Engineering major == premed?

[hye345]

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I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

 

[future_dr_house]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

check out biomedical engineering.

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

check out biomedical engineering.

👍 seconded

 

[szhao]

biomedical engineering is a relatively young field, hehe, some schools don't have a good program for it. if you are at one of those institutions, do something related but not bme

 

[iwannagomed]

i graduated with a degree in the eng field and also completed my premed reqs.

a little more work than others, but def can be done.

lean towards bioengineering or biomedical engineering.

 

[hye345]

check out biomedical engineering.

I've thought about that; however, I've also been told that a major in biomedical engineering at the undergrad level is pretty useless when it comes to finding a job.

I'm also worried about the combined workload.

 

[iwannagomed]

being bioengineer or BME will fulfill most of premed reqs, if not all.

 

[DesignEngineer]

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

I am out of dilemma already. I have a EE degree along with my pre-med requirement. It is do-able, and I did it within 4 years too. Check with your engineering department see if you can use some pre-med classes to fullfill engineering electives. I did that with o-chem that counts as my engineering professional electives.

The combined workload is tough, but do-able. You will spend many nights in the library and frequently you will be able to watch sunrise from your engineering lab. After all, what doesn't kill will only make you stronger, right? It is possible to pull off a steller GPA in engineering + med. Secret is, just know your stuff and you will get a A because a lot of engineering student in your class don't really understand what's going on.

Think twice about biomedical engineering. As people have said, it is really a young major and there are some uncertainity about its job aspect. I stick with EE and happys as always. I mean, the big fat check right after college is really nice. The working hours is not very likable.

 

[Dr Durden]

Check out chemical engineering. It's a more established field than BME, and often there is a biotech or biochem concentration available. To be a premed, ChemEs just have to take a year of bio, and BMEs just have to take a year of organic chemistry. Otherwise, the requirements are generally already built into the curriculum.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[pennybridge]

your undergrad major doesn't matter so long as you can do well academically (and if you can't, you better have a good story, not to mention medicine probably isn't right for you).

maybe spend some time in a hospital, shadow a doctor, work with patients, whatever, to make sure medicine is something you want to do.

remember, a lot of people fall in love with the idea of being a doctor, but aren't really aware of what that entails, or whether they want that to be their job and their career.

but if you can get good grades in engineering classes, med schools will be all over you like flies on horse turds, I've seen it happen.

plus you'll rock PS on teh mcat

 

[dutchman]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

I have a Masters in engineering, took all the medschool prereqs and more. IMO it is better to do the two since you like the two.

 

[shadoctor]

I have a Masters in engineering, took all the medschool prereqs and more. IMO it is better to do the two since you like the two.

Same here, Im getting my masters in BME, but I was Bio Sci as an undergrad. Same stuff, more math.

 

[NonTradMed]

ChemE or BME will allow you to have premed and engineering coursework built in. If it's not a financial problem, maybe spread your coursework over five years instead of four if you want to do a tough major and premed. There are ways to get both done, it's not easy, but as a former engineer and premed, I think it's a nice way to be assured of a nice job after graduation if medicine isn't in your immediate future.

 

[DeadCactus]

I second doing Chem or Biomedical Engineering (depending on your school), assuming you are interested in either.

Even if you're not, you can still do any other Engineering and Pre-med. It's a bit more difficult (how much more depends on how your school handles some thing), but it's doable.

I'm a similar boat as you, though I had the misfortune of being much more interested in Electrical Engineering than the other fields (the only branch of engineering at my school that does not even have Intro to Bio or Chem as part of the curriculum)...

 

[hye345]

Right now, one of the things that I'm not too excited about when it comes to engineering is all the math: I'm having enough trouble pulling off a B in my AP calculus class.

 

[future_dr_house]

If bme doesn't appeal to you b/c there are a lack of jobs then you have a few other options. As others have said, chem engineering is very similar. The other option I would have done, if I didn't do bme or chem-e, would be mechanical engineering. Their courses seem a little easier than aerospace, civil, petroleum, or electrical. That said, it all comes down to what you like and you think you can handle. If I had it to do all over again, I'd probably major in something that didn't knock my gpa .2 or .3 of a point even though I ended up somewhat okay for the app process (i'll probably get berated for this comment).

