Expert: John Locke - 1/16/2011

Question
Hi John,
I am asking this for my daughter's future education and career choice.  Because of your bioengineering and MCAT-teaching background, I thought you might be able to advise us.  If my daughter wants to keep open an option to attend medical school, would majoring in bioengineering in college (as a pre-Med)be a well-fitting and flexible option?
I understand that biology is the most common undergraduate pre-Med major (My daughter has not entered college yet).  But I thought if my daughter were to major in biology, but by her senior year in college decides that medical school is not for her, she would have limited lucrative options as just a B.S. biology major.  In contrast, I am thinking a B.S. in bioengineering would give her a solid (empoyable and well-paying) career choice to fall back on, if she were to not go onto medical school.  I just know that it is rare for most engineering majors to go to medical school, because the curricula are different.  But (though I don't know the fields in detail)I thought bioengineering might be similar enough to common pre-Med tranining.  And I thought bioengineering might give that flexibility whether she elects to go on to medical school, or stay as an engineer.  Could you let me know of advantages or disadvantages of trying to combine bioengineering and medicine in a sequential career preparation?  Thank you.  Glen

Answer
Thanks for using AllExperts. As a bioengineering graduate (and now a third-year medical student, in fact, although that is not in my profile), I can speak to the subject quite a bit. You are correct that biology is the most common undergraduate major for premed students, and you are also correct that biology majors have relatively fewer prospects in their field with an undergraduate degree than do bioengineering majors. Biology majors, if they want to work substantively in their field, are usually better served by obtaining a master's degree or doctorate; bioengineering undergraduates can be employed right out of undergraduate in their field. They may also find job prospects where their employer is willing to pay for them to attend graduate school; this arrangement used to be much more common, although I don't know how much it happens now. Regardless, you can obtain good job prospects with a BS degree in bioengineering degree. It is also possible to get a master's or doctorate in bioengineering.

Let me be clear: biology majors, upon graduation from college, are certainly not unemployable. Their job prospects may be more limited, but they probably can find relevant jobs in their field (although perhaps at low, entry-level positions). Let me caution you about pre-med as a major--it is available as a stand-alone major in some schools. I understand that it is being phased out in certain places, which is a good idea: pre-med majors have great difficulty finding employment if they do not go on to medical school, because their degree lacks general applicability.

Medical schools in general have very similar course requirements for their applicants, and most colleges with any significant population of premed students will have a premed advising office. This office often publishes a list of courses that will satisfy the application requirements for almost all medical schools; you daughter should contact that office early in her college career to make sure that all the requirements are met. To that end, helpfully, the coursework for a bioengineering degree usually contains most of what's required to enter medical school: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. I suspect that if your daughter studies bioengineering as an undergraduate, she will not have to do an inordinate amount of coursework beyond her major to get ready for medical school.

That said, bioengineering is distinctly different from biology. Bioengineering majors complete coursework in engineering topics such as fluid dynamics, electrical engineering, and engineering design, many of which are quite difficult. They complete math courses through advanced calculus. Most schools will have engineers of all majors complete basic engineering courses such as computer drafting, static analysis, and thermodynamics. Someone who is focused on medical school may find those sorts of courses pointless and boring, which would really diminish the overall experience of the major: those courses are fundamental to the analytical mindset that comes with engineering training. Those courses are also quite difficult. To do well in them, you must pay close attention and put in significant effort; I think that might be difficult for someone who finds themself uninterested in the topic.

Personally, I loved being a bioengineering major, and I now love medicine. There was actually a specialization within the bioengineering major that covered all the necessary coursework for med school The engineering training helped me develop a critical, analytical mindset that is quite useful in the medical field. Physiology in medical school was much easier after all the work we did in systems analysis in engineering design courses. All that said, I studied bioengineering because I wanted to: I like biology and physics both, so it seemed like a good combination. That made it interesting and kept me engaged over the four years, even as I was applying to medical school during junior and senior year. I also personally know a surgeon who studied mechanical engineering during his undergraduate; he is an excellent physician and an excellent engineer.

I hope that this has helped you. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck in all your future plans.