What Are The Career Prospects After Pursuing Biomedical Engineering

The Indian job scenario is such that most students who take up science after their class 10 have just two aims. They either want to become doctors or engineers. This is the main cause for medicine and engineering being two of the most sought-after streams in the country. It is also the reason why the nation accounts for the maximum number of engineering graduates produced every year. However, in the Indian scenario, it will be fair to say that students who are good in biology are naturally drawn towards medicine as a career while those who are good in mathematics are taken to be engineers.

However, this type of generalisation is not good for an individual or a society. The world of biomedical engineering has proven that there is ample scope of development for people who are interested in both biology and engineering. In fact, it will be fair to say that biomedical engineering is a wide umbrella and under that there exists a wide variety of career options.

Until a couple of decades ago, any of those career options was unfathomable. This article talks about the various new areas of development in the world of biomedical engineering. Read on to know more about the same.

· Biomaterials Experts

These days medical science has reached a point wherein it is possible to implant certain things inside the human body that make life more comfortable. These things are helpful for people who have suffered some form of injury or those who are disabled. The designing and development of materials that can be fitted within the human body is the duty of a biomaterial expert.

These people mainly work in the government sector and take home a salary that is close to INR 25,000 per month as freshers. This is a highly responsible role as specialists here have to ensure that whatever they install is not just efficient but is also chemically stable and inert.

They must not contain any carcinogenic products and should be free from all sorts of toxins. The expertise of people trained in biomaterial sciences comes into the picture when they have to design products that not just satisfy the aforementioned criteria but are also long-lasting and economically viable.

· Rehabilitation Engineering

From a monetary point of view, these days there is a great market for the development of prosthesis. The people who design and develop those things are known as rehabilitation engineers. This is a highly gratifying job as you will be restoring normal functionality to the damaged body parts for people who would have never thought that to be possible.

This is a field that was alien to India till a couple of decades ago. However, these days it is gaining popularity and many people are seen to be choosing this as a career choice. A fresher in this field makes an average of INR 18,000 per month.

· Genetic Engineering

This is one of the most popular applications of biomedical engineering. A number of institutes across the country offer this course both at the undergraduate as well as that of the postgraduate level. They are the biomedical professionals who specialise in working at the microscopic level in order to find solutions to the larger problems that engulf society.

A number of private firms are now investing in this field. Thus, there is a lot of funding available and experts are seen to be making a lot of money here. Postgraduate freshers start off with a salary that is as high as INR 35,000 per month. The average starting salary for undergraduate freshers is about INR 28,000. These figures make it one of the most highly paid fields of biomedical engineering.

· Medical Imaging

Gone are the days when an X-ray was the only way for doctors to see what is going on inside the body. These days there are a number of laparoscopic interventions by which doctors are able to probe inside the human body. In fact, these days, surgeries are also carried out by means of laparoscopic intervention.

This creates a better-than-ever scope of scientific development in the world of medical imaging. A number of pathological centres, research wings of hospitals and other such places are hiring trained people in this field.

The main job role of these people is to develop instruments that will allow healthcare professionals to look inside the human body. The starting salary here is about INR 22,000 and with experience the value rises.

· Clinical Engineering

These people are team players and their job roles include working with healthcare service providers like physicians, nurses and others in order to find uses for the medical products that are found in hospitals.

These days, the work of these people extend beyond hospitals and they are seen to be working in other healthcare centres as well. These people start off with an average salary of INR 12,000 as freshers. The better uses they find for the medical products, the higher will be their efficiency at work and greater will be the chances of taking home a greater salary package.

· Bioinstrumentation

The treatment of diseases has taken a giant leap because of the host of diagnostic instruments that are available today. All of this has been possible only due to the efforts of bioinstrumentation engineers who design the tools that are useful in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The programming, manufacture and implementation of all these instruments is the duty of the bioinstrumentation experts.

The starting salary for these jobs is about INR 20,000 per month and with experience the value rises. Jobs are available in both private as well as government sectors and candidates with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering are eligible for the same.

However, candidates with a master's degree are preferred for jobs in the government sector. Most of the jobs in this field are research and development based and only the creamy layer of students is advised to take it up.