Doom & Gloomers are getting me down.

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But I don't want to change my major. I understand the market for jobs isn't great right now, and that's not likely to change much by the time I graduate. I'm mostly okay with that because I want to do residencies and then spend some time working with MSF, so making 6 figures right out of the gate is not that important to me. I feel that my interests would be better served in the long run by going this route.

I also plan to have a kid or two in the next 5-10 years, so I'm even okay with working part time if that's what work I can find when I'm done with school. I'm even okay with having to live in a rural area, so long as I'm within a 2 state radius of Washington. But still, all of the doom and gloomers who come here are making me feel more insecure on top of my personal insecurities.

I've known for a long time that I want to have a career where I feel useful. I considered teaching and MD, but I feel that pharmacy is really the best fit for me. I worked in a group home for DD adults for just over 2 years, and that really helped to push me in this direction over the others. Some of the medication related horror stories, oh boy could I go on about those!

But anyways, I've been feeling pretty down this whole semester, and I was hoping some of you guys might be able to offer some advice on how to keep my focus on my goals, rather than hearing what the detractors are saying.

Hey I know I've been hearing a lot about the job market too, but this is the case with most jobs anyway and not just pharmacists. What year are you? This is the way I see it: either after you graduate you are either going to get a job, or you're not. How many people go to pharmacy school and pay upwards of $100,000 only to be unemployed? I don't think this number is very high. I would imagine that most pharmacy school graduates EVENTUALLY (it may take longer and you may have to live somewhere else) find a job. And once you finally do land that job, you won't have to worry any more. I myself freshman in college and have decided that pharmacy will be my career, so maybe by the time I'm done (2019) the job market will have improved along with the economy.

Originally Posted by romylove

But I don't want to change my major. I understand the market for jobs isn't great right now, and that's not likely to change much by the time I graduate. I'm mostly okay with that because I want to do residencies and then spend some time working with MSF, so making 6 figures right out of the gate is not that important to me. I feel that my interests would be better served in the long run by going this route.

I also plan to have a kid or two in the next 5-10 years, so I'm even okay with working part time if that's what work I can find when I'm done with school. I'm even okay with having to live in a rural area, so long as I'm within a 2 state radius of Washington. But still, all of the doom and gloomers who come here are making me feel more insecure on top of my personal insecurities.

I've known for a long time that I want to have a career where I feel useful. I considered teaching and MD, but I feel that pharmacy is really the best fit for me. I worked in a group home for DD adults for just over 2 years, and that really helped to push me in this direction over the others. Some of the medication related horror stories, oh boy could I go on about those!

But anyways, I've been feeling pretty down this whole semester, and I was hoping some of you guys might be able to offer some advice on how to keep my focus on my goals, rather than hearing what the detractors are saying.

As a P3 student I urge you to look objectively at the pharmacy employment situation.
look at your tuition cost
look at the time 3-4 years of education
look at the number of baby boomers, how pharmacy is expanding...
look at the number of pgy1 residency spots/ matches--there is a very important trend here.
look at the number of pharmacy school graduates

Your paragraphs show that you are very mature. Do the above research and you will gain a better vision of what is going on. Once you got that, focus will be easier.

Originally Posted by Rph888

As a P3 student I urge you to look objectively at the pharmacy employment situation.
look at your tuition cost
look at the time 3-4 years of education
look at the number of baby boomers, how pharmacy is expanding...
look at the number of pgy1 residency spots/ matches--there is a very important trend here.
look at the number of pharmacy school graduates

Your paragraphs show that you are very mature. Do the above research and you will gain a better vision of what is going on. Once you got that, focus will be easier.

What do you think the job market will look like? Also what is a pgy1? Pharmacy Graduate Year 1?

Originally Posted by Rph888

As a P3 student I urge you to look objectively at the pharmacy employment situation.
look at your tuition cost
look at the time 3-4 years of education
look at the number of baby boomers, how pharmacy is expanding...
look at the number of pgy1 residency spots/ matches--there is a very important trend here.
look at the number of pharmacy school graduates

Your paragraphs show that you are very mature. Do the above research and you will gain a better vision of what is going on. Once you got that, focus will be easier.

Originally Posted by Markster106

What do you think the job market will look like? Also what is a pgy1? Pharmacy Graduate Year 1?

pgy1 is post-grad residency training year 1, you get on the job specialized learning that adds to your hospital skill-set. ashp.org is the resource i believe.

as to the job market, please please please look at my first post in this thread objectively look at the total # of graduates-especially the trend. look at the health of the retail pharmacy sector--walgreens for example, or wal-mart.

