pharmacists...would you do it again?

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noob12

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I am currently finishing up my prerequisites in order to apply for pharmacy school in 2014. I've had my mind set on pharmacy for quite some time now, but after reading all of the negativity regarding the field lately, I'm wondering if I will one day regret my decision. After reading around on this forum, as well as other websites, it seems that pharmacy is already becoming saturated, and will probably continue to get worse. It would suck to spend the next four years of my life working towards becoming a pharmacist, only to owe 150k in loans with no job to pay for it. I plan to go to school and remain living in North Carolina, which I'm sure isn't as bad as New York, California, etc, but I am still pretty worried. I have spoken to a few pharmacists in the area - some are positive about the future, others not so much. I've also considered becoming a P.A. or optometrist, but these don't really compare to my desire to be a pharmacist.

Sorry if threads like these are getting old. It's just that lately I've become depressed over something I used to want so badly, and also feel that I'm losing motivation to study for the PCAT and so on. Any advice or comments is appreciated. Thanks.

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Do you have experience working in pharmacy at all? It's a tough decision to make. I would say do it if you love the job, but then again if you can't get a job after you graduate that would be a problem. Definitely don't do it if you only love the money.

I personally am not sure if I would do it again. I mostly picked it because at the time pharmacists were in demand and made a good living wage. I am interested in the health sciences, but the job is only tolerable for me and not something I love. It is kind of depressing to know I will pretty much be in the same position for the next 30-40 years. I often wonder what other career I should have gone into, but I can't come up with anything that would be definitively better. I was lucky enough to get in when the getting was good and am financially stable now. If I was in your shoes right now I don't think I would pick it, but I have a hard time distinguishing any better alternatives.
 
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I personally am not sure if I would do it again. I mostly picked it because at the time pharmacists were in demand and made a good living wage. I am interested in the health sciences, but the job is only tolerable for me and not something I love. It is kind of depressing to know I will pretty much be in the same position for the next 30-40 years. I often wonder what other career I should have gone into, but I can't come up with anything that would be definitively better. I was lucky enough to get in when the getting was good and am financially stable now. If I was in your shoes right now I don't think I would pick it, but I have a hard time distinguishing any better alternatives.

Word for word in agreement here. I'm not yet financially stable--- due to the student loans. But I couldn't have wrote how I feel better than this.
 
Yes yes yes! Pharmacy is perfect for me and I get to take care of my family and have a job.
 
2012 grad here and I'm split 50:50 on this one. I wasn't someone who just loved, loved, loved pharmacy before pharmacy school so take that into consideration as well.

Cons:
a) Spent way too much money on my education. Go to the cheapest school possible!!
b) Didn't end up fulfilling my residency dreams
c) Thought pharmacy would allow me the flexibility to live wherever I wanted to; had to move to a rural area to get the kind of job I wanted

Pros:
a) Actually ended up finding an awesome job and great coworkers that I love!
b) Make plenty of money to support myself and my family now, especially considering living in a rural area is dirt cheap and there's not much to spend money on here

I really always wanted to be a hospital pharmacist. If I had had to take a retail job, I definitely would not have wanted to do it over again (not bashing retail, but it's not my cup of tea). So the moral of the story is do pharmacy if you love it lots, can minimize your student loan expenses, and don't have high expectations for how things are going to turn out in the end.
 
Hey Noob12,
I'm in the same boat; I'm applying to pharmacy school (I'm in Canada though) and I've been doing a lot of research on this topic. I'm sorry to sound even more negative but what I've discovered that worries me even more than finding a job is the future of pharmacy itself as a profession! It worries me bcuz after a few other work experiences including experience as a pharmacy tech, I feel like there isn't any other profession I really want to invest myself in.
Unfortunately, as it's often well put, pharmacy as a profession is going through a terrible identity crisis and some even go as far as saying that it might become obsolete in the future! But then again who'd take care of all these drugs? Doctors? Nurses? Pharm-techs? Robots? A combination of all these? lol
 
Would I have done pharmacy 10 years ago? Yes. Would I still do it today? Probably not.

I graduated with less than 150 k in student loans and I was fortunate enough to be able to pay it off in 3 years. I was lucky to find a non-retail position without doing a residency.

