Biomedical Engineering combines biology and engineering to make technological breakthroughs in medical devices, procedures, and patient care. Biomedical engineers work in industries, in labs, and even in hospital operating rooms to make a difference in healthcare.
Biomedical engineers work on medical devices, including implants like pacemakers for the heart and prosthetics like hip replacements. They are at the forefront of important healthcare advances like wearable devices to monitor health conditions and equipment used at patient bedsides in healthcare settings ranging from long-term care facilities to hospital emergency rooms.
Biomedical engineers are responsible for developing new innovations in everyday life-changing products like crutches. As medical engineers, they work at the forefront of breakthroughs in stem cell engineering and printing 3D biological organs. The biomedical engineering field is crucial to continued improvements in prosthetics, drug-delivery systems, and wearable tech. The field also provides an avenue for changing how healthcare solutions are developed, harnessing the latest technologies like artificial intelligence to move beyond animal testing in designing products to find more humane and accurate ways to measure the effectiveness of treatment options for patients.
Biomedical engineers also work to develop cost-effective medical devices, looking at the problems associated with overengineered products that take longer to reach the market and cost more to produce.
What Do Biomedical Engineers Do?
Biomedical engineers work with the medical industry to find minimally invasive surgical equipment and ways to transmit data to a smart device for monitoring patient health. They are on the cutting edge of emerging therapies and treatment modalities, including medical lasers. They develop smart assistive robotics platforms and complementary innovations, like a torque test system to ensure the correct calibration and efficient function of robotic equipment. In addition to research and development (R&D), biomedical engineers maintain and provide technical support for medical equipment.
Some examples of what biomedical engineers can do include:
- Create automations for continuous patient monitoring in intensive care or for people in challenging environments, like astronauts or deep divers
- Do computer modeling of blood pressure control, renal function, and nervous system circuits
- Design artificial kidneys or synthetic blood vessels
- Invent advanced therapeutic and surgical devices
- Innovate external support devices for sports medicine patients
- Find ways to better meet patient needs
- Refine medical imaging processes and equipment for more accurate diagnoses
- Improve processes for genomic testing
- Find better ways to make and administer lifesaving drugs
How is Biomedical Engineering Different?
While the biomedical field of engineering touches many other disciplines, like mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, and engineering, it is set apart by a distinct focus on healthcare. This is a career for people who want to be medical engineers working on improving human health—whether it be an advanced prosthetic limb or a breakthrough in identifying proteins within cells.
What Careers are there in Biomedical Engineering?
Students who become biomedical engineers get to be part of breakthroughs in medical engineering that change lives. Careers in biomedical engineering center on different focus areas, including biomedical electronics, which includes advising and assisting hospital staff about how to safely operate technical equipment. Bioengineers who specialize in bioinstrumentation use electronics and measurement techniques to develop the devices used to diagnose and treat disease. In biomechatronics, you use biology, mechanics, and electronics within the fields of robotics and neuroscience to create devices for people who need help with muscle, skeletal, or nervous system control that was lost or damaged by birth defects, disease, or trauma.
Bionics, clinical engineering, medical imaging, rehabilitation engineering, systems physiology, bionanotechnology, and neural engineering are among other key biomedical engineering disciplines. The biomaterials discipline works with both living tissue and artificial materials. Cellular, tissue, and genetic engineering is another pioneering career area where biomedical engineers work to solve biomedical problems at the microscopic level.
What Skills Do Biomedical Engineers Need?
Students who enjoy and excel at chemistry, math, and problem-solving do well in biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineers rely on their critical thinking skills, wherever they’re choosing to apply their expertise—in sports medicine, patient monitoring, artificial organs, advanced therapeutic and surgical devices, like laser systems for eye surgery and more.
Where Do Biomedical Engineers Work?
From large medical companies and public or private healthcare institutions to tech start-ups, biomedical engineers put their knowledge to use in industries that bridge the engineering and medical fields.
- Companies that work with hospitals—or hospitals themselves
- Companies that manufacture medical devices
- Companies and other institutions that do health research
- Companies that focus on athletics
- Companies that design optimal medical laboratories
How Much Do Biomedical Engineers Earn?
As the most current salary information for engineers shows, biomedical engineers are well-paid. They’re in demand and make an above-average living throughout each stage of their careers. A typical first job as a biomedical engineer nets a salary around $66,917, but others may earn much more. Biomedical engineers can expect to earn a six-figure income of $106,700 or more once they have advanced and established their careers.
| Mean Entry-Level Salary (Payscale) | Mean Annual Salary (BLS) | Top 10 Percent (BLS) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $66,917 | $106,700 | $154,350 | |
|
Figures from payscale.com, accessed May 2024. Figures from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dated May 2023. |
|||
See additional engineering salary information.
