Where the Jobs Are: Biomedical Engineering

Looking for a career path with a projected growth rate higher than normal but which only requires a BA to potentially bring you more than 100 grand a year? It may not hurt to get a Masters degree since the job in question is technically in the engineering field. Biomedical engineering is a rapidly expanding field that promises to continue growth as long as other states don't follow Mississippi's lead in determining that all medical advances are inherently ungodly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted in 2008 an astonishing 72% growth rate that would result in almost 12,000 new jobs over the next few years. The heart of the career path of the biomedical engineer lies in taking advantage of the fiery evolution of technology available that can be exploited for the purpose of creating brand new medical devices and the procedures that go along with them to treat a wealth of medical issues.

That's the medical and engineering part of biomedical engineering, but it kind of leaves the biological part unsatisfactorily explained. Where biological advances come into play is in the use of things like donated body organs, the creation of artificial organs and body parts and standard medical engineering items like prosthetic devices. These elements are all integrated and synthesized into a single unified effort aimed at helping people cope with everything from an amputated leg to increasing the efficiency of the bloated American health system through figuring out more effective ways of utilizing those medical devices and procedures. The work of these engineers may put them in concert with research scientists or it may lead them into the corporate world to help develop new and better examples of existing products like MRI and X-ray machines.

Rather than Master's degree, you may actually discover the best method for landing this a job in this exploding career path involves dual Bachelor's degrees. Many biomedical engineers either come to the position already equipped with degrees in both medical engineering and electronics engineering. Others may land the job as a result of already having a degree in a field like orthopedic engineering and eventually earn a second degree in a field like medical imaging before they are done. Don't discount the possibility of maintaining an evolutionary chart of progress in various engineering fields while you remain in the job that first got you into the biomedical engineering.

Okay, you know the field is exploding, but what specifically can that mean for you? The continued graying of America and all that money owned by the Baby Boomers means it will take more than a few states following Mississippi's lead to cheat you out of a position. New and improved medical devices in all fields of health care that treat the result of aging will be at the top of the list and that means you will likely have fairly decent job security for decades to come. Another thing working in your favor is that of all the fields related to engineering right now, biomedical engineers account for less than 2%. If the fantastic predictions of growth come to fruition that means that right now there simply are not enough people to fill all the expected positions. That means you should make the decision right now on whether or not to pursue this career path.

Hear that music off in the distance? That's the Style Council's Paul Weller wearing dark shades and singing "Money-go-Round." That's the sign to talk about salaries. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the best money to be made as a biomedical engineer will be in Massachusetts and Minnesota. Those are the states where the jobs where you could come close to bringing in $100,000 a year. Alabama doesn't have as many positions to offer, but they need qualified workers so badly that you could potentially add another $50,000 a year on top of what those in those big M states will earn.