Mechanical or Biomedical engineering?

[FlyGuy34]

In a bit of a dilemma here, boys and girls. I'm a 2nd semester freshman who needs to decide quickly which engineering major I will pursue. I am highly interested in medschool, yet to a greater degree, at the current moment, I am even more interested in pursuing a pilot slot in Air Force ROTC, of which I have not yet joined but might do next year. I would probably like studying mechanical engineering a little bit more than biomedical, but if I ever apply to medschool, I understand that a bachelor's in biomedical engineering would be more useful. I have also heard, though, that in order for that to be useful, I would need a Master's in biomed on top of that. The thing is, I am allowed to add courses to my schedule until the 28th, but optimally I should decide by tomorrow afternoon since that is the day of my first engineering class of the semester. The class is geared towards a specific major only, and if I decide to switch down the road, chances are I would have to retake it next year, possibly costing me extra money.

Mechanical engineering seems a broader field and, please correct me in this, but there is also a possibility that I would still be able to work in medicine or at least apply to medschool given i've done the pre-med requirements if ROTC doesn't work out. Please help me decide. I am not looking for "you need to find out for yourself", have heard that too much already.

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[whoisthedrizzle]

Mech E will give you much better job prospects straight out of undergrad. BME will take a little less work coursewise if you take the med school route, b/c of course overlap. Your major will have no effect on med school admissions. The safest bet, IMO is to go with Mech E.

 

[fizzle]

Choose Mech E. I personally chose BioE because I was interested in both biology and engineering, and it definitely is convenient having the med school requirements included with the major requirements. However, aside from that minor hindrance, Mech E is also a very fun major (I took a couple classes in Mech E) and something you probably shouldn't miss if you're interested in it. It definitely is more practical; bioengineering is still a major in search of its niche in my opinion. You dabble in both biology and engineering, but currently the job market for someone who can combine both is somewhat limited. It's a major for the future and for academia, not so much for the present job market!

 

[FlyGuy34]

Thanks for your timely replies. I might end up switching after all. Thing is, for registration last semester, I signed up for Biomed, and will have to go to advising to change that. If I change my mind down the road, I could still definitely go back to Biomed, but I'd feel like an idiot in front of advising and I will have wasted time & money this semester... about 2 credits-worth. The problem is that I'm just not sure if I want to be a doctor... I come from a family of doctors. My father was and so was his father, also many uncles.

Any more replies or second opinions, feel free to post.

 

[AdmiralChz]

As is said so much around here... the choice between majors won't affect you getting into med school (especially in this case). Do what interests you - if mech E opens more opportunities for you as you have indicated (as opposed to bio E) then you have already answered your own question!

 

[FlyGuy34]

As is said so much around here... the choice between majors won't affect you getting into med school (especially in this case). Do what interests you - if mech E opens more opportunities for you as you have indicated (as opposed to bio E) then you have already answered your own question!

True... but I wonder what kind of opportunities I would be shutting myself out from if I lacked BioE degree going in to medschool.

Also... even if I finished pre-med and instead took on a job in the Air Force or whatever it may be, would I have to go back and do a post-bac and take/retake the MCAT to apply to medschool waaaaaay down the road? or maybe I am just overthinking this?

 

[Kickback]

As a biomedical engineer, and from talking to some graduate students, you really have to get specific in graduate studies to be as specific as a MechE... we have to take biology and other basic classes pertaining to physiology while a MechE can use those credits for upper level courses. I am glad at the university where I am at that we split into the specific fields as early as 2nd semester freshman year... for example, I am doing biocomputing, and I am taking some computer engineering courses, and we get into physiological signals next year.

I really am into the stuff that I can do with my major, like brain-computer interface, and imaging systems, and I know that I will be doing graduate work if I decide not to do medicine.

 

[236116]

The problem is that I'm just not sure if I want to be a doctor... I come from a family of doctors. My father was and so was his father, also many uncles.

Super-red-flag.

True... but I wonder what kind of opportunities I would be shutting myself out from if I lacked BioE degree going in to medschool.

Also... even if I finished pre-med and instead took on a job in the Air Force or whatever it may be, would I have to go back and do a post-bac and take/retake the MCAT to apply to medschool waaaaaay down the road? or maybe I am just overthinking this?

BioE isn't going to help you unless you intend to go into BioE as a career.

Provided you do well enough the first time around, and your credits aren't too old (~10 years?), then you shouldn't have to repeat. MCAT scores do have time limits, though, so hold off until you're sure.

 

[LizzyM]

Go with Mech Eng as it is more versitile. Take the pre-reqs for med school, if they interest you and you feel that you can do them justice. Don't sacrifice your gpa to finish in 4 years... if you can't consistently maintain a 3.6 gpa or better than cut your losses and figure on a post-bac later if you decide that you really, really want to be a doctor.

Follow your own drummer, no need to follow in the footsteps of your dad, uncles, etc if that's not a good fit for you.

 

[FlyGuy34]

Yeah I made the jump and switched. Thanks guys... just needed a lil' kick in the ass to make sure I wasn't screwin' it up. Although it looked like I couldn't really go wrong with either