I would only do pharmacy today:

(1) graduate with less than 150 k in student loans (including undergraduate)
(2) have fully explored the profession and found something I know I would enjoy (e.g., working in the industry)
(3) know I am more capable than 95% of my friends

Hard work is not enough anymore. Unfortunately, many new graduates have 250-300 k in student loans. Benefits have been cut. Many are not given 40 hours a week. Residency is very competitive and they also have a hard time finding a job. Some have to move to the middle of nowhere just to find work. That's the reality of the profession and I don't see it getting better any time soon.

If I lose my job today, I am not sure where I would find work even though I have a lot of experience. I have been saving and investing. I am hoping for at least 10 more good years.
 
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For those who are graduating this year, don't wait and take your sweet time to get your license. Get it as soon as you. You want to be ahead of your peers since many positions would not consider you until you have been licensed.
 
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If I knew it was gonna be like >$300,000 in debt, I would have just gone to med school.

If I could redo the whole thing, I'd have gone to Hofstra for undergrad since they gave me a full scholarship and I still rejected it and took out like $100k for 3 years of undergrad at LIU.

Then for Touro, I'd have just taken out the minimum student loans and worked as much as possible instead of using extra student loans as spending money.

For those who are graduating this year, don't wait and take your sweet time to get your license. Get it as soon as you. You want to be ahead of your peers since many positions would not consider you until you have been licensed.

Yup, this is true. Even last year in 2012, people in my class like myself and others who got licensed by the end of July got jobs while others were stuck hunting for a while.
 
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Absolutely not.

I don't see a good future in Pharmacy. The market probably will be a barren wasteland in 2018. Don't do it.
 
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Absolutely not.

I don't see a good future in Pharmacy. The market probably will be a barren wasteland in 2018. Don't do it.

Agreed. No way would I choose pharmacy again. I tell everyone that asks me this question to do PA or NP....much more rewarding and more clinical. Clinical pharmacists can't even compare...even with all the knowledge and residency-training...at the end of the day..they still can't prescribe something as simple as loratadine.
 
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Yes, although I would have made a couple of different decisions regarding jobs over the years.

It enabled me to retire before I was 50. :)

Would I recommend it to anyone now? No, no, 1000 times no. :(
 
Pharmacy has been a fantastic career for me but I've been doing it 20 years. We maintained a modest lifestyle through the large pay increases in the 00s and avoided the temptation to buy a huge house or take on consumer debt.

One of my children wants to go to pharmacy school and I'm really conflicted about this. I see how much trouble the new grads are having finding jobs and the crushing amounts of student debt they now graduate with. At least he has a college fund but not nearly enough to fund a pharmacy school education with the current price tag! He has a few years to decide so I'm trying to leave it alone for now.
 
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Graduated in 2000. Originally went into it for the money hoping the profession would advance as I grew older. It hansn't. I've been able to live a very comfortable life thanks to pharmacy. I wouldn't enter it now due to saturation and lack of growth of our role.
 
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I wouldn't do it now. The good times for pharmacy ended around 2008. Back then, everyone had multiple job offers, $40k sign on bonuses, unlimited overtime so you could easily make $160k+, and student loan interest was around 2%.

These days,

- I think maybe 10% of graduates will be completely unemployed.

- 50% will end up in retail, whether they like it or not. Don't study pharmacy if you can't stand retail. The chances are pretty high that you will have to do retail at some point in your career, so if you hate it, you might get all depressed and want to kill yourself.

- A lot of the retail chains are only hiring with a 32 hr/wk minimum guarantee.

- You may need to move to a rural or undesirable area to get a job. In desirable areas, competition for jobs increases exponentially because you are also competing with pharmacists with years and years of experience. Connections are very important now.

- Student loan interest is now 6.8%. This makes a huge difference when the interest capitalizes and compounds. If you have $200k in loans, basically the first $13k you pay each year is only paying the interest, and you will barely make a scratch in the principal.

I can't predict how things will be five years from now, but I do think Obamacare will put the squeeze on almost every healthcare profession. There might be an increase in patients utilizing healthcare, but everyone will be on insurance, and insurance always tries to cut costs and squeeze us, the providers. We will have to work harder, or at least more efficiently, so I see mail-order pharmacy getting bigger, while the chains have pretty much ended the 'drug store on every corner' business model, which means fewer jobs.
 
Graduated in 2009 with 200k in loans at 6.8%. If I were to talk to myself if 2003 I'd be 50:50 on telling me to do it again, but I probably would do it, only I would be working and taking out minimal student loans the entire time (Stupid me taking out loans without ever thinking about paying them off. "Oh I should study instead of working", "Oh I'll be making 125k a year it will go by quickly" DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!)

