Bioengineering career change

[bruceybonus]

Hi all,

As a way of introduction, I'm currently a Junior Engineering Officer in the RAF (UK) and due to the current economic climate affecting defence I am considering a transition to a new career in Bioengineering when I complete my service in 3 years time. In terms of qualifications I have a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from a decent University.

My biggest concern about making this transition is my experience base. Engineering Officers are rarely involved in technical matters and are more managers of process, resources, risk and projects. Although some of these are of interest to employers, they are not based in Healthcare / medical physics and I haven't used my degree in a technical way for several years now.

I recognise that I may need to come in at a lower level to gain the experience needed to make the transition but in order to make myself more attractive to employers, can anyone reccommend any subjects worth studying. I am aware that Bioengineers need some programming skills but I am struggling to identify what language is prodominatly used. Also, is there specific maths I should brush up? e.g statistical analysis etc?

Any advice on what I should be focusing on or areas of interest would be of great help.

Regards

Bruce

 

[IRstuff]

I don't necessarily know that this question is that easy to answer. Bioengineering is, I think, a very broad discipline, not that different than ME, which includes thermal, structural, etc. Insulin pumps and artificial limbs would likely fall into the bioengineering realm, but their requirements are also completely different, so tool and math requirements would likely be different.

That said, the usual suspects would still probably cover the gamut:
Excel -- OpenOffice is free and probably comparable
C/C++ -- Microsoft has a free C++ Express
Python -- Open source
Matlab -- Octave is free and will get you started

However, it's unclear that "programming" is an absolute requirement. It's probably a requirement if you want to do more analysis than design.

TTFN
faq731-376

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[MacGyverS2000]

It may make it easier to leverage your mechanical degree to get into a medical device company doing mechanical design work. That gets your foot in the door, and then you can use your new-found bio info to move into more of a systems-level position. Engineers that truly understand how a system works from the bolts to the chemistry are rare birds...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[bruceybonus]

I think I have found my own answer now. A study done by "VaNTH" which isn't available online now indicates that I need the following core competencies in this priority:

Descriptive Statistics
Measurement Concepts
Hypothesis Testing
Probability Distributions
Strength of Materials models
Fundamental properties of materials
Principles of Statics
Mechanical properties of bio tissues
Mathematical models of physical systems
Data acquisition (signals)
Mass, momentum and energy balance
Regression Analysis
Circuit elements
Pressure flow relations in tubes and networks
Competency with at least one programming environment
Forces and Pressures in fluids
DC and AC circuit analysis

These are just foundation competencies and not the more advanced topics that are seen in the media. If I can demonstrate these plus my other life based skills, I should be able to separate myself from the newly graduated.

Many thanks for your help

Bruce