Is 31 too early to start?

mnykr said:

I am very interested in going to pharmacy school, on some days i feel like i am too old to start and other i feel like why not life is short have fun.

Wanted to get your opinion.

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You're never too old to start. Even if you mean your prereqs. If you start your prereqs now,even if you get BS before applying you'd still only be 35 if you went full time, 39 when you're done, and able to retire by 63 1/2, most likely without the need of Social Security (which may not be there anyway). I'd say you're still good to go. If you meant start pharm school/application process all the better.

mnykr said:

I am very interested in going to pharmacy school, on some days i feel like i am too old to start and other i feel like why not life is short have fun.

Wanted to get your opinion.

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Well, that's how old I am, so I'm gonna go with not too old.
It all depends on your situation. Good luck!

opa stands for old pharmacy applicant

Farmercyst said:

You're never too old to start. Even if you mean your prereqs. If you start your prereqs now,even if you get BS before applying you'd still only be 35 if you went full time, 39 when you're done, and able to retire by 63 1/2, most likely without the need of Social Security (which may not be there anyway). I'd say you're still good to go. If you meant start pharm school/application process all the better.

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And if you the original poster decides not to do it, s/he'll be how old at that time, without a PharmD degree~~~~?????

;-)

M friend just got accepted to mercer and she is 30. You can do anything you want.

You are never too old, I'm 30 and will be starting pharmacy school next fall. For the past 3 years, I've attended school fulltime with a minimum of 2 science courses each semester and worked fulltime. Also juggled schedules with my wife who is also a fulltime student and stay at home with our 2 kids. It's definitely been hard but it happened. Don't let starting late stop you, it scared me too but it can be done. Good luck!!!

assuming you graduate around 36-37 years old, you have a good 20-30 years to work. IMO, investing 5-6 years now is definately worth 20-30 years of payoff. I think the quality of life as a pharmacist is pretty good.

if you want it, do it!

I'm 33. I don't feel old, and I start at Midwestern in August. I look at it as a new start. I'm going to be 36 in 3 years with or without this fantastic career.

I'll be 32 in April and I start Auburn in the fall... like everyone else, I say go for it!

To howsoon and others in the 30 and above crowd: Some days I don't feel a day over 18, but then there are others (especially when I look around me and see the younguns on campus whose biggest concern in life is deciding what parties to attend over the weekend) when I feel ancient... do you guys ever feel like this?? So far I've been able to laugh at myself and move on, but I'm afraid eventually I'll start to tell myself "you really are old," believe it, and become old because of it (if that makes sense)... Maybe I'm just waxing philiosophical today

I am 36, will start pharmacy school this fall. I fell I am old, but late is better than never. I am fed up with my present job.

Julianne said:

I'll be 32 in April and I start Auburn in the fall... like everyone else, I say go for it!

To howsoon and others in the 30 and above crowd: Some days I don't feel a day over 18, but then there are others (especially when I look around me and see the younguns on campus whose biggest concern in life is deciding what parties to attend over the weekend) when I feel ancient... do you guys ever feel like this?? So far I've been able to laugh at myself and move on, but I'm afraid eventually I'll start to tell myself "you really are old," believe it, and become old because of it (if that makes sense)... Maybe I'm just waxing philiosophical today

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I'll be 30 in May. I'd say think about it this way, once you've actually graduated and you're practicing, noone will know how long you've been practicing except you, your boss, and anyone you choose to tell. That means automatic respect (wc?) among the more seasoned pharmacists (as long as you know your stuff) compared to someone at 24-26 who just got out. Gives you better shot at networking and moving up ladders, if that's the direction you want to go. So yeah, it stinks to have to worry about feeding wife and two kids while everyone else is wondering if they can learn good hangover meds(not that anyone on this board does that ), but in the end I think you'll get the better end of the bargain.

eelo said:

And if you the original poster decides not to do it, s/he'll be how old at that time, without a PharmD degree~~~~?????

;-)

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That is almost exactly what one of my mentor pharmacists said to me. The time will pass whether you decide to go to pharmacy school or not, so why don't you just do it. I'm sure it depends on the school, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are many students in my class who are older and juggling more responsibilities. There are times when I am really jealous of the younger students - like next week when they will all be off at the beach and I will be working - but even with everything going on in my life, I am still so happy that I decided to go back to school.