If you know what is going on in pharmacy, the job market will be easier to understand/explain...

Rph888, it sounds like you're optimistic about the future. Would you mind linking us to the data that shows those trends? I wouldn't even know where to begin looking.

Originally Posted by romylove

But I don't want to change my major. I understand the market for jobs isn't great right now, and that's not likely to change much by the time I graduate. I'm mostly okay with that because I want to do residencies and then spend some time working with MSF, so making 6 figures right out of the gate is not that important to me. I feel that my interests would be better served in the long run by going this route.

I also plan to have a kid or two in the next 5-10 years, so I'm even okay with working part time if that's what work I can find when I'm done with school. I'm even okay with having to live in a rural area, so long as I'm within a 2 state radius of Washington. But still, all of the doom and gloomers who come here are making me feel more insecure on top of my personal insecurities.

I've known for a long time that I want to have a career where I feel useful. I considered teaching and MD, but I feel that pharmacy is really the best fit for me. I worked in a group home for DD adults for just over 2 years, and that really helped to push me in this direction over the others. Some of the medication related horror stories, oh boy could I go on about those!

But anyways, I've been feeling pretty down this whole semester, and I was hoping some of you guys might be able to offer some advice on how to keep my focus on my goals, rather than hearing what the detractors are saying.

Trust me I can relate to what you are saying 100%. The reason some people do this is simple.....jealousy. They see people like us who want to be successful(complete opposite of who they are) so they bring you down to get you to their level. Pessimism hates optimism.

The solution? Cut them out of your life and surround yourself with positive, ambitious people who are or crave success. Those are the ones who are going to motivate and uplift you.

I have become a better and most importantly a happier person since doing this. It really is true that who you socialize with makes a big impact on the person you are going to become for the rest of your life. So surround yourself with smart, optimistic, and respectable people, and success is sure to come.

Originally Posted by romylove

But I don't want to change my major. I understand the market for jobs isn't great right now, and that's not likely to change much by the time I graduate. I'm mostly okay with that because I want to do residencies and then spend some time working with MSF, so making 6 figures right out of the gate is not that important to me. I feel that my interests would be better served in the long run by going this route.

I also plan to have a kid or two in the next 5-10 years, so I'm even okay with working part time if that's what work I can find when I'm done with school. I'm even okay with having to live in a rural area, so long as I'm within a 2 state radius of Washington. But still, all of the doom and gloomers who come here are making me feel more insecure on top of my personal insecurities.

I've known for a long time that I want to have a career where I feel useful. I considered teaching and MD, but I feel that pharmacy is really the best fit for me. I worked in a group home for DD adults for just over 2 years, and that really helped to push me in this direction over the others. Some of the medication related horror stories, oh boy could I go on about those!

But anyways, I've been feeling pretty down this whole semester, and I was hoping some of you guys might be able to offer some advice on how to keep my focus on my goals, rather than hearing what the detractors are saying.

My advice is to stop reading these boards, and ignore hyperbole. I'm worried about the job market, as are a lot of folks on here, but the thing about the future is that it isn't here yet, so we don't know what it looks like. Don't be blind to the challenges facing pharmacy today, however (there are many; they are not all due to the economy).

Concentrate on doing your best in school and try to do what you want to do, but know there will be some uphill battles and you may need to carve your own niche to get the job you want and that some of this is going to be harder than you ever expected.

Originally Posted by Stinkycheezmonk

Rph888, it sounds like you're optimistic about the future. Would you mind linking us to the data that shows those trends? I wouldn't even know where to begin looking.

Job growth projections: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm
Pharmacy School Enrollment: http://www.aacp.org/about/Pages/Vitalstats.aspx
Residency Information: http://www.aacp.org/resources/educat...Resources.aspx

Also, don't forget: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i...ists+in+the+us

Thank you both for posting that!

don't forget all the pets that need their meds! and vaccines we got a whole bunch of pet meds in today, looked like our pharmacy turned into a vet pharmacy

Apologies that I can't find the source off-hand (at work instead of home) - I read recently that the unemployment rate for pharmacists is ~2.5%. That may be double what it was prior to the recession, but compared to the rest of the economy, that's downright booming. The caveat is that it doesn't include underemployment. ~2.5% is about the same as other professional level fields during the downturn.

http://www.ashp.org/DocLibrary/Accre...Landscape.aspx

More info on residencies.

