By Cecile Schoberle and Vicki Hildner
“Help Wanted: Biomedical Engineers, Medical Scientists, Biochemists and Biophysicists.” We will be seeing more and more of these ads in the future. And many of the qualified candidates will be graduates of the University of Colorado Denver.
According to The New York Times, three of the top 10 job categories in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent list of fastest growing occupations directly correlate to innovative graduate degree programs offered through the Graduate School of the University of Colorado Denver.
Biomedical Engineer is listed as the #1 “Top Job” with growth predicted to increase by 72 percent in the next six years, which translates into 12,000 new jobs.
“What attracts most people to this field is not so much the promise of secure employment,” says Robin Shandas, Chair of Bioengineering. “They want to learn how they can take their passion for engineering and apply it to worthwhile goals that will help people. That’s the exciting part and that’s certainly why I went into this field.”
Programs in the university’s new Bioengineering Department are revolutionizing human potential through the intersection of engineering and modern health sciences. Biomedical engineers develop artificial heart valves, implanted insulin pumps, artificial limbs and organs and lasers used during corrective eye surgery.
Shandas attributes the growth in the field to fast-developing technology that allows biomedical engineers “to do things we couldn’t do before.”
“Twenty or 30 years ago, an average person could not come back from an injury like an ACL rupture to an athletic lifestyle,” says Shandas. “Now we have the tools to figure out what the problem is and we can customize a solution for the many baby boomers who want to continue their active lives.”
But Shandas points out that just because biomedical engineering is a growth industry doesn’t mean it is for everyone. Students ideally will achieve advanced education in Biology, Chemistry, Math, Computer Programming, Physics, Engineering and Physiology by the time they complete the program. Students are expected to take control of their own learning experience so they get the training they want to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.
“Biomedical Engineering students are really the Renaissance learners of the 21st century,” according to Shandas. “They also have to be excellent communicators. We have to be able to talk to physicians and translate what a physician tells us into an engineering problem. Then we have to be able to talk to patients to translate an engineering design into a human solution.”
The New York Times lists “Medical Scientist” as the sixth fastest growing job in the U.S. The job growth rate for medical scientists through 2018 is projected to be 40 percent, opening up 44,000 new job positions. These researchers who study human disease and health find work opportunities in research centers, bioscience companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and agencies of the federal government.
“Biochemist and Biophysicist” is listed as the ninth fastest growing job in the country, with 9,000 new jobs by 2018, job growth of 37 percent. Biochemists conduct research with living organisms at the molecular level; their findings are essential to gain a deeper understanding of how to treat diseases and genetic disorders. Biophysicists study the effects of mechanical and electrical energy on organisms. The fields are interrelated and are similar to medical scientists.