You can do it!!

Original Question: "Is 31 too early to start?"

Answer: No. 10 may be too early.

ForcedEntry said:

Original Question: "Is 31 too early to start?"

Answer: No. 10 may be too early.

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Just cuz you can answer the question that was really asked.

ForcedEntry said:

Original Question: "Is 31 too early to start?"

Answer: No. 10 may be too early.

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He has that "attention to detail" down... HAHA - funny how everyone answered the question implicitly...

oh... and to the intended question - absolutely not. It took you 31 years to find your path. Some find it early, some find it later. Life has no right or wrong moves - Be happy with the fact you find your path (some people never do)

~above~

aboveliquidice said:

Life has no right or wrong moves -

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There are plenty of wrong moves

Farmercyst said:

Just cuz you can answer the question that was really asked.

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Yeah I'm 34. Wanna fight?

I'll be 34 when I start pharmacy school next fall. I never really gave my age much thought. This is something I wanted to do, so I did it.

ForcedEntry said:

Yeah I'm 34. Wanna fight?

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Only if I get EMLA afterwards.

KellyBean said:

There are plenty of wrong moves

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Now who told you that... well - I guess rape/murder would go under the heading of "bad moves" - but I was referring to the "I came to a fork in the road and chose the path least traveled" things.

In that sense, path a or b, there is no wrong choice.

~above~

Everybody I talked with while interviewing looked favorably upon older applicants. You've seen more of the world, and come to a more mature decision about school. I'm leaving a pretty darn cool job at 29 to start pharm school this August, with intentions of learning a profession I've discovered fascinates me, and will allow me to go to any city in America to work. Go for it, you've got deccades of work ahead of you either way!!!

Farmercyst said:

Only if I get EMLA afterwards.

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Pass me the Doan's

mnykr said:

I am very interested in going to pharmacy school, on some days i feel like i am too old to start and other i feel like why not life is short have fun.

Wanted to get your opinion.

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Did you do a cost/benefit calculation? For example, assume you give up 50K per year for four years and take on 100K of debt while in school (300K total investment in new career). Let's assume on average after becoming a pharmacist you make 25K more per year than you would have in previous career. Then after 12 years you break even on your investment.

It probably takes longer to break even because by investing later you take less advantage of compound interest. Also, I did not include the cost of interest in paying off the 100K in loans. And you could try to quantify the value of work that is more rewarding, assuming you like your new career better.

Julianne said:

Some days I don't feel a day over 18, but then there are others (especially when I look around me and see the younguns on campus whose biggest concern in life is deciding what parties to attend over the weekend)

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Ha, let them, only makes the competition soft for the rest of us. Though there is a sense of accomplishment when competing against the best. Show the "younguns" the "geezers" can still hang with the best of them academically.

Farmercyst said:

So yeah, it stinks to have to worry about feeding wife and two kids while everyone else is wondering if they can learn good hangover meds(not that anyone on this board does that ), but in the end I think you'll get the better end of the bargain.

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Ah, the gift of foresight.

Lunchbox said:

Everybody I talked with while interviewing looked favorably upon older applicants. You've seen more of the world, and come to a more mature decision about school.

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Maturity has many advantages.

So what would you all say is the average age of a pharmacy student starting out? I am 22 and Im curious about this. Seriously though if you have the drive and ability to go through 4 years of pharmacy school, you are certainly not too old to be there at any age.

My motivation:
I could be 35 and a pharmacist or 35 and a chemistry teacher starting my 9th year. I took one look at a girl who in April, still couldn't use the electronic balance correctly and my decision was easy You're never too old to find your passion.

Good luck!!!

I will start school at 22yrs this fall and I think the average age of last year's class was 25yrs old. Most of my study buddies are in their late 20s and mid 30s and they give me a run for my money academically. I like studying with them because they like to get down to busy and get the studying done. Good influences on me, but I am going to get them to come out one night and cut loose.