Now if I were to do it again starting now, HELL NO. I was lucky when I got out that my hospital liked me and needed a pharmacist. I can't say that in those same circumstances today that I would have gotten hired. My job would have been posted and would have had multiple residency trained RPh's apply.

I'm actually really thankful I have a job, much less one that allows me spend weekends with my GF. I know a few of the interns who just graduated this weekend and have no jobs lined up. Sucks to be them...
 
I am currently finishing up my prerequisites in order to apply for pharmacy school in 2014. I've had my mind set on pharmacy for quite some time now, but after reading all of the negativity regarding the field lately, I'm wondering if I will one day regret my decision. After reading around on this forum, as well as other websites, it seems that pharmacy is already becoming saturated, and will probably continue to get worse. It would suck to spend the next four years of my life working towards becoming a pharmacist, only to owe 150k in loans with no job to pay for it. I plan to go to school and remain living in North Carolina, which I'm sure isn't as bad as New York, California, etc, but I am still pretty worried. I have spoken to a few pharmacists in the area - some are positive about the future, others not so much. I've also considered becoming a P.A. or optometrist, but these don't really compare to my desire to be a pharmacist.

Sorry if threads like these are getting old. It's just that lately I've become depressed over something I used to want so badly, and also feel that I'm losing motivation to study for the PCAT and so on. Any advice or comments is appreciated. Thanks.
Go pursue PA. You will regret pharmacy.
 
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Thanks for all of the replies. Trying to hear as many opinions as I can and finally make my own decision.

Go pursue PA. You will regret pharmacy.

Why are you pursuing pharmacy then?
 
I have no absolutely no regrets about going into pharmacy. Assuming normal retirement age (which probably won't happen), I'm over half-way through my career. I very much enjoy pharmacy & the job aspects of it--retail, hospital, all of it. Well, maybe not management so much, but then one can do pharmacy without going into management. Pharmacy has weathered the bad economy much better than other fields. Pharmacy is flexible, one can work part time or full time, any shift, 7 on/7 off, or weekends only.

But every person is different. Pharmacy for me, has been everything I could want in a job. For someone else, they might find it a tedious bore, or detest working holidays/weekends. Yes, l think its important to look at the debt ratio one has to take on to get a pharmacy degree and compare it to likely future earnings. But first and foremost, one has to determine if pharmacy is something they can at least half-way enjoy doing for the bulk of their life. If one absolutely can't stand a job--money, flexibility, job security won't be able to make up for that.
 
I would do it again. I had no idea what pharmacy was about when I started pharmacy school. Now, I can not imagine doing anything else.

I got a 30k sign on bonus, make 160k average, and broke 200k last year. I have awesome benefits like unlimited sick days and 1-1 dollar match on my 401k up to 5 percent. I have 100k in my 401k in 3 years with a contribution rate of 5 percent! I met a lot of awesome people, learned, and travelled a lot. My job is easy because I have good bosses, partners and help. I have multiple nice cars, and almost paid off my student loans effortless. I have money to invest and will probably do so next year.

Will I recommend people to do it now? No, job market sucks... go for PA!
 
I would do it again. I had no idea what pharmacy was about when I started pharmacy school. Now, I can not imagine doing anything else.

I got a 30k sign on bonus, make 160k average, and broke 200k last year. I have awesome benefits like unlimited sick days and 1-1 dollar match on my 401k up to 5 percent. I have 100k in my 401k in 3 years with a contribution rate of 5 percent! I met a lot of awesome people, learned, and travelled a lot. My job is easy because I have good bosses, partners and help. I have multiple nice cars, and almost paid off my student loans effortless. I have money to invest and will probably do so next year.

Will I recommend people to do it now? No, job market sucks... go for PA!

where or who do you work for?

No, but not just pharmacy, I probably wouldn't of gone into health care. I realize how much of my youth that I gave away...
 
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I got a 30k sign on bonus

Back in 2006-2008, everyone got this and unlimited OTs. Heck in one year I almost break +250k >_> Now, I have no OTs at all and they would have laughed at your face if you mention a sign on bonus LOL
 
Im headed into Pharmacy school next year myself. I have been working in a pharmacy for several years as an intern/clerk and l and have loved it. The two schools that I am looking at will cost me FAR below 150k and so student loans don't worry me too much. In my area they are still offering sign on bonus', however, I have no desire to stay where I currently am (middle of the oil boom). As others have said though, money can be irrelevant if you don't like your job.
 
