On Thursday, Nov. 21 during Period 2, Greg Frank from ZOLL Medical Corporation gave a presentation on the bioengineering field as a part of the Career Spotlight series hosted by the Guidance Office.
Greg Frank is currently a project manager for ZOLL Medical Corporation. Some of the projects Mr. Frank has worked on are a wearable AED, Bio signal which is a machine that indicates stress, and many other projects.
Bioengineers work on anything linking medicine to bioengineering. Some things that bioengineers work on are artificial organs such as a hearing aid, patient monitoring such as a heart monitor, surgical devices such as laser eye surgery, computer assisted medicine such as computer tools, Medical imaging system such as an MRI, biology materials such as replacement heart valves, and rehabilitation science such as sports medicine.
There are different types of bioengineering jobs. The types of jobs are Device/Pharmacy Industry, Academia/Research, Medicine/Clinical, such as a Physician, and Intellectual Property law, such as a lawyer.
Some examples of a device engineering are Robotics and Device, or R&D Engineering, quality or regulator engineering, marketing, or a regulatory correspondent. An example of a company who has this kind of engineering is Phillips. To become this kind of engineer you would need a minor, major. Some other schooling options are an MS, and PHD.
Another example is Academia. During this type of engineering the most common thing that will happen will be doing research in a laboratory or a facility. If you become a academia engineer a common profession for people with this type of degree is to become a professor. To become a researcher a common degree would be a MD or a PHD.
Medicine is another field that you can go into with an engineering degree. With a medical degree a job that could be help is a Physician or a Physicians assistant. People with engineering degrees go into medicine because engineers are good at problem solving. Going to Medical school is necessary and looking for majors. Some other degrees that would be helpful are a Certificate, PA, and MP.
With a bioengineering degree, people also become lawyers. People become IP Lawyers, Patent Agent, and Patent Examiner. People do this to have a strong science background and commination skills. They also help people define their inventions and determine if inventions are unique. People who do this need a law degree and some people get some degrees in science to help with the degree.
The job outlook for future bioengineers is increasing. A degree in bioengineering can help people in the fields they want to go into and help them become what they want to become.
“Some of the best parts of being a bioengineer is know that everyday you are making something that will help change someone’s life,” said Mr. Frank. Some disadvantages of the job are the hours, because you can be working on a project for hours and constantly be working. Some advice for an aspiring bioengineer is “that it is a lot of work but just remember that what you are working to become will help someone live a longer life”