I quit teaching last year (at 30) and began taking pre-pharm requirements and have not regretted it one bit! So I say go for it!

mnykr said:

I am very interested in going to pharmacy school, on some days i feel like i am too old to start and other i feel like why not life is short have fun.

Wanted to get your opinion.

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We've a 30 something MD in our class. 'Nuff said.

futuredruggist said:

Did you do a cost/benefit calculation? For example, assume you give up 50K per year for four years and take on 100K of debt while in school (300K total investment in new career). Let's assume on average after becoming a pharmacist you make 25K more per year than you would have in previous career. Then after 12 years you break even on your investment.

It probably takes longer to break even because by investing later you take less advantage of compound interest. Also, I did not include the cost of interest in paying off the 100K in loans. And you could try to quantify the value of work that is more rewarding, assuming you like your new career better.

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with a BS in finance, and after working as a financial analyst, i totally did a cost benefit analysis.

I'm graduating from pharmacy school this May and I am 50 years old. It is totally worth it financially, even with the loans.

Never too late! I went back to school at 31 almost 32 and have been accepted into Pharmacy school for fall of 2007. I will finish when I am 36. I figured there would still be about 25 to 30 more years of work, so I better do something I would enjoy instead of being in a career I didn't like.

Do it if you really want to, set a plan and just do it. Good Luck!

terse said:

with a BS in finance, and after working as a financial analyst, i totally did a cost benefit analysis.

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How much more sophisticated was yours? I'm curious, because I have no background in finance.

futuredruggist said:

Did you do a cost/benefit calculation? For example, assume you give up 50K per year for four years and take on 100K of debt while in school (300K total investment in new career). Let's assume on average after becoming a pharmacist you make 25K more per year than you would have in previous career. Then after 12 years you break even on your investment.

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You can't think of it from just a money stand point though. There are some professions that make excellent money that you couldn't pay me enough to do. It's all about making good money while doing something you like to do.

When I retire I would like to be a high school teacher, who knows if it will happen but that is a thought for the distant future.

mnykr: I understand how you feel. I felt like I was too old to be going back to school. Then I realized that if I don't try now, I will be wondering, "What if I had tried to apply to pharmacy school?" 10 or 20 years from now. So I say go for it!

I turned 30 last year and will probably apply next year. I will be 32 if accepted. I work fulltime as a medical technologist and support myself since I am single. Right now I am only a part time student, and could have finished all the pre-pharmacy classes in a year if I was a fulltime student. But... I do have to worry about my finances such as credit card bills so I am trying to eliminate/reduce them before I get into pharmacy school. That is, IF I get in.

And if I don't get in, it won't be the end of the world. I plan to specialize in blood bank, go for a master's degree in clinical lab sciences and teach or go work in a reference lab.

Anyway, good luck to you in whatever you decide. I'm sure it will all work out.

I'm 32 and starting Pharmacy school this Fall. GO FOR IT.

I'm surprised (and glad) to see just how many non-trads there are around here... I don't feel quite so alone now! I still wonder if I'll be the oldest in my class this year, though....

One more non-trad here...I'll be 31 next month, and hopefully I'll be accepted somewhere for Fall '07!

All oldies like me are invited to my 39th birthday on March 17th. Hoping to get into pharmacy this fall. It's been my lifelong dream, and I'm going for it.

No, 31 is not too "early", 39 is.

yougogirl said:

...It's been my lifelong dream, and I'm going for it.

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you go girl

yougogirl said:

All oldies like me are invited to my 39th birthday on March 17th. Hoping to get into pharmacy this fall. It's been my lifelong dream, and I'm going for it.

No, 31 is not too "early", 39 is.

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You are still young. 39 is the new 21, baby! Good luck with pharm school!

I was 37 when I started Rx school this year and thought I'd be the old cooter in the class....but I have a 51 year old classmate!

If this is what you love, go for it. Don't worry about your age (it's an advantage!)

Yes, I agree. I think age is an advantage also.

I'm relieved to see some non-trads here. I don't feel so alone.

Good luck to everyone!

never too cool for school. i'm turning 31 this year and if i don't get in this time around, i may reapply w/ the hopes of starting pharm school next fall. you're going to spend the next half of your life doing a job... might as well be the one you love.