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What minors are good to combine with a major in biomedical engineering?
Like something that will help me in career getting decent job. which will be helpful overall
Or should I not minor at all??
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Michael’s Answer
First off, Jake and Kari have provided some very valuable advice.
Whatever avenues you pursue to get to an answer, the fundamental question lies with you, what excites you? The adage about dream jobs goes: 'love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life'. It kind of skips past all the hard work and training that goes into putting yourself in a good position to get hired at said dream job, but it's absolutely right in spirit. Because BME is such an interdisciplinary field, the options are quite broad for how you might apply yourself after graduation. Some broad categories would be MEDICAL DEVICES, PHARMAceutical development, and ACADEMIC research.
The ACADEMIC route of course, requires graduate studies, so focusing on stellar grades and some research lab experience are great things to put effort into more so even than doing a minor. Showing deliberate interest and effort in research is an indelible way to both get a feel for what academic life would be like, and ensure research is really what makes you tick. I'd recommend getting at least two years of lab experience under your belt so you might have a chance to really have something concrete to show for it by graduation (or at least mid year when grad school apps go in). Most research requires at least a year to pick up the skills/knowledge to be productive, and at least another to really have results/publication/poster/etc. to show for it. Going to research conferences is also a really great way to get a look at what is on the cutting edge of the science in your areas of interest.
The MEDICAL DEVICE and PHARMA industries are both likely best pursued by internship experiences in terms of being a highly attractive candidate at graduation time. This usually entails getting at least a 3.0 in the first two years of your program which can be challenging if you choose to double major or add a minor. As Kari mentioned, BME is a challenging, full throttle program at most institutions due to the depth and breadth of required course content. Many companies effectively only hire fresh college graduates if they've done an internship with the company. This serves the company in two ways. They already have several months of hands-on evaluation of your capabilities and have also invested several months bringing you on board with the way they operate. It becomes a low risk, high reward choice for them. In addition to internship experiences, research lab experience is also typically highly valued by these industries as a secondary illustration of your ability to handle both a challenging academic program and voluntary add-on responsibilities in a lab. Depending on whether you want to go into devices or pharma may determine the kind of lab you might get involved with. Obviously, if you're interested in developing cancer drugs, working in an orthopedic research lab isn't likely the best fit. If you're looking to build the next cochlear implant or pacemaker, working in an auditory neuroscience lab or cardiac physiology lab would be better options than a molecular biology lab. Sometimes the lab you want to join isn't accepting undergraduate researchers. It's sometimes a matter of compromise for what experience will be a useful building block for your future plans.
Another really positive section to have in your resume at graduation is a few examples of volunteering and community service. BME is inherently a field that feeds industries explicitly populated by people dedicating their careers to improving the health of others. Showing that you are a well-rounded, community-minded person who gladly gives your time to help others, is a great way of showing that you are likely to fit right into such an industry/team.
If your heart is set on doing a minor:
-If your program has a minor or specialization in regulatory affairs/sciences, that is an incredibly high demand area right now and will likely continue to be for several years for a number of structural reasons. Mainly there have recently been some major changes to the regulatory landscape both in Europe and U.S. as well as anticipated changes elsewhere and companies are simply going to need more people with regulatory training.
-Another skillset in growing demand is AI/Machine learning experience. AI/ML is growing rapidly and likely will continue as many health-related fields are ripe for it's use to help interpret large often incomplete datasets of patient data. Specific subfields like neurotech, medical imaging, electronic health records(EHR), and drug discovery, are hiring AI/ML expertise at a breakneck pace for it's value in trend identification within large, multivariate, complex, or even poorly structured datasets.
There are too many variables for Kari, Jake, or myself to fully answer your question, but one of the great things about professors is they love to teach, especially enthusiastic students. You can usually find several great options for professors in your program that are thrilled to help a student that is demonstrably motivated to optimize their undergraduate experience. Also, especially if you know you want to go into industry, try to find a professor/mentor with industry experience or at least some collaboration/exposure to how things operate in industry. It's quite different from the mindset of the academic route.
Best of luck!
Whatever avenues you pursue to get to an answer, the fundamental question lies with you, what excites you? The adage about dream jobs goes: 'love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life'. It kind of skips past all the hard work and training that goes into putting yourself in a good position to get hired at said dream job, but it's absolutely right in spirit. Because BME is such an interdisciplinary field, the options are quite broad for how you might apply yourself after graduation. Some broad categories would be MEDICAL DEVICES, PHARMAceutical development, and ACADEMIC research.
The ACADEMIC route of course, requires graduate studies, so focusing on stellar grades and some research lab experience are great things to put effort into more so even than doing a minor. Showing deliberate interest and effort in research is an indelible way to both get a feel for what academic life would be like, and ensure research is really what makes you tick. I'd recommend getting at least two years of lab experience under your belt so you might have a chance to really have something concrete to show for it by graduation (or at least mid year when grad school apps go in). Most research requires at least a year to pick up the skills/knowledge to be productive, and at least another to really have results/publication/poster/etc. to show for it. Going to research conferences is also a really great way to get a look at what is on the cutting edge of the science in your areas of interest.
