Are our biomedical engineers well paid? What is the average salary in India and other countries?
Based on the job roles and skills, the pay scale of Biomedical engineers differs. But they are well-paid when compared with many other careers in the engineering sector.
In addition to several benefits and perks, the starting salary of a biomedical engineer in the private sector is between Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs. 3.6 lakh per annum.
Similarly, in the government sector, a biomedical engineer gets Rs.2 Lakhs to Rs. Three lakhs per year. It depends on the organization reputation. With the increased inexperience, the salary also increases.
Abroad, a biomedical engineer gets a starting salary of $40000 per annum. A postgraduate biomedical engineer gets $61000 annually.
What problems do biomedical engineers face?
The biomedical engineering sector faces several challenges as it mixes product development with medicine. These two are not always compatible. Engineers, patients and doctors often find it difficult to balance inventive technology and the human part of medical care.
R&D is expensive, for which biomedical engineers and biomedical students often face limited resource availability. There are several problems that biomedical engineers face:
- Privacy of patent: Biomedical engineers often face the challenge to maintain patent privacy. For instance, a researcher has to consider the patient’s privacy while testing the medical equipment, designing artificial organs, developing blood sensors and creating therapeutic methods for recovering from injury, creating advanced imaging devices and testing the medical products for safety and effectiveness. It is not easy to assess the medical devices as well as products without required patient data.
- Ethical problems: Biomedical engineers often face ethical issues. For example, stem cell research, artificial life, and synthetic biology make it possible for human beings to cheat or change a life. While advocates for inventive and progressing biomedical research encourage more testing, opponents always feel that biomedical engineers should not play God. These all are leading to public protests, picket lines and huge opposition from several religious organizations. Biomedical engineers have to convey their personal beliefs and ethical standards before moving in their career paths.
- Targeting sites: Biomedical engineers mainly discover several innovative ways to treat medical conditions, but it’s difficult for them to target the human cells for treatment.
- Funding issues: Racial inequalities in biomedical engineering funding are one of the ethical issues that confront the field of biomedicine. Another issue is the high research cost and the cost of testing that patients and researchers rely on for new cures.