Back in 2006-2008, everyone got this and unlimited OTs. Heck in one year I almost break +250k >_> Now, I have no OTs at all and they would have laughed at your face if you mention a sign on bonus LOL

Yup. I still get OT though. I dont want the overtime but they keep on asking. I can easily work 160 hours a week if I wanted to but I aim for 50 hours a week to keep my mind sane. They said it will slow down once the new grads get licensed but thats what they said last year...
 
My base is 140k for 40 hours. I work about 5 hours OT every week which brings me up 20k. I get about 8-10k bonus, 3k in holiday, and my supervisors will throw in extra cash. For example, they paid me double for 14 hours because they didnt send an overlap to my store. Also, they are offering double rate for me to cover Sunday... etc
 
Nope and I'll never get the best years of 20's back either :(
 
I would do it again. I had no idea what pharmacy was about when I started pharmacy school. Now, I can not imagine doing anything else.

I got a 30k sign on bonus, make 160k average, and broke 200k last year. !

nice.....
 
My base is 140k for 40 hours. I work about 5 hours OT every week which brings me up 20k. I get about 8-10k bonus, 3k in holiday, and my supervisors will throw in extra cash. For example, they paid me double for 14 hours because they didnt send an overlap to my store. Also, they are offering double rate for me to cover Sunday... etc

What's your location? If u don't mind sharing...
 
Like others said, the good days of pharmacy ended in 2008. If you are pursuing this because your clueless after high school and your parents told you to, don't do it. If you are the type of person who just wants to 'get-by' in life, don't do it. I live in NYC where it was the least affected by the recession and there are still hiring freezes in effect. Hospitals have it tough too since decreased Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements have shut down alot of them. Also keep in mind that NYS already passed the law which will require you to complete 7 years for a Pharm D.

The only EXCEPTION to doing pharmacy today is if you can master the three things:
1. You really like to engage with the public, you enjoy being in the box for 13+ hours a day. (Tip: If you keep looking at the clock waiting to punch out, you do not enjoy your job.)
2. Your smart enough to get accepted into a reputable, PUBLIC university as well as get tons of scholarships. Don't do private, you will drown you and your spouse in debt.
3. You are entrepreneurial in nature. Currently, the scenario most pharmacists are being forced into is that they are either unemployed and underemployed. Therefore they have to venture out and open up their own business.

So no, I would not do it again unless we are talking about 20 years ago. IMO, the best alternative is nursing. I know a couple of people who got their BSN and got a job. Later, the hospital would sponsor them to complete for their NP and even CRNA (both +2 years). You would be making the same amount as RPh's, engage in more clinical, have better hours!
 
It has been a great career for me thus far; I graduated at the very end of the pharmacy halcyon years. I love everything about being a pharmacist. That said, I have a hard time advising anyone to go into pharmacy now. Not until the runaway pharmacy school train is stopped. I would not advise anyone to go to pharmacy school if you have $1 in undergrad debt or will accrue >$100K in debt in pharmacy school. It's like having a second house payment and it sucks.

I do not consider NP or PA to be an alternative career to a pharmacist. Completely different jobs and I have zero interest in that level of direct patient care. If I wasn't a pharmacist I'd probably be a PhD (or still working towards a PhD) doing research at a university somewhere.
 
Like others said, the good days of pharmacy ended in 2008. If you are pursuing this because your clueless after high school and your parents told you to, don't do it. If you are the type of person who just wants to 'get-by' in life, don't do it. I live in NYC where it was the least affected by the recession and there are still hiring freezes in effect. Hospitals have it tough too since decreased Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements have shut down alot of them. Also keep in mind that NYS already passed the law which will require you to complete 7 years for a Pharm D.

The only EXCEPTION to doing pharmacy today is if you can master the three things:
1. You really like to engage with the public, you enjoy being in the box for 13+ hours a day. (Tip: If you keep looking at the clock waiting to punch out, you do not enjoy your job.)
2. Your smart enough to get accepted into a reputable, PUBLIC university as well as get tons of scholarships. Don't do private, you will drown you and your spouse in debt.
3. You are entrepreneurial in nature. Currently, the scenario most pharmacists are being forced into is that they are either unemployed and underemployed. Therefore they have to venture out and open up their own business.

