Constant talk about how "pharmacy is boring/depressing or sucks"

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druggeek

druggeek

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What would you rather do? Make 35-40k a year and live a completely average life? spend 8-10 years in school (medicine) then another 4-6 years of working close to 80 hours a week, finally getting a real paycheck at age 30 or even later while being buried in debt? then working 55 hours a week after that lolz...

What other job allows 24 year olds to start off around 100k a year? like seriously lol.. especially working only 40 hours a week...
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Life's not all about money yo.

Problem with retail pharmacy is that there is little career advancement. It's the struggle and journey that makes life fun and interesting. Hitting peak at the age of 24 is a depressing thought indeed. Few pharmacists live to work for a reason, so I hope you have hobbies.
 
druggeek said:
What would you rather do? Make 35-40k a year and live a completely average life? spend 8-10 years in school (medicine) then another 4-6 years of working close to 80 hours a week, finally getting a real paycheck at age 30 or even later while being buried in debt? then working 55 hours a week after that lolz...

What other job allows 24 year olds to start off around 100k a year? like seriously lol.. especially working only 40 hours a week...
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Omg. Seriously.
 
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naus said:
Life's not all about money yo.

Problem with retail pharmacy is that there is little career advancement. It's the struggle and journey that makes life fun and interesting. Hitting peak at the age of 24 is a depressing thought indeed. Few pharmacists live to work for a reason, so I hope you have hobbies.
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I have more hobbies than the average person (a lot more) so I'm fine in that category.

Just wondering, do you guys ever talk to an average dude? :cool:

I have guys at the gym telling me that they're willing to relocate for a 70-80k job without a second thought.


Work is there to provide money, hopefully it's something that someone doesnt hate (hey if you hated it, why become a pharmacist anyway?). But aside from that... who makes more money?

Person A: Starts off at 100k a year, by age 35 he is making 120k a year (pharmacist)

Person B: Starts off at 35k a year, by age 35 he makes 50k a year :) (average person, if even 35-50k a year lolzz)


Ok we can move past the average person and look at an engineer for example... Start at 45k a year and make 100-110k a year by age 35... (or less). Who's made more money now?
 
druggeek said:
I have more hobbies than the average person (a lot more) so I'm fine in that category.

Just wondering, do you guys ever talk to an average dude? :cool:

I have guys at the gym telling me that they're willing to relocate for a 70-80k job without a second thought.


Work is there to provide money, hopefully it's something that someone doesnt hate (hey if you hated it, why become a pharmacist anyway?). But aside from that... who makes more money?

Person A: Starts off at 100k a year, by age 35 he is making 120k a year (pharmacist)

Person B: Starts off at 35k a year, by age 35 he makes 50k a year :) (average person, if even 35-50k a year lolzz)


Ok we can move past the average person and look at an engineer for example... Start at 45k a year and make 100-110k a year by age 35... (or less). Who's made more money now?
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CEOs, Commerical real estate agents, and the like makes the most money. Pharmacy makes okay money, not bad but not great either. If you are only about the money you should go into business.
 
SHC1984 said:
CEOs, Commerical real estate agents, and the like makes the most money. Pharmacy makes okay money, not bad but not great either. If you are only about the money you should go into business.
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Yes because everyone becomes a CEO right?? :rolleyes::laugh:
Business is the most popular thing in post secondary education, what percentage of these people will be making big money?
Most business graduates nowadays will be lucky to find a 35-40k job, and need to be even luckier to work up to a high ranking which will pay them above 100k...


I also prefer 40 hours a week of work vs. up and down overtime hours, as I like would prefer to pursue hobbies...


Again, whats better than a pharmacist? Lets hear some examples...
 
druggeek said:
Yes because everyone becomes a CEO right?? :rolleyes::laugh:
Business is the most popular thing in post secondary education, what percentage of these people will be making big money?
Most business graduates nowadays will be lucky to find a 35-40k job, and need to be even luckier to work up to a high ranking which will pay them above 100k...


I also prefer 40 hours a week of work vs. up and down overtime hours, as I like would prefer to pursue hobbies...


