Day in the Life of a Biomedical Engineer | Layoffs & is Biomedical a safe option?
Summary
TLDRSaloni Verma, a biomedical engineer, shares insights into her daily life, including work on medical devices, managing product improvements, and client meetings. She addresses tech layoffs, advising international students on the stability of biomedical engineering careers. Also, she discusses mentorship programs and answers a question about securing research assistantships as an undergraduate.
Takeaways
- 😀 Saloni Verma, the speaker, is a biomedical engineer who graduated from Cornell University and works in Upstate New York.
- 📚 Saloni discusses college admissions, particularly for international students interested in Ivy League and elite colleges through her YouTube channel.
- 🎓 She emphasizes the impact of tech layoffs in 2022, with 150,000 tech workers laid off, including 18,000 from Amazon, due to over-hiring and a lack of work.
- 🌐 Saloni advises international students to consider the current tech layoffs but not to be overly worried, as the situation is likely to improve by the time they graduate.
- 🛠️ Biomedical engineering is highlighted as a field with diverse skill sets, including lab work, programming, and working on medical devices, making it resilient to tech layoffs.
- 💼 Saloni's role has evolved from product development to managing and improving existing products, ensuring they meet FDA guidelines and client needs.
- 🔬 The day-in-the-life segment showcases Saloni's work, including site visits to hospitals, lab work, and meetings with clients to develop experimental protocols.
- 📝 The importance of documentation in biomedical engineering is stressed, with every step needing to be recorded for improvements or error tracking.
- 🍽 Saloni mentions her daily routine, including lunch breaks and responding to emails, highlighting the balance between work and personal life.
- 🎁 She promotes a perfume brand, Dossier Perfumes, for its travel-friendly and affordable luxury fragrances, offering a discount code for viewers.
- 📈 The video concludes with a discussion about mentorship programs for students, recent acceptances to various universities, and advice on research assistantships and funding.
Q & A
Who is Saloni Verma?
-Saloni Verma is a biomedical engineer who graduated from Cornell University and works in Upstate New York. She runs a YouTube channel where she discusses college admissions, particularly for international students aiming to get into top Ivy League universities and elite colleges.
What is Saloni Verma's educational background?
-Saloni Verma is a biomedical engineer who graduated from Cornell University.
What are the main topics Saloni Verma discusses on her YouTube channel?
-Saloni Verma primarily discusses college admissions, strategies for international students to get into top universities, and occasionally rants about the lack of views and likes on her channel.
What is the current situation with tech layoffs mentioned by Saloni Verma?
-As of the time of the video, there have been significant tech layoffs with 150,000 tech workers laid off in 2022 alone. Companies like Amazon announced cuts of 18,000 workers. This is largely due to over-hiring in the past and not having enough work for all the employees.
Why should international students be concerned about tech layoffs?
-International students should be concerned about tech layoffs because those graduating and already in the workforce are facing the biggest hurdle of these layoffs. However, Saloni Verma suggests that the situation may improve by the time new students finish their degrees.
What is the impact of tech layoffs on biomedical engineering?
-Biomedical engineering, being closely related to healthcare, is not affected by tech layoffs as severely as other departments like engineering management or software engineering. This is due to the nature of the healthcare industry and its continuous need for advancements.
What skills does Saloni Verma have as a biomedical engineer?
-Saloni Verma has a variety of skills including lab work, programming (Matlab, Python, JavaScript), coding, working on medical devices, and handling both hardware and software aspects.
What is Saloni Verma's current role in her company?
-Saloni Verma has shifted from being heavily involved in the R&D side of medical devices to managing existing products, identifying areas for improvement, and laying out plans of action while ensuring compliance with FDA guidelines.
What is Saloni Verma's advice for international students considering studying in the US?
-Saloni Verma suggests that choosing the US for further education, especially in biomedical engineering, is a safe bet. She believes that by the time new students graduate, the current tech layoffs situation may have improved.
What is the significance of documenting every step in biomedical engineering work?
-Documentation is crucial in biomedical engineering as it helps in identifying improvements and catching mistakes. It is a requirement for regulatory compliance, especially in the healthcare industry, and can be done through lab notebooks, online platforms, or specific SOPs and paperwork.
What is Saloni Verma's perspective on the flexibility of a career in biomedical engineering?
