduating with BME degrees is their communication skills. Since we have been exposed to such a range of topics, we are better equipped to communicate effectively with people from different fields, which is important on team projects where one may have to communicate with people from a range of backgrounds.

Also, being exposed to such an array of topics allows one to think more creatively and borrow ideas from different fields. This is not only critical in developing novel ideas, solving problems, but also important in learning new material, since your brain lights up and you might say something along the lines of, "oh, that's similar to how this works in this field". I think exposure to many different fields of engineering and biology allows one to see the bigger picture, but also delve deep. 

Often out of college, BME students will express that they feel like they are a "master of none", but what they don't realize is that the BME degree has equipped them with skills to efficiently become a "master of something". For example, when you took a mechanical engineering class, biology class, and electrical engineering class, you had to quickly shift from learning one topic to the other. This is already a skill in itself, in that you have practiced how to be flexible in learning material from various fields. Flexibility of ideas is important when it comes to problem solving, since you are better able to "think outside the box". Lastly, most students, regardless of their major, do not feel like an expert in something right out of college. 

Yes, we are the jack of all trades but master of none. But somewhere that is good standing. We are exposed to bits of everything and we can adapt to whatever is thrown at us. We can also go on to assist those working specifically in other fields, be it mechanical, electrical, computers etc. Since biomedical engineers know a bit of everything, in a team, it comes handy. 

Also, if ever they want to change their career track, it would be comparatively simpler to do so since the BME student does know the know-how of the other fields as well. 

Considering the current pandemic situation as an example where many have lost their jobs, a BME graduate would be able to find a new job in a different field relatively easily than those who have focused and gained knowledge and experience in a specific direction. 

There are so many specializations within this degree itself. So I think the advantages are higher for us BME graduates in the industry.

I can relate to BME been Jack of all trade and master of non but not until i worked in and industry myself i saw that you needed every bit of each area. My undergrad was in Biochemistry and we touched every accept of it, from Pharmacology, to Anatomy, to Gene engineering, to a bit of Microbiology and so on. I got confused at first not knowing what area i wanted to focus on until i did my internship in a Pharmaceutical Industry and i saw how every accept that was taught in the academic level was in sync. I had to work as a chemist and also a microbiologist.

As I move from one industry to the next; from Pharmaceutical, to Food, to Cosmetic, every knowledge which i saw as been "jack of all trade master of non" came in to play. Most industry requires a bit of each area; cross training in industries will be required and having knowledge on each area helps a whole lot. Then as you move along you get to find your path and what areas you want to focus on. Like Dr. Simon said you don't have to like every of the profession or have interest on all but as you move along you will find which one appeals to you and focus on that.

So BME is very broad and i love that about it because you can switch it up when you want to. There is a saying that say: "there is no end to learning, it is a process", so having a broad range to learn and to move around expands your knowledge and then you apply that knowledge in areas that appeals to you and then understanding comes in and then experience plays a part if you are looking to work in the industry.