From retail pharmacist to software engineer

[jon do]

This is a quick post to help give others hope who feel stuck in pharmacy or burned out. This is about one pharmacist who has worked in retail for 10 years at CVS. They were a very high-performer but decided on a career change. About two years ago they started to learn programming on their own. They also did a one month bootcamp that was free. They were in their 30s and have two kids without childcare so they could only study part time.

They went from making about $140,000 per year to getting hired as a software engineer and making the same salary (high pay area). The engineer pay has much more potential to go up however job security may or may not be riskier.

In addition, they work from home, have flexible hours, improved job satisfaction, and have unlimited PTO. Additional perks include, lunch delivered once a week, stipend for internet, wellness, and education budget.

It’s kind of sad to see that a person can teach themself and do a bootcamp and get a much better job with higher pay potential, and much better quality of life, than people going through four years of pharmacy school after getting their college degree.

Note, it can be challenging to get your first break into tech as a junior engineer. Even more with a recession. And programming is not for everyone. But if you enjoy problem solving, logic puzzles, and are burned out or not wishing to do pharmacy anymore it can be very rewarding if you’re able to put in the hours to learn.
It was one of the best decisions of this persons life.

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[RXDOC1986]

This is a quick post to help give others hope who feel stuck in pharmacy or burned out. This is about one pharmacist who has worked in retail for 10 years at CVS. They were a very high-performer but decided on a career change. About two years ago they started to learn programming on their own. They also did a one month bootcamp that was free. They were in their 30s and have two young children without childcare so they could only study part time.

They went from making about $140,000 per year to getting hired as a software engineer and making the same salary (high pay area). The engineer pay has much more potential to go up however job security may be riskier.

In addition, they work from home, have flexible hours, improved job satisfaction, and have unlimited PTO. Additional perks include, lunch delivered once a week, stipend for internet, wellness, and education budget.

It’s kind of sad to see that a person can teach themself and do a bootcamp and get a much better job with higher pay potential, and much better quality of life, than people going through four years of pharmacy school after getting their college degree.

Note, it can be challenging to get your first break into tech as a junior engineer. Even more with a recession. And programming is not for everyone. But if you enjoy problem solving, logic puzzles, and are burned out or not wishing to do pharmacy anymore it can be very rewarding if you’re able to put in the hours to learn.
It was one of the best decisions of this persons life.

This makes sense, good on them for finding a way out.
The only thing that doesn't compute, and people have said this before is "unlimited PTO"??? Isn't that just another name for unemployment?

 

[Elephant101]

This is a quick post to help give others hope who feel stuck in pharmacy or burned out. This is about one pharmacist who has worked in retail for 10 years at CVS. They were a very high-performer but decided on a career change. About two years ago they started to learn programming on their own. They also did a one month bootcamp that was free. They were in their 30s and have two young children without childcare so they could only study part time.

They went from making about $140,000 per year to getting hired as a software engineer and making the same salary (high pay area). The engineer pay has much more potential to go up however job security may be riskier.

In addition, they work from home, have flexible hours, improved job satisfaction, and have unlimited PTO. Additional perks include, lunch delivered once a week, stipend for internet, wellness, and education budget.

It’s kind of sad to see that a person can teach themself and do a bootcamp and get a much better job with higher pay potential, and much better quality of life, than people going through four years of pharmacy school after getting their college degree.

Note, it can be challenging to get your first break into tech as a junior engineer. Even more with a recession. And programming is not for everyone. But if you enjoy problem solving, logic puzzles, and are burned out or not wishing to do pharmacy anymore it can be very rewarding if you’re able to put in the hours to learn.
It was one of the best decisions of this persons life.

Hello, I am thinking of pursuing software engineering, could you tell me the name of the boot camp which is free. All the ones that I have seen are very expensive.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

This makes sense, good on them for finding a way out.
The only thing that doesn't compute, and people have said this before is "unlimited PTO"??? Isn't that just another name for unemployment?

