What do you like and dislike about being a pharmacist?

[jjoeirv]

What do you like and dislike about being a pharmacist (besides the money)? It must be nerve-wracking to deal with the public, not to mention the enormous responsibility you have (one screw up on your part as a pharmacist, someone may be injured or even die from an incorrect drug or dosage).

I get the impression that applications to pharmacy school have shot up over the past couple of years. Maybe people have finally figured out that money is not enough when choosing a career (such as those people who only looked at the money when getting some computer cert or MBA thinking they will make $80,000/year because of that). You need both money AND job security, which makes pharmacy an ideal career.

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[WVUPharm2007]

Something tells me you are basing all of this on the idea that we all will wind up at the local CVS.

Not all pharmacists deal with the public (hospital, prisons, etc.) And not all are given such responsibility that they will kill people due to dispensing the wrong medicaiton - being that some pharmacists get consulting jobs in hospitals, some teach, and some even go to graduate school, get a Ph.D. and do research, which is what I hope to do.

I would imagine you are dead-on with the "community pharmacy" aspect of the profession, decent wages and wonderful job security, and nightmares revolving around the drive-through window.

In the end, sadly, I suppose it always seems to boil down to money - it all too often makes me chuckle, people thrilled at the idea of climbing the corporate ladder of Walgreens, rendering that PharmD they spend six years on a waste of their time. If you want to be the CEO of a company, go to business school and leave the science to us nerds that actually want to better the lives of people rather than oogle over profit margins and 6-figure salaries...oops, I'm ranting, quite sorry.

I'm in pharmacy because *gasp* I am facinated in the science of it, not because it will allow me to someday buy an Audi TT to make up for my pathetic insecurities. ...oh, wait, another rant, I need to stop that.