The MEDICAL DEVICE and PHARMA industries are both likely best pursued by internship experiences in terms of being a highly attractive candidate at graduation time. This usually entails getting at least a 3.0 in the first two years of your program which can be challenging if you choose to double major or add a minor. As Kari mentioned, BME is a challenging, full throttle program at most institutions due to the depth and breadth of required course content. Many companies effectively only hire fresh college graduates if they've done an internship with the company. This serves the company in two ways. They already have several months of hands-on evaluation of your capabilities and have also invested several months bringing you on board with the way they operate. It becomes a low risk, high reward choice for them. In addition to internship experiences, research lab experience is also typically highly valued by these industries as a secondary illustration of your ability to handle both a challenging academic program and voluntary add-on responsibilities in a lab. Depending on whether you want to go into devices or pharma may determine the kind of lab you might get involved with. Obviously, if you're interested in developing cancer drugs, working in an orthopedic research lab isn't likely the best fit. If you're looking to build the next cochlear implant or pacemaker, working in an auditory neuroscience lab or cardiac physiology lab would be better options than a molecular biology lab. Sometimes the lab you want to join isn't accepting undergraduate researchers. It's sometimes a matter of compromise for what experience will be a useful building block for your future plans.
Another really positive section to have in your resume at graduation is a few examples of volunteering and community service. BME is inherently a field that feeds industries explicitly populated by people dedicating their careers to improving the health of others. Showing that you are a well-rounded, community-minded person who gladly gives your time to help others, is a great way of showing that you are likely to fit right into such an industry/team.
If your heart is set on doing a minor:
-If your program has a minor or specialization in regulatory affairs/sciences, that is an incredibly high demand area right now and will likely continue to be for several years for a number of structural reasons. Mainly there have recently been some major changes to the regulatory landscape both in Europe and U.S. as well as anticipated changes elsewhere and companies are simply going to need more people with regulatory training.
-Another skillset in growing demand is AI/Machine learning experience. AI/ML is growing rapidly and likely will continue as many health-related fields are ripe for it's use to help interpret large often incomplete datasets of patient data. Specific subfields like neurotech, medical imaging, electronic health records(EHR), and drug discovery, are hiring AI/ML expertise at a breakneck pace for it's value in trend identification within large, multivariate, complex, or even poorly structured datasets.
There are too many variables for Kari, Jake, or myself to fully answer your question, but one of the great things about professors is they love to teach, especially enthusiastic students. You can usually find several great options for professors in your program that are thrilled to help a student that is demonstrably motivated to optimize their undergraduate experience. Also, especially if you know you want to go into industry, try to find a professor/mentor with industry experience or at least some collaboration/exposure to how things operate in industry. It's quite different from the mindset of the academic route.
Best of luck!
Updated
Jake’s Answer
Hello!
I currently work for a global medical device company. I'm sure there are tons of great minors to choose from. Kari's answer is great! I would definitely second the project management route. Skills in project management, time management, resource management, continuous improvement, etc. are HIGHLY sought after in the medical device, pharmaceutical, biotechnology/life sciences sectors. Aside from this, I would think about your interests, what your 'dream' job/company looks like, and see what you can find on the internet. Many publicly traded companies have a ton of information about their mission/vision, future investments, current offerings, etc. - which will help you get an understanding of how YOU can be an ASSET to them in the future.
Once you do a little more research, put together a Pros and Cons list. It's a great way to understand what you want for your career and what you would like your future employer to look like. SMART goals are also a great way to really figure out where you want to be in 1, 3, 5 years.
Best of luck to you!
Jake
I currently work for a global medical device company. I'm sure there are tons of great minors to choose from. Kari's answer is great! I would definitely second the project management route. Skills in project management, time management, resource management, continuous improvement, etc. are HIGHLY sought after in the medical device, pharmaceutical, biotechnology/life sciences sectors. Aside from this, I would think about your interests, what your 'dream' job/company looks like, and see what you can find on the internet. Many publicly traded companies have a ton of information about their mission/vision, future investments, current offerings, etc. - which will help you get an understanding of how YOU can be an ASSET to them in the future.
Once you do a little more research, put together a Pros and Cons list. It's a great way to understand what you want for your career and what you would like your future employer to look like. SMART goals are also a great way to really figure out where you want to be in 1, 3, 5 years.
Best of luck to you!
Jake
Thanks, can't wait to put this advice into action!
ohohoh
Leejo George
Software Systems Engineer | Software Quality Engineer | Product Management | Process Improvement
1
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Updated
Leejo’s Answer
This is a great question but like most engineering questions, the answer is "it depends"
My initial recommendation would be to seek out what minors are available on your campus.
