allow me to introduce myself...

[rochabp]

Hi my name is Sergio Rocha i am going to be attending UCLA in the fall for biochemistry i was originallly bio but i thought i worked better at the smaller level so i switched, i read up on pre pharmacy and i tohught this would just be my ideal job i have a weird passion for medicine, during my life i loved learning on what minerals, herbs, and medicines do to the body so i kinda just grew up reading on what specific ingredients do to the body and how i could use them to my advantage, for example i would use vitamin c to kill my cortisol levels when ever i was under stress or after workouts...i also have a passion for hormones and have spent hours on my own reading on both of these areas.

im not a born genius not one of those guys that was just naturally smart but i am a hard worker and very passionate. i will do what ever it takes to achieve my goals if i have to beat out someone on a test and they are studying 10 hours a day then i will simply study 20 hours a day thats is my logical thinking, i prepare myself to achieve its that simple, nothing to it. again im not a genius im just a hard worker.

so again im interested in becoming a pharmacist and i hope some of you would be generious enough to guide me and answer some of my questions

thank you

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[AntiHouseMD]

We're all still in high school, most of us aren't going to college until 2012 or later. You'd be better off in the pre-med section or the pharmacy section to learn about pharmacists. (Don't worry; a lot of people get lost on which thread to post questions in).

 

[rochabp]

We're all still in high school, most of us aren't going to college until 2012 or later. You'd be better off in the pre-med section or the pharmacy section to learn about pharmacists. (Don't worry; a lot of people get lost on which thread to post questions in).

oh. lol. well atleast i introduced myself

 

[hitchhiker]

Just go into college as a teachable human being. Studying 20 hours a day is not practical and talking like that to real people will get weird looks.

Talk to pharm students and pharmacists who are both jaded and also some that are enjoying their career. You need both sides of the coin.

Start shadowing.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

oh. lol. well atleast i introduced myself

Very true, and welcome to SDN. Hopefully I didn't sound too bad when I put up my first post. Didn't mean anything bad by it, just wanted to point you in the right direction. I'm intending to major in biochemistry as well, so it's nice to see someone else with that type of interest. Impressive to see that you already know some things about biochemistry. The only piece of advice I can give is to not have your college life dominated by academics. You only go through college once, so you might as well enjoy it. Anyway, good luck with everything!

 

[rochabp]

yeah the 20 hour thing was just to emphasize that im willing to out work anyone. but yeah i get it.

i know what you mean about having some fun but man i already did my damage in high school so i dont plan on going out a lot, i want to achieve my goal which is important to me for a lot of different reasons, but anyways nice to meet you guys best of luck maybe one of you might join me at UCLA.

 

[HH Holmes]

Definitely talk to current Pharmacy students and Pharmacists. The general consensus is that Pharmacy schools are too abundant for the lack of available job spots which is creating an ever increasing unemployment rate for Pharmacists. Many cannot find places to work, as Pharmacy schools have been popping up everywhere.

In particular the fact that before 1987 the number of pharmacy schools, which was 72, was relatively constant. As of July 2010, there are 115 U.S. based colleges and schools of pharmacy with accredited (full or candidate status) professional degree programs and five schools with pre-candidate status. An additional 20 schools have been identified where feasibility and exploration of new programs is underway.

Source: http://pharmacyweekblog.com/2010/12/08/are-there-too-many-pharmacy-students/

 

[cer26]

Like someone said before, studying 20 hrs a day is not practical. If you know you may need to study a little extra more than other students in your major, that's a really great thing because it shows you are willing to work for it. You may start out early your first year studying WAY too much, but soon you'll realize that you can't keep doing it (way too stressful) and you'll quickly learn HOW to study and WHAT to study. Learning to do that comes with time, but everyone adjusts. As someone who's majored in biochem and came out the other side without any real damage, believe me when I say you can do it. Don't stress out about it too much, it's not worth it in the long run.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Cer26, how bad was biochemistry in terms of your college life? I know that you won't have as much free time as some majors, but you can still have a decent life outside of academics, right? I'm really interested in majoring in it, but this was one of the questions I had.

 

[kcin]

Cer26, how bad was biochemistry in terms of your college life? I know that you won't have as much free time as some majors, but you can still have a decent life outside of academics, right? I'm really interested in majoring in it, but this was one of the questions I had.

You can have a decent life outside of academics with any major, it's really not that big of a deal. It just gets hard if you end up working full time to support yourself.

 

[cer26]

Yeah, I agree with kcin 100%. I went out every weekend, spent time with my roommates, saw my boyfriend on a regular basis, and worked ~15-20 hours/wk in a lab, so you will have plenty of time. That said, if you waste a lot of time or don't study efficiently you won't have enough time. You will have more work than some majors, but it is manageable. Time management is what will make the difference.