 

[pyrois]

Right now, one of the things that I'm not too excited about when it comes to engineering is all the math: I'm having enough trouble pulling off a B in my AP calculus class.

What is it, exactly, that you like about engineering? If you don't like math (I know you didn't say that explicitly, so correct me if I'm being presumptious) you might consider another discipline of training, because there's a lot of basic math in engineering (up to calculus I/II + simple differential equations).

I think what I'm poking at here is, are you choosing engineering as your major because you really enjoy it, or are you choosing engineering as your major because it's a good backup career?

If you're pre-med, and you know you want to be a doctor, you really should go pre-med "all-the-way." Majoring in something you enjoy will gain you the relative advantage of doing better in your classes, which will eventually help you get into medical school. On the other hand, majoring in something you don't enjoy simply because it will serve as a financially acceptable alternative career can lead to a haphazard approach to being pre-med, which will ultimately be detrimental to your goals.

Don't worry too much about not getting in. If you're absolutely certain that's what you want to do, the path ahead is relatively clear with respect to what is expected of you, due to the institutionalized nature of medical schools.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I've thought about that; however, I've also been told that a major in biomedical engineering at the undergrad level is pretty useless when it comes to finding a job.

I'm also worried about the combined workload.

This is true about many types of engineering degrees (I can speak with authority about Electrical Engineering.) To do design takes at least a Master's.

Also, I agree with the previous poster that if you don't like math, Engineering (of any sort) is probably not for you.

 

[DesignEngineer]

This is true about many types of engineering degrees (I can speak with authority about Electrical Engineering.) .

Not so true. I am doing integrated circuit design work in silicon valley and I only have a BS degree. Analog circuits design typically requires a MS, but, digital and mixed signal might not. That being said, I am also doing my master degree at a top engineering university in Silicon valley.

The end of the story is, you can get a high-paying job right after college with a BS engineering degree. So, it is a good route if you can't get med school admission the first time around and work a few year and make some moolah. Plus, working experience in the industry might be a big plus for the admission. Imagine telling the you interviewer that you design the chips that goes inside of the ipod that their kids are rev about.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Not so true. I am doing integrated circuit design work in silicon valley and I only have a BS degree. Analog circuits design typically requires a MS, but, digital and mixed signal might not. That being said, I am also doing my master degree at a top engineering university in Silicon valley.

The end of the story is, you can get a high-paying job right after college with a BS engineering degree. So, it is a good route if you can't get med school admission the first time around and work a few year and make some moolah. Plus, working experience in the industry might be a big plus for the admission. Imagine telling the you interviewer that you design the chips that goes inside of the ipod that their kids are rev about.

You are the exception, not the rule. In my 11 years of experience in the IC Business, I can count on one hand the number of people that I have encountered doing IC design without an MS degree. It's not uncommon for people to start as Apps. or PTE with a BS and then work on their MS while working and then do design after they get their MS, but it is very rare to hire into design right out of school with a BS. If this was your situation, consider yourself lucky -- I have been a Design (Hiring) Manager before, and I would never hire someone right out of school with a BS (except as a summer intern or co-op.)

 

[hye345]

The thing is, if I do major in engineering, it will either be in aerospace engineering or maybe biomedical engineering (probably not the latter, cuz of a lack of job credibility associated with the major). I just don't find chemical/mechanical engineering all that fascinating when you go really deep into them.

I am NOT looking to engineering just as a viable financial backup to medicine; I have actually thought of becoming an engineer many times before, but each time, for one reason or another, whether it was the issue of job security or job prospects in the future, I talked myself out of it

When I said that I have an issue with math: to clarify, I just get frustrated when I have to solve math problems "in the dark". For example, I haven't really memorized the unit circle, just a few formulas, and it gets frustrating when I have to solve complicated trig problems that take the unit circle into account; however, I believe this to be a mere issue of lazyness 😀 . I'm sure that if I put in the time, I can memorize it easily. Its just that when you are a senior, there isn't really much motivation to do your very best...🙁

If fact, for the math problems that I can solve, I sometimes view them as a challenge, like a puzzle.

