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What is a biomedical engineer? That’s an excellent question to ask when you are looking for a challenging career with enormous career potential. Biomedical engineering is a discipline that actually refers to a wide range of specialties. But these specialties all have something in common – they combine engineering skills with biology and medical knowledge.
The biomedical engineer is a trained specialist that is usually found working in laboratories, hospitals and clinics doing research or developing medical or health related devices and processes. If you chose to work in this field you might develop artificial organs for humans or design new medical sensors for detecting a variety of health problems.
Many of the tasks include testing biomedical equipment to insure it meets safety and operating efficiency standards. You will design, develop and work with computer models too that simulate human systems.
What makes this career so interesting and challenging is that it blends mechanical and biomedical knowledge in order to assist people dealing with health issues or disabilities. It’s not only an interesting and challenging career – it’s also a worthy field that benefits men, women and children on a daily basis.
Salary Reflects the Complexity of the Career
As you have probably already deduced, the biomedical engineering field is highly technical and requires dedicated, serious and educated workers. The average biomedical engineer salary reflects the uniqueness of this particular position.
The average hourly wage for a biomedical engineer according to the U.S. Department of Labor is almost $40 an hour. The average annual wage as of May 2009 is $82,550. Even the bottom 10% of those employed in this field earn almost $50,000 annually.
The industry you work in will affect the amount of salary you earn. The top paying industries are:
- Consulting services
- Measuring and control instruments manufacturing
- Equipment sellers and wholesalers
- Federal government
- Research and Development (specifically in the scientific arena)
As would be expected, the more experience you have, the higher the average annual salary. According to PayScale, the salary biomedical engineer graduates can expect to earn ranges from $$40,000 to $60,000. Someone with 10 to 19 years of experience are earning $69,000 to $104,000.
The biomedical engineering salary for someone who has worked for more than 20 years actually tops out at $101,000. It may seem a bit odd that people with over 20 years of experience are getting paid less. But it is probably due to the fact they were early entrants in this field and wages were lower.
If you have your Masters Degree you can expect to earn at least $10,000 more than someone with a bachelor’s degree.
Outstanding Employment Growth
The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment will grow by a whopping 72% during the ten years between 2008 and 2018. Given that employment has been suppressed the last couple of years due to the recession of 2008-2009, you can expect tremendous employment opportunity as businesses resume hiring.
In addition, changing population characteristics and the new health care legislation is creating even more jobs. The general population is aging and older people are more likely to need the medical devices biomedical engineers design and develop.
More and more people are going to have health insurance too because of new laws. The expansion of health care coverage will increase demand for biomedical services in response to increased need.
A third fact that will positively impact employment is technology. The rapid employment growth rate is partly due to technology. Technology is constantly changing and improving and there is a need for trained biomedical engineers able to master its intricacies.
Great Careers in Many Specialties
There are a number of careers in biomedical engineering because this is an inclusive field. You can obtain an undergraduate degree and find excellent jobs in different industries. It should be noted though that research careers for biomedical engineers often require a graduate degree.
Your career path can follow as specialized path as you desire. There are different specialties though each one continues to blend engineering with biology methodologies in research and medical fields.
- Designing and developing rehabilitation devices for the disabled
- Pharmaceuticals and systems physiological responses
- Biomechanics for developing prosthetic organs
- Bioinstrumentation which develops technological devices for diagnosis and treatments
- Clinical based activities
- Developing medical imaging devices
- Biomaterials development
Many of the most stunning medical advances, including the MRI, artificial organs, sensitive prosthetics and disease treatments, are the products of biomedical engineers.
A Career That Benefits You and Others
What is biomedical engineering? It is an exciting field of study leading to a career that produces devices and information that help others live longer, healthier and more functional lives. The more technology advances, the more the biomedical technology field will grow. Medical devices, lab equipment, computer-assisted surgery, tissue engineering and orthopedics engineering are all areas where you will find great careers.
If this description sounds exciting then you need to consider a career as a biomedical engineer. You can attend a university or pursue a degree online.
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