Again, whats better than a pharmacist? Lets hear some examples...
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Fair enough. Dentists (Orthodontist especially) makes a lot of money. Dental school is 4 years like pharmacy, but they make much more money. I was in dental school b/c dentists made so much dough....but I really hated the close physical patient contact so I dropped out of dental school. But if you only care about money and nothing else. Dentistry would be a great field for you. To me pharmacist make a decent amount of money but they are far from being rich. After taxes and other deductions pharmacist's take home salary is around 60K to 70K...which is middle class pretty average to me.
 
SHC1984 said:
Fair enough. Dentists (Orthodontist especially) makes a lot of money. Dental school is 4 years like pharmacy, but they make much more money. I was in dental school b/c dentists made so much dough....but I really hated the close physical patient contact so I dropped out of dental school. But if you only care about money and nothing else. Dentistry would be a great field for you. To me pharmacist make a decent amount of money but they are far from being rich. After taxes and other deductions pharmacist's take home salary is around 60K to 70K...which is middle class pretty average to me.
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For the reason you said, I could never be a dentist. I also have zero interest in teeth vs. tons of interest in drugs.

Also, the average gross household income is mid 60s ... lol... how much do engineers net?
 
SHC1984 said:
Fair enough. Dentists (Orthodontist especially) makes a lot of money. Dental school is 4 years like pharmacy, but they make much more money. I was in dental school b/c dentists made so much dough....but I really hated the close physical patient contact so I dropped out of dental school. But if you only care about money and nothing else. Dentistry would be a great field for you. To me pharmacist make a decent amount of money but they are far from being rich. After taxes and other deductions pharmacist's take home salary is around 60K to 70K...which is middle class pretty average to me.
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The average household income of America in 2010 is $49,777. This is before any deductions. So, after deductions, the average household income is around 38k for an entire household. So, assuming both earners in a household worked, then their income combined would still be about half of a single pharmacists income (not household).

Pharmacists make probably more than the 95 percentile, so I certainly would go to any stretch to say that a pharmacists pay is pretty "average"
 
The average household income in America include retirees, students, unemployed and the 70% of population with no college degrees, and where the average home price is $180k (try to buy a house on the two coasts with that).

While the pharmacist salaries are high, it's not that high for someone to have to put up with their job being "boring/depressing" like the OP wishes. The constant talk about pharmacy being boring and depressing is legitimate. It may or may not be offset by the generous yet still pretty vanilla salary. That's the point that has whooshed past the OP's head.
 
druggeek said:
Ok we can move past the average person and look at an engineer for example... Start at 45k a year and make 100-110k a year by age 35... (or less). Who's made more money now?
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That engineer probably has less debt than the average pharmacist. He might be doing what he wanted to do since he was 13 (how many of you wanted to be a pharmacist as a child?). He may be traveling across the country and around the world on consultations, conferences and field projects. He may enjoy working on a wide range of products and at different levels of the food chain, and not doing the same routine day in and day out. He has a nice office and gets to work at home at times, he doesn't have to deal with screaming deadbeats and doesn't drive into a CVS every morning.

It's pretty shallow to only look at money and ignore all the other intangibles that have a large bearing on one's professional and personal happiness. It's not like you're making 10x more than most college grads. You're barely at parity compared to most other non-humanities doctorates.
 
naus said:
That engineer probably has less debt than the average pharmacist. He might be doing what he wanted to do since he was 13 (how many of you wanted to be a pharmacist as a child?). He may be traveling across the country and around the world on consultations, conferences and field projects. He may enjoy working on a wide range of products and at different levels of the food chain, and not doing the same routine day in and day out. He has a nice office and gets to work at home at times, he doesn't have to deal with screaming deadbeats and CVS managers.

It's pretty shallow to only look at money and ignore all the other intangibles that have a large bearing on one's professional and personal happiness. It's not like you're making 10x more that most college grads. You're barely at parity compared to most other non-humanities doctorates.
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How many 13 yo want to be engineers? What a silly argument. It's all doctors, police, firemen, etc. And it doesn't even matter what you wanted to be when you were a kid anyway.

