My Career Compass to Becoming a Biomedical Engineer – Script

From a young age, I’ve always been interested in science, reasoning, and problem-solving. I always knew that I would enter a career that had something to do with those things, but the possibilities were endless! I considered being a marine biologist, doctor, and lawyer… but nothing seemed to fit with my personality. Finally, I began looking at the possibilities of becoming an engineer, and when I found out that engineering could be combined with biology and medicine I instantly fell in love with the idea of pursuing a career in this field.

In short, biomedical engineers design systems and products like artificial organs and devices that replace body parts and machines that diagnose medical problems. Jobs in biomedical engineering are very fast growing, seeing as the employment of biomedical engineers is projected to grow 23 percent from 2014 to 2024, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

There are many skills and attributes needed to succeed as a biomedical engineer: it’s important to have knowledge of math and science, be a critical thinker, have good reading comprehension, adequate judgement, and decision-making skills, and know how to manage time and troubleshoot when it’s needed. I think I would be very well suited to this career because I have a huge passion for math and science, and tend to wonder a lot about the world we live in and what I can do to make it better. My current interests lead me to believe that I can do this through science and medicine.

There are several steps I need to follow to become a biomedical engineer. To organize my thoughts, I’ve divided them into short and long-term goals:

My short-term goals include graduating from high school with the highest possible marks to increase my odds of getting into university. For the long term, I want to complete my undergraduate and graduate degrees (I will expand more on this later) then start working for a biomedical engineering firm or join a startup like Vesalius Cardiovascular, for example, to gain experience. It all depends on the outcomes, but I eventually want to create my own company or business – but I have time to think about that.

My Post Secondary Plan

After I graduate from high school, I’ll apply to several universities (to keep my options open), but I hope to get into UBC. They say it’s recommended that aspiring biomedical engineers gain experience in other fields of engineering, so I’ve decided to apply to the UBC Electrical engineering program because it provides a solid foundation in engineering. The program consists of 3 eight-month academic sessions (2 years). In my second year, I will have the option to stay in electrical engineering but with a concentration in Biomedical Engineering. In addition to the standard electrical engineering course, the program offers additional training in anatomy, physiology, micro/nanosystem design, medical imaging and more. Once I’ve completed my bachelor’s degree, I will start my master’s in biomedical engineering. In total, assuming it takes me 4 years to complete my bachelor’s and 2 years to complete my master’s, the length of the entire program will be about 6-7 years.

To gain entrance to the electrical engineering program, I will need:

The total cost including tuition fees, supplies, student fees and transit for any of the undergraduate applied science programs at UBC is $10,556.20 for one year. The full 4 years of my undergraduate studies will cost $42,224.80 and my master’s degree will amount to a total of $22,029, for a grand total of approximately $64,253.

One of the obstacles I might face is financial restraint: although my parents have already put some money aside for my education, it’s not enough to cover the cost of the full seven years. To overcome this, I will try to earn a scholarship and if I need to, apply for student loans. Depending on my situation, I might also have to apply for a job. Another hurdle I will probably need to overcome is stress. I don’t know what university life is like, but I’m sure it will involve stress. To help with that, I will work hard to stay on top of everything but also take time for myself once in a while.

This is what I expect my timeline to look like between 2020 and 2028.

 – End of script –

 

Sources:

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