If you have opportunities to take on internships, these will give you more insight into the role. I read in your profile that you also enjoy math. As an engineering major, you may only be a few credits short on completing a math minor. This might be a very short putt.
If it is offered on your campus, I would suggest that you look into Data Science.
While I am not a biomedical engineer, I believe all engineers at their core are ultimately trying to find solutions to problems. A minor in Data Science will get you started with the skills to make sense out of data. Your skills here will help you study the problem and effectiveness of the solutions using objective data.
Good Luck!
My initial recommendation would be to seek out what minors are available on your campus.
If you have opportunities to take on internships, these will give you more insight into the role. I read in your profile that you also enjoy math. As an engineering major, you may only be a few credits short on completing a math minor. This might be a very short putt.
If it is offered on your campus, I would suggest that you look into Data Science.
While I am not a biomedical engineer, I believe all engineers at their core are ultimately trying to find solutions to problems. A minor in Data Science will get you started with the skills to make sense out of data. Your skills here will help you study the problem and effectiveness of the solutions using objective data.
Good Luck!
Updated
Kari’s Answer
Hi!
I think the first answer to that would be is the workload achievable to get through school with both a major and a minor? I have a bachelors in Biomedical Engineering which I completed in 4 years and I was pretty well maxed out on credits every semester. I could not imagine having squeezed in a minor at the same time! You want your college years to be successful and not unsustainably stressful! :)
If the workload is manageable, there are likely several good options depending on what you think you might like to do for work. With an engineering degree, you can go many different directions for your job. I work for a large medical device company and biomedical engineers do:
Design engineering - they work to design and develop medical devices, and some specialize specifically in mechanical, electrical, or software engineering. They might also do a lot of laboratory testing to make sure the medical devices are safe to use. A minor in mechanical or electrical engineering for example, might be of benefit if this sounds interesting.
Manufacturing engineering - they work also on developing medical devices but more specifically on how to build them. They are often buying large equipment and designing fixture to go on the equipment to do welding, molding, cutting, etc. They might also work with suppliers who might do the manufacturing of components. There could be a minor in some sort of operations field that might be of benefit.
Clinical Field engineering - they work with physicians who use our products and patients who get the products. They often might be in surgeries as the technical expert on the product.
Regulatory - they help ensure that we have all the right testing, pre-clinical research and documents that will be needed, and put it all together in a review packet to send to the regulatory body (like the FDA or TUV) to get regulatory approval.
Project Management - This is the path I chose. I lead teams of engineers to get a project completed, and my tasks are more around team building, schedule and budget management, people management, communication, etc. I would have been best served by an MBA, which I still have not gone back to school for ;) But i've picked up classes along the way as I needed them.
One thing to consider - having a Biomedical Engineering degree makes you very employable, even without a minor. You may want to consider waiting long enough to get into the workforce and decide which direction you want to take your career before you decide what further education you want. But if you do choose a minor, there are many good choices!
Maybe check your local area for medical device companies and reach out to see if they would allow a job shadow day so you can get a feel for career options. Good luck!
Kari
I think the first answer to that would be is the workload achievable to get through school with both a major and a minor? I have a bachelors in Biomedical Engineering which I completed in 4 years and I was pretty well maxed out on credits every semester. I could not imagine having squeezed in a minor at the same time! You want your college years to be successful and not unsustainably stressful! :)
If the workload is manageable, there are likely several good options depending on what you think you might like to do for work. With an engineering degree, you can go many different directions for your job. I work for a large medical device company and biomedical engineers do:
Design engineering - they work to design and develop medical devices, and some specialize specifically in mechanical, electrical, or software engineering. They might also do a lot of laboratory testing to make sure the medical devices are safe to use. A minor in mechanical or electrical engineering for example, might be of benefit if this sounds interesting.
Manufacturing engineering - they work also on developing medical devices but more specifically on how to build them. They are often buying large equipment and designing fixture to go on the equipment to do welding, molding, cutting, etc. They might also work with suppliers who might do the manufacturing of components. There could be a minor in some sort of operations field that might be of benefit.
Clinical Field engineering - they work with physicians who use our products and patients who get the products. They often might be in surgeries as the technical expert on the product.
Regulatory - they help ensure that we have all the right testing, pre-clinical research and documents that will be needed, and put it all together in a review packet to send to the regulatory body (like the FDA or TUV) to get regulatory approval.
Project Management - This is the path I chose. I lead teams of engineers to get a project completed, and my tasks are more around team building, schedule and budget management, people management, communication, etc. I would have been best served by an MBA, which I still have not gone back to school for ;) But i've picked up classes along the way as I needed them.
One thing to consider - having a Biomedical Engineering degree makes you very employable, even without a minor. You may want to consider waiting long enough to get into the workforce and decide which direction you want to take your career before you decide what further education you want. But if you do choose a minor, there are many good choices!
Maybe check your local area for medical device companies and reach out to see if they would allow a job shadow day so you can get a feel for career options. Good luck!
Kari
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this.
ohohoh