The Future of Biomedical Engineering
Medical diagnostics are showing strong economic growth, tripling in market value each year. The demand for personalized medicine, the needs of an aging population, the rise of infectious diseases, the expectation that point-of-care diagnoses will happen faster and more efficiently, and the development of home test kits are all among factors driving future growth.
Revolutionary advances in medical imaging and medical diagnostics are changing the way medicine is practiced—and saving lives. New medical devices, emerging from biomedical research laboratories, have transformed the way that disease and trauma are treated, extending the quality and length of human life.
The future of biomedical engineering is bright, driven by discovery and advancement in fields like chemistry, materials science, and biology. Increased collaboration across computing, electrical, engineering, and life science disciplines means that innovation originates from many directions at the same time.
The evolution of biomedical engineering continues with applications in the field of biotechnology, healthcare, and numerous innovations designed to improve our health and quality of life.
During the next two decades, biomedical engineering will play a central role in solving problems to meet global health challenges. Biomedical engineers have the opportunity to create healthier communities where access to care and lifesaving technologies truly make the world a better place.
Pursuing a Biomedical Engineering Degree
There are many paths you can take to a career in biomedical engineering. Most entry-level positions require at least a bachelor's degree in a related field. Undergraduate academic advisors including Micheal LaBeau say there are many ways you can prepare yourself to pursue your degree in a biomedical engineering:
Tips for High School Students
If you're currently in high school and are considering biomedical engineering, you can:
- Make an appointment with your high school advisor or another trusted source of career advice, like a pre-college outreach program, so you can get the most current material and advice they have available.
- Focus on taking math and science courses, including algebra, anatomy and physiology, biology, and chemistry. It’s also a good idea to take whatever is available related to computer science and computer applications.
- Take Advanced Placement (AP) courses in math and science, if they are available to you.
- Find learning opportunities like field trips and job shadowing. You can also explore workshops, events, and summer youth camp experiences offered by universities or other institutions that will give you a taste of what it would be like to be a biomedical engineer.
- Attend career-focused events at your school that offer insights into different professions, including engineering or biomedical engineering.
Choosing a College or University for Biomedical Engineering
Looking for the right school to study biomedical engineering is easier when you go into it knowing the search will take time and patience. There are many resources that can help. Here are some ways to make your decision easier:
- Research colleges and universities that are accredited by ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc. That way, you know you are earning a degree that will pay off with excellent career opportunities.
- Contact the schools you’re interested in and ask lots of questions about programs, scholarships, and financial aid opportunities, as well as application requirements and deadlines. If you visit the school website for that program, you will find buttons for requesting more information and other ways to get in touch via email or phone.
- Visit the schools you’re most interested in. Many students say that a visit makes the decision much easier because you can see the campus, talk to faculty and staff, and experience what it would be like for you to be there as a student. If it’s not possible to visit, see if the schools you’re interested in offer a virtual campus tour.
Apply to the schools you think are the right fit for you and your goals sometime between your junior year and the beginning of your senior year. It’s important to not miss those deadlines!
Tips for College Students
If you’re already a college student, you can use these tips from our College of Engineering biomedical engineering advisor to make your studies go more smoothly and help you become a biomedical engineer:
- Get to know your academic advisor and meet regularly to get help choosing the appropriate courses that can set you up for careers in biomedical engineering.
- Work on real-life projects. You can find opportunities through student organizations, professional conferences, co-ops, and internships. You can also join research projects at your college or university.
- Go to your professors’ office hours, ask questions, and form strong working relationships with the faculty members in your program. These connections are a big plus for getting relevant experience while you’re in school, including participating in research projects. The connections you make can benefit you throughout your professional or academic career.
- Work on your communication skills. They are important for relating to the professionals you’ll be working with, including people with medical and technical backgrounds—or patients.
- Use your campus learning centers to stay on top of your studies. Many colleges have them. You can work with student mentors and others who have studied biomedical engineering and can help you succeed. Pro tip: Don’t wait until you’re in trouble with grades or assignments. It’s easier to do well in school if you locate resources and get used to accessing them right away.
- Network with professionals. Attend conferences you learn about through the on-campus chapter of groups like the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) or Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the honor society for biomedical engineering students. Don’t wait until your senior year to attend a career fair—get comfortable at this event so when it’s time to find biomedical engineering jobs, you feel confident. Every chance to connect with professionals in your field is valuable. You never know when someone you meet will lead you to a career in medical engineering!
- Keep your resume up to date and practice your interviewing skills at your career center or with other students.