Modeling career paths in Biomedical Quality Engineering

Current bioengineering and biomedical engineering (referred to as bioengineering/BIOE in this paper) curricula emphasize device design to prepare students for industry careers. However, only a minority of entry-level positions attained by BIOE graduates are in research and development (R&D). Studies show that quality engineering (QE) represents a large fraction of the bioengineering job market. Biomedical QE combines engineering principles, biology, the regulatory process, and systems thinking, making bioengineers ideally suited for these roles. Broadening BIOE education to include QE fundamentals would enhance the marketability of graduates. In this exploratory study, we use Social Cognitive Career Theory to understand the decisions and career paths of current QEs with bioengineering undergraduate degrees. We found that QEs felt unprepared for their positions and were largely unaware of QE as a field before beginning their job search. Without an introduction to QE careers, our participants had low outcome expectations for roles in QE, and relatively high outcome expectations for R&D positions. We also found that having career experience in both QE and R&D was a prerequisite for making informed decisions about the fields and ultimately feeling content in their chosen field. To address these issues, we recommend the development of BIOE courses that introduce undergraduates to QE and emulate career experiences so that students can make informed decisions on the job market.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Bioengineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Suresh, Deepthi Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jensen, Paul A

• Bioengineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Quality Engineering
• Careers
• Engineering Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Deepthi Suresh

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115608

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115608