Originally Posted by xtsukiyox

Apologies that I can't find the source off-hand (at work instead of home) - I read recently that the unemployment rate for pharmacists is ~2.5%. That may be double what it was prior to the recession, but compared to the rest of the economy, that's downright booming. The caveat is that it doesn't include underemployment. ~2.5% is about the same as other professional level fields during the downturn.

Facts not welcomed here! Pharmacy is DOOMED! DOOMED I SAY! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU R TALING ANOUT!!!!

You are all going to be without a job and poor and have to go on medicaid where you will get the best health care ever with complimentary Escalades and bags of cocaine for each child you have. You'll also get Nikes and big steak dinners!!!!!! It sounds good to me!!!!!
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Originally Posted by rxlea

You are all going to be without a job and poor and have to go on medicaid where you will get the best health care ever with complimentary Escalades and bags of cocaine for each child you have. You'll also get Nikes and big steak dinners!!!!!! It sounds good to me!!!!!
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Bags of cocaine? I call shenanigans ...

While Whitney may say that crack is wack, I love me some smack.

Originally Posted by chemguy79

Bags of cocaine? I call shenanigans ...

While Whitney may say that crack is wack, I love me some smack.

Put away the children's breakfast cereal, your a grown-up now. :-p

Originally Posted by rxlea

You are all going to be without a job and poor and have to go on medicaid where you will get the best health care ever with complimentary Escalades and bags of cocaine for each child you have. You'll also get Nikes and big steak dinners!!!!!! It sounds good to me!!!!!

AHCCCS much lately? I'd have to pop me a baby to get that kind of healthcare these days. Oh well, if I'm unemployed & poor, might as well dirty the gene pool, right?

Originally Posted by Markster106

Hey I know I've been hearing a lot about the job market too, but this is the case with most jobs anyway and not just pharmacists. What year are you? This is the way I see it: either after you graduate you are either going to get a job, or you're not. How many people go to pharmacy school and pay upwards of $100,000 only to be unemployed? I don't think this number is very high. I would imagine that most pharmacy school graduates EVENTUALLY (it may take longer and you may have to live somewhere else) find a job. And once you finally do land that job, you won't have to worry any more. I myself freshman in college and have decided that pharmacy will be my career, so maybe by the time I'm done (2019) the job market will have improved along with the economy.

ALOT, Law school is flooded with people paying more than 100K in loans and getting jobs for only 35K. Google a recent article I saw on yahoo news regarding law school student graduates are suing their law school because of the false hopes about the job market they fed their students. I think it was in New York?. I don't mean to get you down, just be realistic and not naive.

Originally Posted by goldenboy212

ALOT, Law school is flooded with people paying more than 100K in loans and getting jobs for only 35K. Google a recent article I saw on yahoo news regarding law school student graduates are suing their law school because of the false hopes about the job market they fed their students. I think it was in New York?. I don't mean to get you down, just be realistic and not naive.

Um, hello. We are talking about pharmacy not law. Anyone who majored in classic studies or something useless like that can get into law school if they fork out the money. The job markets for lawyers and pharmacists are both suffering but to assume they are the same is imbecile.

Nearly every PharmD graduating gets a job and they are not making 35k. Why? Because they aren't lawyers. Unless you go to some no name school still seeking accreditation or get piss poor grades you will find a job.

I say this because I know plenty of people in pharmacy school and I have been asking them quite frequently. No P4 is jobless unless they match for a residency, which is hardly jobless. Now these people go to OSU, UNC, and Pitt which are all highly ranked schools. So maybe if you go to a poorly ranked school you will be SOL, but I doubt it. All I can attest to is that graduates from GOOD pharmacy schools get jobs.

Your mom is so fat - I took a picture of her last Christmas and it is still printing!

hmmm... Not really sure why I felt the need to tell a momma joke in this thread. I guess it just happened.

Originally Posted by Pojman

Your mom is so fat - I took a picture of her last Christmas and it is still printing!

hmmm... Not really sure why I felt the need to tell a momma joke in this thread. I guess it just happened.

Yo mama's teeth so yellow "I can't believe it's not butter!"

This thread is stupid.

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Originally Posted by goldenboy212

ALOT, Law school is flooded with people paying more than 100K in loans and getting jobs for only 35K. Google a recent article I saw on yahoo news regarding law school student graduates are suing their law school because of the false hopes about the job market they fed their students. I think it was in New York?. I don't mean to get you down, just be realistic and not naive.

Please don't lecture the Alots. They don't like it.

.

