Katia
Is a PhD required to get a good job in the biomedical field?
This is a bit of a general question, but I'm interested in pursuing a career in biomedical engineering, research, or science. I've heard that there is much competition and that a lot of experience is required to get a job in this field. #research #biomedical-engineering #biomedical #medical-research #biomedical-engineer #biomedical-science #science-phd
4 answers
Nick Cobane
Nick’s Answer
In my experience, the issue isn't so much the competition in the industry, but that deep technical experience is necessary to pursue meaningful work in biomedical engineering. Even graduating with a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, I found that most of the positions available to someone at that experience level were in things like Quality Assurance or patent law - good jobs, but hardly what I had imagined doing with my degree.
Completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering would require you to study a very niche area in depth, likely making you THE foremost expert in that small domain, and that knowledge would hopefully be valuable to some employer.
Alternatively, I would recommend pursuing a degree in a more basic engineering, like mechanical or electrical engineering, and using extracurricular and elective coursework to establish yourself as qualified to work on the mechanical or electrical components of something like a prosthetic, surgical tool, or implant, depending on your interests.
Thank you so much for your answer! I will be sure to use your guidelines to decide my future career path.
Katia
F R
F’s Answer
2) If you have a undergrad in Electrical engineering, get a BME masters if you want to work in the BME field or create products.
3) If you want to be a doctor, a patent lawyer, a BME sales rep, or create companies or products in the field of BME earn an undergrad BME degree.
4) If you like bioinformatics, go the biotech route which is more programming and patient information systems.
5) If you want to be a transitional scientist you can be Biomedical sciences major or PhD and/or Biomedical Engineer PhD
6) If you just want to fix medical equipment there is tech school at jr. colleges equivalent to overseas BME degrees.
7) Every university has different courses, requirements, and tracts. Know what you want out of your degree.
PAUL GENTHNER
PAUL’s Answer
A Associates degree at minimum would help very much but Biomedical Engineering is a very big Field with not only Hospitals involved but many hospitals contract out the coverage to the manufacturer. and every manufacturer offers at least a 1 yr warrenty. So you see there are biomeds working within every specialty and having many companies competing on sales of theirs the field is wide open. Just like there are 100's of car companies competing for you to buy their car there are also Medical Equipment companies doing the same EX. GE and Philips both sell CT and MRI Scanners , in Dialysis there are 3-4 American companies and even more European companies. A hospital Biomed must become a jack of all trades learning to fix many devices but the Biomed Working for GE becomes the expert on their Scanners
i hope this helps
Satya Singh, PhD
Satya’s Answer
No, PhD is not required but it might help you later in your career if you choose biomedical research.
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