Biomedical Engineering, Are you sure?

I was a little amused by the way I used to write back in my first few months of blogging. I didn't recall having such intriguing observations back then, when I had a Malaysian secondary school student mentality. I can't write in the those styles or reproduce those thoughts anymore. Writing is a way to present ourselves, and I've begun to realise its importance. A first class degree will only buy you a ticket to the arena, while the battle has just started. Victory shall not be the goal now, you should think of survival! Forgive me for my pessimism.

Meanwhile, I should use blogging for more practice.

It struck me again on the whole purpose of university education. Debates can go on, so I will not further elaborate. To be more specific, I would like to talk about why choosing a Biomedical Engineering degree is not a wise choice, for a typical cynical Asian mindset.

As most would say, we prioritize personal pride and money. We couldn't be blamed because the fact is, we were born in different conditions compared to the western. There is the lack of passion. I am not saying the passion to be rich or famous one day, its the passion to commit to what you believe in. At this point, you would correctly guessed that the Biomedical Engineering path requires a lot of passion!

The term biomedical engineering puzzled every single employer in the market. Engineering firms doubt that we learn maths or calculus, while bio-pharmaceutical companies question our biological knowledge. So, when they found out that we are not good at any specific field, we got kicked out from the job market. Same goes with graduate schools. Medicine faculty hesitated in allowing what they would thought of, denied undergraduates to re-enter medicine school; economist weren't convinced by the way we present our ideas. Hence, there were endless night of weeping over rejection emails which further demoralized and disapproved our believes in our competencies and abilities. Till now, the most valuable financial incentive you hope a degree will lead you to is in vain. You could even argue that investing 1 million ringgit in stock market brings you higher return and lower risk!

Consider a popular degree/career choice among us, medicine. It is so popular because many were convinced that it will lead to the two incentives I mentioned above, pride and money. Not to offend my fellow future doctor friends here, I fully agree to the fact that your career involves passion and sacrifice. However, we should look at the obvious. Your passion and commitment sacrifices fruit you with high pay, well acquaintance and respect. Who would appreciate the CT-scan or MRI if it is not the doctor who used them to treat your disease well? The public wouldn't recognise the researchers just as they wouldn't for the producers and directors behind the scene.

Revealing the truth, Biomedical Engineering degree is a research path. It takes more passion than greed and inspirations. It requires one to sacrifice, contributing silently to science. One could never see its reward or incentive. Perhaps one should follow the parent's advice: " Study medicine la!"

We weren't born in a developed country. Our basic income is inadequate to fully enjoy the luxury of technological advancements. We have lower living standards. Even a university education is considered being fortunate. We didn't come to contribute, we came for a trade.

There was this incident in my freshman year. Take note that I heard this conversation after one term of academic study. One day some medical students were revising for their mid-term test, one questioned: "What is a sternum?" ,  to my surprise none of them in the group knew. Pathetic is the fact that their government subsidised their tuition fees, cutting fees from £20 000 over to £3000. These students show no appreciation on their given advantage. A form 5, o-level student can simply give the answer: "That is a bone". What would be if thousands of rejected students back home had this chance?

I shall try my best to culture my passion. Life is unfair, accept the fact! For those of you who are still determined to be a bioengineer, you are warmly welcomed.