Unlimited PTO=no set PTO budget. You can use as much as you want as long as you are still getting your work done. Like everything else: they're only changing because it ends up saving the company money by not having people scramble to use/lose PTO hours or just paying it out.

 

[projektreverb]

Unlimited PTO=no set PTO budget. You can use as much as you want as long as you are still getting your work done. Like everything else: they're only changing because it ends up saving the company money by not having people scramble to use/lose PTO hours or just paying it out.

Exactly, less liability on the financial books and people never use all of their pto anyways

 

[sunnyandseventytwo]

I remember when I started my first PBM job, how excited I was to have my own cubicle, desk and phone. Like I had finally made it. Keep in mind, I had seen Office Space already. I knew there were people who dreaded going to work in cubicles every day.

A couple years later I got an office that I had to share with another manager. I could see my car out the window. I took a photo and posted it on whatever passed for social media back then. This was what success looked like.

I suspect most pharmacist feel that way because working conditions at most pharmacy jobs are so terrible. Working at home and writing code sound so boring to me...and probably to everyone else who's never had to work at CVS.

 

[PharmtoCS]

I remember when I started my first PBM job, how excited I was to have my own cubicle, desk and phone. Like I had finally made it. Keep in mind, I had seen Office Space already. I knew there were people who dreaded going to work in cubicles every day.

A couple years later I got an office that I had to share with another manager. I could see my car out the window. I took a photo and posted it on whatever passed for social media back then. This was what success looked like.

I suspect most pharmacist feel that way because working conditions at most pharmacy jobs are so terrible. Working at home and writing code sound so boring to me...and probably to everyone else who's never had to work at CVS.

Sadly the bar for work conditions in our profession is set so low. Lunch and bathroom breaks and chairs are considered luxuries that most white collar professions take for granted, let alone a chair in a cubicle.

 

[letsquitpharm]

This is not surprising at all actually...Amazon has year-round hiring at my school, and people are hesitant to join despite the competitive salary.

My story is not another hearsay. I am the freaking living proof lol

I am on the path to making ~500k annual total comp in just a few more weeks once I get onboarded for new jobs, and I still have one semester left to officially graduate MSCS. My PharmD convocation was canceled due to COVID, but I will take PTO this Dec to make up for that with another degree after my name

CS saved my life literally. I can't imagine myself slaving for pennies and dealing with angry customers on daily basis like the rest of my pharmacy cohorts are doing to make a living. I love WFH. I get to sit on a comfy chair, turn on the music, and do the work that actually excites me and my manager. I get to sleep better, eat better, and relationship with my gf got so much better as we get to spend more time together. The pay is awesome, and I get recruited everywhere. As I accumulate more experience, my next income target is ~700-800k by the year 2025-2026

I think the ship has sailed, for the entire healthcare profession in general. I wouldn't even want to be a doctor if I was still an undergrad today, after knowing all the alternatives and cool things that CS can offer. There are unparalleled career opportunities in tech, and that's something healthcare cannot provide. For my fellow CS classmates who are military enthusiasts, getting a security clearance then working for Lockheed on hypersonic missile guidance tech is like the best job ever. CIA and NSA have a long list of year-round vacant data scientist jobs to fill as well. Every sector now needs software engineers, and opportunities are just endless.

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something. I have seen so many pharmacists complaining and whining about how they hate their jobs and poor working conditions, but they never look beyond and attempt something that can potentially change their lives forever. When I was neglecting pharmacy school classes and never showed up for exam study groups, I was actually learning how to reverse a linked list. But my classmates were always thinking I was crazy and my dabbling in CS will never take off in any meaningful way, yada yada yada. It actually only took me two years to change everything...I am not sure how they are feeling now, especially for those super keen folks who wanted As in every course and presidents/vps in all organizations they can think of. I am still the dude who did barely enough to graduate and had to toss coins on exams lol.

 

[letsquitpharm]

Sadly the bar for work conditions in our profession is set so low. Lunch and bathroom breaks and chairs are considered luxuries that most white collar professions take for granted, let alone a chair in a cubicle.