 

[dutchman]

Right now, one of the things that I'm not too excited about when it comes to engineering is all the math: I'm having enough trouble pulling off a B in my AP calculus class.

Dont go close to engineering if you dont like math. There is no way arround that, and that will definitely bring down your GPA.

 

[BNSN]

I'm a BME, and I don't have a goddamn clue what we're actually being trained to do.

I wish I were a biology major so I could take courses in molecular biology instead of courses in diff eq and statics 🙁

 

[dutchman]

I'm a BME, and I don't have a goddamn clue what we're actually being trained to do.

if you ever got a job you will know.

 

[gujuDoc]

Check out chemical engineering. It's a more established field than BME, and often there is a biotech or biochem concentration available. To be a premed, ChemEs just have to take a year of bio, and BMEs just have to take a year of organic chemistry. Otherwise, the requirements are generally already built into the curriculum.

Good luck with your choice.

I second this post right here. My brother did a chemical engineering degree and was almost done with his MS in BME when he decided he was sick of school. Doing ChemE, he got all the prereqs built into the program except the bio which he took on his own because of the BME plans he originally had just as Durden has pointed out.

There are several engineering majors who have done this joint engineering major/premed thing so its doable and also if you are good at engineering stuff I'd recommend it over the typical bio or science major because engineers tend to score much higher on the MCAT statistically speaking due to the conceptual nature of many of their design classes and courses and problem solving skills required in engineering. Most engineering majors that I have spoken to on and off SDN have statistically gotten 28-35+ easily with minimal studying while many of the typical premed science majors at my school struggle because they have been used to memorization but not conceptual thinking and problem solving.

 

[gujuDoc]

I'm a BME, and I don't have a goddamn clue what we're actually being trained to do.

I wish I were a biology major so I could take courses in molecular biology instead of courses in diff eq and statics 🙁

But you've have a harder time finding a job if you didn't get into med school and unless you are at a tougher school, many schools tend to do straight memrization and less conceptual thinking in bio major classes then in engineering.

 

[bretticus]

I did Computer Engineering (basically EE + some CS sprinklings) and my prereqs in four years. Everything but orgo counted towards my major, so definitely talk to your engineering department to see what can count.

I would say you really don't have to like math to do engineering as well. You have to be able to do it, mind you, but not necessarily like it. I sure don't, and I'm working for an engineering firm.

 

[hye345]

I did Computer Engineering (basically EE + some CS sprinklings) and my prereqs in four years. Everything but orgo counted towards my major, so definitely talk to your engineering department to see what can count.

I would say you really don't have to like math to do engineering as well. You have to be able to do it, mind you, but not necessarily like it. I sure don't, and I'm working for an engineering firm.

But is there so much math that it degrages your liking for that job?

I don't necessarily hate math; Its just not on my top 5 reasons for liking a career in engineering. If solving complicated math problems is most of what (aerospace) engineering is composed of, then I'm better off with medicine.

 

[Hassler]

But is there so much math that it degrages your liking for that job?

I don't necessarily hate math; Its just not on my top 5 reasons for liking a career in engineering. If solving complicated math problems is most of what (aerospace) engineering is composed of, then I'm better off with medicine.

Ya. You will be required to take some tougher math classes such as differential equations, linear algebra and multivariable calculus. Also, you will need to take computer programming classes. Therefore, if you hate math, I'm not so sure that you want to do engineering. A lot of people go into bioe/BME thinking that it will be like some biology major, but that is so not true. At my school, you will have to solve like weird circuit problems and signal processing related to biomedical devices and that is not what most premeds have in mind. Also, you will be stuck in your computer lab working on projects or lab reports. I still remember the days when I would work all night at the lab, maybe go to Jack in the Box to get some food at 3 in the morning and then go home in the morning, sleep for 2 hours and then go to class. Definitely more intense than first year med school if you ask me.

