Rock and a Hard Place

[mtbmichael]

biomedical engineering FTW.

as for the 30k/year, i beg to differ. according to yahoo hotjobs the average starting salary for biomedical engineering in OC is about 54k. 25 percentile is around 46.5k.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by mtbmichael

biomedical engineering FTW.

as for the 30k/year, i beg to differ. according to yahoo hotjobs the average starting salary for biomedical engineering in OC is about 54k. 25 percentile is around 46.5k.

That's funny, mean salaries for Flight Medics is 42-45 in So Cal. I'll have to see what they offer me. PA's start at 70-75, but I'll have three more years of school and another $60K in the form of tuition, books, etc. That doesn't take into account bills, food, rent....this is getting expensive and starting to make me dizzy.

So the question turns into: 45K salary and 25K of debt or 70K salary and 100K in debt? School loans are about 4-7% and I have a mixture or subsidized and unsubsidized.

[92se-r]

Are you a student or someone in the field with real experience? Seriously, GOOD LUCK finding a TRUE biomedical engineering job. My buddy found out the hard way. He had excellent grades, but no one really hires a bioengineer straight from school because they really can't do anything. They learn a little bit of everything but not enough to do anything. Most bioengineers are actually EE's or ME's who are working on medical devices.

So my buddy decided to get his masters in ME and started interning with some places. Now he is in a good spot to get an actual bioengineer job and has a few offers.

Zippy, you can probably vouch for me here. Everyone and their mom at UCSD is some sort of bio related major.

All of the bioengineering majors I knew ended up doing Research Associate work, which starts around 30K out of school. I'm talking from experience from friends, time and time again. This is not an isolated incident.

Originally Posted by mtbmichael

biomedical engineering FTW.

as for the 30k/year, i beg to differ. according to yahoo hotjobs the average starting salary for biomedical engineering in OC is about 54k. 25 percentile is around 46.5k.

[ryandood]

Stay in school. Sure it will be there should you decide that the job isn't working out but it seems like it just gets harder and harder for people to go back to school the more time goes by. I know plenty of people who started school and thought they had found something else and now they have to try to get back into school.

Not liking school? You're not alone my friend. There are thousands of college students across the country who are not liking school right now, myself included. I see college as a wonderful thing that you go thru once for a few years and reap the benefits for the rest of your life.

Just imagine the kind of doors that could open up for you once you finish school. Your resume will look that much better. Good luck with your decision.

[cupacabra]

Originally Posted by Zippy

I have a P-Chem final at 11:30. Wanna trade?

I'd take P-chem any time over O-chem. All those reactions were lost about 10 min. after I walked out the door.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

Are you a student or someone in the field with real experience? Seriously, GOOD LUCK finding a TRUE biomedical engineering job. My buddy found out the hard way. He had excellent grades, but no one really hires a bioengineer straight from school because they really can't do anything. They learn a little bit of everything but not enough to do anything. Most bioengineers are actually EE's or ME's who are working on medical devices.

So my buddy decided to get his masters in ME and started interning with some places. Now he is in a good spot to get an actual bioengineer job and has a few offers.

Zippy, you can probably vouch for me here. Everyone and their mom at UCSD is some sort of bio related major.

All of the bioengineering majors I knew ended up doing Research Associate work, which starts around 30K out of school. I'm talking from experience from friends, time and time again. This is not an isolated incident.

Most people I talk to are Chem majors since that's my major. I hear lots of them talking about Pharmacy School and Medical School, but none of them have the field experince in pre-hospital emergency care like I do....NOT ONE. Yes, with a BS you're stuck as a research assistant, which means you're a product slave. I'm NOT going to sit in a lab all day; it'll drive me insane.

[92se-r]

I'm being devil's advocate right now. The recession is coming, if not already here. I saw the real effects of timing is everything when you graduate. I graduated 2004 as a super senior. Half of my buddies I started school with graduated in 4 years in 2003. 2003 was ROUGH to find jobs. Only a couple of the guys found jobs right out of school. Most either went home to do things not engineering related or went to grad school. I ended up graduating in 2004 and had 3 job offers right out of school. Big difference a year makes.

WHat are the requirements to be a PA?

Originally Posted by ryandood

Stay in school. Sure it will be there should you decide that the job isn't working out but it seems like it just gets harder and harder for people to go back to school the more time goes by. I know plenty of people who started school and thought they had found something else and now they have to try to get back into school.

Not liking school? You're not alone my friend. There are thousands of college students across the country who are not liking school right now, myself included. I see college as a wonderful thing that you go thru once for a few years and reap the benefits for the rest of your life.

Just imagine the kind of doors that could open up for you once you finish school. Your resume will look that much better. Good luck with your decision.

[stinkyrider]

This thread sounds all too familiar.
My brother has his PhD in Organic Chemistry with 3 post-docs under his belt and can't find a decent paying job. He's on his 4th post-doc at U. of Minnesota starting in June unless he finds a good job.

Sorry for the thread jack. Let's focus on Zippy and his job decision for now on.
I say in stay in school. Finish the degree. It will open up a lot more opportunity later on.

[92se-r]

What kind of prereqs do you need to be a PA?

Originally Posted by Zippy

Most people I talk to are Chem majors since that's my major. I hear lots of them talking about Pharmacy School and Medical School, but none of them have the field experince in pre-hospital emergency care like I do....NOT ONE. Yes, with a BS you're stuck as a research assistant, which means you're a product slave. I'm NOT going to sit in a lab all day; it'll drive me insane.

