Career Change

[G200Driver]

Hello,

I'm sure this has been brought up many times before so let me apologize now. I'm 30 years old and considering a career change to pharmacy. I have a four year degree in aeronautical science, a minor in business, as well as several aviation certificates. Can anyone give me any information, or direct me to a previous thread, about school requirements, time frame for completing school, job prospects, etc. Also, are there any books are web sites you can read to see if you have any aptitude in the field? I've had a fair amount of math and physics through school, but my biology and chemistry experience is limited to high school.

Thanks!

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[pharm B]

My bachelors is in Nuclear Engineering Tech and I worked in nuclear power for six years.

So I hear ya.

I'm not familiar with PharmCAS (most Texas schools don't use it), but this looks like a good start for you:

http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/start.htm

You should look at schools in your area (or just that you prefer).

Typically the pre-reqs are in line with those of med schools:

• English - 1 year
• History - 1 year
• Calculus and/or Statistics
• Chemistry - General & Organic - 2 years
• Biology - 2 years
• Physics - 1 or 2 semesters (Check for Calc-based or not)

I'm sure there are others, but it varies by school and application.

Hope that's a start in the right direction.

 

[pharm B]

Thanks to the fine folks at AACP and PharmApplicants.com, there's a table perfect for you to look over.

http://pharmapplicants.com/2009-2010_Pharmacy_School_Prerequisite_List.pdf

Schools on one axis and pre-reqs on the other!

 

[rphfan2009]

Hello,

I'm sure this has been brought up many times before so let me apologize now. I'm 30 years old and considering a career change to pharmacy. I have a four year degree in aeronautical science, a minor in business, as well as several aviation certificates. Can anyone give me any information, or direct me to a previous thread, about school requirements, time frame for completing school, job prospects, etc. Also, are there any books are web sites you can read to see if you have any aptitude in the field? I've had a fair amount of math and physics through school, but my biology and chemistry experience is limited to high school.

Thanks!

I'm in a similiar boat as you--you will be fine

 

[mmaviator]

Hello,

I'm sure this has been brought up many times before so let me apologize now. I'm 30 years old and considering a career change to pharmacy. I have a four year degree in aeronautical science, a minor in business, as well as several aviation certificates. Can anyone give me any information, or direct me to a previous thread, about school requirements, time frame for completing school, job prospects, etc. Also, are there any books are web sites you can read to see if you have any aptitude in the field? I've had a fair amount of math and physics through school, but my biology and chemistry experience is limited to high school.

Thanks!

by any chance are you on apc also? can't help with your question.

 

[wes011]

Sounds similar to me.

I am 30 years old, graduated from college in 2001 with my degree in chemistry, and have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 8 years. I didn't have all the pre-requisite courses so I just completed those for the program I was applying for admission. The best thing you can do for the pre-requisite courses is to get on the school's website that you are interested in as they will have a list of pre-reqs for admission.

I have always been interested in a career in pharmacy, however, I personally felt that I needed to mature before I started this journey. For me, I want to help people in a capacity that I find to be interesting. I should have listened to my father a long time ago when he told me to find a career that you love to do because then you will never work another day in your life.

As far as websites, check out the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (accp.com) or American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ashp.org) and you can browse for information and under Careers for Accp.com and I believe Resident information for ASHP.org you can search through listed residencies in various states that are available. I think that is a good place to look because it gives you an idea as to what type of career path or specialty you can practice in.

Other than that, use Google and type in your question....if you have a question there is usually a thread on it somewhere. If you have any specific questions just send me a private message and I'll respond to the best of my ability or atleast point you in the right direction.

 

[DrExperimento]

Depending on how long ago you recieved your degree, some of your classes might count toward your pre-req reqirements. You might want to check with an admissions councillor from a pharm school you're interested in. After some years of work, I decided to go back to school. I found that as long as the core pre-req's are completed somewhat recently (within the last 5 years I'd say) then it shouldn't be a problem. if I could offer a bit of advice as a side-note, just speaking from personal experience, gauge your study ability and comfort level with the classes you will take. What I mean by this is if you remember little to no biology, for example, look at taking a intro level class before taking the bio for majors class. It'll really give you a better background and help you get a better grade.

The questions you have about the pre-req's and timeframe can be better answered by the school's websites and/or admissions team. Since your circumstance is a little unique, I'd recommend the latter.

 

[cascones92]

I graduated with a degree in 1998 in secondary education. I was certified to teach science. I met with a dean of admissions for the school I was interested in and we went through my transcripts to see what gaps I needed to fill to meet their pre reqs..Turns out that I had to take 24 hours: chemistry II, org I and II, anatomy and physiology, and lastly business calc.. So I would figure out where you want to go and meet with someone in admisions and go from there. Good luck.

 

[PonderingChoice]

Is this, at all, a financially motivated decision? That's not a criticism, so much as a heads-up: I know that with my B.S. in microbiology, and at age 24, I should probably be making more money by pursuing a Pharm. D.... but advance that ~8 years and that's no longer the case. I might even be losing money, given the high cost of some schools, the years in lost wages, and the inability to invest. Unless you get into a state school, most schools will easily cost you 80K at the minimum. Some schools will cost you 140K, not taking into account any accrued interest.

As with my previous posts on the topic, this is not to deter those who are passionate about pharmacy, my mind just occasionally boggles when people who are much older than me seem interested in going into pharmacy, and... let's face it, not everyone who shows up here is finally pursuing their life long dream of becoming a pharmacist.