Originally Posted by snopharm

Yo mama's so fat her Patronus is a cake!!!

Win!

I went to a local Walgreens to ask the pharmacist about the three pharmacy schools I've applied to. These are all ranked top 10 on the US News thing for whatever that's worth. I wanted to hear about their reputations from someone in the business.

He says "Go to medical school dude. This profession is f***ing dead." And then he elaborates on his point for the next ten to fifteen minutes...

That was a bummer.

Originally Posted by Stinkycheezmonk

Rph888, it sounds like you're optimistic about the future. Would you mind linking us to the data that shows those trends? I wouldn't even know where to begin looking.

http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com.../detail/726723

read this article above, it is a great starting point. I don't agree with all said, but the trends are in there i think.

drug topics is a somewhat reputable publication.

but for any student, i recommend talking to working pharmacists to get a better picture.

Originally Posted by SaurusRex

I went to a local Walgreens to ask the pharmacist about the three pharmacy schools I've applied to. These are all ranked top 10 on the US News thing for whatever that's worth. I wanted to hear about their reputations from someone in the business.

He says "Go to medical school dude. This profession is f***ing dead." And then he elaborates on his point for the next ten to fifteen minutes...

That was a bummer.

When I start working the counter i don't think i will be so harsh!

Originally Posted by goldenboy212

ALOT, Law school is flooded with people paying more than 100K in loans and getting jobs for only 35K.

ALOT Law School is flooded with rich alots. It is a top 20 school for Alot-Americans. Alas, most states don't allow alots to sit for the bar.

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Originally Posted by snopharm

Yo mama's so fat her Patronus is a cake!!!

Yo momma so dumb, she sold her car for gas money!

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Originally Posted by xtsukiyox

ALOT Law School is flooded with rich alots. It is a top 20 school for Alot-Americans. Alas, most states don't allow alots to sit for the bar.

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I had no idea alots had their own schools!

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co...verything.html

Originally Posted by xtsukiyox

Yo momma so dumb, she sold her car for gas money!

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Yo mamas like a doorknob...everyone gets a turn.

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You mom is so stupid, she got locked in a grocery store and starved to death!

Sorry for the double post.. But - I just remembered one of my favorites..

Your mom is so poor, she wears a shower curtain to work!

Yo mamma's blood pressure is so high, I told her she should limit the salt in her diet. She's a nice lady.

Originally Posted by Incitatus

Yo mamma's blood pressure is so high, I told her she should limit the salt in her diet. She's a nice lady.

I lol'd

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Originally Posted by Incitatus

Yo mamma's blood pressure is so high, I told her she should limit the salt in her diet. She's a nice lady.

Win.

Originally Posted by rxlea

Yo mama's teeth so yellow "I can't believe it's not butter!"

This thread is stupid.

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Ok I am not a fan of yo mama jokes anymore, bug this made me lol

According to AACP:

http://www.aacp.org/about/Pages/Vitalstats.aspx

We have 127 pharmacy schools now....what a jump from 2003 when I first started out pharmacy school (80 schools back then). Now that explains why jobs are saturated.

Originally Posted by rxlea

You are all going to be without a job and poor and have to go on medicaid where you will get the best health care ever with complimentary Escalades and bags of cocaine for each child you have. You'll also get Nikes and big steak dinners!!!!!! It sounds good to me!!!!!
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This literally made me laugh. Thank you

Originally Posted by lisinopril

According to AACP:

http://www.aacp.org/about/Pages/Vitalstats.aspx

We have 127 pharmacy schools now....what a jump from 2003 when I first started out pharmacy school (80 schools back then). Now that explains why jobs are saturated.

lol yea, my pharmacy prof. just told us to be realistic about residencies too, last year, 3rd of the class applied for residency I think only half got one, my school is in the top 20 (don't reme. exact ranking) for what it's worth, so it's decent

also i have always "looked down" on doom and glooms if you looked at my posts from a year ago or sthing, but now everyone knows the time is not good... but then again when I got my finance degree, they told us half of the class doesn't have a job offer yet at the ceremony, that was at the peak of economic down turn tho... I think

also, I read from this thread about not comparing law to pharmacy, all I got to say is... well if pharmacy schools keeps opening up at this rate...lol and did you guys even notice the caliber of schools that are trying to open up pharmacy schools?! lol

I feel like all of you like to play with my emotions by getting my hopes up & then sinking them below Rock Bottom.
Or sinking them below Rock Bottom & then raising them a little bit only to sink them lower than below Rock Bottom.

It depends on the thread, really.