-Saloni Verma believes that a career in biomedical engineering offers flexibility, allowing individuals to mold their career paths based on their interests and skills, rather than being stuck in a specific area like chemistry if they dislike it.
What is the typical pay rate for a research assistant (RA) position in Arizona?
-The pay rate for an RA position in Arizona, using ASU as an example, is between $13 to $15 per hour before taxes, and about $12 per hour after taxes.
Can the income from an RA position be used as proof of funds for an F1 Visa?
-No, the income from an RA position cannot be used as proof of funds for an F1 Visa. The amount on the I20 form must be shown as liquid funds, and future earnings from work cannot be counted towards this requirement.
Outlines
🎓 Introduction to Saloni Verma's Biomedical Engineering Career
Saloni Verma, a biomedical engineer and Cornell University graduate, introduces herself and her YouTube channel focused on college admissions, particularly for international students aiming for Ivy League and elite colleges. She discusses the tech layoffs of 2022, affecting 150,000 workers, including Amazon's announcement of 18,000 job cuts. Saloni emphasizes that while tech layoffs are concerning, they are not perpetual and often stabilize. She suggests that international students considering studying in the US, especially in biomedical engineering, are making a safe choice, given the field's diverse skill sets and relative stability amidst the layoffs.
🛠️ A Day in the Life of a Biomedical Engineer
Saloni provides a glimpse into her daily routine as a biomedical engineer, including managing products, identifying improvements, and ensuring compliance with FDA guidelines. She shares her transition from product development to a more managerial role, highlighting the adaptability of the field to suit personal preferences. Saloni also discusses a site visit to Canada, where she collaborates with a client to develop experimental protocols and lab work, emphasizing the importance of staying current with technology in the medical device industry. She also mentions the necessity of documentation in biomedical engineering and her personal preference for a travel-friendly perfume, Dossier Perfume, which she uses to maintain a pleasant scent during her travels.
🍽️ Lunchtime and Afternoon Tasks
After a productive morning, Saloni shares her plans for lunch at an Indian restaurant in Waterloo and her intention to respond to emails and complete paperwork for the lab work conducted that day. She underlines the importance of documentation in the field and the various methods used for record-keeping. Saloni also outlines her afternoon schedule, which includes meetings and presentations with Canadian clients, focusing on defining protocols and ensuring technological compatibility with client needs. She reflects on the challenges and rewards of troubleshooting and problem-solving as part of her job, concluding that despite the stress, it's an integral part of being a biomedical engineer.
📚 Student Mentorship and Q&A Session
Saloni wraps up the video by discussing her mentorship programs for students through Incognito Blueprints, which have yielded successful admissions and funding for students in various universities and programs. She shares the outcomes for students who have applied for the fall 2023 intake, including acceptances and waitlists from prestigious institutions. Saloni also addresses a question from a previous video about the feasibility of securing a research assistantship (RA) position for international students in their first year, explaining the process and suggesting that it's more likely from the second semester onwards. She provides an example of pay rates for RAs at ASU and clarifies that on-campus work cannot be used as proof of funds for visa applications, but can contribute to living expenses.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Biomedical Engineer
💡Ivy League Universities
💡Tech Layoffs
💡International Students
💡Lab Work
💡Medical Devices
💡FDA Guidelines
💡Documentation
💡Site Visit
💡Research Assistantship
💡Proof of Funds
Highlights
Saloni Verma introduces herself as a biomedical engineer and a Cornell University graduate.
Discusses the focus of her YouTube channel on college admissions and international students.
Mentions the tech layoffs in 2022 and their impact on the job market.
Explains the reasons behind tech layoffs, such as over-hiring and lack of work.
Addresses concerns for international students regarding the tech layoffs.
Provides reassurance that the tech layoffs are temporary and will eventually stop.
Advises international students to consider studying in the US despite the current job market situation.
Discusses the versatility of skill sets in biomedical engineering, including lab work and programming.
Describes her career shift from product development to product management in biomedical engineering.
Emphasizes the importance of following FDA guidelines in the healthcare industry.
Shares her daily routine, including client meetings and hospital site visits.
Recommends Dossier Perfume as a travel-friendly fragrance option.
Details the documentation process for lab work and its importance in biomedical engineering.
Talks about her lunch break and the need to respond to emails and complete paperwork.
Describes a successful day at work, including troubleshooting and setting up experiments.
Mentions her role in defining protocols for clients and integrating technology.
Provides advice on securing research assistantship positions for international students.
