Activities	Apply knowledge of engineering, biology, and biomechanical principles to the design, development, and evaluation of biological and health systems and products, such as artificial organs, prostheses, instrumentation, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$73,900 per year in 2006
Work Context & Conditions	Biomedical engineers are employed in education, industry, hospitals, research facilities of educational and medical institutions, and government agencies. They often serve a coordinating or interfacing function, using their background in both the engineering and medical fields.
Minimum Education Requirements	Bachelor's Degree
Skills	Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Equipment Selection, Mathematics, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making, Operation Monitoring, Operations Analysis, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Technology Design, Science, Quality Control Analysis, Complex Problem Solving
Abilities	Oral Expression, Number Facility, Visualization, Deductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Mathematical Reasoning, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension, Fluency of Ideas, Category Flexibility, Originality
Interviews	Abby Vogel

Job Category		Architecture & Engineering
Job Description		Many biomedical engineers do research, along with life scientists, chemists, and medical scientists, on the engineering aspects of the biological systems of humans and animals. Biomedical engineers also design devices used in various medical procedures, such as the computers used to analyze blood or the laser systems used in corrective eye surgery. They develop artificial organs, imaging systems such as ultrasound, and devices for automating insulin injections or controlling body functions. Most engineers in this specialty require a sound background in one of the more basic engineering specialties, such as mechanical or electronics engineering, in addition to specialized biomedical training. Some specialties within biomedical engineering include biomaterials, biomechanics, medical imaging, rehabilitation, and orthopedic engineering.
Working Conditions		Biomedical engineers are employed in education, industry, hospitals, research facilities of educational and medical institutions, and government regulatory agencies. They often serve a coordinating or interfacing function, using their background in both the engineering and medical fields. In industry, they may create designs where an in-depth understanding of living systems and of technology is essential. They may be involved in performance testing of new or proposed products. Government positions often involve product testing and safety, as well as establishing safety standards for devices. In the hospital, biomedical engineers may provide advice on the selection and use of medical equipment and supervise its performance testing and maintenance. They may also build customized devices for special health-care or research needs. In research institutions, biomedical engineers supervise laboratories and equipment and participate in or direct research activities in collaboration with other researchers with such backgrounds as medicine, physiology, and nursing. Some biomedical engineers are technical advisors for marketing departments of companies, and some are in management positions. They generally work indoors in environmentally controlled conditions, must be very exact and highly accurate in performing their jobs, are often required to wear protective or safety equipment, and require the use of their hands to handle and control objects, tools, or controls.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings of biomedical engineers with a bachelor's degree were $51,356 in 2004; those with a master's degree earned $59,240. The middle 50 percent earned around $73,900. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $44,930 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $116,330.

Education Required		The biomedical engineering student should first plan to become a good engineer who then acquires a working understanding of the life sciences and terminology, according to the Biomedical Engineering Society website. Good communication skills are also important, because biomedical engineers provide a vital link to professionals with different backgrounds. In college, prospective biomedical engineers usually select engineering as a field of study, and then choose a discipline concentration within engineering. Some students will major in biomedical engineering, while others may major in chemical, electrical, or mechanical engineering with a specialty in biomedical engineering. Many students continue their education in graduate school, where they obtain valuable biomedical research experience at the master's or doctoral level. When entering the job market, the graduate should be able to point to well-defined engineering skills for application to the biomedical field, with some project or in-the-field experience in biomedical engineering. Some biomedical engineers also have advanced training in other fields. For example, many biomedical engineers also have an M.D. degree, thereby combining an understanding of advanced technology with direct patient care or clinical research.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Education and Training, Mathematics, Design, Physics, Production and Processing, Engineering and Technology, Chemistry, Mechanical
Certification and Licensing		None

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Social Status Looked up to by others in their company and their community. Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Creativity Try out your own ideas. Security Have steady employment. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Working Conditions Good working conditions. Activity Busy all the time. Autonomy Plan work with little supervision. Responsibility Make decisions on your own.
Skills		Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Equipment Selection Determine the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. Mathematics Use math to solve problems. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Operation Monitoring Watch gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. Operations Analysis Analyze needs and product requirements to create a design. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information. Technology Design Generate or adapt equipment and technology to serve user needs. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems. Quality Control Analysis Conduct tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Number Facility Able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide quickly and correctly. Visualization Able to imagine how something will look after it's moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. Deductive Reasoning Able to apply general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers, including deciding whether an answer makes sense. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Mathematical Reasoning Able to understand and organize mathematical problems and to know which mathematical methods or formulas to use to solve them. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Written Expression Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. Fluency of Ideas Come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). Category Flexibility Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. Originality Come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Related Jobs		Engineer, Chemical
Job Outlook		Overall engineering employment is expected to grow by 11 percent over the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Engineers have traditionally been concentrated in slower growing or declining manufacturing industries, in which they will continue to be needed to design, build, test, and improve manufactured products. However, increasing employment of engineers in faster growing service industries should generate most of the employment growth. Biomedical engineers are expected to have 21 percent employment growth over the projections decade, much faster than the average for all occupations. The aging of the population and the focus on health issues will drive demand for better medical devices and equipment designed by biomedical engineers. Along with the demand for more sophisticated medical equipment and procedures, an increased concern for cost-effectiveness will boost demand for biomedical engineers, particularly in pharmaceutical manufacturing and related industries. However, because of the growing interest in this field, the number of degrees granted in biomedical engineering has increased greatly. Biomedical engineers, particularly those with only a bachelor’s degree, may face competition for jobs. Unlike many other engineering specialties, a graduate degree is recommended or required for many entry-level jobs.
More Information		Biomedical Engineering Society
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Engineers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm; Biomedical Engineering Society, 8401 Corporate Dr., Suite 110, Landover, MD 20785-2224, on the Internet at http://www.bmes.org. O*NET on the internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/17-2031.00