Advice: How do I find an internship?

Whether you are still in hot pursuit of an internship right now or for later, you will run into this question sooner or later. Let it be known, finding the ideal internship can take a combination of time, persistence, effort, and even luck. Here is a guide based on what I have learned from my own experiences as well as from others.

As a Biomedical Engineering major, internships can be quite tricky to find. As of now, it is still a developing field and companies are still learning what this major can do, as described in this past post. However, bear in mind, it is not impossible to find that dream internship; it will just take some work.

First of all, preparation is key. Before you even start an internship search, be sure to have the following things ready:

  1. Knowing what kind of internship you want - This is a given, but not necessarily stressed enough. By identifying the types of internship you want to work in, i.e. marketing, consulting, etc., you can tailor your material to the demands of the positions. Can’t decide on a specific type? That is perfectly fine, internships are a great way for one to learn where one wants to work in the industry; do not hesitate to apply to multiple types, just be sure to tailor your application accordingly. That being said, you can have multiple versions of your resume to suit various internship demands.
  2. Resume - I can not stress how important a well-written resume is; it can land you that interview/opportunity. I also can not emphasize the well-written part enough, make sure your resume is an actual documentation of your experiences and skill sets, NOT a laundry list of what you have done and achieved. Companies do not care if you are president of [insert organization], more so they actually care what you have achieved and learned as president of [insert organization]. And I will repeat it here again, you can make multiple versions of resumes, each tailored to what each type of company would want. Do not hesitate to compulsively have other people critique your resumes. Of course, there is much more to elaborate on here, but to keep it short, I will write another tutorial about resume writing later.
  3. Business attire - Believe it or not, a first impression is a first impression. Employers are not going to take you seriously if you come up to them unkempt; it is also a sign of disrespect especially when they took their time out of their schedule to recruit you. It is always handy to have a well pressed business suit and button up to make a good impression. 
  4. Elevator Pitch - This is your thirty second to two minute monologue on how you specifically best fit the company’s needs. Beforehand, create a backbone based on the skills and experiences you want to highlight and tailor it afterwards for the companies you are pitching to. For example, you could introduce yourself, state how you are suited for [insert company name] through your ability to [insert skill sets] that you have developed from [insert projects, extracurricular activities], which you find will help the company achieve [insert goals and purposes]. By relating how your skill sets and experiences can contribute to the goals of the company, you already help the recruiter picture you as part of their team and will help you initiate a conversation with him/her; the longer/more substantial conversation can leave a lasting impression that could lead to an interview.

Now that you have the material prepared, you should keep in mind of a few key factors/ways to help you find an internship:

  1. Timing - Most internship opportunities will not be offered until the beginning of the spring term; reason being that most companies spend the fall term recruiting full-time hires, they do not start configuring projects for interns until after this recruitment period. Stay ahead of the game by applying to internship positions when they start opening up at the beginning of the spring term.
  2. Fairs - That being said, most internship fairs will start at the beginning of the spring term. Before attending the fairs, look through the roster of the companies that will be attending the fairs and take the time to identify and research the companies you want to approach. This will not only save you time as fairs tend to be crowded, but also ensures that your elevator pitches and resumes will leave an outstanding impression to the recruiters.
  3. Networking -  Get to know the other students, faculty members, and advisors; chances are, they might know some people. I have known cases where students have actually gotten internship opportunities through referrals from their advisors (after the students and the advisors are on a first name basis) and even job opportunities through approaching their professors (some of which can have extensive industry contacts).
  4. Internet - Of course, this is always a great resource to utilize to pool in some more opportunities; I’ve had a bunch of friends who have had numerous interview offers through using search engines. Here’s a little list of some suggested sites to get you started:

Finding an internship is very tedious and can take a good chunk of your time; however, nothing feels better when you start getting offers! Keep a look out for upcoming tutorials on interviews, resumes, and more.

Q:Is it true it's difficult to find a job if I major in BME?

Anonymous

In a way, yes, most companies do not “explicitly” ask for Biomedical Engineering major; however, that does not mean it is impossible to find one if you get the right experiences during your undergraduate years (i.e. internship, research, etc.). If you want some more information about the issue, you can check out my past post here about it and be on the look out for my upcoming tutorials on finding internships, etc.

Hope this helps!

