There are hundreds of job openings in a career you may have never heard of. Right now, hospitals across Florida are desperate to hire medical device technicians and medical device engineers. It's a hot job across the country, but particularly in the sunshine state.
St. Pete College's Tarpon Springs Campus will open a brand new Biomedical Engineering Technology Lab to students in time for the August semester.
Amy Stashchak was one of the first students to explore the new lab, which has state-of-the art medical equipment like X-ray machines, infant incubators and medical scanners.
The lab is a direct result of Tampa Bay hospitals begging the college to get more students trained on how to fix the lifesaving equipment.
Marvin Bright, the provost at SPC Tarpon Springs explains, “Many of the hospitals are coming to us because of high demand to expand our health field. We add career programs when we know there is a high demand for jobs.”
Florida is one of the top states for medical device manufacturing, but there’s a big shortage in the number of engineers trained to fix the machines.
“That's why I think the job growth is actually endless,” Bright added.
With just two year’s experience, students can start working in a hospital and earn an average $47,000 a year! With a 4 year degree, as a biomedical engineer, that starting salary nearly doubles.
The biomedical engineer career path is expected to grow 23 times faster than the average for other jobs throughout the state.
As medicine advances, the need for more medical device technicians will grow.
There are still several spots for the new program. To inquire, contact St. Pete College's Tarpon Springs campus.
