confused between degrees.....

[kush.ka]

hi

i am a final year undergrad international student.

i am currently doing b.tech in biomedical engineering,

please can u help me by giving more info on the following degree and their job prospects

M.ENGG- offered by duke, boston etc

MS (thesis)

MS(non thesis/plan

ME

plz help

thanku!!

[Radian]

You can find really cool academic surrounding in BME in US universities. State of the art facilities and interesting research.

THOUGH, finding a job in industry would be a nightmare for you!

[Starscream]

You can find really cool academic surrounding in BME in US universities. State of the art facilities and interesting research.

THOUGH, finding a job in industry would be a nightmare for you!

Why? Isn't BME supposed to be a hot area in both academia AND industry?

[sabdo]

In academia yes, in industry no. The medical device industry has been taking a major beating. It is very difficult to get a job with simply a BS in bioE/BME. Now the prospects are definitely better if you're getting a graduate degree but it still is no walk in the park. My best advice is to get into a school that has very good connections with the biotech/med industry. It is the best approach to getting a job.

[ghanada]

agreed. BME as field is blowing up, but not necessarily jobs for BME graduates. The one huge surprising fact I learned while getting my Masters was that biomedical industry companies tend to not want biomedical engineers. They want mechanical, computer, electrical, and software engineers. I recommend all the undergrads I know to NOT do BME, but rather do a "classical" engineering discipline like the ones I mentioned and then specialize in BME for graduate work. That is precisely why I switched my Masters from BME to EE, but am now doing BME for my PhD.

Anyways, regarding the original question, every school is different in terms of the Masters degree requirements. Generally, M.S. is historically the standard degree. Whether or not a thesis is required is up to the school. MEng is a much newer degree that is geared toward going to industry so no thesis is required, and instead you usually take some business/management courses. However, in my opinion, M.S. is still the standard and gives you options to do both industry or academia, while MEng really limits your ability to industry-only. I tend to recommend people go for the M.S. since you can always take business/management courses on your own. Plus doing a thesis/project is always desirable since it shows you did original, relevant and specialized skill work in something. I tend to think both academia and industry values that type of experience. M.E. also varies a lot and I tend to see this degree less.