Biomedical engineering topped the list of best jobs in engineering and information technology based on a new report by the career website CareerCast.
The list, which also included job titles such as software engineer, computer systems administrator, network and computer systems administrator, and aerospace engineer, was compiled based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the site’s annual Jobs Rated report.
The BLS defines biomedical engineers as professionals who “analyze and design solutions to problems in biology and medicine, with the goal of improving the quality and effectiveness of patient care.” They typically “work in manufacturing, universities, hospitals, research facilities of companies and educational and medical institutions, and government regulatory agencies.”
Based on current statistics, the annual median salary for a biomedical engineer is $86,960, and the field is expected to grow by 27% in the decade from 2012 to 2022—much faster than average. This rapid growth has been fueled by technological advances in the healthcare industry.
“IT and engineering were collectively two of the few stable sectors during the recession, and will only continue to boom as the economy proves,” CareerCast reported.
According to a recent AAMI podcast about healthcare technology management education, there is a “real need in the industry, but there’s a real lack of individuals.”
“There’s a shortage of staff in both the area of biomedical equipment technicians and the engineering side, but there’s really a shortage on the engineering side,” said Frank Painter, CCE, adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Connecticut. “It seems as though at the time of graduation, there are two or three or four jobs per graduate to step into.”
Over the summer, Forbes ranked biomedical engineering as the best master’s degree for jobs in 2015.