It is also odd to argue that an engineer has more flexibility than a pharmacist. There are non-CVS jobs that allow for plenty of amazing experiences in pharmacy. Most engineers do not have careers that are anything like what you describe (nor do pharmacists of course - I am just pointing out that for most people your job is just a job, not a globe trotting adventure or anything amazing). Less monotony in engineering? I wouldn't know but it seems like their job would be pretty monotony at times. Taking your work home is an advantage? No thank you.

I agree with your closing paragraph. Look at everything, not just money. Pharmacists make good money, but it's not like we are the highest paid profession in existence.
 
naus said:
That engineer probably has less debt than the average pharmacist. He might be doing what he wanted to do since he was 13 (how many of you wanted to be a pharmacist as a child?). He may be traveling across the country and around the world on consultations, conferences and field projects. He may enjoy working on a wide range of products and at different levels of the food chain, and not doing the same routine day in and day out. He has a nice office and gets to work at home at times, he doesn't have to deal with screaming deadbeats and doesn't drive into a CVS every morning.

It's pretty shallow to only look at money and ignore all the other intangibles that have a large bearing on one's professional and personal happiness. It's not like you're making 10x more than most college grads. You're barely at parity compared to most other non-humanities doctorates.
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lololol

Here in canada, pharmacy tuition is 12-14k a year :) My parents also paying 80-85% of my total education money is pretty good...

An engineer will also be living in mama n papas basement until he can buy a house or renting an apartment... (in which case a house is significantly put off).

An engineer here also doesnt make huge money... maybe 100-105k after gaining some good experience...


Also, for someone who 100% wants something in the healthcare field, has a large interest in drugs ever since being 13 :) Pharmacy aint so bad is it?
 
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To those who are against pharmacy at all, what would you have done instead?
 
owlegrad said:
How many 13 yo want to be engineers? What a silly argument. It's all doctors, police, firemen, etc. And it doesn't even matter what you wanted to be when you were a kid anyway.
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13 year old thought process is a little more advanced that that. You're thinking 7 year olds. Starting in my high school freshman year, we had lots of hands-on workshops like robotics and AutoCAD.

owlegrad said:
It is also odd to argue that an engineer has more flexibility than a pharmacist. There are non-CVS jobs that allow for plenty of amazing experiences in pharmacy. Most engineers do not have careers that are anything like what you describe (nor do pharmacists of course - I am just pointing out that for most people your job is just a job, not a globe trotting adventure or anything amazing). Less monotony in engineering? I wouldn't know but it seems like their job would be pretty monotony at times. Taking your work home is an advantage? No thank you.
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Engineering is vastly more flexible; the managerial track is much more accessible than in pharmacy. High product turnover cures monotony. If you work for a decent sized company (like EMC, iRobot), it's a rare engineer who doesn't travel for work.
 
Ok. Let me fire up the edit button... this is going to be a long post!

For starters, I have too much time on my hands. I work ~36 hours per week, get paid for 40 hours a week, and I make $1 more per hour than what they made in my old district.
Next, with my free time, I picked up a 2nd, per diem job that pays $10 more per hour than my full-time job. Hopefully I'll start soon! Lol The manager said it was "good money", but it's shockingly good, because you get paid for being available, not necessarily for working. So basically, I may or may not work on shifts that I pick up during the week, and for weekends, I'll work 2 or 3 hours and get paid for several more hours than I actually work.
In addition, I started taking classes again to save on subsidized loan interest and to learn a new skill. At first it was challenging, but now I'm bored again. I think I should have signed up for 1 more class, but that's what I get for being conservative.
And lastly, I'm 26, but I look like I'm 20. People still call me "that girl", and they only call me lady if they're talking to a child.

So... if you're a night person, then pharmacy is where it's at!!!
 
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druggeek said:
To those who are against pharmacy at all, what would you have done instead?
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Lacking imagination appears to be a prerequisite in being a happy pharmacist.
 