Good luck with your decision. Make sure you choose a major that you like and that you do well in.

 

[jae9970]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

I am almost through this 'dilemma.' I'm graduating with an ME degree with bioengineering minor after one more semester. I was able to do this in 4 years, but I had 20 credits before I entered college because I took some AP exams. (8 physics credits and 8 calculus credits)

In high school, I loved physics and calculus so I decided to major in mechanical engineering. To this date, I have no regrets whatsoever. I loved the classes in the ME curriculum in my university. I didn't have to take chemistry, biology classes and organic chemistry classes (all with labs..) for my ME degree but I took them for the pre-requisites. Didn't do so hot in those chem, bio and ochem classes.. if I majored in chemistry, biology or something like that, my GPA will be much lower right now. So I'm happy I majored in ME.

Bioengineering minor is something I picked up because I took the classes required for that minor for the pre-requisites already. And those bioE classes were interesting.

As for the workload in engineering majors, I wouldn't say it's considerably larger than other majors. I don't recall studying hours and hours for any of my engineering classes, because the exams are hugely based on how you practiced with homework problems and applying concepts. Just a few hours of brushing-up and construction of cheat sheets full of equations was good enough for most of my engineering classes.

I had much more workload in biology and organic chemistry classes. I was practically living in the library trying to memorize those ochem reactions and trying to finish up the biology tutorials. Longer hours and dry subject (for me) are what made those bio and ochem classes difficult.

 

[TakingBakSunday]

I've thought about that; however, I've also been told that a major in biomedical engineering at the undergrad level is pretty useless when it comes to finding a job.

i've experienced the opposite as have my classmates. i have friends doing all kinds of jobs with that major (and with various GPAs), and i have several great standing job offers from when i was looking for a job for my year off. maybe it depends on your bme program and its competitiveness, maybe it depends on what you do during your summers. it's really up to you to make the best out of it.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

I've thought about that; however, I've also been told that a major in biomedical engineering at the undergrad level is pretty useless when it comes to finding a job.

The thought of choosing a "fall back career" at the age of 22-23 makes me want to blow my brains out. Seriously, if you don't know if engineering is for you or not, do a summer internship. Talk to real engineers in a field that interests you. Do the same for medicine. Most of my med student classmates had NO concept of how medicine really works in this country before they signed up. Don't make the same mistake--you have plenty of time to prepare.

 

[hye345]

The thought of choosing a "fall back career" at the age of 22-23 makes me want to blow my brains out. Seriously, if you don't know if engineering is for you or not, do a summer internship. Talk to real engineers in a field that interests you. Do the same for medicine. Most of my med student classmates had NO concept of how medicine really works in this country before they signed up. Don't make the same mistake--you have plenty of time to prepare.

Well, this summer, I will probably volunteer at a hospital, but by then, should I decide to change my mind, it might be too late to change my science-related major.

 

[CptCrunch]

Right now, one of the things that I'm not too excited about when it comes to engineering is all the math: I'm having enough trouble pulling off a B in my AP calculus class.

Are you still in high school?

 

[bwonger06]

Right now, one of the things that I'm not too excited about when it comes to engineering is all the math: I'm having enough trouble pulling off a B in my AP calculus class.

dont worry i too ended up getting a B in both semesters of my AP calc class and a 2 on the AP test and i still ended up getting A's in my college calc classes. but then again, it was senior year, i got into my college of choice and i didnt give at rats butt about my grades.

 

[SeventhSon]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

how can you say you enjoy engineering but you haven't even started the major yet? A lot of people like engineering in theory but then realize it is 100% math, physics, and chemistry, then say that they love engineering but hate that in school you have to do the math physics and chemistry, without realizing that you can't have engineering without the latter.

Go biomedical engineering and switch to bio if you hate the first couple of upper-division classes.

