Bioengineering
- Getting Started
- Resources
- Articles
- Background Information
- Books
- Career Information
- Introduction to Career Information
- Engineering as a Career
- Determining the Industry Outlook for Medical Devices
- Identifying the Organizations and People Working in Your Area
- Finding Where the Jobs Are
- Before the Interview, Research The Company
- Books That May Be of Interest ...
- Videos That May Be of Interest ...
- Facts & Formulas
- Industry Information
- Medical Devices
- Patents This link opens in a new window
- Standards This link opens in a new window
- Statistics
- Technical Reports
- Information SkillsToggle Dropdown
- Communication ToolsToggle Dropdown
- Library ServicesToggle Dropdown
Introduction to Career Information
The information on this page is a supplement to Engineering Career Center.
Engineering as a Career
What Do Biomedical Engineers Do? How Much Do They Get Paid? What Do I Need To Do To Become A Biomedical Engineer?
Check out these resources:
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Biomedical Engineers
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is issued every two years by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each entry contains: - What They Do
- Work Environment
- How to Become One
- Pay
- Job Outlook
- Similar Occupations
- Contacts for More Information
- O*Net Online: Biomedical Engineers
Each entry includes a summary and a details section for: - Typical tasks and work activities
- Tools and technology used
- Knowledge, skills, and abilities needed
- Work environment and situation
- Education requirements and/or expectations
- Personal interests, work styles, and values that fit best
- Wages and employment trends
- Sources of additional information
- Professional Associations
Most professional association provide career information but in some cases those sections of the website may be restricted to members only. The main biomedical engineering socieities in the US are: - American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)
- Graduating Engineer and Computer Careers
Determining the Industry Outlook for Medical Devices
Market Reports study the past performance of a specific industry or consumer product and combine that with current political, social and/or economics news to predict future trends. The ASU Library does not buy these specific reports but you may find an older one freely available on the web (for example, see Pulse of the Industry: Medical Technology Report 2013) or you may find an informative summary of a current one (for example, see 2014 Global Opportunities in Medical Devices & Diagnostics).
You can create your own medical device market report by using the databases listed below. . Besides giving you a good foundation in what the medical devices industry is all about, the information you find here will help you in your job search to decide what companies are the best and giving you information that you can use in your cover letters, resumes and in interviews.
- ABI/Inform: Data & Reports Search
Once in the database, choose the "Data & Report" Search from the list of options near the top of the screen. Put the name of the specific product or a product group in the search box and then select the types of company or market reports you want to see. - Business Insights: Global - Industries Search
The list of industries may take a minute or more to load. Once it's completed, you may browse the list (over 1,000 entries) or use the search box in the left-hand column to search by keyword or NAICS code. - First Research
After clicking on a few links to get past the introductory screens, you'll land on the "Search Industry and Geographic Profiles" page in which you may enter a keyword or NAICS code for the industry in the search box OR you can click on the browse button underneath the search box and browse by either subject menus or an alphabetical list. First Research entries can also be found within the ABI/Inform database. - Manufacturing and Distribution USA
Select the 2013 edition to work with. Once that edition opens, you can use the search box in the left-hand column to search by keywords or NAICS code; below the search box check the option "all volumes within this edition." - Mergent Online: Industry Reports
Once in the database, click on the blue "Report Search" tab near the top of the screen. On the next screen select the "Industry Reports" link just below the blue bar. Select the appropriate industry group and click the gray "Search" button to the right side of the screen. You'll retrieve a list of reports on that industry for the past several years. For each entry in the list, the full report (in PDF) is listed in the far right-hand column while a short overview of key points can be seen by click on the "view' link in the second column from the right. - S&P: NetAdvantage
Once in the database, click on the "Industries" link in the dark blue navigation bar. Select the appropriate industry and click on either the html or the pdf link for the report.
Identifying the Organizations and People Working in Your Area
Who are the major medical device companies and who is doing the research? There are several ways to find this information:
- The resources you used to find the industry profiles and market reports provided you with the names of some companies operating within that industry.
