Employers

Approximately 53,800 biomedical equipment technicians are employed in the United States. Employers include hospitals, offices of physicians and other health care practitioners, research institutes, independent service organizations, biological laboratories, wholesale suppliers, health and personal care stores, and biomedical equipment manufacturers. Government hospitals and the military also employ biomedical equipment technicians. 

Starting Out

Most schools offering programs in biomedical equipment technology work closely with local hospitals and industries, and career services counselors are usually informed about openings when they become available. In some cases, recruiters may visit a school periodically to conduct interviews. Also, many schools place students in part-time hospital jobs to help them gain practical experience. Students are often able to return to these hospitals for full-time employment after graduation.

Another effective method of finding employment is to communicate directly with hospitals, research institutes, or biomedical equipment manufacturers regarding job openings. Other good sources of leads for job openings include state employment offices, newspaper want ads, and the Web sites of professional associations such as the Medical Equipment and Technology Association (http://www.mymeta.org) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (https://www.aami.org/career).

New hires typically observe and assist experienced technicians for three to six months until they learn the ropes and are gradually given more independent tasks.

With experience, biomedical equipment technicians can expect to work with less supervision, and in some cases they may find themselves supervising less-experienced technicians. They may advance to positions in which they serve as instructors, assist in research, or have administrative duties. Although many supervisory positions are open to biomedical equipment technicians, some positions are not available without additional education. In large metropolitan hospitals, for instance, the minimum educational requirement for biomedical engineers, who do much of the supervising of biomedical equipment technicians, is a bachelor's degree; many engineers have a master's degree as well.

Join the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and Medical Equipment and Technology Association to make networking contacts, participate in continuing education, and receive other resources.  The AAMI Web site, https://www.aami.org/professionaldevelopment/content.aspx?ItemNumber=1550&navItemNumber=660, provides a variety of career-related articles and resources that will help you land a job.

Visit https://www.aami.org/career for job listings.

Read Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (https://www.aami.org/BIT?/publications/BIT) to learn more about the industry.

Participate in discussion groups and e-forums at the AAMI Web site, https://www.aami.org/communities/discussion.html.