Bioengineer to biomedical engineer
A bioengineer already meets 59% of what the biomedical engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.3/ 100
1 How much of what a biomedical engineer is expected to do is already part of a bioengineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the biomedical engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biomedical engineer role treats 17 of its required skills as things a bioengineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- apply scientific methods
- approve engineering design
- assess the feasibility of implementing developments
- biology
- biomedical engineering
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 35 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A biomedical engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a bioengineer background worth leading with.
- already held assess the feasibility of implementing developments information skills
- already held medical devices materials health and welfare
- already held test procedures engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held genetics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held industrial design arts and humanities
- already held biomedical engineering health and welfare
All 35 carried skills, including the 17 the biomedical engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn demonstrate disciplinary expertise required
- still to learn manage research data required
- still to learn synthesise information required
- optional, not held examine samples in dermatology optional
- optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
- optional, not held research new treatments for blood related disorders optional
- optional, not held apply for research funding optional
- optional, not held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities optional
- optional, not held conduct research across disciplines optional
- optional, not held integrate gender dimension in research optional
- optional, not held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data optional
- optional, not held promote open innovation in research optional
- optional, not held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities optional
- still to learn interact professionally in research and professional environments required
- still to learn think abstractly required
- optional, not held manage intellectual property rights optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held communicate with a non-scientific audience optional
- optional, not held develop professional network with researchers and scientists optional
- optional, not held disseminate results to the scientific community optional
- optional, not held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation optional
- optional, not held evaluate research activities optional
- optional, not held mentor individuals optional
- optional, not held promote the transfer of knowledge optional
- optional, not held publish academic research optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
- still to learn manage personal professional development required
- still to learn perform project management required
- still to learn operate open source software required
- optional, not held manage open publications optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a biomedical engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 operate open source software practise this
- 02 demonstrate disciplinary expertise practise this
- 03 interact professionally in research and professional environments practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 35 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held assess the feasibility of implementing developments skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held biomedical engineering knowledge
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held develop test procedures skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held genetics knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held medical devices materials knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held test procedures knowledge
- already held assist in clinical trials skill
- already held biological chemistry knowledge
- already held biotechnology knowledge
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held design scientific equipment skill
- already held develop pharmaceutical drugs skill
- already held develop product design skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held gather experimental data skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held industrial design knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- already held product data management knowledge
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held examine samples in dermatology optional
- optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
- optional, not held manage intellectual property rights optional
- optional, not held research new treatments for blood related disorders optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held apply for research funding optional
- optional, not held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities optional
- optional, not held communicate with a non-scientific audience optional
- optional, not held conduct research across disciplines optional
- optional, not held develop professional network with researchers and scientists optional
- optional, not held disseminate results to the scientific community optional
- optional, not held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation optional
- optional, not held evaluate research activities optional
- optional, not held integrate gender dimension in research optional
- optional, not held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data optional
- optional, not held manage open publications optional
- optional, not held mentor individuals optional
- optional, not held promote open innovation in research optional
- optional, not held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities optional
- optional, not held promote the transfer of knowledge optional
- optional, not held publish academic research optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
53 held skills the biomedical engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on manufacturing problems skill
- not needed by the target role advise on nitrate pollution skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply liquid chromatography skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role bioeconomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role computational biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role computational chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological research skill
- not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role design pharmaceutical manufacturing systems skill
- not needed by the target role develop biocatalytic processes skill
- not needed by the target role develop biochemical manufacturing training materials skill
- not needed by the target role develop bioremediation techniques skill
- not needed by the target role develop food production processes skill
- not needed by the target role document analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate pharmaceutical manufacturing process skill
- not needed by the target role evolutionary biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine engineering principles skill
- not needed by the target role fermentation processes of food knowledge
- not needed by the target role food materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role food science knowledge
- not needed by the target role food storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role gas chromatography knowledge
- not needed by the target role gel permeation chromatography knowledge
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role high-performance liquid chromatography knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret 2D plans skill
- not needed by the target role interpret 3D plans skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with genetic laboratories skill
- not needed by the target role manage bioreactors skill
- not needed by the target role manage chemical testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role nanomaterials knowledge
- not needed by the target role packaging engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform toxicological studies skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical drug development knowledge
13 further entries not listed here
Common questions about this move
Can a bioengineer become a biomedical engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bioengineer already covers 59% of what a biomedical engineer is expected to do: 35 skills carry over, 17 of which the biomedical engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a bioengineer need to become a biomedical engineer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is operate open source software.
How hard is the move from bioengineer to biomedical engineer?
Its learning distance is 50.3 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.