Eutektiks

UCSD Electronic Wireless Tattoo Receives Grant from the Gates Foundation Described as an electronic “tattoo”, the device is a wearable patch of circuits, sensors, and wireless transmitters that sticks to the skin like a temporary tattoo and is able to stretch and flex with the skin. The researchers hope that the final product will continuously measure and monitor uterine contractions, fetal heart rate and oxygen, and maternal heart rate and body temperature. The nice aspects of this device includes its ability to continuously monitor the status of the fetus within the womb in a noninvasive manner and to transmit the data wirelessly to physicians. Aside from its usage of monitoring fetal health, be prepared to notice the varying usage of the electric “tattoo” concept. In fact, one of its usages has been explored in this blog a while back as a food monitor.
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UCSD Electronic Wireless Tattoo Receives Grant from the Gates Foundation

Described as an electronic “tattoo”, the device is a wearable patch of circuits, sensors, and wireless transmitters that sticks to the skin like a temporary tattoo and is able to stretch and flex with the skin. The researchers hope that the final product will continuously measure and monitor uterine contractions, fetal heart rate and oxygen, and maternal heart rate and body temperature.

The nice aspects of this device includes its ability to continuously monitor the status of the fetus within the womb in a noninvasive manner and to transmit the data wirelessly to physicians. Aside from its usage of monitoring fetal health, be prepared to notice the varying usage of the electric “tattoo” concept. In fact, one of its usages has been explored in this blog a while back as a food monitor.

Forbes: The 15 Most Valuable College Majors At No. 1, biomedical engineering is the major that is most worth your tuition, time and effort. Biomedical engineers earn a median starting salary of $53,800, which grows an average of 82% to $97,800 by mid-career. Moreover, the BLS projects a whopping 61.7% growth of job opportunities in the field—the most of any other major on the list. To all the Biomedical Engineering majors out there, there is hope.
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Forbes: The 15 Most Valuable College Majors

At No. 1, biomedical engineering is the major that is most worth your tuition, time and effort. Biomedical engineers earn a median starting salary of $53,800, which grows an average of 82% to $97,800 by mid-career. Moreover, the BLS projects a whopping 61.7% growth of job opportunities in the field—the most of any other major on the list.

To all the Biomedical Engineering majors out there, there is hope.

Paralyzed Man Regains Hand Function after Breakthrough Nerve Rewiring Procedure Surgeons said that the patient’s progress was encouraging because it showed that the people paralyzed because of nerve damage can still regain movement even after some time.  The man had undergone the surgical procedure in 2010, two years after the car accident that paralyzed him. The patient became paralyzed after his C7 vertebrate disk (in the cervical/neck region of the spinal cord) shattered in a car accident. The nerves that were damaged in that area help control the mobility of the ligaments. What is novel about this surgical procedure is that instead of mending the spinal cord in that region, surgeons reconnected a healthy intact nerve in the cervical area to the intact nerves of the paralyzed regions. After this “rewiring” process, the patient regained control of his hands.
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Paralyzed Man Regains Hand Function after Breakthrough Nerve Rewiring Procedure

Surgeons said that the patient’s progress was encouraging because it showed that the people paralyzed because of nerve damage can still regain movement even after some time.  The man had undergone the surgical procedure in 2010, two years after the car accident that paralyzed him.

The patient became paralyzed after his C7 vertebrate disk (in the cervical/neck region of the spinal cord) shattered in a car accident. The nerves that were damaged in that area help control the mobility of the ligaments. What is novel about this surgical procedure is that instead of mending the spinal cord in that region, surgeons reconnected a healthy intact nerve in the cervical area to the intact nerves of the paralyzed regions. After this “rewiring” process, the patient regained control of his hands.

Watch-Like Sensor as Effective as EEG in Measuring Seizure Severity Researchers from MIT and Harvard have recently been testing a better way to analyze epileptic seizures that doesn’t require an EEG cap or an invasive implant. A very interesting aspect of this watch is that electrical conductance readings through the skin can be just as effective in measuring seizure activity with an EEG cap or EEG grid implant. The two previous methods are rather inefficient with the user interface (a lot of extensive wiring). The watch design is much more simplified and is minimally invasive, ideal factors, especially for children.
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Watch-Like Sensor as Effective as EEG in Measuring Seizure Severity

Researchers from MIT and Harvard have recently been testing a better way to analyze epileptic seizures that doesn’t require an EEG cap or an invasive implant.

A very interesting aspect of this watch is that electrical conductance readings through the skin can be just as effective in measuring seizure activity with an EEG cap or EEG grid implant. The two previous methods are rather inefficient with the user interface (a lot of extensive wiring). The watch design is much more simplified and is minimally invasive, ideal factors, especially for children.

Advice: How do I get into a research lab?

This is a very common question that I would get from other undergraduate students.

First and foremost, I want to let everyone know this: Regardless of your experience and class level, it is not impossible for you to get into a research lab.

From my experiences and from what most underclassmen have told me, an underlying myth that deters most students from joining research labs early on is that it is extremely competitive to get into a research lab and impossible to join one inexperienced. Keep in mind, as an undergraduate member of a research lab, you are free labor. If you are willing to commit the time to learn the area of research and perform their experiments, you are basically gold to the mentors.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, here is a simple guideline to getting into your dream lab.

