Okay let me bring in a different way of looking at this. Generalists versus specialists.
Due to creating new knowledge whether in BME or in any field, there will always be a tendency to want to initiate specialization. I would like to suggest that the field of biomedical engineering like any interdisciplinary field requires everyone to accept a dynamism of the discipline to be evolving, growing and changing with both academic and industry interacting with each other. The lines may blur overtime we may see individuals moving between them also. I think this is a good thing. Different perspectives brings opportunity to learn and create.
The role of generalists help to tie together specialists. Generalists can assist with 'a little of everything.' Maybe there are two roles that we play, one is the specialist in one area of BME and the other is the generalist where we know enough of other areas to help tie it all together as a discipline. For example, the area of tissue engineering ties in molecular biology, the area of biomaterials and several other areas. You can be a specialist in tissue engineering but there are bridges to other areas.
I feel that after completing a Bachelors and being a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering, I know a "little bit of everything". I don't feel lost in a topic discussed by my Professors or Colleagues from Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical or Computer majors. We can understand their concepts and also work our way around it. This makes us better problem-solvers as the coursework itself seems to be emerged from other well-established fields. And as @anvitha mentioned considering this pandemic situation we are in good standing to be hired.
Also Biomedical engineers play a significant primary role in medical devices purchasing and maintaining and their indispensable part in engineering-based research into understanding diseases that may lead to cures.
I do agree with the idea that BME is a "jack of all trades" major. I am a recent graduate and am in search for a job, and have been able to focus on experience from my internships during interviews and opportunities that I am exploring. However, I do feel a bit limited in what I am qualified for and have found the job-searching process challenging. Overall, I think that this major builds strong foundations but it is also up to the student to try and choose a focus and skills to build on during their undergraduate career. This can be facilitated with help from a mentor or someone who is already in a position that you would be interested in working in. Additionally, the major is useful since it teaches students to understand multiple disciplines and teaches them adaptability, which is an important quality and unique trait.
Perhaps I can share my thoughts as a Mechanical Engineering student. When starting my degree, I always had intentions of working in the medical device industry. The fact that BME is a "broad degree" is true, and even more true for ME. This is why I chose ME over BME, mainly to have job security outside of the biomedical field.
I think ME provides the clearest and general structure for an engineering curriculum. However, I definitely feel I am lacking on the biomedical/biomechanical side. Much of my biomedical knowledge came from working in the industry and self-study.
I am grateful that the NJIT masters program encourages taking classes from other departments, hence why I am taking BME684. I think "not being an expert in anything" is common across all engineering degrees. True expertise can only come from time and experience in that specific field/position.
The "Jack of all trades and master of none" is definitely the best way to describe BME. While I can see the potential in knowing something of every field and having background in many different areas of BME, I will have to side with the people who think it is a negative aspect. This is my perspective for the MS level at NJIT, specially when coming from a different background other than BME. While I have been taught a good background on design, materials, instrumentation, and now tissue engineering, I think that it is insufficient to make me a master of any of those subjects. I do agree with some of you in that on the job experience definitely weighs heavy on your acclimatization in the field, but what about when you are trying to climb the ladder? I believe that NJIT should offer more concrete tracks in each of the fields and provide better guidance when choosing classes. Yes, students should be allowed to broaden their spectrum and venture into associated fields, but perhaps one or two classes and keep the the main core as one branch. I do believe that we are provided a well rounded background and would be able to sustain conversation during interviews in many different fields.
BME is very diverse in all aspects. Basically, it has a lot of areas to work upon. That's what makes it more interesting. Currently, in my coop, I am working in Quality Assurance. As Biomedical Engineers we have an opportunity to change and work in other departments of the company as well as we will be having knowledge about almost all the departments. So I believe having diversity in this field won't restrict a person to work in one single area. Majoring in BME has more pros instead of the cons. But yes one needs to always learn and stay updated with the research progress.
Hi -
In this week's lecture Dr. Simon mentioned how BME is a diverse degree, in which you learn a little bit of everything. While it can be an advantage to have a variety of skill sets, you are not a true expert in anything. What are peoples thoughts on this, and the pros and cons of being a jack of all trades but a master of none? Do you think this is the reality of majoring in BME and how has this affected your job/internship?
I do think that there is a certain versatility that comes with having a BME degree and being able to work using a variety of skills. This is because until a person has had the opportunity to experience what the workforce is like in the real world they may have unrealistic expectations when it pertains to mastering a skill through academics. Having work experience as a guide of where to become an expert in is more valuable than being an expert solely in academics.
It is interesting seeing and hearing everyone's perspective. Since BME would in a sense combine expertise in biology and engineering, I think that being part of this field of work would be very lucrative. Research continues to transform the field, from advancements in prosthetics, to new medical devices and ways to improve life for thousands of patients. I don't think that the nature of being "some of everything" would hinder, but if anything it would make you a good candidate for a wide range of positions.
I was very hesitant about joining the BME program as an undergraduate. I initially wanted to do chemical engineering because that is what interested me at that time, but my advisor at my previous college advised me to go into BME. I honestly did not understand what the focus of BME was back then because as you said it was a "little but of everything", but then I slowly began to love the major as it covers many diverse topics. I also believe that it opens the door to a lot of job opportunities that are BME, CHE, or even ME related and makes it easier to adjust to the job requirements. I think that students are not given enough time to explore different majors in college, so a BME degree allows them to obtain a degree while not wasting too much time. Once you find what truly interests you in the industry or even the academia, you can go more into depth of the topic and narrow down your study. Having a BME degree shows that you are able to learn different things at once quickly which is important to most companies out there.
