10 Best College Majors for the Next Decade
by
Matthew Warner
© 2012 FirePath Inc.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0899-6
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
INTRODUCTION
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I still don’t know, and I am 36 years old. When I was growing up, I remember my parents and others asking me that same question. Should I be a doctor? Should I be a lawyer? I knew that those were lucrative professions but could never imagine myself reading through countless pages of court cases, or needing almost a decade of schooling to become a doctor.
Thus, my search began to find the perfect career. During my high school days, the Internet didn’t exist—it was not in every home like it is today. There were no smart phones. I remember the early days of email when everyone heard, “you’ve got mail.” The Internet was still so young and kind of like the Wild West. It was all about pop up ads and painfully slow download times.
I wish back then there was information out there like you are about to read in this ebook. That may have changed my life’s path completely.
The world has changed so much in the last few years. The poor world economy and competition from overseas has created a fundamental shift in which careers have the brightest future for people just entering college now.
One of my greatest professional passions is developing new talent, so it is my personal mission to publish a quick and useful guide that provides an overview to the Best College Majors for the Next Decade.
As a student embarking on your higher educational journey, you need to know the emerging college majors, the top schools and courses of study, and the types of jobs you can obtain once you graduate.
Read this ebook, and do your research. Then go chase your dreams and find an emerging major that’s right for you.
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Why It’s An Emerging Profession: Although sciences and technology have been recognized disciplines for hundreds of years, their union is a fairly new idea. The perfect relationship was formed as a result: devices study how biological systems function, allowing the creation of new devices to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases. Technology is the only reason that medicine has advanced as quickly as it has. Ideas, even those of the most brilliant and educated minds in the field, are nothing without the means to create. Strides made in computers and pharmaceuticals are why humans now live longer than ever before.
The following is for a BS in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University:
Students will need approximately 46 credit hours of prerequisites such as physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Core classes and focus areas include biological models, molecules and cells, statistical methods, neural systems, imaging science, biomaterials, neuroengineering, and micro-devices. Computer programming, social sciences, humanities, and other electives add an additional 27 credit hours to the program for an average total of 129 credit hours for the undergraduate degree.
Top Universities for the Undergraduate Degree in Bioengineering by Region (2011-2012)
Northeast: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Private, $40,732/yr.
Mideast: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Private, $42,280/yr.
Southeast: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. Public, $9,652/yr.
West Coast: University of California, La Jolla, CA. Public, $13,234yr.
Pacific Northwest: University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Public, $10,574/yr.
Midwest: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Public, $7,023/yr.
Southwest: Rice University, Houston, TX. Private, $35,560/yr.
All of the listed schools were ranked in the top 10 undergraduate programs for biomedical engineering by U. S. News & World Report.
Starting Job Titles with Salaries: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage for a biomedical engineer is $81,540 year with the highest 10 percent earning at or higher than $126,990, and the lowest 10 percent earning less than $49,690. Other common job descriptions directly related to biomedical engineering are:
•Medical Equipment Technician
•Pharmaceutical Manufacturer
•Imaging Technologist
•Biomedical Sciences Educator
•Medical Device Designer
•Clinical Analyst
•Bioinformatics Specialist
Additional Occupational Statistics
•States with the highest level of employment: CA, MA, PA, IL, and MN.
•It is projected that employment will increase 62 percent by the year 2020, to over 25,400 jobs in the U.S.
•Top paying states for this occupation: AK, CA, MN, MA, and AZ.
Opportunities for Research: Because it relies more on development than implementation, this is one of the occupation’s most prevalent areas as well as its highest earning. As diseases and illnesses evolve, so too must the techniques and tools designed to diagnose and treat them. Since the basics of the human body (i.e. bones and organs) never change,