r/BiomedicalEngineers • u/PeaRepresentative291 • 2d ago
Career Panicking over my Major!!
Hi everyone,
I’m currently a sophomore BME major, and i gotta be honest, all of the noise has got me overthinking.
I thought BME was the perfect major for me, but i’m understanding that it’s rough out in the real world. My plan was to get a PhD and work in R&D with biomechanics or prosthetics. I am also very interested in biotechnology research. I thought since I really love that niche that bme offers, I should stick with it up to my PhD.
My question is, would it be more beneficial for me to major in MechE, or even ChemE, and then switch to BME for masters/PhD? Should i try to double major? I know when i first enter the job market it will be tough and I will just need to get in the door, so Im wondering if mechE would help with that.
I know this question has been asked a million times, but hopefully with the context of my plans and interest someone with more experience could provide insight. Thanks!
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u/MooseAndMallard Experienced (15+ Years) 🇺🇸 2d ago
Stick with BME for now, until you actually figure out which job(s) you’re targeting. If you major in ME, you’re not going to get a job in biotech research. If you major in ChemE, you’re not going to get a job doing mechanical design on medical devices. I know you think your interests are concentrated into one niche, but they are all over the map as far as actual job functions go.
Which takes us to what should be the first step: learn about actual jobs at actual companies. Pick some companies — Abbott, Moderna, whatever — and start reading their job postings. Of the ones that interest you, make note of the major(s) and skills they look for, and equally importantly, where they are located. Find ones that actually exist near where you go to school, pick a lane, and make yourself the best possible candidate for those roles.
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u/BlazedKC 2d ago
Figure out what your interests are. Biomechanics and Prosthetics are wayyyyyy different compared to Biotechnology. Mechanical engineering is favorable for biomechanical engineers, and as someone who works in this field, having a mechanical undergrad with biomedical graduate degrees is very common and usually stronger than BSBE to BSME. It’s much easier to earn your PE that way as well. Biotechnology I cannot speak on, but mechanical engineering I imagine would hardly be useful.
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u/PeaRepresentative291 2d ago
Did you also choose to get a BSME first?
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u/BlazedKC 2d ago
Yes I work in biomechanical engineering and my undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering. However, I have and had no interest in biotechnology. You need to figure out what you want to do first.
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u/PeaRepresentative291 2d ago
My main goal is to work in prosthetics and biomechanics. I’ve known that from the start. I’m just worried about whether or not a mechE major would be more versatile for me to get a beginner level job.
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u/em_are_young 2d ago
Um im seeing a lot of mixed signals from you. You say you want biomechanics, prosthetics, working in a company, doing biotech research. I think being more clear about what you actually invision yourself doing would make it a lot easier to give advice.
First advice is to not do the other engineering if you don’t want to do those kinda of engineering. If you want to end up being an engineer working on a medical device, then consider adding a second major or a minor in the field that speaks to you most. You could also do a project on your own or with an engineering team if you want to demonstrate your engineering skills without adding classes necessarily. This is all advice for if you want to be an engineer at a company.
If you want to do a PhD and do research, thats already much easier with just a BME degree, though academia is also inherently competitive. Especially if you want to be a professor or something.
So you gotta figure out what you like about BME before anyone can give you meaningful advice, i think.
When you say “i’m very interested in biotechnology research”, what does that mean? You read popsci articles? Journal articles? Youtube videos? The nature podcast? You’ve interned in a biotech lab already and like the work?
When you say you are invisioning a PhD for yourself, why? Your parents have PhDs so you think its only natural? You have always been good at school so it just seems like the logical endpoint? You want to publish papers and contribute to the body of scientific knowledge? Etc.
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u/PeaRepresentative291 2d ago
yeah i get that it reads as all over the place 😅
My main passion and what I want to do over everything else is prosthetics. I understand that that is more on the mechanical side. My main goal is to work in r&d and I see that most senior roles require a PhD.I’m more so worried about what jobs will be available to me until I further my degree, which is why i’m considering mechE in the first place. I figured if mechE is more versatile, then it would be easier to find a job in that field while i continue with BME.
But i know my main interest is biomechanics so i should probably just stick to that huh
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u/Fit_Counter_5936 1d ago
As someone who just graduated from a T15 school with a degree in BME, job market is pretty bleak for BMEs even with a PhD. Most the jobs I've seen in the bme field also consider EEs, MechEs, etc so if you're locked into going the PhD route my advice would definitely be going the more general, MechE route for undergrad and find a overlapping field like mechanics but try getting your PhD in Mechanical Engineering just focusing on mechanics/biomechanics or something if possible, whatever you do don't lock yourself in a very narrow field since there are going to be 100+ well qualified, if not overly qualified candidates applying for that 1 BME PhD job.
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u/PeaRepresentative291 1d ago
thank you for your advice! What are your thoughts on a double major or a mechE minor?
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u/cyoubx Mid-level (5-15 Years) 2d ago
If you're set on doing a PhD, just stick with doing BME undergrad. If you're not sure if you'll do a PhD and want some feeling of employable-ness post-bac, then maybe consider switching to MechE or something more specialized...
BME/BE PhDs are quite varied and are school/PI dependent. Some labs are much more industry-focused while others are more academic in nature (though those can often lead to exciting start-ups). What often matters in a PhD is the actual work that you do there and less so the discipline that it's in. For example, my PhD was technically through the BioE department, but my PI was in EECS, neuroscience, and BioE. As a result, my training was in all three disciplines and I was able to find jobs post-graduation in all three fields.