Is it better to get a biology degree for undergraduate study and then mechanical engineering degree for graduate study or simply getting a biomedical engineering degree if you are seeking employment in the biomedical field?

Osama,

Very good question. I appreciate where you’re coming from – you’d like to have a backup plan. But, as you said yourself, biomedical engineering is a growing field and that’s exactly right. Seriously, there’s no end in sight.

To answer your question, you should definitely pursue a biomedical engineering degree, and a Masters in the same field if you’re up for it. Far from jobs going away, I believe they’ll be more biomedical industry jobs than applicants, and the good jobs in biomedical engineering and project management will be there too, along with a healthy amount of competition. I’m sure a Bachelor’s, especially engineering, is all you need to do very well.

Just to be clear though, I recommend to most engineering students to get a Masters in something (ideally your engineering major right after your bachelor’s but an MBA or engineering management after you start work would be fine) to stand above most other candidates. But I’m just recommending whereas you’re the one doing the work so it has to be something you want.

Just for completeness, you asked about a BS in biology followed by an MSME, and I strongly recommend you do not go that way. In fact, I don’t think the ME department would let you without taking lots of undergrad ME classes. What you said about MEs is true, same with EEs and probably others, because these degree requirements are pretty general, but if you know what you want like biomedical, please go that route.

Good luck.

Osama:

As an Undergraduate, years ago, I got a degree in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry and worked for a couple of years in a Microbiology Lab. However, I was very interested in Water Resources. So I went to graduate School and got a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering. I the enjoyed a rewarding, 40-year career as a Hydrologist in the Field before recently retiring. This illustrates that you can usually pursue the engineering career that you want with degree in a different field of study.

Good Luck, Pete Sturtevant, PE

Osama,

If you are interested in pursuing work in the biomedical field, I would recommend you pursue an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, and use your electives and extracurriculars (e.g. coursework in anatomy or in the BME department, capstone projects working on biomedical devices) to brand yourself with biomedical expertise . This will give you fundamental engineering knowledge that biomedical employers (Stryker, Medtronic, etc.) are looking for while also wrapping in the knowledge of human systems and the medical industry.

You could then pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering or even mechanical engineering if you felt it was necessary to further your skills.

As others have mentioned, studying biology for your undergraduate degree will not equip you with the appropriate technical skills to work in most biomedical jobs, and you will likely not have completed the appropriate requirements for admission to a graduate engineering program.

To expand on what Mr. Cox's said, a degree in Biology will not prepare you for a Masters in Mech.Eng.

If Biomed is your interest, go for a BS in ME or Biomed. You can get a minor in Bio. if you are so inclined.

Yes, Biomed. Eng. is a growing field with lots of opportunities. I think of Biomed. Eng. as a branch of ME for certain applications, and a branch of Chem.E for other. It can be a brand of EE for yet other apps.

If you want to broaden your opportunities (because like most HS and college students you are not sure what you want to do) picking one of the broader fields like ME, ChE or EE would be your best bet. If you KNOW you want to be in the Biomedical field, then go straight for your Biomed.E BS.

Then decide whether you want to pursue the technical route (MS in Biomed.) or the business route (MBA).