Our HR were trying to use all sorts of coffee, snacks, fruits, drinks, and lunch to lure us back to office, but I am getting tired of eating them, so no
I would rather sleep in til the first meeting at 11AM

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something. I have seen so many pharmacists complaining and whining about how they hate their jobs and poor working conditions, but they never look beyond and attempt something that can potentially change their lives forever

Couldn't agree with this more. Also: look at long term prospects because temporary pay cuts are frequently required when you're transitioning to a new career.

I'm starting my new job this week and had a ton of people say that they'd never consider taking the pay cut that I did. I'll be making about 70% of my PIC salary for the first year and should break even by year 3 with a higher ceiling and federal benefits. My spending budget should even be about the same from day one after factoring income based loan repayments/PSLF.

Those same pharmacists are complaining about tech hour cuts and will likely be complaining about a lack of raises for the next few years.

 

[jon do]

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something

Couldn't agree with this more. Also: look at long term prospects because temporary pay cuts are frequently required when you're transitioning to a new career.

I agree. However when you look at pharmacy compared to CS or even nursing, we are pretty limited in our movement and flexibility. Doesnt me you shouldnt try, but its way easier to do in other professions

My story is not another hearsay. I am the freaking living proof lol

I am on the path to making ~500k annual total comp in just a few more weeks once I get onboarded for new jobs, and I still have one semester left to officially graduate MSCS. My PharmD convocation was canceled due to COVID, but I will take PTO this Dec to make up for that with another degree after my name

Yes your post is all true but I want to keep it in perspective that is not the majority of people that will make it to your salary by going into CS.

Working at home and writing code sound so boring to me...and probably to everyone else who's never had to work at CVS.

I know ~80 pharmacists (not retail) and many CS engineers who switched to work from home from the pandemic. The general consensus is that its amazing. Its one of those things where you dont know how good it is until you do it, and you cant imagine going back.

Hello, I am thinking of pursuing software engineering, could you tell me the name of the boot camp which is free. All the ones that I have seen are very expensive.

They dont offer it anymore but there are paid ones but make sure its reputable

CS saved my life literally. I can't imagine myself slaving for pennies and dealing with angry customers on daily basis like the rest of my pharmacy cohorts are doing to make a living. I love WFH. I get to sit on a comfy chair, turn on the music, and do the work that actually excites me and my manager. I get to sleep better, eat better, and relationship with my gf got so much better as we get to spend more time together. The pay is awesome, and I get recruited everywhere. As I accumulate more experience, my next income target is ~700-800k by the year 2025-2026

I think the ship has sailed, for the entire healthcare profession in general. I wouldn't even want to be a doctor if I was still an undergrad today, after knowing all the alternatives and cool things that CS can offer. There are unparalleled career opportunities in tech, and that's something healthcare cannot provide.

All so true

 

[Rouelle]

This is a quick post to help give others hope who feel stuck in pharmacy or burned out. This is about one pharmacist who has worked in retail for 10 years at CVS. They were a very high-performer but decided on a career change. About two years ago they started to learn programming on their own. They also did a one month bootcamp that was free. They were in their 30s and have two kids without childcare so they could only study part time.

They went from making about $140,000 per year to getting hired as a software engineer and making the same salary (high pay area). The engineer pay has much more potential to go up however job security may or may not be riskier.

In addition, they work from home, have flexible hours, improved job satisfaction, and have unlimited PTO. Additional perks include, lunch delivered once a week, stipend for internet, wellness, and education budget.

It’s kind of sad to see that a person can teach themself and do a bootcamp and get a much better job with higher pay potential, and much better quality of life, than people going through four years of pharmacy school after getting their college degree.

Note, it can be challenging to get your first break into tech as a junior engineer. Even more with a recession. And programming is not for everyone. But if you enjoy problem solving, logic puzzles, and are burned out or not wishing to do pharmacy anymore it can be very rewarding if you’re able to put in the hours to learn.
It was one of the best decisions of this persons life.

