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Prosthetist vs biomedical engineer

The differences between prosthetists and biomedical engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a prosthetist and a biomedical engineer. Additionally, a biomedical engineer has an average salary of $79,436, which is higher than the $51,852 average annual salary of a prosthetist.

The top three skills for a prosthetist include prosthetics, orthotics and treatment plan. The most important skills for a biomedical engineer are patients, medical devices, and biomedical equipment.

Prosthetist vs biomedical engineer overview

ProsthetistBiomedical Engineer
Yearly salary$51,852$79,436
Hourly rate$24.93$38.19
Growth rate17%10%
Number of jobs29833,662
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4338
Years of experience22

Prosthetist vs biomedical engineer salary

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

ProsthetistBiomedical Engineer
Average salary$51,852$79,436
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $109,000Between $57,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CityLas Vegas, NVSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companyTenet HealthcareCornerstone Research
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between prosthetist and biomedical engineer education

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

ProsthetistBiomedical Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorHealth Sciences And ServicesBiomedical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Prosthetist vs biomedical engineer demographics

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

ProsthetistBiomedical Engineer
Average age4338
Gender ratioMale, 74.4% Female, 25.6%Male, 75.0% Female, 25.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.5% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black 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%
LGBT Percentage8%13%

Differences between prosthetist and biomedical engineer duties and responsibilities

Prosthetist example responsibilities.

  • Gain extensive knowledge of hospital orthotics.
  • Obtain insurance authorizations when necessary and bill insurance companies using emr software.
  • Design and application of cosmetic prosthetic devices.
  • Work closely with PTs, OTs and SLPs.

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

Prosthetist vs biomedical engineer skills

Common prosthetist skills
  • Prosthetics, 74%
  • Orthotics, 19%
  • Treatment Plan, 7%
Common biomedical engineer skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Medical Devices, 8%
  • Biomedical Equipment, 7%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • FDA, 6%
  • Electrical Safety, 5%

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