I was a ChemE who was in your situation, and it did come out to about 4.5 years for everything. if you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

[SeventhSon]

The thought of choosing a "fall back career" at the age of 22-23 makes me want to blow my brains out. Seriously, if you don't know if engineering is for you or not, do a summer internship. Talk to real engineers in a field that interests you. Do the same for medicine. Most of my med student classmates had NO concept of how medicine really works in this country before they signed up. Don't make the same mistake--you have plenty of time to prepare.

or better yert, take his advice and do a summer internship 👍

 

[Eric Lindros]

I'm a BME, and I don't have a goddamn clue what we're actually being trained to do.

I wish I were a biology major so I could take courses in molecular biology instead of courses in diff eq and statics 🙁

BME right now is not a very good degree to get if you are interested in a job requiring a BS only. It's really designed for Master's and PhD at this point. You have a hard time meeting many industry needs because BME is really just a mut of many engineering disciplines with a slight background in bio/medical applications. Really, most medical device companies or places where you think you might fit in would prefer to hire people who have focused in on one of these disciplines for a specific job. In other words, they want an EE to work on this, a Chem E to work on that, and for a BME major, they are likely to ask, "So what the hell can you do?" in which case you are most likely to respond with what you have said in the beginning, "I have no clue."

I second the person who suggested Chem E. It gives you much better alternative career options. I personally think BME is a terrible choice unless you are absolutely positive that it's medical school or bust.

 

[SeventhSon]

i disagree that ChemE has a huge advantage over BME in getting a job right out of school.

School gives you the foundations for what you will be doing in your job, but as anyone with real-world experience knows, it's hardly the case that you directly use school to perform daily tasks at work. Even if you do, chances are you are concentrating on one task that you must learn in far more detail than you ever learned during school.

There is such a small difference in the BME and chemE curricula that any HR with a clue should know that any disparity between the two curricula can easily be filled. Of course, there is the natural tendancy that a chemE is more likely to pick a chemE than BME, but after the first job, nobody cares anymore.

 

[Eric Lindros]

There is such a small difference in the BME and chemE curricula that any HR with a clue should know that any disparity between the two curricula can easily be filled. Of course, there is the natural tendancy that a chemE is more likely to pick a chemE than BME, but after the first job, nobody cares anymore.

This is exactly why there is an advantage. If there is a position that calls for a chem E background, 9/10 times the employer will hire a chem E over a BME. You're right in that there is not a major difference and that most job skills are aquired in site, but most companies tend to play it safe. Why not just hire the Chem E for a job that definitely will require some familiarity with chemical engineering?

Now, granted, there are jobs out there that SPECIFICALLY ask for BME majors of the like, but there aren't nearly as many job openings for BME than there are Chem E and other engineering disciplines....but that's a whole other argument.

 

[bretticus]

But is there so much math that it degrages your liking for that job?

I don't necessarily hate math; Its just not on my top 5 reasons for liking a career in engineering. If solving complicated math problems is most of what (aerospace) engineering is composed of, then I'm better off with medicine.

I think maybe I should clear it up a bit. I don't like math classes. Doing math for circuits was cool, and I like coming up with a good algorithm (I mostly do software engineering). If it's applied math, it's more enjoyable to me, whereas if it's all theory, I want to pull my hair out. It probably depends on exactly what kind of job you get, but I'd wager most engineers do more of the former. There's so much that can be done with computers today that there's really not much number crunching anyway. Do people actually compute integrals for their job? No they use something like Mathematica. Setting up the problem -- now that's what's tricky. 🙂

 

[MattD]

Make sure you know what Aerospace engineering actually IS before you choose it. It's not "mechanical engineering in the sky", there's a lot of focus on software, algorithm development, things like that. If the mechanical aspect of airplanes and spacecraft are what interest you, you're better off looking into ME.

As for your actual question, if you like problem solving and thinking creatively, engineering could be for you. You don't have to love hard math, but you do have to be able to do it. Work hard and you can have grades just as high as the bio major down the hall in your dorm.