Are you the pharmacist turned software engineer? If so, why are you writing in the 3rd person POV?

 

[farmadiazepine]

200k as a staff hospital pharmacist in NJ. I’m not complaining. Software engineering and programming is boring. Sorry. Work from home also sucks a**. I don’t want any part of work to be in my home at all. It’s nice to get out of the house and see other people.

 

[letsquitpharm]

200k as a staff hospital pharmacist in NJ. I’m not complaining. Software engineering and programming is boring. Sorry. Work from home also sucks a**. I don’t want any part of work to be in my home at all. It’s nice to get out of the house and see other people.

I feel quite the contrary...I hated hospital rotations and preceptors, and I honestly feel clinical pharmacy, as fancy as it might sound, is not intellectually stimulating at all. Like I had to sleep thru my therapeutics courses cuz it was just so boring to hear the lecturers regurgitating what's already in a guideline and something people can look up in Lexicomp or UptoDate in 10 seconds. Plus, doctors can push you around and look down on you, and nurses think you are just another pharmacist who keeps bothering them with vitals, drug history "boring stuff". All the cool stuff, like clinical trials, pharmacists actually have little control over that. Protocols, ICFs, IBs and visit sampling are all written and set in stone by pharma companies.

WFH is a mostly self-chosen lifestyle that some people, myself included, prefer over traditional fully onsite or hybrid. My employer technically wants us to be hybrid, but it never strictly enforces it, as our VPs, PMs and directors kept getting sick with COVID one after another. But of course, most tech companies want their employees back in office. If you wanna see people, they have no problem for you to go onsite everyday and meet colleagues if you want to, and I think all FAANG companies these days require 1-2 days onsite. But there are certainly other companies that are perfectly fine with their workforce being remote, as it saves them a bunch of money maintaining office space. The key is that tech allows and fully supports options ranging from being 100% remote to hybrid to 100% in-person. Pharmacy would never allow that unless you work for Amazon, or some mail order pharmacies. You essentially have no control over where you can complete your work in healthcare, and many pharmacists don't even have PTO, let alone vacation days and personal days that are so common everywhere else. For example, I can take the entire December off to go on vacation and celebrate Christmas and New year without worrying about work.

 

[letsquitpharm]

Yes your post is all true but I want to keep it in perspective that is not the majority of people that will make it to your salary by going into CS.

I went into CS via the hard way of MSCS, but hitting 200k per annum is the new norm for a lot of tech workers with a few yrs exp. I know several UIUX designers hitting 250k after career switches, and they aren't even remotely considered programmers...

 

[sunnyandseventytwo]

This is not surprising at all actually...Amazon has year-round hiring at my school, and people are hesitant to join despite the competitive salary.

My story is not another hearsay. I am the freaking living proof lol

I am on the path to making ~500k annual total comp in just a few more weeks once I get onboarded for new jobs, and I still have one semester left to officially graduate MSCS. My PharmD convocation was canceled due to COVID, but I will take PTO this Dec to make up for that with another degree after my name

CS saved my life literally. I can't imagine myself slaving for pennies and dealing with angry customers on daily basis like the rest of my pharmacy cohorts are doing to make a living. I love WFH. I get to sit on a comfy chair, turn on the music, and do the work that actually excites me and my manager. I get to sleep better, eat better, and relationship with my gf got so much better as we get to spend more time together. The pay is awesome, and I get recruited everywhere. As I accumulate more experience, my next income target is ~700-800k by the year 2025-2026

I think the ship has sailed, for the entire healthcare profession in general. I wouldn't even want to be a doctor if I was still an undergrad today, after knowing all the alternatives and cool things that CS can offer. There are unparalleled career opportunities in tech, and that's something healthcare cannot provide. For my fellow CS classmates who are military enthusiasts, getting a security clearance then working for Lockheed on hypersonic missile guidance tech is like the best job ever. CIA and NSA have a long list of year-round vacant data scientist jobs to fill as well. Every sector now needs software engineers, and opportunities are just endless.

