Navigating the Path to Medical Engineering Internships
Biomedical engineering internships offer invaluable experiences, providing a real taste of what it’s like to work in the field. These internships strengthen resumes, provide avenues to letters of recommendation, and can even turn into full-time jobs. They also offer the benefit of exploring different facets of one field.
What is Biomedical Engineering?
Biomedical engineers create and construct devices and processes to solve physical and medical issues. By developing devices, artificial joints, engineered cells, and medical therapies, they work toward resolving biological and medical ailments.
Average Pay in the Field
The average annual pay for full time jobs in biomedical engineering is $91,410.
Essential Skills Gained Through Internships
From biomedical engineering internships for undergraduates, students will gain skills that range from technical, interpersonal, and problem-solving. Internship opportunities in biomedical engineering can foster skills in research, design, and implementation of biomedical equipment and progress.
Generic Skills
During a biomedical engineering internship, interns will learn some great generic skills like time management, accountability, organization, and teamwork.
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Specific Knowledge
Interns will be immersed in the world of biomedical engineering which will help them develop their knowledge of quantitative aptitude, how to manage biomedical engineering projects effectively, and about their company’s personal contribution to the industry.
Practical Experience
Biomedical engineering interns will learn how to plan and execute biomedical and research and production, communicate their visions effectively, and collaborate with a team on a shared goal.
How to Secure a Biomedical Engineering Internship
Getting an internship in biomedical engineering could not be more exciting considering the sheer amount of opportunities in different businesses. Biomedical engineering internships during summer 2021 will provide you with many valuable experiences.
Resume and Profile Optimization
Before you get started on sending out applications, make sure that you have your resume up to date and have fully filled out all your Handshake profile details. With a complete profile, an impressive biomedical engineering internship is more attainable than ever. Recruiters are much more likely to message a student with a complete profile that says you want to work in biomedical engineering than an unfinished one.
When putting together your resume, make sure to have all your skills, courses, and accomplishments laid out for employers to view. Also having your preferred job role and location on your Handshake profile is a great way to signal your interest to potential recruiters.
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For biomedical engineering interns, some great skills to list would be technical skills, time management, ability to follow through and execute, and ability to contribute and collaborate in a team setting. It’s also key to mention organizations or projects that you led and can explain thoroughly.
Interview Preparation
When you do land your first interview, be it a virtual interview or in person, make sure to come prepared and dressed to impress. Review your resume and cover letter to make sure you have specific examples of your experience to share, from clubs or coursework. You can even schedule a mock interview with your university’s career center or, if you’re tight on time, ask a trusted friend to grill you on some common interview questions.
Networking
Once you’ve landed an internship in biomedical engineering and settled into the flow of day-to-day life at the office, start chatting with your coworkers. Whether they’re industry professionals or fellow interns, it’s important to treat them with equal respect. You never know what insights they could lend, or who could be a valuable connection down the line, five or ten years from now. Don’t be afraid to ask your new colleagues out for quick coffee chats, or request 15-minute informational interviews about their career trajectory.
Utilizing Online Platforms
When searching for biomedical engineering internships, it’s key to use the location filters provided on Handshake. You’ll be able to pinpoint biomedical engineering internships exactly where you want to intern just by selecting the city you want in the search bar. Easy biomedical engineering internships in your preferred city are just a search away.
You can even research possible job roles that you might want to explore during your biomedical engineering internship. Handshake also makes it easy to learn about roles in biomedical engineering simply by using the job role search bar.
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And if you want to take your research one step further, you can even research top employers in the biomedical engineering field on Handshake. Just by using the Handshake employer search feature you can discover companies that are hiring in your specific field by filtering by “Industry.”
Timing Your Applications
It’s never too early to start planning your engineering internship. For summer internships, applications can close as early as January of the year in question. Other internships, especially at larger companies, operate on rolling deadlines. But simply applying is often not enough.
Common Requirements
Common requirements for engineering internships include: a competitive undergraduate GPA (3.0 or greater); an up-to-date resume with relevant experience; an essay or personal statement; and letter(s) of recommendation.
Types of Internship Programs
Internships are meant to guide you towards your true desired career path and your summer 2021 biomedical engineering internship could kick it off in the right direction.
For internships, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the hunt for biomedical engineering internships abroad or paid construction management internships or biomedical engineering internships in Chicago. The following job roles and suggestions on where to apply for biomedical engineering internships can guide you in the right direction for whatever you’re looking for.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Housed within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NBIB has a mission to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. Their Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) is hosted by the BETA Center, an NIH-wide organization housed in the NIBIB intramural research program. Students interested in biomedical engineering research will come to the NIH campus for an intensive in-person research experience. The internship allows students to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research projects under the mentorship of world-class scientists and engineers in NIH laboratories in Bethesda, MD.
