The human body is meant to withstand a lot, but sometimes it breaks down. It is the job of biomedical engineers to use engineering to solve such medical problems. If you are a creative, curious problem solver and interested in medicine, biomedical engineering could be the major for you.
Education
This major is offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level. As a biomedical engineering major, you’ll most likely spend a lot of time doing math and science and working on projects in a lab. You’ll do research and you might even see your work get published. Expect courses in anatomy, bioinformatics and genomics, biomaterials, biomechanics, organic chemistry, molecular and cell biology, biophysical chemistry, computer programming and micromachines and robotics. Many of the courses you’ll take at the undergraduate level will be what you need to take in order to get into medical school. In high school, it helps to take classes like computer science, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Chemistry and AP Calculus.
Questions to ask
Anything relating to the medical career needs accreditation, so ask if the program is accredited. Before declaring a major: will you have to fulfill any requirements? Getting experience in research is critical — will you have the chance to work with professors on this? Also ask about the labs — it’s important to know what type of environment you’ll be learning in.
Salary
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a biomedical engineer made an average of $86,960 in 2012.
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