13 year old thought process is a little more advanced that that. You're thinking 7 year olds. Starting in my high school freshman year, we had lots of hands-on workshops like robotics and AutoCAD.
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Maybe I am not giving them enough credit. But how many high school students have any career aspirations at all, let alone pharmacy vs engineering? When I was in hs, I had no career plan at all which I doubt is uncommon. Of course the whole discusion is moot, why does it matter what you wanted to do before you could even drive or vote?

Engineering is vastly more flexible; the managerial track is much more accessible than in pharmacy. High product turnover cures monotony. If you work for a decent sized company (like EMC, iRobot), it's a rare engineer who doesn't travel for work.
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Ok, I have never been an engineer, so I am going to defer to A4MD on this one.
 
PharmDstudent said:
Ok. Let me fire up the edit button... this is going to be a long post!

For starters, I have too much time on my hands. I work ~36 hours per week, get paid for 40 hours a week, and I make $1 more per hour than what they made in my old district.
Next, with my free time, I picked up a 2nd, per diem job that pays $10 more per hour than my full-time job. Hopefully I'll start soon! Lol The manager said it was "good money", but it's shockingly good, because you get paid for being available, not necessarily for working. So basically, I may or may not work on shifts that I pick up during the week, and for weekends, I'll work 2 or 3 hours and get paid for several more hours than I actually work.
In addition, I started taking classes again. At first it was challenging, but now I'm bored again. I think I should have signed up for 1 more class, but that's what I get for being conservative.
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Never mind. Pharmacy is the greatest Schnitzel ever.
 
Pharmacy is neither boring nor depressing nor limited to retail. There are plenty of very cool and interesting things one can do with a pharmacy degree.
 
owlegrad said:
Ok, I have never been an engineer, so I am going to defer to A4MD on this one.
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In addition to working at that engineering company (they did mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC stuff) I was engaged to and lived with a mechanical engineer for 3 years. His job was boring. He told me that all the time. But a job is a job and it shouldn't be your fulfillment in life.

My brother in law is a computer engineer and works from home. He likes it well enough. His wife (my stepsister) is a chemical engineer by training but got out of the field and now works in marketing for the company that she was an engineer for.

One other thought I had was that not everyone finds traveling for work to be exciting or even a good thing. My best friend's hubby travels constantly for his job as an immigration attorney. It takes him away from his wife and three young children. He finds it exhausting and his wife hates it.

I traveled a lot in my previous career (out of town training, conferences, meetings with donors) and I hated it, especially after I had a child. I wanted to be home with my husband and baby, not sitting in a hotel eating takeout. When I was at home I had meetings and stuff almost every evening and conferences, seminars most weekends. Additionally, I took work home all the time and sat up nights sometimes wondering where our next grant would come from or if we would be short on payroll at the end of the year, etc. One of the reasons that pharmacy appealed to me was that you mostly work your shift and go home.

There are good and bad things about every career.
 
naus said:
Never mind. Pharmacy is the greatest Schnitzel ever.
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You seem to want to be able to present the negative side of the discussion but become resentful if someone wants to say something good about pharmacy or actually likes their career. It doesn't really work that way. Two sides to every coin, etc.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
You seem to want to be able to present the negative side of the discussion but become resentful if someone wants to say something good about pharmacy or actually likes their career. It doesn't really work that way. Two sides to every coin, etc.
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Pharmacy is great, but it's becoming somewhat risky. I'm sure you all know what my concerns are, ad nauseum. Maybe Walgreens will start expanding again once they don't have to worry about a shortage of pharmacists?
Hopefully something changes and more jobs open up. I wish someone with half a brain saw this surplus coming, but since all of these companies have their eyes glued to the dollar bill, it hasn't happened quite yet.
 
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All4MyDaughter said:
You seem to want to be able to present the negative side of the discussion but become resentful if someone wants to say something good about pharmacy or actually likes their career. It doesn't really work that way. Two sides to every coin, etc.
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Um, the OP was asking (challenging, if you will) for negative responses. Other than money and decent hours, I've yet to read much good written about retail pharmacy in this thread. The whole point of my responses was that there is a lot more to a career than money and that the money itself does not make the "boring/depressing" criticism of retail pharmacy any less relevant.