So no, I would not do it again unless we are talking about 20 years ago. IMO, the best alternative is nursing. I know a couple of people who got their BSN and got a job. Later, the hospital would sponsor them to complete for their NP and even CRNA (both +2 years). You would be making the same amount as RPh's, engage in more clinical, have better hours!

Where is this law?
 
I don't know why people keep on saying nursing is a good alternative to pharmacy. It's a totally different profession. They also have the same problem with too many schools and graduates can't find a decent job.
 
I don't know why people keep on saying nursing is a good alternative to pharmacy. It's a totally different profession. They also have the same problem with too many schools and graduates can't find a decent job.

This +1
My girlfriend (a BSN) struggled to find a job, and after six months the only one she found was 4 hours away in a town of 4000.
 
I don't know why people keep on saying nursing is a good alternative to pharmacy. It's a totally different profession. They also have the same problem with too many schools and graduates can't find a decent job.

This. Nursing is just as bad, if not worse, than pharmacy.
 
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The grass isn't greener anywhere else. That's all. Work hard and learn to become efficient and good at your job.
Folks, everyone is complaining about something. Doctors complain. Lawyers complain. Accountants complain. Grow up. Yes its hard, but, welcome to life.
 
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The grass isn't greener anywhere else. That's all. Work hard and learn to become efficient and good at your job.
Folks, everyone is complaining about something. Doctors complain. Lawyers complain. Accountants complain. Grow up. Yes its hard, but, welcome to life.

Haha.

Buh-buh-but the garbage man didn't go to 4 years of cowwege, and 4 years of phawmacy school and take out 2 hundwed K in woans... :cry:
 
Haha.

Buh-buh-but the garbage man didn't go to 4 years of cowwege, and 4 years of phawmacy school and take out 2 hundwed K in woans... :cry:

Somewabby call the whammbulance. Taking out more than an years salary in loans for any profession is ******ed.
Besides, I would rather be buried in loans than garbage.
 
I don't know why people keep on saying nursing is a good alternative to pharmacy. It's a totally different profession. They also have the same problem with too many schools and graduates can't find a decent job.

If you think pharmacy is micromanaged, try being a nurse, especially on a hospital floor. Nursing management is usually beyond incompetent too, usually because it's women managing women (and only a woman can really understand this). One of the few good nurse managers I've encountered, who worked well with pharmacy and went to bat for nurses, was a man.

Plus, you get all sorts of bodily discharges all over you as a matter of routine, and nurses across the board say that the WORST thing about the job isn't the patients, or even management. It's the patients' relatives.

And don't ever get a nurse started on Press-Gainey. :boom: :beat:
 
If you think pharmacy is micromanaged, try being a nurse, especially on a hospital floor. Nursing management is usually beyond incompetent too, usually because it's women managing women (and only a woman can really understand this). One of the few good nurse managers I've encountered, who worked well with pharmacy and went to bat for nurses, was a man.

Plus, you get all sorts of bodily discharges all over you as a matter of routine, and nurses across the board say that the WORST thing about the job isn't the patients, or even management. It's the patients' relatives.

And don't ever get a nurse started on Press-Gainey. :boom: :beat:

The patient and their relatives have googled all of their symptoms/diseases and read all about it. Thus, they know just as much as you (the nurse) or the doctor and they will tell you this. Also if you do not make them happy they will get all pissy and make a scene. Also realize that healthcare is moving towards a patient satisfaction field, thus making those patients and their families happy is becoming a requirement.
 
My brother is a nurse and told me he was considering going back to do pharmacy. I told him do not do it because he will end up with a lot of loans and possibly have to move to an undesirable area to find a job and if he ends up finding only a retail job, it will be even worse. With so many schools and new grads, there will be very little jobs by the time he graduates, at least in desirable areas.

I do like my current job (staffing at a hospital) but if I were to do it all over again right now, I would not. Unless I would graduate with very little debt, then maybe. I would just hope I can find a job in an area I'm willing to live and not be retail.
 
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I am currently finishing up my prerequisites in order to apply for pharmacy school in 2014. I've had my mind set on pharmacy for quite some time now, but after reading all of the negativity regarding the field lately, I'm wondering if I will one day regret my decision. After reading around on this forum, as well as other websites, it seems that pharmacy is already becoming saturated, and will probably continue to get worse. It would suck to spend the next four years of my life working towards becoming a pharmacist, only to owe 150k in loans with no job to pay for it. I plan to go to school and remain living in North Carolina, which I'm sure isn't as bad as New York, California, etc, but I am still pretty worried. I have spoken to a few pharmacists in the area - some are positive about the future, others not so much. I've also considered becoming a P.A. or optometrist, but these don't really compare to my desire to be a pharmacist.

