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Biomedical engineer vs biomedical scientist

The differences between biomedical engineers and biomedical scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a biomedical engineer, becoming a biomedical scientist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a biomedical engineer has an average salary of $79,436, which is higher than the $72,246 average annual salary of a biomedical scientist.

The top three skills for a biomedical engineer include patients, medical devices and biomedical equipment. The most important skills for a biomedical scientist are biomedical, research program, and extraction.

Biomedical engineer vs biomedical scientist overview

Biomedical EngineerBiomedical Scientist
Yearly salary$79,436$72,246
Hourly rate$38.19$34.73
Growth rate10%17%
Number of jobs33,66253,739
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age3841
Years of experience24

What does a biomedical engineer do?

As a biomedical engineer, it's their main job responsibility to innovate advances that can improve human health care in all aspects. They analyze and create solutions to certain problems with biology and medicine to improve the effectiveness and quality of patient care. They also do complex tasks that include installing, repairing, maintaining, or providing technical support for biomedical equipment. Moreover, checking safety evaluation, efficiency, and effectiveness of biomedical equipment is also part of their job responsibilities.

What does a biomedical scientist do?

A biomedical scientist conducts studies to help doctors diagnose and treat various illnesses. They primarily work at laboratories where they gather and analyze samples through different laboratory procedures, perform experiments, utilize special tools and equipment, perform experiments, identify blood groups, and monitor the effect of medication and treatment on the patients. Through their research findings, a biomedical scientist interprets the results and produces written reports, all while maintaining extensive records of every procedure. Moreover, a biomedical scientist keeps a clear communication line with fellow scientists and staff for an efficient and successful workflow.

Biomedical engineer vs biomedical scientist salary

Biomedical engineers and biomedical scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Biomedical EngineerBiomedical Scientist
Average salary$79,436$72,246
Salary rangeBetween $57,000 And $108,000Between $44,000 And $117,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASunnyvale, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaRhode Island
Best paying companyCornerstone ResearchIntuitive Surgical
Best paying industryTechnologyHealth Care

Differences between biomedical engineer and biomedical scientist education

There are a few differences between a biomedical engineer and a biomedical scientist in terms of educational background:

Biomedical EngineerBiomedical Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBiomedical EngineeringBiology
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Southern California

Biomedical engineer vs biomedical scientist demographics

Here are the differences between biomedical engineers' and biomedical scientists' demographics:

Biomedical EngineerBiomedical Scientist
Average age3841
Gender ratioMale, 75.0% Female, 25.0%Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 20.1% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage13%8%

Differences between biomedical engineer and biomedical scientist duties and responsibilities

Biomedical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead writing of new grant submissions to agencies such as the NIH, NIA, and VA.
  • Implement modifications to place equipment for 12-lead ECG investigation that lead to changes in accept monitoring standards.
  • Manage routine small projects without assistance and support larger projects for improvements to the quality system as approved by management.
  • Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
  • Present test results of various medical instruments in hospital in team meetings using PowerPoint.
  • Experience in OSHA, AAMI and HIPA standards.
  • Show more

Biomedical scientist example responsibilities.

  • Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
  • Invent SLOP-PCR and a novel fluorogenic probe for live-time PCR.
  • Prepare functional membranes from mammalian cells for high throughput assays.
  • Operate and perform quality assurance on large vault style autoclaves.
  • Provide CDMRP with custom meeting summary documents that meet their specific needs
  • Construct genomic libraries, sequence clones, devise sequence specific PCR primers.
  • Show more

Biomedical engineer vs biomedical scientist skills

Common biomedical engineer skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Medical Devices, 8%
  • Biomedical Equipment, 7%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • FDA, 6%
  • Electrical Safety, 5%
Common biomedical scientist skills
  • Biomedical, 56%
  • Research Program, 10%
  • Extraction, 5%
  • PCR, 4%
  • Sops, 4%
  • FDA, 3%

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