If you are the kind of person who loves to be an engineer but also wanted to have a glimpse in the medical related field or any living system, this career is best for you.
What is a Bioengineer?
Bioengineers are the creators behind of the suits of astronauts and the success of aquaculture, vegetation and bio-sensors. They are the scientists behind the hearing aids, the machines used for dialysis, the artificial prosthetic valves, artificial limbs, and many more. The people behind all of these equipments and machines are the Bioengineers. They are the ones who are applying the principles of engineering to create a useful and sophisticated equipment to help or advance the diagnosis of disease, to prolong life, or even to aid the disabled. This is quite difficult since you are making a piece that can either make or break a life.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Bioengineer
- They design and develop new equipments and machines. They also test these equipments in order to ensure the product’s quality. They also organize clinical trials of these products. They also modify these products, considering the opinions of the medical professionals about it.
- They conduct research on how to unravel clinical problems.
- They also study the market of their products and they help on how to sell it to the target companies. They also join or conduct exhibits or conferences to introduce the equipments.
- They engage with the senior staff of a clinical department or managers to test the products. They also deal with the concerns of staffs about the equipment. And it is also their job to train the professionals who will use their product.
- They deploy, test, and maintain the equipments.
Educational Background of a Bioengineer
Those who have a degree on Electronic or Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Biomedical Engineering have greater chances of having this job. People who have degrees on applied science or medical science and engineering can also have a career as a Bioengineer.
Skills and Qualifications of a Bioengineer
- He can manage to work under pressure.
- He must have great potential in solving problems.
- He must be able to design equipments that is cost-effective and functional.
- He must be able to associate the principles of engineering to the medical field.
- He must be computer literate and has spatial creativity.
- He must be knowledgeable about biomedical instrumentation.
- He should have a passion to help sustaining a life.
- He must have exceptional communication skills and have market awareness in order to deal with confidence their target associates.
- He must be dedicated to his project and patient enough to improve it.
Working Conditions of a Bioengineer
They usually work in office, laboratory, hospital, college research department or even in a medical equipment manufacturer’s company. They usually travel around the region as part of their working day especially in cases that it is their schedule for maintaining a machine in a certain hospital. They also go around in special conferences and exhibits to introduce and market their products.
It is quite rare to be self-employed in this kind of job, since wide contacts are needed in order to succeed.