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something. I have seen so many pharmacists complaining and whining about how they hate their jobs and poor working conditions, but they never look beyond and attempt something that can potentially change their lives forever. When I was neglecting pharmacy school classes and never showed up for exam study groups, I was actually learning how to reverse a linked list. But my classmates were always thinking I was crazy and my dabbling in CS will never take off in any meaningful way, yada yada yada. It actually only took me two years to change everything...I am not sure how they are feeling now, especially for those super keen folks who wanted As in every course and presidents/vps in all organizations they can think of. I am still the dude who did barely enough to graduate and had to toss coins on exams lol.

That’s kind of a wordy post. No girlfriend, right? Go meet some women.

 

[Elephant101]

This is not surprising at all actually...Amazon has year-round hiring at my school, and people are hesitant to join despite the competitive salary.

My story is not another hearsay. I am the freaking living proof lol

I am on the path to making ~500k annual total comp in just a few more weeks once I get onboarded for new jobs, and I still have one semester left to officially graduate MSCS. My PharmD convocation was canceled due to COVID, but I will take PTO this Dec to make up for that with another degree after my name

CS saved my life literally. I can't imagine myself slaving for pennies and dealing with angry customers on daily basis like the rest of my pharmacy cohorts are doing to make a living. I love WFH. I get to sit on a comfy chair, turn on the music, and do the work that actually excites me and my manager. I get to sleep better, eat better, and relationship with my gf got so much better as we get to spend more time together. The pay is awesome, and I get recruited everywhere. As I accumulate more experience, my next income target is ~700-800k by the year 2025-2026

I think the ship has sailed, for the entire healthcare profession in general. I wouldn't even want to be a doctor if I was still an undergrad today, after knowing all the alternatives and cool things that CS can offer. There are unparalleled career opportunities in tech, and that's something healthcare cannot provide. For my fellow CS classmates who are military enthusiasts, getting a security clearance then working for Lockheed on hypersonic missile guidance tech is like the best job ever. CIA and NSA have a long list of year-round vacant data scientist jobs to fill as well. Every sector now needs software engineers, and opportunities are just endless.

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something. I have seen so many pharmacists complaining and whining about how they hate their jobs and poor working conditions, but they never look beyond and attempt something that can potentially change their lives forever. When I was neglecting pharmacy school classes and never showed up for exam study groups, I was actually learning how to reverse a linked list. But my classmates were always thinking I was crazy and my dabbling in CS will never take off in any meaningful way, yada yada yada. It actually only took me two years to change everything...I am not sure how they are feeling now, especially for those super keen folks who wanted As in every course and presidents/vps in all organizations they can think of. I am still the dude who did barely enough to graduate and had to toss coins on exams lol.

Thank you for this post and providing hope for some people who are just starting on this journey. I have a good hybrid job as a pharmacist I make almost 150k but I am tired of this profession and I know I will get nowhere. The job has become monotonous and it doesn’t excite me anymore. I know I will take a huge pay cut when I first start off in tech but I am willing to do so. I just started with freecodecamp. Could you tell me how you completed everything in two years and did you work on the side or just did computer science full time.

 

[letsquitpharm]

That’s kind of a wordy post. No girlfriend, right? Go meet some women.

I mentioned this already. Getting married later this year lol.

 

[sloh]

I feel quite the contrary...I hated hospital rotations and preceptors, and I honestly feel clinical pharmacy, as fancy as it might sound, is not intellectually stimulating at all. Like I had to sleep thru my therapeutics courses cuz it was just so boring to hear the lecturers regurgitating what's already in a guideline and something people can look up in Lexicomp or UptoDate in 10 seconds.

Too smart to have gone into PharmD in the first place haha. And I mean that as a compliment. Good transition!