The saying goes that "a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one". While I agree that BME is a jack of all trades and it is in fact useful that we learn a variety of topics, I feel that BME in trying to teach everything at once does not teach anything at all. I recently graduated with my BS in BME and in my initial job search after graduation, I learned some of the disadvantages of having such a degree. The first being name recognition, as BME is fairly new to the undergraduate scene and is still trying to find its footing in the industry, as not everyone knows what Biomedical Engineering is, especially compared to the more traditional fields such as mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering. Oftentimes people do not realize that Biomedical Engineering can also encompass mechanical engineering as well, just in the specific application of the body. I have seen many job postings specifically asking for mechanical engineers in jobs that tailor BME degrees simply because that is the industry standard. Another disadvantage for BME undergraduate degrees is that in trying to teach every subject from physiology to physics, there is not a lot of time to get into the specifics needed for each branch of BME. During my undergraduate in BME at NJIT, I was in the biomechanics track but I did not get to take specific mechanical classes such as CAD or stress and strain analysis until the latter half of my junior year. While BME was teaching the foundations of a variety of topics, mechanical engineers were learning the aforementioned topics earlier in their curriculum, giving them the advantage over BME of having those skills on their resumes earlier when applying for internships during school. However, despite the disadvantages, BME students with their diverse academic backgrounds have the advantage of being more adaptable and quick to learn on jobs than other engineers, because they have knowledge in a variety of subjects, where other engineering majors do not. Overall, I do agree that the BME degree is a "jack of all trades" degree, which can be both an advantage and disadvantage for postgrad life.
I agree that BME is a diverse degree because at NJIT, we have biomechanics (similar to mechanical engineering), biomaterials (similar to biology), and instrumentation (similar to electrical engineering). In the very beginning we are exposed to these different tracks, and I believe that is a good thing. This curriculum has provided us with a unique opportunity to have the ability to understand the fundamentals of each of these disciplines. When working on a team, it is important for each member to have some knowledge of another’s specialty area. This allows positive collaboration and brainstorming to take place. On the other hand, I certainly can understand the negative viewpoint against being a jack of all trades. Not being a master in a specific area may effect one’s opportunity in an interview. I choose BME because of its diversity and not to be master in one specific area. I feel more confident and reassured that after obtaining a MS degree, I will have a greater opportunity to find a job. I now have this ability to work for a medical device company or pursue tissue engineering research. By knowing a little bit in each discipline, I can take it upon myself to become a master in any or all three of these tracks.
I think it's interesting that this thread began in 2018 yet the premise of this question still exists to this day (in 2021) and most likely for many years to come. We've all heard of the phrase "jack of all trades is a master of none", but it wasn't until recently that I learned there's a second part we've left out. The full phrase is actually "a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
As a recent BME graduate I would have to say I agree with having a wide variety of skill sets is more valuable at this point in my career. Many of us are still trying to learn about ourselves, our likes and dislikes, and what type of work inspires our passion and having the flexibility to move your career in various directions and not being cornered early on is a huge plus to me. I have many years ahead of me to specialize in an area and having the ability to test out different roles is the most efficient way to get there in my opinion. However if someone has a strong interest in working with mechanics, a mechanical engineering degree will certainly go more in depth and not concern that individual with chemical components seen in a biomedical engineering degree. At the end of the day I think it's up to each individual person's goals and aspirations. A lot can also be learned on the job and with dedication any career switch can be made no matter how drastic, but when in doubt, a wide variety of skill sets will most definitely open the doors to more possibilities early on.
I certainly agree with many of the advantages and disadvantages made in the previous posts. Initially, when deciding to pursue a BME degree, I was drawn to the idea of being exposed to different areas of knowledge. I believe that a BME degree certainly opens up more opportunities for different career paths. My track for my BME undergrad was biomechanical and yet my current job role in R&D formulation would certainly seem to make more sense for someone with a chemistry or material science degree (or someone from the biomaterials track). However, I found that because of the diverse nature of BME, I was able to fit the role. Moreover, I find that I am able to assist in other departments or projects where my biomechanical knowledge could be put to use. A BME degree could also mean that you could change your career path without necessarily having to start at square one. As I’m sure many of us have felt with many of our classes, it is better to learn hands-on or learn from industry experience than learning about it in an academic setting from a textbook. For some, it might be difficult to see how concepts from class lectures are actually applied to real world problems. So, the expertise that some believe those with BME degrees lack, could certainly be learned on the job in many cases.
I agree with the fact that having a BME degree means you know a little bit of everything. I truly appreciate that BME has a very diverse and multidimensional field. Bioengineering and tissue engineering focus more on the biological side, whereas biomechanics, bio instrumentation is more engineering based. Moreover, you have to a little bit about mechanical engineering, computer science, and electrical and chemical engineering to have a BS degree in BME. However, higher education in BME, like doing MS or Ph.D. will narrow down the focus a little bit. In that case, if you are working in biomechanics it is essential to know the mechanics and material characteristics. But if you can earn a better understanding of other topics which focus more on life science, that will help to elevate your future work scope.
BME is a little bit of everything, and I think that's great because you can essentially pick what aspect you're interested in as a career. You get so many opportunities to develop those specific skills too, through degree tracks, elective courses, academic minors, research, capstone projects, and internships/co-ops. I think that's the best thing to do-- find the parts of BME that interest you the most and focus on developing them further. Then, the additional experience you have with "a little but of everything" will only be a plus to the skills you have refined.