- You can also find lists of companies by industry in business directory databases such as:
- Mint Global (public and private companies)
- Business Insights: Global - Company Finder search
- Nexis Uni: Company Dossier search
- Mergent Intellect (formerly Hoover's)
- Standard and Poor's NetAdvantage
- Wards Business Directory in Gale Directory Library
- Kompass
- Thomas Registers Online: ThomasNet (U.S. and Canada)
- Thomas Registers Online: Solusource (International)
- Gale Directory Library (Government advisory organizations, research centers)
- You can also determine what companies, organizations, agencies and universities are working in very specific areas( and the names of the specific individuals) by researching the literature. You'll find that mostly academic institutions and non-profit organizations are the ones writing about their discoveries. For obvious competitive reasons, for-profit companies don't publish their research.
In the following databases, you'll do a search on a specific topic of interest to you, and then have the database analyze the results by the author and/or organization doing the research. - Compendex/Inspec
Compendex is an index to engineering journal articles and published conference proceedings in all areas including manufacturing; Inspec is an index to the electrical engineering, computing sciences, and physics literature. This link will load both indexes so that you may search them both at once however you do have the option to only search one index at a time.
Search the phrase "biomedical equipment" or a specific device (example: biosensor, stent). On the results list page, go to the left hand column, use the Year limiter to restrict the results to recent years; then go to the "Author" and "Author Affiliation" categories and expand them. This will give you a list of the people and organizations that occur the most in the results. - IEEE Xplore
IEEE Xplore is an index to the publications (books, journal articles, conference papers and standards) of the IEEE and IET; it also includes publications from selected other societies in the areas of physics and engineering.
Search the phrase "biomedical equipment" or a specific device (example: biosensor, stent). On the results page, go to the left hand column, use the Publication Year limiter to restrict the results to recent years; then go to the "Author" and "Affiliation" categories and expand them. This will give you a list of the people and organizations that occur the most in the results. - You can identify what for-profit companies are working on by looking for news items announcing product innovations and searching for who is patenting inventions of medical devices.
- ABI/Inform
ABI/Inform is an index to the business literature including trade journals and news sources that cover the business aspects of medical devices, so this is a good place to find new product announcements and news-type information about medical, pharmaceutical and engineering companies. Search the phrases "medical equipment", "medical devices", or a specific device (example: biosensor, stent).
On the results list page, go to the right hand column, use the publication date feature to restrict the results to recent years; then click to expand the "Company/Organization" category; click on "more options" to see the full list. This will give you a list of the companies that are mentioned the most in the list; unfortunately, the list could include news sources such as CNN that you'll need to ignore. The reasons a company is mentioned could be for good reasons (release of a new product, better than predicted earnings, etc.) or not-so-good reasons (product defects or side-effects, bankruptcy, etc.). To see what is being written about the company, click on the "Include" box next to the company name and then click the "apply" button at the bottom of the company list. - The US Patent and Trademark Office does a yearly assessment of the top 50 organizations receiving US patent grants in each major technology area. See Report Breakouts by Patented Technology and select the report for Patenting in Technology Classes - Breakout By Organization. Information is arranged by the US Patent Classification - most medical devices will fall within the categories of 128, 601, 602, 604, 606, 607 and 623. For each technology category, click on the category title to see the list of ranked organizations.
Before the Interview, Research The Company
If you've been watching videos, reading books or attending sessions at the Engineering Career Center, you'll have heard the advice to "research the company" before you go in for an interview. Obviously, you can look at the company's website to get some idea of it's mission and products/services and in some cases, get a copy of their latest annual report. In this section, you'll learn how to find out very specific information about the company's adminsitration, productivity and finances.
Library databases with Company Information:
- Mergent Intellect (formerly Hoovers)
Great source in which to start your research. Simply search your company name for detailed fact sheets with company descriptions, key financials, executive biographies, the competitive landscape, news and more.
- Passport GMID (Global Market Information Database)
Contains key business intelligence on countries, industries, companies, markets and consumers; the data is provided by Euromonitor, a quality provider of global business information.
- Mint Global
Contains in-depth company analyses in a customizable report format.
Books That May Be of Interest ...
