Biomedical Engineer
Biomedical engineers are professionals who combine principles of engineering with human biology to create innovative medical technologies. Their work spans a variety of applications, including the development of prosthetic limbs, joint replacement devices, and medical imaging systems. With a projected employment growth rate of 5%, this field is expanding due to an aging population and rising demand for advanced medical devices. Typically, biomedical engineers hold a bachelor's degree, often in engineering or a related science, and they may also have advanced degrees.
Collaboration is a key aspect of biomedical engineering, as professionals frequently work alongside mechanical engineers, biologists, and clinicians. Effective communication skills are essential, given the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Day-to-day responsibilities can vary widely, from designing new technologies and observing surgeries to working directly with patients on rehabilitative devices. Biomedical engineers can find employment in diverse settings, including hospitals, laboratories, and corporate offices. Ultimately, this career attracts individuals who are passionate about problem-solving and improving healthcare through technological innovation.
Biomedical Engineer
Snapshot
Career Cluster(s): Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Health Science, Manufacturing, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Interests: Science, engineering, mathematics, solving problems
Earnings (Yearly Average): $100,730 per year $48.43 per hour
Employment & Outlook: 5% (Faster than average)
Entry-Level Education Bachelor's degree
Related Work Experience None
On-the-job-Training None
Overview
Sphere of Work.Biomedical engineering is very broad, combining engineering techniques with human biology to develop medically relevant technologies. Research in the field centers on prosthetic limbs, joint replacement devices, rehabilitation and assistive technologies, medical imaging, and genetic, tissue, and cellular engineering. The field is constantly spreading into new areas. Most of this expansion is linked to the needs of an aging population and the increased demand for medical devices and equipment designed by biomedical engineers.
Biomedical engineers often cross over into multidisciplinary skill sets and collaborate with mechanical engineers, physicists, biologists, and clinicians.
Work Environment. Working with scientists in and out of the lab is especially important for biomedical engineers. Communication skills are critical for collaboration with specialists across disciplines. Engineers, researchers, and clinicians use different approaches and technical languages, and ongoing communication facilitates day-to-day and project-specific communication.
It is also important for biomedical engineers to be mindful of a holistic, patient-focused approach, beyond the machines or technology at hand, and toward the patient who will benefit from the work.
Occupation Interest. Biomedical engineering covers a diverse body of scientific knowledge and skills, and attracts graduates and professionals who have strong foundations in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics. Biomedical engineers are pragmatic, problem-solving people who are also enthusiastic about working in different scientific arenas.
Many universities also offer specific undergraduate and postgraduate programs in biomedical engineering, but engineers enter the field from a true variety of science disciplines.
A Day in the Life—Duties and Responsibilities. Biomedical engineers, like all engineers, are problem solvers. The medical application of their work is focused on making people’s lives better, and requires a strong desire to collaborate.
A biomedical engineer’s day can vary widely, depending on the area of specialty. Meetings and classes relating to medical safety issues may be held, and schedules outlined. Design and testing usually dominate daily work.
Some engineers may interact directly with surgeons who are looking for better technologies to improve surgery. The engineers will set about brainstorming design ideas that are safe and effective. Engineers in this area may also observe surgeries to better understand the limits and difficulties of a surgical procedure that requires design help. For example, biomedical engineers are developing improved brain-interface systems for patients with neurological impairments.
The work for biomedical engineers oftentimes centers on reworking manufacturing flaws in a design. The engineer will work with a manufacturing specialist on-site or remotely to address a challenge. Other biomedical engineers might work one-on-one with patients using a rehabilitative device, such as a prosthetic limb, to improve the design and deliver higher performance or comfort. This will occur daily for those engineers in specific patient-centered practice, or on those occasions when clinical trials begin to test a new device with patients.
In an academic setting, biomedical engineers work with students at the undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral level. Biomedical engineers might also work with entrepreneurs and manufacturers interested in building and marketing devices and technologies the engineer has created.
Work Environment
Immediate Physical Environment. Laboratory and office settings predominate. Research and design work relating to biomedical engineering may involve contact with human or animal tissue, and biomedical safety practices will be observed.
Plant Environment. Biomedical engineers can work in a variety of settings, from laboratories and hospitals to corporate offices and university campuses.
Human Environment. Biomedical engineering requires strong collaboration skills. Depending on the field of biomedical engineering, professionals in this field interact with students and colleagues in fields across the scientific spectrum, as well as with technicians, managers, directors, patients, and in some cases, business specialists.
Technological Environment. Biomedical engineers use technologies ranging from telephone, e-mail, and web conferencing to computer design software, artificial intelligence (AI), and increasingly complex and highly calibrated diagnostic tools and machinery.
Education, Training, and Advancement
High School/Secondary. High school students can best prepare for a career in biomedical engineering with courses in algebra, calculus, geometry, trigonometry, biology, chemistry, physics, and computers. Advanced placement (AP) classes in these subjects are especially recommended. Drafting and art classes can also serve as precursors for future design work. Communication and problem-solving skills are vital for success in this occupation, so English and writing courses are also important.
Creating projects for science fairs and science clubs gives students the opportunity to design, invent, and learn from others prior to graduation. Summer programs and internships reinforce the fundamentals and introduce students to the field and its impact on the world. Many universities in the United States and abroad offer science or technology camps to high school students.
Post-secondary. This occupation has evolved from a variety of medical and technical disciplines, but is primarily based in engineering. Most biomedical engineers have an undergraduate degree and PhD in engineering, mathematics, or a related field.
About 200 colleges and universities in the United States offer bioengineering or biomedical engineering programs. Typical coursework or research includes instruction in the fundamentals of biofluid mechanics, engineering electrophysiology, diagnostic imaging physics, neuroengineering, and drug design, development, and delivery. In addition to core courses, students can take electives related to their ultimate career goals.
University programs offer co-op study and internships. These programs offer concrete opportunities to work while gaining both academic credit and professional experience before graduation. They also represent concrete sources for industry contacts.
PhD internships and other research positions provide graduate students and graduates opportunities to work on engineering projects in an academic setting.
College and university students from bachelor’s candidates to PhD levels are highly encouraged to make use of their academic career centers, and to actively approach professors as advisors and mentors with questions and ideas relating to these and other career and study opportunities.
Biomedical engineers in academia move from instructor to assistant professor, professor, and department chair by demonstrating consistency, excellence, and innovation in research, teaching, and departmental collaboration. Full professors almost always possess a doctoral degree.
Related Occupations
Bibliography
“Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers.” Occupational Outlook Handbook. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept. of Labor, 17 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
“17-2031 Biomedical Engineers.” Occupational Employment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept. of Labor, 3 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172031.htm. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
"Study Describes Five Cutting-Edge Advances in Biomedical Engineering and Their Applications in Medicine." Mass General Brigham, 22 Feb. 2024, www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/five-cutting-edge-advances-in-biomedical-engineering. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.