If you鈥檙e looking for a profession that uses engineering to make a positive impact on others鈥 lives, consider a career in biomedical engineering. Read on to learn more about this exciting field.
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Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles to solve health and health care problems.听
Bioengineers and biomedical engineers make a median annual salary of $106,950 [].
Using their knowledge of engineering, virology, and health care, biomedical engineers design medical equipment and processes that improve human health outcomes.
You can explore how artificial intelligence and robotics can enhance your career in biomedical engineering.
Discover details about the field of biomedical engineering and the education needed to become a biomedical engineer. Then, design systems-level experiments and learn methodologies in systems biology, including bioinformatics, dynamic modeling, genomics, statistical modeling, and more in the Systems Biology and Biotechnology Specialization.
Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles to solve health and health care problems. Using their knowledge of engineering, virology, and health care, biomedical engineers design medical equipment and processes that improve human health outcomes.听
Common examples of biomedical equipment used every day include pacemakers, blood glucose monitors, and artificial limbs.
Although they sound similar and share much in common, biomedical engineering is not exactly the same as bioengineering. In simplest terms, bioengineering refers to the general application of engineering practices to biological systems such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and health care. Biomedical engineering, meanwhile, is a specialized subset of bioengineering strictly focused on the application of engineering practices for health care purposes by designing medical devices and developing processes to improve health outcomes.
Biomedical engineers use their knowledge of engineering to create medical devices, equipment, and processes to heal, treat, or improve health conditions. While the exact duties a biomedical engineer performs day to day vary from project to project, some of the most common responsibilities include:听
Design medical devices, such as pacemakers or artificial limbs.听
Repair and install medical devices and equipment.听
Conduct original research into existing biomedical devices and biological processes.听
Train medical professionals in the use of new medical equipment.
Learn more: Guide to a Robotics Engineering Career
Although the use of electricity to restart hearts had been observed sporadically by medical professionals and researchers for hundreds of years, the first artificial pacemakers were not invented until the late 1920s and early 1930s.
In 1928, Australian anesthesiologist Mark Lidwell used intermittent electrical stimulation to restart a child鈥檚 heart born in cardiac arrest. Later, in 1932, the American physiologist Albert Hyman developed a spring-wound hand-cranked motor that used electrical impulses to restart hearts. He called his device an 鈥渁rtificial pacemaker,鈥 a term that is still used to this day.
Unfortunately, Hyman鈥檚 device was not welcomed by the medical community, which viewed it simply as a 鈥済adget鈥 rather than a serious medical tool.
The early 1950s saw the rise of large, external pacemakers that needed to be plugged into wall sockets and wheeled around on racks to be transported. By 1957, however, the first wearable battery-operated, wearable pacemaker was invented by Earl E. Bakken. The invention is regarded by many experts as starting the field of 鈥渕edical electronics,鈥 a precursor to modern biomedical engineering.
Just one year later, in 1958, Ake Senning and Rune Elmqvist in Sweden developed the first implantable pacemaker in Sweden. Fitting for such a device, the pacemaker was implanted in a 43-year-old engineer named Arne Larsson [].
From ridiculed fringe science to mainstream medical marvel, the pacemaker has gone through many iterations over the decades鈥攁nd saved countless lives as a result. All thanks to early biomedical engineers.
Their unique skill set means that biomedical engineers are well-compensated and much sought after. Here, you鈥檒l learn more about what biomedical engineers earn and their job outlook for the foreseeable future.听
Biomedical engineers make a higher-than-average salary.听
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), bioengineers and biomedical engineers made a median annual salary of $106,950 as of May 2024 []. Glassdoor, meanwhile, reports the median total pay, which includes base salary and additional compensation, such as profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other benefits, for biomedical engineers as $126,000 per year as of October 2025 [闭.听
Over the next decade, those hoping to enter the biomedical engineering field can expect faster-than-average job growth. According to the BLS, the number of job openings for both bioengineers and biomedical engineers is expected to grow by 5 percent between 2024 and 2034, with an average of 1,300 job openings each year [].
Biomedical engineers use their knowledge of engineering to solve problems in biology and medicine.听
Sixty-five percent of biomedical engineers have a bachelor's degree, 16 percent have a master's degree, and 12 percent have an associate degree []. Most commonly, biomedical engineers study biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering.
To solve some of the most important medical problems plaguing people today, you鈥檒l need to use a wide variety of both technical and human skills every day. As you鈥檙e looking to start your own career, consider the skills you might want to develop to ensure that you do the best job possible.听
Some of the skills biomedical engineers use in their day-to-day work:听
厂迟补迟颈蝉迟颈肠蝉听
Math and engineering
Computer science听
Written and verbal communication skills
Problem-solving and creativity
If you're still building your biomedical engineer skill set, consider taking an online course in a specialized area from an accredited university. For example, you can learn about different types of health care systems and how systems engineering processes apply to them in the Foundations of Healthcare Systems Engineering course from Johns Hopkins University:
One of the best ways to gain a foothold in a new career is to gain relevant work experience. If you鈥檙e just starting out, then you might consider obtaining a relevant internship or entry-level position to practice your skills in the real world.听
According to the BLS, the top five most common employers of biomedical engineers are as follows [闭:听
| Employer | % of overall employment |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 31.4 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 27.5 |
| Wholesale trade | 11.5 |
| Health care and social assistance | 9.8 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 7.9 |
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Bureau of Labor Statistics. 鈥, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm.鈥 Accessed October 16, 2025.
NIH. 鈥, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3232561/.鈥 Accessed October 16, 2025.
Glassdoor. 鈥 https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/us-biomedical-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,2_IN1_KO3,22.htm?clickSource=searchBtn.鈥 Accessed October 16, 2025.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. ", https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm#tab-6." Accessed October 16, 2025.
Zippia. ", https://www.zippia.com/biomedical-engineer-jobs/education/." Accessed October 16, 2025.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. 鈥, https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-2031&ioType=o.鈥 Accessed October 16, 2025.
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