How many hours do biomedical engineers work?

Other factors impacting a biomedical engineer's work schedule can include the sector they work in, if they have to travel for work, and if they freelance. For example:

• Biomedical engineers in the private sector

Most biomedical engineers working in the private sector work for 40 hours per week. However, some have to put in overtime hours due to project demands. This may also cause them to work outside of the traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. When working on tight deadlines for very important projects, biomedical engineers can find themselves working extra early or extra late.

• Biomedical engineers in the public sector

Biomedical engineers who work in the public sector, like ones that work for government agencies, often have more stable and predictable work schedules. These also tend to be around 40 hours, or slightly more, per week. Emergency situations can see these engineers work outside of their normal schedule or commit to overtime work hours.

• Traveling biomedical engineers

Some biomedical engineers have to travel for their job and this can impact their daily work schedules and amount of hours they work in different ways. Sometimes biomedical engineers might be required to work long hours or weekends when traveling to work on a project. This is because many biomedical engineering projects have strict deadlines that must be met.

• Freelance biomedical engineers

Freelance biomedical engineers tend to have the most work flexibility among biomedical engineers because they can choose their work schedules when taking on projects. Yet this also means they might have to work longer hours to meet client demands.