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Best Resumes for College Students and New Grads by Louise M. Kursmark
ISBN: 1593572387Publication date: 2005How to create outstanding, get-the-job resumes. In addition to sample resumes, this book describes the skills and attributes that employers find valuable in the workplace and shows new graduates how to demonstrate them in writing. -
101 Great Resumes by Ron Fry
ISBN: 9781598638554Publication date: 2009Find the resume format that will work wonders for you, one that can showcase your unique background, situation and career goals and help you land your dream job. It features resumes tailored to the individual situations, challenges, and aspirations of today's job seekers. -
Step-by-Step Resumes by Evelyn U. Salvador
ISBN: 1593572972Publication date: 2006This how-to guide offers 10 quick steps to building a resume with ease. Also includes an exhaustive collection of powerful resume keywords to make resumes stand out in electronic databases. -
Killer Cover Letters and Resumes! The WetFeet Insider Guide 2004 by Rosanne Lurie; WetFeet.com (Firm) Staff (Contribution by)
ISBN: 1582073716Publication date: 2005How to make your resume stand out from all the rest. Includes input from recruiters and hiring managers as well as analysis of several resume formats. -
Readymade CVs by Lynn Williams
ISBN: 9780749465063Publication date: 2012The ground rules for preparing a CV; shows how to select which details go in and which stay out, how to lay out and present a CV and how to make a great first impression. Includes sample CVs for a wide variety of jobs: practical, creative, administrative, sales and marketing, technical and management, with online template CVs and covering letters ready for you to download and customise. -
Great Answers to Tough CV Problems by Jenny Rogers
ISBN: 9780749462819Publication date: 2011This book will help you answer the questions that face today's job seeker. The author examines the potential pitfalls across a range of common job-hunting situations and shows how to put together a CV that will make the most of your skills and experience, make an impression and secure that all-important job interview. -
Preparing for Today's Global Job Market: from the Lens of Color by Christopher Robinson-Easley
ISBN: 9781299952430Publication date: 2013Identifies and delineates a methodology for effectively positioning and/or repositioning oneself in today's global job market that moves significantly beyond strategies associated with simply developing a resume, cover letter or business plan. -
Crafting your research future: a guide to successful master's and Ph.D. degrees in science & engineering by Charles X. Ling; Qiang Yang
ISBN: 9781608458110Publication date: 2012What is it like to be a researcher or a scientist? In this book, Ling and Yang answer these questions in a step-by-step manner with specific and concrete examples from their first-hand experience. Includes chapters on the goals of research, finding new ideas, conducting solid research, writing, defending, publishing, and life after the Ph.D. -
The Woman's Guide to Navigating the Ph. D. in Engineering and Science by Barbara B. Lazarus; Lisa M. Ritter; Susan A. Ambrose
ISBN: 9780780360372Publication date: 2001Designed to unravel some of the mystery around graduate school programs in science and engineering, this one-stop resource reinforces strategies for succeeding. Qualitative interviews offer first-hand stories and tips from women who have found success in academia, industry, and the public sector. Each chapter covers a different aspect of graduate school, from identifying funding sources, to writing the dissertation, to looking for a job. -
Survive and Thrive: a Guide for Untenured Faculty by Wendy C. Crone
ISBN: 9781608455140Publication date: 2010The experience of an untenured faculty member is highly dependent on the quality of the mentoring they receive. This work provides a guide to the mentoring process for untenured faculty and will help facilitate the mentoring process and lead junior faculty to a path where they can truly thrive in their position. -
Little Book on Teaching: a beginner's guide for educators of engineering and applied science by Stephen Barrett
ISBN: 9781608458684Publication date: 2012This work is intended as a basic primer on college-level teaching and learning for a new faculty member of engineering and applied science.
Videos That May Be of Interest ...
Off-campus access to these videos is limited to ASU students, staff and faculty and require asurite id/password.
Engaging Resumes & Cover Letters: How to Hook the Job You Want
Directed by Akela Stanfield, Kathleen O. Ryan and Kevin McCarthy
(Chicago, IL: Learning Seed, 2011), 28:06 mins