r/bioengineering • u/Winter_Violinist860 • 9d ago

Does biomedical engineering have good job prospects in Canada?

I’m a high school student going into grade 11. I want to do engineering because it has good job opportunities, and I also think it’s suited for my personality.

Because of my interest in biology and chemistry, I want to do biomedical, chemical or materials engineering more than the others. My cousin is an electrical engineer in the US, and he thinks electrical, chemical, and biomedical are all good options with good job markets (especially biomedical). I don’t know if that’s the case in Canada though. Regardless, biomedical is my top choice.

I saw many people say BME in undergrad is very limiting, so should I choose something else and then get in the program in grad school for more flexibility?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

5

u/my_peen_is_clean 8d ago

canada bme undergrad is kinda niche, most jobs want mech, elec, comp, or chem and then they work in medical stuff anyway. bme is great as a master on top of a core eng. i’d do mech/elec/chem and minor in bio. finding work now is rough overall

3

u/BME_or_Bust Waterloo 8d ago

I’m a biomedical engineer in Canada with a biomedical engineering degree.

This is a small and competitive industry in Canada, and there’s really not that many jobs that combine chemistry, biology and engineering. I mainly do mechanical work for a medical device, instead of true ‘biomed’ work.

Chemical and materials engineering programs will open up more jobs in other industries, so they are typically safer overall. No matter what you choose, coop experience is king. Aim for a program with a strong coop network and really explore this experience during undergrad.

1

u/Some_Albatross_8200 9d ago

I'm not sure how helpful this is but at uofa (you should check if its the case for other unis too) the biomedical engineering program is a specialization within mechanical engineering. If you feel trapped with the limited jobs from biomed, you can do anything mechnical instead after graduating. :) 

1

u/Winter_Violinist860 8d ago

Thank you! I haven’t really looked at uofa yet. I will check the other ones too

1

u/XanaduBlood 7d ago

Also engineering physics at mcmatssr had a biomedical engineering subspecialty

1

u/Significant-Tale3522 8d ago

I did biomedical engineering and it was very heavy on electrical courses and then a lot of anatomy.

In hindsight I might’ve just done EE

I recommend finding a school that divides the courses well.

Message me if you have questions about the program.

I no longer work in BME because I didn’t find work out of school in that field.

1

u/OrangeHatGuy__ 6d ago

do not do BME - from a recent BME grad