This summer, 24 student interns had the opportunity to work on cutting-edge research projects alongside top-flight experts on NIH campus.
BESIP Tracks
The BESIP program contains two tracks: BESIP-BME and BESIP-STEM. For the BESIP-BME track, applicants must be working towards a bachelor’s degree in physical science, computer science, or engineering. The BESIP-STEM track includes applicants who are not majoring in engineering, physical science, or computer science but are interested in pursuing biomedical engineering in graduate school or as a career. This could include applicants from other science majors such as biology, biochemistry, mathematics, chemistry, and other related biomedical disciplines. Alternatively, BESIP-STEM applicants may be majoring in engineering, physical science, and computer science, but have not had a previous in-person biomedical engineering research experience.
NIH Application Requirements
Applicants should have completed at least three years of undergraduate study by summer 2026, be returning to school for at least one more semester (i.e., graduate no earlier than December 2026), and have had prior hands-on experience in biomedical engineering research.
Project Matching
Potential mentors/researchers at NIH submit options for biomedical research projects to BESIP that involve areas of engineering or physical science expertise. Participants will have the opportunity to indicate several project preferences from the available list. We will try to match BESIP interns with their highest possible preference for the summer, but interns may be assigned to any one of the listed projects.
Potential Employers and Internship Locations
Biomedical engineering internships can be found all over! Even companies that don’t seem to have a main focus in biomedical engineering are looking for bright interns to help them develop. Some companies that would be great for biomedical engineering majors looking for internships: Abbott, Philips, Parsons.
- Abbott: A prominent player in the biomedical field.
- Philips: Known for its healthcare technology solutions.
- Parsons: A technology-driven engineering services firm.
- GE HealthCare: As an Intern at GE HealthCare, every moment partnering with customers is an opportunity to impact the lives of patients.
- Hackensack Meridian Health: Offers various Biomedical Equipment Technician positions.
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute: Provides summer research internships.
Other Companies to Consider
- DuPont
- American Bridge Company
- X (Google’s Moonshot Factory)
- Apple
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Siemens Healthineers
- Tesla
- GE Aerospace
- Westinghouse Electric Company
- Analog Devices (ADI)
- Boeing
Specific Internship Roles
Internships in biomedical engineering can fall under any of the following roles we’ve listed here for you! Some other roles to consider for your biomedical engineering career include: biomechanic, genetic engineer, researcher, and quality engineer.
- Biomedical Equipment Technician: Maintaining and repairing medical equipment.
- Research Intern: Assisting with research projects in biomedical engineering.
- Systems Engineer: Focusing on real-world problems in systems engineering.
Financial Aspects of Internships
Yes, you can find paid biomedical engineering internships on Handshake by using the search filters!
Intern Pay
The average annual pay for full time jobs in biomedical engineering is $91,410.
The Importance of Internships
While it's not required, internships are great opportunities for growth and experience. From biomedical engineer internships to great summer engineering internships, you’ll be able to build both hard and soft skills and even network.
Benefits of Internships
- Networking and gaining mentorship
- Learning to plan and execute biomedical research and production
- Communicating visions effectively
- Collaborating with a team on a shared goal
What to Include on Your Resume
When putting together your resume, make sure to have all your skills, courses, and accomplishments laid out for employers to view. Also having your preferred job role and location on your Handshake profile is a great way to signal your interest to potential recruiters.
For biomedical engineering interns, some great skills to list would be technical skills, time management, ability to follow through and execute, and ability to contribute and collaborate in a team setting. It’s also key to mention organizations or projects that you led and can explain thoroughly.
Additional Tips for Success
- Attend Virtual Events: A good way to delve even deeper into your career path growth is to attend a virtual event or two. Not only will you be learning more about your own career, but there will also be chances to network with employers, industry specialists, and other students sharing different perspectives.
- Explore Different Aspects of Engineering: Depending on the field that you’re going into, you could be creating and building a range of products in many different industries.
- Consider a Year-Long Internship: The length of the internship is flexible, however, we encourage students to consider a year-long internship.
IngMar Medical Example
“A smaller sized company allows a deeper insight into all work necessary to run a company. Projects could involve electronics, hardware, and/or software, according to the intern’s interests and qualifications. The small business setting at IngMar Medical offers exceptional professional-level work experience with wide exposure to different aspects of a technology driven business. With a German CEO and strong business ties to Europe, IngMar Medical provides an excellent introduction to the US work environment in a globally-oriented company. Our urban location in close proximity to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh affords an interesting student cultural scene with important amenities accessible by foot, bicycle, or public transportation. Pittsburgh also boasts a low cost of living with a good supply of housing.
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