I'm a junior in High School and it's been my dream since I was in 7th grade to go and complete Pharamcy school. I have so many questions that I need some answers to I figured that this forum would be extremely helpful. To start off I'll say I'm doing very well in school, a 4.17 gpa, currently in AP Calculus and two others and doing well. First question is, living in southwest Virginia my options for pharmacy school are very difficult. I've narrowed my options down to ETSU, UNC, and VCU. They all have pros and cons (VCU is instate, ETSU is the closest, and UNC is the best) but would going down to Chapel Hill and spending more money be worth going to a college that costs more? At least as a post prepharmacy option, I was looking to go to Virginia Tech to go through their prepharmacy program and then transfer (due to their proximity). Second, would it be a good idea to do the course and become a pharmaceutical technician and work as that throughout college to learn a lot about the job? Besides these any tips regarding the best possible and logistical route through this process would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
What is the best path from high school to pharmacy school?
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Because, I sat down with my parents (neither went to college or any male in my family for 80 some years) and I told them I wanted to do something big with my life. Basically we review a bunch of medical professions and I wasn't necessarily interested in going the surgeon route but pharmacy sounded like a dream job, so it stuck.
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Pharmacy is very saturated and quite difficult to get a job in now and well into the future, even if you do complete a pharmacy degree, and salaries are plummeting due to there being far more supply than demand.
Not all doctors are surgeons, have you considered other physician roles? (Oncology, cardiology, neurology, nephrology, critical care, emergency medicine, etc etc etc etc)
Physician assistants make more than pharmacists, and you can become a PA in the same time or less, plus it gives you the flexibility to jump about in the medical profession.
Just a few thoughts. Pharmacy sounds great on paper, but it's very different than it was a few years back, and no longer the secure and well compensated field it was in years past, which is a sad thing, because pharmacists are a critical part of the health care system, and shouldn't be treated as underpaid, expendable employees.
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Concentrate on your SAT or ACT first and get a nice scholarship to college. Stay out of trouble while enjoying your high school years. You'll have more than enough time in college to find the best fit and career path for you. Quite honestly, the biggest mistake you can make right now is to commit to pharmacy, which is undergoing transition in arguably the wrong direction.
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i will not try to talk you out of pharmacy - enough people will do that here - there are obvious pros and cons. BUT if you have made the decision I would say VCU. UNC may be rated the best, but who cares. VCU is an excellent school and in-state tuition. I am not sure of their admission policies, but if try to get accepted as an undergrad, and ask if they are a school where you can do it in 6 years vs 8 years.
Don't get caught up on rankings, and ETSU, is, well, from what I have heard, maybe not the best? but that is only what I have heard from others. It is all about what is the cheapest way for you to get your degree without sacrificing your future,
Don't get caught up on rankings, and ETSU, is, well, from what I have heard, maybe not the best? but that is only what I have heard from others. It is all about what is the cheapest way for you to get your degree without sacrificing your future,
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Do you enjoy pain? Many of us do...
You can do big things in your life in business, finance, computer programming, and engineering without the 4 "lost" years of education and $200k+ debt. The sky is the limit in these fields.
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Wow, no male in college for 80 years....I really feel I want to give you extra wind to fly high in life so consider this secret.
Before you pay any school to be pharmacy technician, consider studying at home.
Did you know about PTCB, the best possible and logistical route to be pharmacy technician by studying at home?
I did the test and tried community pharmacy and found that I fitted the community pharmacy perfectly. Then, I went to pharmacy school and after graduation, I was offered pharmacist job in hospital but I politely declined and stayed with community pharmacy for years. My lucky patients are happy and I am happy.
Here are the secret steps:
To be technician now:
1. Contact the Board of Pharmacy of your state, see if they accept the passing certificate from www.ptcb.org as a way to give you license as pharmacy technician. I know California does accept.
