CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Biomedical Engineering Technician……………………………………………………………………… 3 Education Requirements………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Salary Ranging up to $140,000 Annually…………………………………………………………… 4 Fast-Growing Job Field…………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Moving into Management…………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Financial Services Entrepreneur…………………………………………………………………………… 4 Starting a Business…………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Potential Income Growth…………………………………………………………………………………. .5 Self-Management……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Conclusions and Recommendations……………………………………………………………………… 5

Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN
VERSUS
FINANCIAL SERVICES ENTREPRENEUR

INTRODUCTION

Biomedical engineering is considered the fastest growing job field today, while the financial services industry has also remained strong due to the everlasting need for financial security. These are two drastically different career paths, and both have great potential in terms of career success.

With the cost of schooling the way it is, many are wondering if it is even worth the investment to have a degree. So, this report was created to compare one of the best post-secondary school majors available with a career that requires no major at all. This report analyzes the costs of working and potential incomes of these two job fields.

In this report, information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as several University websites were used to show the cost and income of a biomedical engineering major. For financial services agents, the B.L.S. as well as actual income accounts from those in the field are used. The total cost includes the cost of licensing and other various expenses. Actual accounts were obtained from members of the World Financial Group, a large force in the financial industry field. Reviews by Forbes Magazine of both careers were also considered.

This report will analyze each path individually, considering the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then, in the conclusion, there will be a final comparison of the two paths and a recommendation of which would be more beneficial for prospective students.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN

Biomedical engineering is a relatively new field in science. This career is quite diverse: Jobs include designing prosthetics, maintaining biomedical equipment, and researching the engineering aspects of biological systems. Those who choose this field need to earn a degree, whether it is an associate’s or a bachelor’s, to start working.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Those who wish to work as a biomedical engineer must first obtain a Biomedical Engineering degree. At a four-year university, such as the University of Southern California, a bachelor’s degree will take about 4 years to obtain, and cost about $29,202 per semester, coming out to a total of $233,612 including the cost of living and materials. There are less expensive options, such as DeVry University, where the cost is about $8,500 per semester, or about $76,500 assuming a 9 semester degree completion, plus the cost of living and materials. Either way, this is a large investment, but you must also keep in mind the salary and growth of this job field.

SALARY AND JOB GROWTH

Employment for biomedical engineers is projected to grow by 27% between now and 2022, which is much faster than projections for any other career. As of right now, the lowest 10% of Biomedical Engineers earn around $52,600 annually, and the highest paid earn over $139,450. Even the lowest paid employees in this field earn higher than the median annual wage of all occupations in the U.S., which is about $34,750.

MOVING INTO MANAGEMENT

For this job, just like any other in the corporate world, moving from a technician position into a management division takes time and effort. Many managing positions will require extra schooling as well as years of experience. For example, a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Keller Graduate School would cost about $39,608 and take another 3-4 semesters to complete. This is the cost of moving out of a technician’s job and into a manager position.

FINANCIAL SERVICES ENTREPRENEUR

Financial services have been around for a very long time. However, many down at those who sell financial products like insurance. It is often looked at as a job like that of a cheap salesman or a last-resort due to lack of income. However, I’ve taken a closer look at this career and found that it does have promise. I will look at the industry in general and a certain company called the World Financial Group that is currently dominating the industry. Those who choose this field only need to have a state-issued license in order to sell financial products.

STARTING A BUSINESS

Starting off as an entrepreneur is always difficult, but especially so when many people look at your product as a scam. However, there are a few businesses out there that have found a system that works. The World Financial Group, or WFG, is at the forefront of these businesses, using both sales and recruiting techniques to educate people and introduce them to the business. Although this particular business is successful – many of its members making six figure incomes – the whole of this industry is not so successful.

POTENTIAL INCOME AND GROWTH

The median income of an insurance sales agent, which is basically what this career field is, is $48,150 as of May 2012 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is about half of that of a biomedical engineer. This number accounts for the majority of this industry. However, in the businesses such as the WFG, many of these agents make six figure incomes from this job alone, and the potential to grow is outstanding. In an interview with Executive Vice Chairman Vivian Olero (personal communication, February18, 2014), she showed that in the year 2012 she made about $405,000, and in 2013 she made about $596,000. This is a 48% pay increase in just one year.

SELF-MANAGEMENT

In this career, agents are typically self-employed. Obviously, this can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Managing your own time and assets doesn’t require any schooling or degrees. The only thing you really need to do this is common sense. Also, being self-employed gives freedom to work at your own pace. However, someone’s pace may not be good enough to keep up with the cost of living. This can often cause financial disasters, especially in lazy people. In WFG, one is not only responsible for keeping themselves working, but also those that they recruit into the business. This puts some added stress on higher-ups in the business, but the benefits of building a team include rollbacks on sales made bye recruits and higher commission rates.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

These two career choices are vastly different, and both can work if you are willing to put in the time and effort. It is an effort to pay for education, study, and pass all the necessary requirements and classes to become a biomedical engineer. It is also a great effort to go out and do a job when there is no one to motivate you except yourself. In the end however, the better career choice for most people is going to be biomedical engineering. People generally perform better when they are externally motivated: by money, teachers, bosses, etc. Although schooling is expensive, there are scholarships and other forms of financial aid to help. Also, the growth of the field and high wages will make up for it in the end. Staying in school and having a degree will guarantee some sort of stable work in the future, while self-employed dropouts aren’t always successful. Even large companies like WFG don’t last forever, but the world will always have a need for biomedical research and development to make our lives easier.

References

Biomedical engineers : Occupation outlook handbook . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm

Insurance sales agents : Occupation outlook handbook . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/insurance-sales-agents.htm

Biomedical engineering, bmecental.com biomedical engineering companies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bmecentral.com

Keller catalog tuition chart. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.devry.edu/d/Keller-Catalog-tuition-chart.pdf

Us catalog tuition chart. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.devry.edu/d/US-Catalog-tuition-chart.pdf

University of southern california - tuition, cost, and price to attend. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/california/university-of-southern-california/

Goudreau, J. (2012, 5 15). The 15 most valuable college majors. Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/05/15/best-top-most-valuable-college-majors-degrees/