[mtbmichael]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

Are you a student or someone in the field with real experience? Seriously, GOOD LUCK finding a TRUE biomedical engineering job. My buddy found out the hard way. He had excellent grades, but no one really hires a bioengineer straight from school because they really can't do anything. They learn a little bit of everything but not enough to do anything. Most bioengineers are actually EE's or ME's who are working on medical devices.

So my buddy decided to get his masters in ME and started interning with some places. Now he is in a good spot to get an actual bioengineer job and has a few offers.

Zippy, you can probably vouch for me here. Everyone and their mom at UCSD is some sort of bio related major.

All of the bioengineering majors I knew ended up doing Research Associate work, which starts around 30K out of school. I'm talking from experience from friends, time and time again. This is not an isolated incident.

yeah, im just a student and im starting to not like what i do, but i was never thinking about stopping after a b.s. you're exactly right in saying that bioenginering is little bit of everything so I'm thinking about going into chemical eng or EE.

[92se-r]

LOL, you're telling him to stay in school while you tell us about your PHD brother that can't find a job?

I'm all for staying in school if it is for a major that pays. I feel sorry for people I know that majored in film and came out with a bunch of student loans and wonder why they can't find a job.

Originally Posted by stinkyrider

This thread sounds all too familiar.
My brother has his PhD in Organic Chemistry with 3 post-docs under his belt and can't find a decent paying job. He's on his 4th post-doc at U. of Minnesota starting in June unless he finds a good job.

Sorry for the thread jack. Let's focus on Zippy and his job decision for now on.
I say in stay in school. Finish the degree. It will open up a lot more opportunity later on.

Chem E. and EE are both lucrative enough to pay the bills for sure. I'd highly recommend it, being a bit biased myself. You'll never be rich, but you'll never starve. What year are you? The best advice I can give you is pick your major now, stick with it, and junior and senior year, GET AN INTERNSHIP. When we hire guys, we pick guys with experience over grades.

Originally Posted by mtbmichael

yeah, im just a student and im starting to not like what i do, but i was never thinking about stopping after a b.s. you're exactly right in saying that bioenginering is little bit of everything so I'm thinking about going into chemical eng or EE.

[Chewyeti]

Originally Posted by chumbacabra

I'd take P-chem any time over O-chem. All those reactions were lost about 10 min. after I walked out the door.

f*ck chemistry!

I got a fluid dynamics midterm tomorrow

Civil eng....

[katonk]

Originally Posted by Zippy

That's funny, mean salaries for Flight Medics is 42-45 in So Cal. I'll have to see what they offer me. PA's start at 70-75, but I'll have three more years of school and another $60K in the form of tuition, books, etc. That doesn't take into account bills, food, rent....this is getting expensive and starting to make me dizzy.

So the question turns into: 45K salary and 25K of debt or 70K salary and 100K in debt? School loans are about 4-7% and I have a mixture or subsidized and unsubsidized.

I really have no idea if this is true or not, but it seems to me that the medical industry will be growing for the rest of your career. I'm guessing the same won't be true for a Flight Medic? My point is that a PA probably has better long term job security.

I've never met anyone who said "getting that degree was such a mistake".

Flight medic sounds way cooler than PA, but chicks dig money WAY more than they dig cool.

[mtbmichael]

Originally Posted by Zippy

I have a P-Chem final at 11:30. Wanna trade?

i think ill prefer p chem. anything math or physics is better than straight out memorizing stuff.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

What kind of prereqs do you need to be a PA?

Depends on what school you decide to apply to. For an MS PA-C (combination master's program and PA School) I'd have to finish my degree, but there are programs that do not require it. If you pass the National Board Exams, you get your certificate.

At this point, I can get all the classes I need to complete the pre-reqs from a Community College: Statistics, Sociology, Physiology, Microbiology are all I have left, would take me two sems to complete and would cost me WAY less than if I took them here at UCSD.

[Waldo]

This comes down to a personal choice of what your priorities really are. If you really want to do air evac, long-term, then go for it. If your goal is to be a PA, then don't sweat the expense and time - those things will work out. Just put in the work, stay focused, and get it done right.

I am definitely biased on this topic since I work as an academic advisor. I've also made every mistake in the book as a student (part of what makes me a good advisor! ) . Both experiences have taught me that the best way to ensure a person won't reach their academic goal is to escalate their work commitments. And if those commitments involve a job with decent pay and cool factor, then you can multiply the effect by 100x.

So which do you want to be your career and your life? Listen to your heart, and work towards that.

Good luck.

[ohyeah89]

Doesn't UCSD allow you to put your grades on hold for a bit (I forgot what its officially called)? Take the job for a year, see if it's your passion, if not either quit, return to your studies (hopefully refreshed with a year break) or then go part time and do both until you finish your PA requirements. That way you keep all your options open.

[mtbmichael]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

Chem E. and EE are both lucrative enough to pay the bills for sure. I'd highly recommend it, being a bit biased myself. You'll never be rich, but you'll never starve. What year are you? The best advice I can give you is pick your major now, stick with it, and junior and senior year, GET AN INTERNSHIP. When we hire guys, we pick guys with experience over grades.

2nd year w/ 3 rd year status since i went a little crazy w/ classes. i have tons of clinical work and some research experience, but i didnt really enjoy any of it so that why i want to switch. if EE i was thinking about going into patent law, if and only if i can go to a decent law school though.

[92se-r]

That's what I'm talking about Michael. You have clinical and research experience but no real engineering experience. That's why all those bioengineers graduate and can't find jobs and end up doing research. It kinda sucks. IMO, it's a scam major that the school does. I can see if you are doing it for a Masters or PHd, but not as your BS.