Specialties

• Of the estimated 14,760 biomedical engineers working in the United States in 2009, about 150 were employed in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information on biomedical engineering faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill illustrates the wide range of specialties and projects on which these engineers can focus. Biomedical engineers are involved in projects such as biomedical sensors, cardiac electrophysiology, cochlear implants, computer-assisted drug delivery, cytomechanics, functional tissue engineering, genetics, neural networks, sleep monitoring, sports medicine and three-dimensional medical imaging.
  
  

Starting Salary

• The average nationwide starting salary in 2010 for an individual with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering was $54,291 per year, according to North Carolina State University. Their website cites a survey published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
  
  

Salary Range

• Biomedical engineers in North Carolina were earning $39.78 per hour on average as of May 2009, or $82,740 per year. The pay rate was very similar to the national average of $39.69 per hour, or $82,550 per year. The middle 50 percent of biomedical engineers in North Carolina had salaries of $58,800 to $101,690 per year. The top 10 percent were earning at least $122,850 annually, and only the bottom 10 percent had salaries of $50,330 and below.
  
  

Outlook

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts enormous growth in the occupation of biomedical engineer between 2008 and 2018, with over 70 percent employment growth rate in that decade. An aging population is an important factor in the demand for improvements in medical equipment and procedures, as is increased focus on health care in the general population. Companies also need biomedical engineers to work on cost effectiveness, a particular concern in pharmaceutical manufacturing and related industries, according to the bureau.