Discusses the average pay rates for research assistantships in Arizona.
Clarifies that on-campus work cannot be used as proof of funds for an F1 Visa.
Transcripts
dude
[Music]
and that is World prep let's go to work
[Music]
all right guys so
I feel like it's been a while since I
kind of like spoke to you guys like you
know just like one-on-one so let's start
from the very beginning now for everyone
who is new to the channel my name is
saloni Verma and I am a biomedical
engineer
um I graduated from Cornell University I
work in Upstate New York and through
this YouTube channel we talk about
college admissions how International
students could get into top ivy league
universities Elite colleges and every
now and then I like to rant about the
lack of views and likes on the channel
as well
um but I thought that in this video I
will kind of like take you along with me
throughout the day uh show you what a
day in the life of a biomedical engineer
looks like and touch a little bit on
kind of like the tech layoffs that have
been going on now I would be quite
worried if you guys didn't know what I'm
talking about but for anyone who isn't
up to speed here is a little snapshot of
what's going on 150
000 Tech workers have been laid off in
2022 alone Amazon today announcing it's
going to cut 18 000 workers
so I'm not going to bore you guys with
like the big story of what happened but
in the last few years companies over
hired they thought that they would need
a lot of people they didn't that's why
they're starting to lay those people off
because there just isn't enough amount
of work for all of those over hires that
they did
um so as International students why
should you be worried and how much
should you be worried is the question of
the hour and I would say that a lot of
the students that are graduating right
now that are already here are facing
like the biggest hurdle of the tech
layoffs in general
um if you see kind of like the growth
and these situations that have happened
in the past these Tech layoffs don't
don't like go on for years and years and
years they ultimately stop and
um if someone is planning to come to the
US to study there's a good chance that
by the time you come here finish your
degree and graduate this situation won't
be how it is right now so from like a
future prospective international student
standpoint I feel like it's a pretty
safe bet to choose us as you're
continuing further education and
biomedical in general like for me for
example I have variety of skill sets all
the way from like lab work I have some
programming skills like I've taught
myself how to do Matlab python
JavaScript
some amount of coding that's required
work on medical devices work on the
hardware as well as the software side of
things so if you like in that sense
because biomedical engineering is so
closely related to healthcare it's not
being affected by the tech layoffs as
bad as other departments like
engineering management software
Engineers these kind of people are at
the moment so that's like a good
transition of like going into what I
actually do now I graduated from Cornell
about five years ago and when I started
working at the company that I am working
at right now it was more heavily reliant
on
um kind of like the r d side of medical
devices so I would be very involved in
actually developing the products but
more recently I would say in the last
two years I've shifted to more into like
managing the products that are already
out there identifying the scope of where
we can improve them and then as from
like a technical standpoint laying out a
plan of action okay these are the
improvements that can actually be done
how do we make this happen making sure
that we're following all the regulatory
FDA guidelines because of course it is
the healthcare industry
um and then also being more Hands-On
with meeting with different clients
going to different hospital sites
obviously you know for confidentiality
purposes I can't give you guys like the
details so a lot of this may seem a
little vague but I'm trying to be like
as educational as I can maybe for
someone who's thinking of going into BME
as a career this is generally like what
you can do like as you progress in your
career the best part about this field
that I like is you can really like mold
it to what you like to do and what you
don't like to do it's not necessary that
if you hate let's say chemistry for
example you have to be stuck in a lab
doing you know that kind of work that's
not what it is you can literally like
Branch out and make a career for
yourself with the things that you enjoy
doing so with that said today I am
heading up to Canada and we are going on
a site visit
um this is a client that we've been
working very closely with again we're
going to help them set up develop some
experimental protocols do some lab work
and all that fun stuff and and like I
said like this is a part of the job
itself where we're trying to identify
the scope of improvement for our product
lines that are already there and from
like a technical standpoint how can we
make it happen so that you know we stay
up to date with the current technology
and we as like a medical device company
are also improving as we move forward
because ultimately you know we want to
create really cool
um Healthcare Tech and before we head
out you know the one thing that I always
carry with me and this is literally like
it's one box stays with me in my car
itself it is our dossier perfume they
come in these like really compact boxes
and today we are rocking the fiery
leather and rhubarb flavor
flavor fragrance
um but as you can see it comes in like
these really travel friendly bottles
