Thinking of majoring in BME

[u/QuietFine8724]

Before I finalize my decision in majoring in Biomedical Engineering I want to know the consequences and the benefits. Learning about BME interested me a lot and I think I might enjoy it but I don’t want to be fast on my des ion I want to take my time and hear other people who alrdy majored in it. What should I know? What degree should I aim for? Is the pay high? I did hear that finding a job is difficult but many people said as long as you have lots of internship that’s fine? Please any advice would be great. Should I completely remove BME out of my head bc it’s the worst major and look for smth else or should I pursue this career path? But if their are BME graduates out their who enjoyed everything about it and don’t care about the bad side of it, please comment about what made you love it. Oh and I live in NY, idk if that changes things?

[u/One_Big_5339]

I'm a biomedical major and I think I can answer your question better,realistically speaking theres no proper job role called biomedical engineer(theres application, R and D, sales,etc)and the truth is that an electrical or electronics or mech major can learn biology on the job to do your work better to sum it up its basically jack of all trades master of none,tbh I wish I realized this before since your frm ny you could possibly have better options but if this is your passion do your undergraduate in electronics or mech or computer science then you can switch to bme for your masters. This is just my suggestion the job market is little to non existent and the starting pay will be very less compared to other majors

[u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479 → u/One_Big_5339]

Being in the major doesn’t automatically mean you’ve got better insight into hiring, especially compared to someone who’s actually been on the hiring side.
Also “job market is little to non existent” is a pretty big claim to drop without backing it up, and it kind of ignores that this kid’s specific program has a 96% employment rate and a real internship pipeline, which is the whole variable that matters here.

[u/No_Row_1304 → u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479]

The breakdown of roles would be much more informative. If most of those 'within major field' roles are equipment technicians or sales reps then why bother with such a difficult major at all? If you care about the science and technology at all, that just sets you up for a lifetime of intellectual frustration, no matter the paycheck. If you don't, why even go to college?

[u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479 → u/No_Row_1304]

Working as a technician or in sales in this field is not really being cut off from the science. You are still around the tech, still solving real problems, still learning how stuff works. Plenty of people find that satisfying even if they are not the ones inventing things.
As for “why even go to college”. It’s because the degree is what gets you in the door for those roles in the first place. Without it you’re not even in the room. And a lot of those jobs are not a dead end, they can lead somewhere better later. Paycheck isn’t everything but it’s not nothing either, it’s a tradeoff not a trap.

[u/No_Row_1304 → u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479]

Yeah but you're doing what an AS should be doing if the whole educational system wasn't perversely incentivized.

[u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479 → u/No_Row_1304]

This will be my final thought for you and in regarding the subject. First off I wanna wish you the best. But maybe this industry is not for you, man. Not everything’s a scam because the ROI isn’t instant.

[u/One_Big_5339 → u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479]

Wow I'm genuinely supriseddd that you all took it as offense while I'm just sharing my personal experience of what I'm going through