 

[bretticus]

Make sure you know what Aerospace engineering actually IS before you choose it. It's not "mechanical engineering in the sky", there's a lot of focus on software, algorithm development, things like that. If the mechanical aspect of airplanes and spacecraft are what interest you, you're better off looking into ME.

As for your actual question, if you like problem solving and thinking creatively, engineering could be for you. You don't have to love hard math, but you do have to be able to do it. Work hard and you can have grades just as high as the bio major down the hall in your dorm.

Trudat -- my dad is an aerospace engineer (BS in ME, MS in AE), and all he's ever done is computer simulations of flowfields for aircraft testing. That might be a good way to go anyway i.e., get a BS in mechanical, then add the masters in aerospace if you desire later.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

I did a BME major (EE concentration) at JHU. It was rough. In our program, not all the prereqs were covered by our curriculum - there was no requirement for orgo lab, orgo II, and our biology credit was engineering physiology which was mainly circuit modeling of the body's systems. And now at JHU they are making it even harder to do premed with BME because of all the BMEs they lost to med schools (they actually want to produce and send out engineers lol).

Do well in your prereq science courses. They might forgive that you got a C in Advanced Systems Design and Fourier Analysis III but they won't forgive you if you loaded up on engineering courses and made a C in general chemistry.

If your school's program allows for overlapping, and you enjoy both premed and engineering, do it, and do it well. Welcome to SDN.

 

[BNSN]

(they actually want to produce and send out engineers lol).

engineeringmajorslol

 

[cerulean]

For some more anecdotal evidence as for why BME isn't a good major to get a job with just a BSE, my advisor said that in that past few years, only 3 people out the 200 BME grads thus far (since the undergrad program is new) have gotten jobs without their Master's. One is going into consulting, one is working for GE after having an internship there, and one is working for pharmaceutical company. Almost all of the BMEs at my school go to med school or grad school (either PhD or 1-year Masters) after undergrad .

 

[hye345]

For some more anecdotal evidence as for why BME isn't a good major to get a job with just a BSE, my advisor said that in that past few years, only 3 people out the 200 BME grads thus far (since the undergrad program is new) have gotten jobs without their Master's. One is going into consulting, one is working for GE after having an internship there, and one is working for pharmaceutical company. Almost all of the BMEs at my school go to med school or grad school (either PhD or 1-year Masters) after undergrad .

If you have a Bachelors and masters in BME, are jobs easy to come by then?

 

[TheRealDrDorian]

I know, I know: major in something that you enjoy, because if you don't get into med school, you need something to bounce back on.

I feel as I'm in a catch 22. I enjoy both medicine and engineering (still can't decide between the two). In an ideal world, I would major in an engineering disciple, and take the premed prereqs. That way, if I don't get into med school, I could still pursue a career that I'm fond of, and that pays relatively well!

However, everyone seems to say that the courseload for an engineering major is A LOT! This won't leave any time for the "premed" part of the plan...

Is anyone else stuck in this dilemna?

For what it's worth, I am an Electrical Engineering major, and did most of the premed coursework in about one year (My junior year, at that). I took orgo over the summer, and the MCAT the same August. I ended up with a 30N, so good, but not great. It is doable to do both, but I will say that you have little options outside of your engineering and premed classes. Also, I was lucky b/c I had quite a bit of AP credit, which covered my gen-eds.

All in all, it might take you more than 4 years to do both, but it is doable. Go for it if you want. You'll be fine.

 

[klinzou]

Don't let anyone talk you out of doing both if that's what you want to do. I will be graduating this semester with my EE degree and all my pre-med requirements completed. I even took a year for co-op in there and did an internship one summer. I still can't decide between medicine and engineering. I'm going to take the MCAT this fall after doing some heavy studying for it this summer while working.

I figure I can work 2 years or so out of undergrad before I start school so I can have a few dollars saved up and a little experience in something else.

 

[sirus_virus]

If you have a Bachelors and masters in BME, are jobs easy to come by then?

Yes, very very easy.