How can I become an engineer if I have a bachelor's degree in biology?

Hi! Throughout college, I thought I wanted to go into medicine or some allied health field. Then I got to my senior year and realized I didn't want to do that (or so I thought, perhaps it was just senioritis). I had never even considered engineering before or during college. Fast forward to two years after graduating with my bio pre-med degree and engineering has been something I have gotten really interested in. Except, I don't know where to start... I have always loved math and often said in college that if I could start over (with no financial implications) I would pursue a mathematics degree. I'm interested in a career that combines analytical and hard math and science skills, while also truly making an impact in others lives for the better. Would any sort of engineering field fit this? If so, where do I begin? Help!

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Diya Dwarakanath , Self-employed

Answered Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 6:37 PM

Hello!
Apologies for the delay. I didn’t see this.
Great question and it’s okay if you’re changing your mind now. All engineering fields fit what you’d like to do. Given your Bio degree and if you have an interest in medicine or helping people through medicine then Biomedical Engineering would be a great Master’s program if you have the ability to take college classes again. If so, I’d start with pre requisites for Biomedical Engineering at a community college and talk to admissions counselors for Masters programs.

If studying again is not feasible, look for Research Scientist, Research Associate, Research Technician, or Test Technician positions in Fields like biotechnology, medical devices, medical tech, in vitro diagnostics, prosthetics, tissue engineering, and pharmaceuticals. These are all areas you can apply both biology and engineering to. You may start off in an area that is predominantly science heavy, but if your company supports you they may sponsor you to take classes and eventually move into engineering departments within the company.

Given your background, I think you could start by working in Clinical affairs or Marketing within an a Engineering or manufacturing company. After some experience, you could then move into R&D Engineering even if you don’t have an official degree in it. You could also look for jobs in Bioinformatics and Data science - which are more math intensive. They require statistics and programming knowledge like Python, but all of that can be learnt online through free platforms like Coursera or Hackerrank. Another useful skills is 3D modeling classes which you can get a feel for with the very basic program SketchUp.

Instructables.com is a great DIY (do it yourself) website where you can look for some electronics projects or mechanical engineering projects Or programming projects, all of which will give you some engineering familiarity.

Overall, research the above fields and see what sticks out to you and what you may have some experience in. Then look at job descriptions for those roles and see what skills are needed. Build your skills. Learn as many skills as you can through self learning and build on your current work experience and college projects, internships etc.!

Lastly, be willing to share your journey with recruiters or college advisers - if you’re passionate and hard working and willing to learn, you’ll find the right engineering company and the right work for you! Good luck!