  1. Do your research! - Actually take the time to look through the professor’s research page, read through some of their published papers: really get an idea what kind of research the professor does. Not only would this impress the professor that you took the time and effort to learn about their work, but it will also help you decide if the lab is a right fit for you early on. 
  2. Make a list of the labs you are interested in - It is rare that you will get into that one lab you applied for, so always have options!
  3. E-mail the professors - In the e-mail, it is best to type up a paragraph or so introducing yourself, reasons why you want to join his/her research lab, and how much/long you are willing to work in his/her lab. It is also essential that you attach your resume with related coursework and so forth; most professors get plenty of e-mails from other students, so if you do not attach a resume, they may not consider you.
  4. Follow up - If the professor does not e-mail back right away, do not fret! After a week, send another e-mail to follow up; professors usually get a plethora of e-mails so it is very easy for your e-mail to get lost. Also, do not be afraid to e-mail to schedule a meeting with the professor about their research labs. Most oftentimes when professors see you in person, it helps improve your chances of making it into the lab, as they can put a face onto your application.

Keep in mind, the selectivity of the professors will vary; some professors will take in undergraduates readily, some professors may selectively take in undergraduates, while others may not take any undergraduates. If you do not get into your dream lab the first time around, do not worry; simply meet with the mentor and identify key things that you can improve for the next time around. At that point, you either have the option to join another lab or wait a little while to have more classes under your belt, and even try again the next semester. 

Overall, applying to research labs is an arduous process, but persistence and effort will go a long way!

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Technical Difficulties…

Hey guys,

Unfortunately, I have not been able to update as much as I would have liked to due to my current school workload and a broken laptop. Bear with me and I will try to post more soon!

Eutektiks

MIT Discovers the Location of Memories: Individual Neurons MIT researchers have shown, for the first time ever, that memories are stored in specific brain cells. By triggering a small cluster of neurons, the researchers were able to force the subject to recall a specific memory. By removing these neurons, the subject would lose that memory. Unsurprisingly, the “memory” neurons are located within the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for retaining memory. However, what is very interesting in this study is that memory retaining is actually a physical attribute. By analyzing the interactions of these neurons, researchers can analyze the mechanisms behind degenerative disorders and hopefully one day, configure treatments.
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MIT Discovers the Location of Memories: Individual Neurons

MIT researchers have shown, for the first time ever, that memories are stored in specific brain cells. By triggering a small cluster of neurons, the researchers were able to force the subject to recall a specific memory. By removing these neurons, the subject would lose that memory.

Unsurprisingly, the “memory” neurons are located within the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for retaining memory. However, what is very interesting in this study is that memory retaining is actually a physical attribute. By analyzing the interactions of these neurons, researchers can analyze the mechanisms behind degenerative disorders and hopefully one day, configure treatments.

Source: extremetech.com

Medtronic Power Struggle Puts Emerging Technology in the Spotlight It’s been a rough month for Medtronic’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) business. The medical device industry giant has been squirming in the hot seat after issuing a safety warning to physicians on March 6 notifying them of a small risk of premature battery depletion in certain models of the company’s EnTrust and Escudo lines of ICDs. And as patient panic probably mounts, the industry awaits any word or evaluation of the warning from FDA, and lawyers likely prep for battle, the power-related defect underscores the potential market for emerging energy harvesting technologies for cardiac rhythm-management devices. Unfortunately for Medtronic, the batteries in their implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are not up to par. Recent panic over the shorter than expected lifespan of their batteries have made physicians more cautious of their patients and Medtronic wary of any impending lawsuits. However, research in developing efficient and durable batteries for implantable devices is a very hot topic. It will just be a matter of time to harness some of these discoveries into a more optimal battery for these implantable devices.
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Medtronic Power Struggle Puts Emerging Technology in the Spotlight

It’s been a rough month for Medtronic’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) business. The medical device industry giant has been squirming in the hot seat after issuing a safety warning to physicians on March 6 notifying them of a small risk of premature battery depletion in certain models of the company’s EnTrust and Escudo lines of ICDs. And as patient panic probably mounts, the industry awaits any word or evaluation of the warning from FDA, and lawyers likely prep for battle, the power-related defect underscores the potential market for emerging energy harvesting technologies for cardiac rhythm-management devices.

Unfortunately for Medtronic, the batteries in their implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are not up to par. Recent panic over the shorter than expected lifespan of their batteries have made physicians more cautious of their patients and Medtronic wary of any impending lawsuits. However, research in developing efficient and durable batteries for implantable devices is a very hot topic. It will just be a matter of time to harness some of these discoveries into a more optimal battery for these implantable devices.