 

[letsquitpharm]

Thank you for this post and providing hope for some people who are just starting on this journey. I have a good hybrid job as a pharmacist I make almost 150k but I am tired of this profession and I know I will get nowhere. The job has become monotonous and it doesn’t excite me anymore. I know I will take a huge pay cut when I first start off in tech but I am willing to do so. I just started with freecodecamp. Could you tell me how you completed everything in two years and did you work on the side or just did computer science full time.

Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate that.

My MSCS program is fully remote and designed to be 1.5-2 yrs for full-time students/part-time working professionals, but I know plenty of folks working FT and taking only one course per semester and 3.5 yrs to graduate. For me, it takes me 2 years.

I work FT while completing the degree. I think most of my classmates are in a similar situation as well. Transitioning to CS doesn't have to be a full-time commitment. In fact, my girlfriend, an architect, is trying to follow in my footsteps and become a software engineer as well. People can work their day job, go home, listen to video lectures and complete assignments at night and on weekends. It takes a lot of effort and self-discipline, but it is certainly doable.

Is pay cut unavoidable transitioning from pharmacy to cs? Not necessarily. CS internships pay incredibly well these days, like ~10k/month + housing stipend. When my girlfriend is halfway through the program, she technically can quit her job and do 2-3 internships, which can last 3-4 months each, then land return or new-grad offers around graduation. I know several people who transitioned to FT software engineering roles after only a few courses, then using employer tuition reimbursement to fund the rest of their studies.

 

[jon do]

My MSCS program is fully remote and designed to be 1.5-2 yrs for full-time students/part-time working professionals, but I know plenty of folks working FT and taking only one course per semester and 3.5 yrs to graduate. For me, it takes me 2 years.

How would you compare the job market in the current probable recession for someone who goes through MSCS vs someone only doing a boot camp. I cant speak for MSCS but most people go the boot camp route and there are people who struggle to find that first job for whatever reason, I would imagine more so in this recession.
Do you highly recommend a MSCS over a boot camp? How competitive is it to get into a decent MSCS program? I hear stories of it being ultra-competive for highschoolers to get into a CS program at 4 year universities and thats not even a MSCS. Boot camps are not competitive at all because theyre all over the place.

 

[Elephant101]

Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate that.

My MSCS program is fully remote and designed to be 1.5-2 yrs for full-time students/part-time working professionals, but I know plenty of folks working FT and taking only one course per semester and 3.5 yrs to graduate. For me, it takes me 2 years.

I work FT while completing the degree. I think most of my classmates are in a similar situation as well. Transitioning to CS doesn't have to be a full-time commitment. In fact, my girlfriend, an architect, is trying to follow in my footsteps and become a software engineer as well. People can work their day job, go home, listen to video lectures and complete assignments at night and on weekends. It takes a lot of effort and self-discipline, but it is certainly doable.

Is pay cut unavoidable transitioning from pharmacy to cs? Not necessarily. CS internships pay incredibly well these days, like ~10k/month + housing stipend. When my girlfriend is halfway through the program, she technically can quit her job and do 2-3 internships, which can last 3-4 months each, then land return or new-grad offers around graduation. I know several people who transitioned to FT software engineering roles after only a few courses, then using employer tuition reimbursement to fund the rest of their studies.

Thanks for this information. I appreciate it.

 

[letsquitpharm]

How would you compare the job market in the current probable recession for someone who goes through MSCS vs someone only doing a boot camp. I cant speak for MSCS but most people go the boot camp route and there are people who struggle to find that first job for whatever reason, I would imagine more so in this recession.
Do you highly recommend a MSCS over a boot camp? How competitive is it to get into a decent MSCS program? I hear stories of it being ultra-competive for highschoolers to get into a CS program at 4 year universities and thats not even a MSCS. Boot camps are not competitive at all because theyre all over the place.

