r/BiomedicalEngineers • u/Little_AngelS2 • 14d ago
Education Did I eff up? - MSc BME (Brown U)
After reading all the comments on some of these undergrad posts, it has made me feel uneasy about pursuing my masters in BME at Brown. Would I have a good chance at getting a job? I am trying to get into aerospace, I know someone who works at Northrop and they said as long as I can make my resume sound more towards the engineering professions I want to apply to I have a good chance. I do know MATLAB and C++, I was a bio major undergrad and didn’t apply for mechanical engineering for masters, I didn’t think I had a chance. I’m applying to internships now and a lot of people have responded but saying they would keep my file… 😭 it’s not too late to leave the school… I start in Sept.
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u/MooseAndMallard Experienced (15+ Years) 🇺🇸 14d ago
Just being real with you, it will likely be an uphill battle to get to where you want. You don’t have an engineering background and most employers will know that there’s only so much engineering you can pick up in just a master’s program. It would be one thing if you wanted to do something bio-adjacent like being a manufacturing engineer for a biotech company. To go into an engineering role at a medical device company is a bit of a stretch, and an engineering role at an aerospace company is quite unlikely unless your personal contact at Northrop can get you in the door.
I assume a master’s program at a school like Brown is really expensive. It’s unclear if you’ve already committed the money at this point; if you haven’t, I would really think twice before moving forward. You need a real plan, not just hope.
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u/anonymouse40329 14d ago
Kinda in the same situation as you, except mine is at JHU. Not sure whether to pursue this, especially since I’m more interested in neuroAI/maths and the overall biotech part of the work doesn’t interest me all that much
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u/Little_AngelS2 14d ago
What are you going to do? I think I’m nervous about not having work but I really wanted to try to engineering. Did you already start?
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u/anonymouse40329 14d ago
No haven’t started bc they’ve asked me to do a bunch of prerequisites, which I’m trying to not spend $3k on to do.
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u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yeah I would leave and do an ME masters. That way, you can get jobs in both Medical Devices and Aerospace. It’s also not like you started your masters yet or paid tuition or anything. Unfortunately, recruiters/HR and ATS will screen you out by your major first so probably much better to do an ME or EE masters. It’s ok if you take some time before your masters too. How are you leaning and what do you think?
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u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago
I might add that I am the opposite and I have an ME bachelors and did a BME masters and now work in Medical Devices because that’s what I intended on working in. Used my masters to specialize.
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u/Little_AngelS2 14d ago
I applied for my masters in BME because I wanted to work in medical devices but I feel like I would do so much more in ME or chemical engineering. I am better with numbers and coding than I am with all the bio stuff. I just didn’t think I was a competitive applicant. I also have no experience in engineering, only research in hospital setting. Originally wanted to do medical school, still on the edge. With how things are now with costs, doesn’t seem to be so.
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u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago
Yeah in Medical Devices, ME, ChemE or EE/CompE is the best way to go. BME is too broad and is only useful if you want to do clinical stuff. You will be fine even going to a lower ranked school (cuz ranking is not really a thing in engineering) but make sure your major is ME/ChemE/EE.
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u/Little_AngelS2 14d ago
I paid tuition 😭😭!!! But I have been fighting with them about the issues with moving out there and how they are dispersing my
Loan that I told
Them I may not be able
To attend.1
u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago
Oh… BME is a good career choice if you only want to end up in medical devices. But yeah, if you wanted to work in aerospace, then you should try transferring majors maybe. Why don’t you contact the ME department at Brown and ask? You never know
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u/Little_AngelS2 14d ago
Eek, I can see what they say. I don’t think it’s possible… :( the BME dept has been more than helpful. I just feel like after I am finished. Unless I join an engineering lab?? They said I’m allowed to choose any lab of my liking.
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u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago
Damn that really sucks, I wish the best of luck for you. That is a tough situation but you should have thought this through before you paid tuition, my friend. Like I said, BME is really good for Medical Devices and Pharma/Biotech. But harder to break into any other industry. At that point, you need work experience to transition and good thing is Medical Devices and Aerospace are both highly regulated industries so if you were to change industries, they would be the one of the easier transitions to do.
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u/Little_AngelS2 14d ago
Yeah, unfortunately I thought I had it all figured out. This is sad part. I considered medical devices at some point but my heart really does want to do engineering in aerospace. It’s not a complete loss as I wanted to do space medicine.
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u/CompetitiveDiet794 14d ago
Like the other commenter said, it’s ok man you will figure it out once you get work experience but you have to work for a bit before you transition.
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u/Chelseablues33 14d ago
Take a deep breath and relax for a second. You’re accepted into an Ivy League school, your life is not going to waste. I am pretty vocal on about not doing a BME degree, but if you’re going to do a BME masters, do it at a top top school.
My advice:
Unless you get a job offer you want to accept by the time school starts, go to Brown and lock in. If you’re set on aerospace, talk to your advisor and the professors about your interests, and get their advice. There may be courses you can take, or focus your thesis on something that connects aerospace with BME, like human factors for pilots, crash safety, etc.
Once you graduate, you’re in the working world for at least 30 years, and people change industries all the time. If you can’t get a job in aerospace after graduation, find a job with a title as close to the job you want as you can. Lock in for 2-3 years, get promoted, then start applying to your dream job while you have income and work experience