And I'm well aware that other jobs can be equally boring and monotonous, but there are also jobs that aren't, even if the pay is less than retail pharmacists starting. For some people that trade-off is worth it. The OP's "What would you rather do?" question reflects someone without much imagination, as if a starting salary argument is the absolute bottom line and that retail pharmacy alone holds the key to the magical pot under the rainbow. If that were the case, we wouldn't have much color in our society today.

Essentially, I felt the OP's tone to be too shallow.
 
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Corporate retail, imho, really really really sucks...I love my job today. climbed a hill, now im sledding all the way down :)
 
My backup in case pharmacy didn't work out was to become a Suffolk County cop. Do good on the exam, wait for a spot at the academy to open up, start at 60K, make 100K in 5 years. Work OT to bring that to like 200K, and then retire after 20 years with a fat pension.
 
naus said:
Problem with retail pharmacy is that there is little career advancement. It's the struggle and journey that makes life fun and interesting.
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So you would rather make 50k at 23 and work up to 140k when your in your mid 40s to make life fun and exciting?

Been making six figs since 23 and still smiling all the way to the bank.
 
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Sparda29 said:
My backup in case pharmacy didn't work out was to become a Suffolk County cop. Do good on the exam, wait for a spot at the academy to open up, start at 60K, make 100K in 5 years. Work OT to bring that to like 200K, and then retire after 20 years with a fat pension.
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This, except NYS trooper. Actually, I almost did, but I felt like I would be selling myself out...not that being a cop isn't "good enough", but I knew I had to do something involving chemistry/a "sciencey" kind of thing.
 
Sparda29 said:
My backup in case pharmacy didn't work out was to become a Suffolk County cop. Do good on the exam, wait for a spot at the academy to open up, start at 60K, make 100K in 5 years. Work OT to bring that to like 200K, and then retire after 20 years with a fat pension.
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The STARTING salary of a garbage man is New York City is 90K a year. Not bad money! ;)
 
owlegrad said:
:eek:
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I was very SHOCKED too! I learn that in our women's studies class actually...the professor was complaining about how society doesn't value women and children and that teachers starting salary in New York City is 45K while a garbage man's salary is at 90K a year. That how little society values children. 45K for teachers only!
 
SHC1984 said:
I was very SHOCKED too! I learn that in our women's studies class actually...the professor was complaining about how society doesn't value women and children and that teachers starting salary in New York City is 45K while a garbage man's salary is at 90K a year. That how little society values children. 45K for teachers only!
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That's the starting salary for male teachers too, BTW. Very few teachers in my area make 45k no matter how long they've been teaching, either. The city where I grew up decided to eliminate separate pay scales for men and women when I was in elementary school in the early 1970s, and most people who be beyond shocked to know that most of the people who opposed this were women!

A columnist in a city where I used to live did a column about this - the pay of teachers vs. garbagemen. He got a LOT of feedback on that, and one of the letters in this pre-email era was from a husband and wife. She was a teacher and he was a garbageman who had a master's degree. They had come to this city for her job, and he took the garbageman job to tide him over until he found something in his field, and was completely surprised to find out that he loved it! He didn't plan to do it forever, but he said there's a lot more to know about that job than most people realize, in addition to it being dangerous and filthy.

This same columnist wrote about going on a cruise with his wife, and wondered what this "Friends of Bill W." thing that was posted on the activity board, including daily at 3am, was all about. Because his name was Bill W-------, he decided to go to one of these and when he introduced himself, using his full name, everyone kind of looked at each other and said, "I don't think you belong here!" :oops:

Bill W. was the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
 
If we agree that teachers make about 45K (and I believe experienced teachers make more than that, at least in my area) we have to remember that most only work 9 months out of the year, or 75% of a "normal" work year. That's equivalent to a 60K annual salary based on working 12/12 months. That's not an unreasonable salary for a person with a master's degree.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
If we agree that teachers make about 45K (and I believe experienced teachers make more than that, at least in my area) we have to remember that most only work 9 months out of the year, or 75% of a "normal" work year. That's equivalent to a 60K annual salary based on working 12/12 months. That's not an unreasonable salary for a person with a master's degree.
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My neighbor said that she works 50-60 hours per week during the school year. She has to grade papers, do lesson plans, etc. at home. So the extra time off balances out with the extra hours worked during the school year, give or take.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
If we agree that teachers make about 45K (and I believe experienced teachers make more than that, at least in my area) we have to remember that most only work 9 months out of the year, or 75% of a "normal" work year. That's equivalent to a 60K annual salary based on working 12/12 months. That's not an unreasonable salary for a person with a master's degree.
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Not only that but in the tri-state area (NY/NJ/CT) they have some interesting perks including tenure and a powerful union backing.
 
PharmDstudent said:
My neighbor said that she works 50-60 hours per week during the school year. She has to grade papers, do lesson plans, etc.
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I think that people in general overestimate their working hours, so I take those types of things with a grain of salt. I worked in the schools for almost four years and saw many teachers who were out the door at the end of the day and had time to have other jobs, etc. I hired several of them for my program. The school day is not 8 hours here either.

By contrast, when I was doing the job that placed me in the schools (but working for a private agency) I routinely put in an 8 hour day at the office and then headed to the schools for the afterschool program and then onto meetings in the evening and on weekends. I made < 40K with no benefits. I had a master's degree in education (non-teaching). I considered going for my teaching cerification because it would have been more money and better hours compared to what I was doing.

I also think that what subject one teaches influences the amount of time needed outside of the school day. My sister in law (who teaches health) gets the majority of her work done during the school day. My sister (who is a special education resource teacher) does as well. On the other hand, my best friend (high school English teacher) brings a lot of work home.

I respect teachers greatly but don't believe they are grossly underpaid, as is frequently portrayed in the media. I think it's a difficult job, but there are tons of difficult jobs that pay far less than what teachers make.
 
PharmDstudent said:
My neighbor said that she works 50-60 hours per week during the school year. She has to grade papers, do lesson plans, etc. at home. So the extra time off balances out with the extra hours worked during the school year, give or take.
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Unless you're a gym teacher :thumbup::D
 
All4MyDaughter said:
I think that people in general overestimate their working hours, so I take those types of things with a grain of salt. I worked in the schools for almost four years and saw many teachers who were out the door at the end of the day and had time to have other jobs, etc. I hired several of them for my program. The school day is not 8 hours here either.

By contrast, when I was doing the job that placed me in the schools (but working for a private agency) I routinely put in an 8 hour day at the office and then headed to the schools for the afterschool program and then onto meetings in the evening and on weekends. I made < 40K with no benefits. I had a master's degree in education (non-teaching). I considered going for my teaching cerification because it would have been more money and better hours compared to what I was doing.

I also think that what subject one teaches influences the amount of time needed outside of the school day. My sister in law (who teaches health) gets the majority of her work done during the school day. My sister (who is a special education resource teacher) does as well. On the other hand, my best friend (high school English teacher) brings a lot of work home.

I respect teachers greatly but don't believe they are grossly underpaid, as is frequently portrayed in the media. I think it's a difficult job, but there are tons of difficult jobs that pay far less than what teachers make.
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Elementary teachers teach by the grade here, not by the subject. Do they teach by the subject where you worked? I think that makes a huge difference when it comes to lesson plans.
 
PharmDstudent said:
Elementary teachers teach by the grade here, not by the subject. Do they teach by the subject where you worked? I think that makes a huge difference when it comes to lesson plans.
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It varies. Some teach by the grade (single grade) and ome have integrated primary (two grades together). Sometimes in 4th or 5th grade they have the students rotate classes and teachers teach one or more subjects (one might teach math/science, another English/humanities, etc). I mostly worked with middle school students and teachers but I do know that elementary certification in this state is for all subjects.
 
owlegrad said:
Maybe I am not giving them enough credit. But how many high school students have any career aspirations at all, let alone pharmacy vs engineering? When I was in hs, I had no career plan at all which I doubt is uncommon. Of course the whole discusion is moot, why does it matter what you wanted to do before you could even drive or vote?