In the case of MSCS vs Bootcamp, I would recommend MSCS hands down. HR uses resume filters for specific keywords in education and/or prior experience. Bootcampers can hardly pass the HR screening these days. There are entry-level jobs tailored for new-grads (within 12 months postgraduation) and campus career fairs that are not available for Bootcampers. Bootcampers would have to break in via experienced hire, which is often not easy for career-switchers. Amazon hires SDE new grads en masse each year, and many people in my program kinda see Amazon as a “guaranteed" or bottom-line offer due to their not-so-good reputation and high turnover. In terms of the job market, there are still plenty of entry-level jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed, and I get many solicitations on handshake from campus recruiters.

This recession will be different from the Great Recession in 2008. No software engineering jobs will be outsourced to China or India this time due to COVID, supply chain reorganization, and of course geopolitics. Globalization is dying after all. In fact, if the US ever goes to war with China over invasion of Taiwan, I can only imagine explosive growth for software engineers and machine learning engineers in the defense sector, and an urgent need to automate manufacturing domestically when we can't import from China anymore, leading to a sky-high demand for software engineers from traditional industries.

MSCS and bootcamps are not the only routes to break in. There are many online or in-person postbacc/bachelor of CS programs as well. People who are interested can look them up. Community colleges offer many lower division CS courses that can fulfill prerequisites and help transfer to a full-time program, either remote or in-person.

 

[DagS132]

I would highly advise against learning on your own to get a job in tech unless you are producing applications that is actually being used in the real world. And I mean applications that isn't just a calculator or a points counter for your basketball games. Something more similar to websites like Amazon or Facebook; not as sophisticated but an extremely basic version of these websites to show you know how to be a full stack developer.

 

[confettiflyer]

I went into CS via the hard way of MSCS, but hitting 200k per annum is the new norm for a lot of tech workers with a few yrs exp. I know several UIUX designers hitting 250k after career switches, and they aren't even remotely considered programmers...

What’s the typical # hours of work per week do your UIUX friends put in? Just curious.

 

[AD04]

This is not surprising at all actually...Amazon has year-round hiring at my school, and people are hesitant to join despite the competitive salary.

My story is not another hearsay. I am the freaking living proof lol

I am on the path to making ~500k annual total comp in just a few more weeks once I get onboarded for new jobs, and I still have one semester left to officially graduate MSCS. My PharmD convocation was canceled due to COVID, but I will take PTO this Dec to make up for that with another degree after my name

CS saved my life literally. I can't imagine myself slaving for pennies and dealing with angry customers on daily basis like the rest of my pharmacy cohorts are doing to make a living. I love WFH. I get to sit on a comfy chair, turn on the music, and do the work that actually excites me and my manager. I get to sleep better, eat better, and relationship with my gf got so much better as we get to spend more time together. The pay is awesome, and I get recruited everywhere. As I accumulate more experience, my next income target is ~700-800k by the year 2025-2026

I think the ship has sailed, for the entire healthcare profession in general. I wouldn't even want to be a doctor if I was still an undergrad today, after knowing all the alternatives and cool things that CS can offer. There are unparalleled career opportunities in tech, and that's something healthcare cannot provide. For my fellow CS classmates who are military enthusiasts, getting a security clearance then working for Lockheed on hypersonic missile guidance tech is like the best job ever. CIA and NSA have a long list of year-round vacant data scientist jobs to fill as well. Every sector now needs software engineers, and opportunities are just endless.

My tips to other pharmacists who feel stuck: do something, simply do something. I have seen so many pharmacists complaining and whining about how they hate their jobs and poor working conditions, but they never look beyond and attempt something that can potentially change their lives forever. When I was neglecting pharmacy school classes and never showed up for exam study groups, I was actually learning how to reverse a linked list. But my classmates were always thinking I was crazy and my dabbling in CS will never take off in any meaningful way, yada yada yada. It actually only took me two years to change everything...I am not sure how they are feeling now, especially for those super keen folks who wanted As in every course and presidents/vps in all organizations they can think of. I am still the dude who did barely enough to graduate and had to toss coins on exams lol.