Sorry if threads like these are getting old. It's just that lately I've become depressed over something I used to want so badly, and also feel that I'm losing motivation to study for the PCAT and so on. Any advice or comments is appreciated. Thanks.
That's silly. Doing poorly on the PCAT will only hurt you! You need to do well on the PCAT if you want a chance at going to pharmacy school for less than $300k (ie getting into a cheaper, more competitive state school vs a new expensive private school).

If I were a student considering pharmacy right now, I would only consider it if I would have less than $150K in student loans whenever I graduated and lived in or could move to a state with no state income tax while not having to pay property tax in that state either by living with parents or sharing a rental until I paid off my student loans. Expensive student loan payments, state income tax, and property tax will eat you alive! Just remember... you will lose roughly 23-25% of your paycheck to cover company benefits and federal taxes (federal income tax, Medicare, FICA, and Social Security). You won't have all that much left to work with if you have to pay more taxes like state income and property tax on top of federal taxes, monthly student loan payments, and company benefits.

Basing your decision on how feasible something is financially may sound superficial, but in the end, a job is a job and you can't buy a house or start your life on good looks alone.


Or... you can always say screw it! and not worry about paying off your student loans early, because if you die, you won't have to pay them back anyway! Oh the irony... death is the new silver lining?!
I don't know why people keep on saying nursing is a good alternative to pharmacy. It's a totally different profession. They also have the same problem with too many schools and graduates can't find a decent job.
Exactly. You couldn't pay me to be a nurse right now!
 
My brother is a nurse and told me he was considering going back to do pharmacy. I told him do not do it because he will end up with a lot of loans and possibly have to move to an undesirable area to find a job and if he ends up finding only a retail job, it will be even worse. With so many schools and new grads, there will be very little jobs by the time he graduates, at least in desirable areas.

I do like my current job (staffing at a hospital) but if I were to do it all over again right now, I would not. Unless I would graduate with very little debt, then maybe. I would just hope I can find a job in an area I'm willing to live and not be retail.

why all the hate with retail on this forum? there is pros and cons with hospital, mail order, retail but I personally chose retail over mail order/hospital. I'm loving it so far! my combined loans for undergrad and pharmacy school was under 75k. I was lucky enough to graduate when I did during the saturation because optumrx and ACS xerox was hiring massive amounts of pharmacists away from retail. I landed a grocery store job after working for cvs for 6 months. this yr class does not have that luxury, optumrx finished their hiring spree and ACS xerox laid off 140 rphs. they are scrambling along with class of 2013
 
Thanks for all of the replies. Trying to hear as many opinions as I can and finally make my own decision.



Why are you pursuing pharmacy then?
Everybody has their own reasons to pursue their dream. I chose pharmacy because I have been in the field for 8 years, enjoy the work, learning new material, and helping patients in many ways. I find it a rewarding career that I will enjoy for years to come and really cannot see myself doing anything else.

If you are going to let some random voices on the internet affect your decision on your goal, then your obviously not 100% sold on pharmacy and is not a bad idea to explore other options. Pharmacy school is a big financial commitment and something you have to be all 110% in and sure that you want to do. Your not going to be handed anything on a platter in life. I know that the job market for pharmacist right now is not the best and there are difficulties for new grads, but I believe that as long as you work hard, stay determined, and employ your best ethics, eventually you will reach your goal.
 
but I believe that as long as you work hard, stay determined, and employ your best ethics, eventually you will reach your goal.

Spoken like a student. Only if life is THAT easy.
 
I do not consider NP or PA to be an alternative career to a pharmacist. Completely different jobs and I have zero interest in that level of direct patient care. If I wasn't a pharmacist I'd probably be a PhD (or still working towards a PhD) doing research at a university somewhere.

I agree with this. I'm too nerdy to deal with actual people, I guess. :laugh:

Anyway, I graduated about the same time as spacecowgirl and like her, I enjoy being a pharmacist but I'm not sure I'd advise anybody else to do the same now. Even for folks who've done residencies, the job market is pretty abysmal.
 
Spoken like a student. Only if life is THAT easy.
Since when is life suppose to be easy? Nobody is going to hand you anything these days. So what would you expect me to do? Abandon, give up on pharmacy and try some "easy" career path. There is no such thing buddy.
 
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