I’ve repaired medical equipment for over 30 years. My son is in the field now, and I think it’s one of the most promising careers.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bryant K. Hawkins Sr., a site manager for the clinical asset management company Trimedx and the founder of Elevate HTM, a nonprofit elevating awareness of healthcare technology management careers. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I stumbled into a career in healthcare technology management over 30 years ago, and I’m so glad I did.

When I graduated from high school in 1990, I had no clue what I wanted to do. So I opened the local college catalog, closed my eyes, and said whatever I touch is what I’m taking. I landed on biomedical equipment technology and haven’t looked back.

After getting my associate degree, I immediately found a job at a local hospital as a biomedical equipment technician. When I started repairing dialysis machines a few years later and realized these machines were keeping people alive, the sense of purpose in my career path really clicked.

After 11 years as a technician, I shifted into a leadership role and have been a site manager at various organizations for the past 20 years. While most of my days are filled with meetings now, I still find fulfillment in knowing that my team is saving lives with the equipment.

I work at a children’s hospital now, and when I see a kid walking around with an IV pole, it makes me feel good knowing that they’re able to walk around and get some sunlight because we make sure the poles’ attached pumps work correctly. That’s one of the beautiful things about what we do that I don’t think people really understand. We don’t have to deal with blood. We don’t have to deal with patients. But we still get to contribute to bettering that patient’s life.

I encouraged my son to follow in my footsteps — and it’s been the highlight of my career

I believe in this career path so much that when my son graduated from high school in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and without a clear path, I encouraged him to try the online program with the College of Biomedical Equipment Technology.

Sixteen months later, he had an associate degree and numerous job offers, including one from the company I work for. I got to be the one to tell him he got the job with us, and we both cried out of excitement. That moment beat every accolade I’d ever received in my own career.

He’s been working the job for three years now and isn’t interested in doing anything else. While he had to incur some debt to get his degree, he immediately started earning an annual salary that was three times what his tuition was, which you don’t see with most colleges. He’s been able to support himself on his own since he graduated — this really is an industry that allows you to take care of yourself.

The opportunities for BMETs are vast — the biggest challenge is awareness

When I first started in the healthcare technology management industry, it was a little more challenging to find jobs. Today, the sky’s the limit. There’s a demand in every aspect of the industry and so much opportunity for growth. You can work in hospitals, for medical equipment manufacturers, on cruise ships, or as a traveling tech. You can be steady and stay put, or be adventurous and work across the country in a traveling biomedical equipment technician role.

You can get started with a certificate, an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree. There are even apprentice programs where you can get on-the-job training — a lot of technicians are coming into the industry that way.

The biggest challenge is that most people don’t know about this industry. A lot of older BMETs are retiring, and not enough new people are entering to fill the gap. That’s why I’m passionate about bringing awareness to this industry, which I do through speaking engagements and my podcast.

I especially love introducing this field to kids, and I even wrote a children’s book to get HTM careers on their radar. When I talk at schools, I tell kids, “What you’re about to hear about today you probably never knew existed. And when you leave, you’re going to have something in your pocket that can probably change your life.” I think that’s true for everybody who reads this and considers the BMET career path.

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