("Of the 43 states that currently regulate pharmacy technicians, 37 specifically accept the PTCE in their regulations. Five states (Arizona, Louisiana, North Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming) require pharmacy technicians to pass the PTCE to be eligible to work."
http://www.ptcb.org/who-we-serve/state-associates-and-boards/boards-of-pharmacy)
2. Buy a used book about pharmacy technician on amazon.com or ebay.com.
3. Study at home for 1 week.
4. Register and take the test at www.ptcb.org.
5. Pass the test, a fairly easy test considering 400 thousands people passed it. If you don't pass first time, you can pay money to take again until you pass so do not study forever for a long time. Study hard and try the test.
(http://www.ptcb.org/resources/current-fees
Application & Exam Fee $129)
This method is less costly than paying for a school for pharmacy technician program; you save time and money and still qualify for technician job. Also, please be aware that because you learn at home, you don't get that good experiences and knowledge for hospital job which means your chance of getting hospital job is lower (but still possible, depending on connection you have).
Go to work as technician. I hope you find pharmacy as a fitting career. Fly high.
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Whatever you do, get a job in a pharmacy before you commit to anything. It could be retail, hospital, long term care (they mostly service nursing homes) but whatever you do, know what you're getting into! Is there a free clinic in your area? Volunteer there, or at a hospital if there isn't one. You'll find out quickly if you even want to pursue a medical career of any kind.
I became a pharmacist when it WAS a plum job, and I had classmates who didn't work in the field ahead of time, and found out that they loved the theory but not the practice. Just last night, I went to a reunion of co-workers from my first employer out of school (LONG story) and they all reinforced the decision I made a little over 3 years ago to walk away. That said, I had 18 years, more good than bad, and it was time to do something else. I was grateful that it was an option for me; many of them are simply counting the days until they turn 65, and that's not a fun way to live.
I became a pharmacist when it WAS a plum job, and I had classmates who didn't work in the field ahead of time, and found out that they loved the theory but not the practice. Just last night, I went to a reunion of co-workers from my first employer out of school (LONG story) and they all reinforced the decision I made a little over 3 years ago to walk away. That said, I had 18 years, more good than bad, and it was time to do something else. I was grateful that it was an option for me; many of them are simply counting the days until they turn 65, and that's not a fun way to live.
Thank you, this is the response I was looking for. However, all of these answers were helpful. Becoming a pharmaceutical technician would help me test the waters with Pharmacy before I put in the dedication of becoming a pharmacist, I think that may be the best path.
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And yet, a job is a job. I think the paramount question is: do you enjoy being on a computer and a phone all day?
65?! I hit a wall at 30. The more that I fight against being creative, the more tension and turmoil that bottles up within me. (Consuming and consuming and consuming does not fulfill me. If anything, I feel like I'm about to break out of the cage - like I'm... almost... there...)
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If you know you really want to be a pharmacist, the best way from high school is to go straight to a a 0 -6 year pharmacy program. You don't have to worry about the PCAT or maintaining a high GPA (although with the new school saturation, you probably won't have to worry about either of those anyway.) Still, you save money and time by only applying for your initial 0 - 6 year school, you don't have to do 2 - 4 years, then apply again to a pharmacy school.
Although, ideally you would get a job in a pharmacy first, before making such a commitment. What pharmacy sounds like on paper, is not really what the day to day job is like (this is probably true of most jobs.)
Yes, you want to get a job as a technician or intern and work during pharmacy school (at the minimum during summers.) Do NOT pay for pharmacy technician school, in my opinion, that is an expensive scam. Employers do NOT care if someone has been to technician school or not (although they do look for certification, as has been mentioned, you can become certified on your own without having worked in a pharmacy or going to technician school.)
Although, ideally you would get a job in a pharmacy first, before making such a commitment. What pharmacy sounds like on paper, is not really what the day to day job is like (this is probably true of most jobs.)
Yes, you want to get a job as a technician or intern and work during pharmacy school (at the minimum during summers.) Do NOT pay for pharmacy technician school, in my opinion, that is an expensive scam. Employers do NOT care if someone has been to technician school or not (although they do look for certification, as has been mentioned, you can become certified on your own without having worked in a pharmacy or going to technician school.)
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