very compact religious like literally
snaps on and I love you know the entire
fragrance of this perfume I carried in I
carry one in my car just to have as like
a backup I have one at home I have one
at work and if you guys want to check
these out these are luxury fragrances at
affordable prices
um you can use the code in the
description for a discount at checkout
thank you
[Music]
that was an exhausting morning but I
finally finished up some lab work and uh
now I'm going to go get lunch and during
that time I'll also like kind of respond
to emails that have been going on in the
office since I couldn't get that done
today in the morning I'll get some
paperwork done for like the lab work
that I did today again like everything
has to be documented this is like one of
the things that not a lot of biomedical
Engineers share but every little thing
that you do has to be documented some
students or well some Engineers do it in
like a lab notebooks some do it in
notion you can do it online or you have
like certain Sops and paperwork that you
have to fill out for like according to
your company or your University but in
some way or another the whole point is
it needs to be documented each and every
step that you did so if there are any
improvements we can do that if there are
any mistakes we can catch that on for
later I'm super hungry uh there's this
nice um Indian place that I found in
Waterloo it's about 30 minutes of a
drive so we're gonna go head there and
uh have lunch and I need to come back
here around like four we'll work for
another two more hours need to get some
more meetings and presentations done
with folks over here in Canada out of
the way and I'll see you guys in a bit
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
we're back and today has been an amazing
day everything that did not work
yesterday just
whatever we fixed basically last night
that experiment worked fabulous I was
able to get the training done we got
like another experiment set up and
everyone's happy we got a bunch of
meetings out of the way a lot of this
involves
um uh defining certain protocols that
our clients can use that work for them
and that also kind of work with the
technology we have to offer right
um so all good it's about 1 pm right now
in the afternoon I'm pulling out of the
parking lot and it's time to go home
back to Ithaca it was stressful at times
for sure like just like troubleshooting
at unexpected uh milestones and time
points can be challenging but that's
part of the job as an engineer as a
biomedical engineer that's what you're
paid to do essentially
um and I'll catch you guys in a little
bit uh gonna fuel up get some lunch
along the way and I'll see you guys in a
bit
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
thank you
all right guys so that wraps up well
kind of like the meetings that I had
with some of the students and honestly
it's such a pleasure to talk to them and
just kind of like
help them in their own study abroad
Journeys if you guys are interested in
the mentorship programs the link will be
in the description below it's through
Incognito blueprints check it out
extremely useful no honestly the
students that have applied for the fall
2023 intake we've gotten acceptances
from Cornell Colombia early decisions
um Brown Duke were wait listed on
Harvard and Princeton so that's coming
very soon
um Carnegie Mellon uc's what not both
for undergrad grad PhD students with
tremendous amount of funding so it's
really something that can help shape
your future but I'm gonna wrap up the
video here I hope you guys enjoyed that
day in the life of a biomedical engineer
um and let me know if you have any
questions based on like the work that I
told you guys about I'd be happy to
answer them in the comments below uh but
we are now here to do question of the
day today's question is going to be from
last videos
um comments which is
um can I get an RA in the first year of
undergrad and how much are the pay areas
like in Arizona so I'm not gonna lie
it's a little difficult to get
um research assistantship positions in
the first semester because with the
process what it looks like is you have
to approach professors and they like to
kind of talk to you in person maybe see
what your skill set is like and this is
realistically done when you're on campus
when you've had the chance to maybe take
a class in the first semester of that
Professor build a working relationship
and then ask for that ra position I'm
not saying it's impossible some students
have but it's extremely unlikely that
you'll be able to secure an RA position
as an international student in the first
semester it's more possible from the
second semester onwards and the P let's
take
um let's say ASU for example will be
somewhere between 13 to 15 dollars per
hour after taxes it'll be about 12
dollars per hour and that's like a good
range to kind of keep yourself in
um and kind of like a follow-up question
to this a lot of students ask if you
kind of are allowed to work 20 hours on
campus
um can you show this on your like as
proof of funds and no you cannot so your
I20 when you get it for your F1 Visa the
amount that's on that I20 the dollar
amount you have to show that as liquid
funds you cannot say that I will
get to this amount after I start working
in college the amount that you earn in
college as a student can be used towards
living expenses your rent food other
miscellaneous things but um it's not as
a proof of funds thing all right so
that's all that I had for you guys in
this video like the video subscribe to
the channel if you're new and I will see
you guys in the next one bye
[Music]
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