Ok, I have never been an engineer, so I am going to defer to A4MD on this one.
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Owlegrad, I had career aspirations since I was a kid. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. Why? It seemed awesome. Now I know that I would not be good at it. I sucked at Physics Honors and all we did was multiple choice tests and quizzes. Plus, physics is boring and doesn't light a fire in me like biology and chemistry do.

Then I wanted to go into pharmacy or chemistry research.
 
SeekerofTruth said:
Owlegrad, I had career aspirations since I was a kid. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. Why? It seemed awesome. Now I know that I would not be good at it. I sucked at Physics Honors and all we did was multiple choice tests and quizzes. Plus, physics is boring and doesn't light a fire in me like biology and chemistry do.

Then I wanted to go into pharmacy or chemistry research.
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Congrats on USciences, I don't know if I ever congratulated you.

I would say that most hs students have no particular career aspirations and those that do are mostly stupid (unrealistic). Most people do not really know what they want to do career-wise before they even enter the work force. How could they? It's not that the students are stupid (although....) it's just that if all you have ever done is sit in a classroom, how could you possibly know what you are going to be good at or have any interest in?
 
druggeek said:
What would you rather do? Make 35-40k a year and live a completely average life? spend 8-10 years in school (medicine) then another 4-6 years of working close to 80 hours a week, finally getting a real paycheck at age 30 or even later while being buried in debt? then working 55 hours a week after that lolz...

What other job allows 24 year olds to start off around 100k a year? like seriously lol.. especially working only 40 hours a week...
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I don't think most people smart enough to make it to pharmacy school would be working at jobs making 35-40k/year, they'd probably be making at least 55-60.

As far as medicine is concerned, its only 2 years more schooling than pharmacy, ( and that is only if you were able to do 2 years of college + pharm.)

The only difference is the 4 year residency. Yes , you're 30 , but the paycheck is also double, triple, or more, for the rest of your life, with a job that is ( at least superficially ) more interesting ( compared to retail , strictly..i'm sure there are some fascinating jobs outside of retail but they don't represent the vast majority of pharmacists out there ). That was worth the 4 years of 50k/year pay during residency to me. There are pros and cons on both sides, obviously. If i could do it again, I might pick pharm, or maybe even dental. Med school is 4 years of hell and residency is another 4 after that. Doesn't get much easier afterwards so the paycheck isn't always what it boils down to. Was it all worth it? It's something I ask myself every day.

I agree that not many jobs let 24 year olds make 100k though.
 
Last edited:
karizma098 said:
I don't think most people smart enough to make it to pharmacy school would be working at jobs making 35-40k/year, they'd probably be making at least 55-60.

As far as medicine is concerned, its only 2 years more schooling than pharmacy, ( and that is only if you were able to do 2 years of college + pharm.)

The only difference is the 4 year residency. Yes , you're 30 , but the paycheck is also double, triple, or more, for the rest of your life, with a job that is ( at least superficially ) more interesting ( compared to retail , strictly..i'm sure there are some fascinating jobs outside of retail but they don't represent the vast majority of pharmacists out there ). That was worth the 4 years of 50k/year pay during residency to me. There are pros and cons on both sides, obviously. If i could do it again, I might pick pharm, or maybe even dental. Med school is 4 years of hell and residency is another 4 after that. Doesn't get much easier afterwards so the paycheck isn't always what it boils down to. Was it all worth it? It's something I ask myself every day.

I agree that not many jobs let 24 year olds make 100k though.
Click to expand...

Residency is also working close to 80 hours a week... it's not 4 years of chill out in training mode working 40 hours a week and make some dough... it's 4 years of hell.

A pharm student will also have the luxury of living in their 20s... like a 20 something year old... yes not THAT much, but still a lot more than a med student... and that includes pre pharm vs. pre med/ pharm school vs. med school / and then working vs. residency ? :love:

A doctor also works what? 55 hours a week on average? (according to some stats I saw on this site) vs. 40 hours a week as a pharmacist.

How about liability? malpractice risks? sticking your finger up the ass to check the prostate? etc etc vs. touching medication :cool:
 
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