Inspiring story. I've been thinking if I want to learn CS. I'm a physician and I get paid good money and I like what I do. (Like you, I did the bare minimum to graduate school.) But I was wondering if CS would be a good skill to acquire to open new doors. I'm not looking to work for a company making less than what I make now. So entry-level or mid-level work in big tech is out. I have a few questions:

1. Did the job you get require your background of pharmacy and CS or was it available to the general CS candidate?

2. Aside from working for big tech, is there value in the CS degree? If so, what value did you get out of it?

3. Did you have classmates who were able to use their CS skills and create their own opportunities (e.g. entrepreneurship) and do as well or better than working for a big company?

 

[letsquitpharm]

Inspiring story. I've been thinking if I want to learn CS. I'm a physician and I get paid good money and I like what I do. (Like you, I did the bare minimum to graduate school.) But I was wondering if CS would be a good skill to acquire to open new doors. I'm not looking to work for a company making less than what I make now. So entry-level or mid-level work in big tech is out. I have a few questions:

1. Did the job you get require your background of pharmacy and CS or was it available to the general CS candidate?

2. Aside from working for big tech, is there value in the CS degree? If so, what value did you get out of it?

3. Did you have classmates who were able to use their CS skills and create their own opportunities (e.g. entrepreneurship) and do as well or better than working for a big company?

1. Yes, my current job lists PhD in pharmaceutical science or engineering, including CS/PharmD minimum. And my field is niche enough and overlaps greatly with biostats and CS. But I enjoy the flexibility to get jobs that are only available to CS generalists and pharmaceutical science/pharmacy if I choose.

2. CS allows me work from home and pick up quite some lucrative full-time and contract jobs. Essentially I can work for any industries I like and accumulate skills, exp and 💰 3-4x faster than others. The work exp, workload and skills do not linearly correlate with compensation. A senior dev can make >2x than junior devs, and of course, a director can make a lot more but not necessarily requires proportional workload. I do see myself hitting $1M per annum after maybe 5-6 years, even without working for a big tech.

3. There are a few I know doing side hustles, but I don't think any are making headlines yet.

I don't know any physicians transitioning to a CS role, so I think that's quite rare. You guys went thru so many years of competition, training, and studying, unlike us pharmacists (I tried but didn't make it into med school ) For us, or myself specifically, I felt I had nothing to lose and everything to gain to make the switch since I don't have that much sunk-cost after all. I can afford to take any risks associated the career switch cuz I know pharmacy has nothing left for me to miss.

 

[samven582]

This sounds interesting. Where do I begin?

 

[samven582]

200k as a staff hospital pharmacist in NJ. I’m not complaining. Software engineering and programming is boring. Sorry. Work from home also sucks a**. I don’t want any part of work to be in my home at all. It’s nice to get out of the house and see other people.

Have fun working evenings, nights, weekends and holidays

 

[DH1987]

Unfortunately this industry is known for ageism towards people 35 and up, though there does seem to be plenty of people in their 30s and 40s successfully making the jump. I can't see why age should be a problem though, if the demand is there and the person has the skills and good health, I can't see why it matters so much.

It does make me hesitant to quit my job and go back to school. Maybe possibly go part time and do it, if I could land such a job...

 

[DagS132]

Unfortunately this industry is known for ageism towards people 35 and up...

I don't know where you heard that from but I can tell you this is not true. I think the real issue is people being naive to think learning on your own without any experience in the field or personal projects in your github is somehow going to land you an interview. Some poster on this website was actually suggesting people to just tell the TR that "you have knowledge" as a way to get the job.

 

[DH1987]

Not saying it's 100% true, but here's one source: A tech firm's call to hire 'old people' highlights a troubling trend in Silicon Valley

 

[DagS132]

Not saying it's 100% true, but here's one source: A tech firm's call to hire 'old people' highlights a troubling trend in Silicon Valley

Yeah, I can see why age would be an issue if they are starting out as junior devs. Employers do value more experienced developers/engineers for sure, no matter what the age but I definitely can see the issue for anyone new.