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I was meeting with a group of pre-health students recently at an all-girls college to promote the profession of pharmacy and discuss pharmacy career opportunities.
In the past, I've often promoted pharmacy (in particular retail pharmacy) as a fantastic career option for women, noting the flexibility in scheduling and the ability to work part-time; women who wanted to juggle work and raising a family could do so, and do so without harming their career (advancement opportunities for retail pharmacists are limited).
Given my audience of ~20 young ladies, I was ready to launch into how fantastic pharmacy is for women and address all of those points above, but I stopped myself because I wasn't sure that any of those points were true anymore; everything I've heard and read in the last 12-18 months (job market tightening, push to 14 hour shifts, less tech help, move to require immunization services off the clock, take it or leave it attitude by the chains, etc.) had led me to question these tenets. The salary is still fantastic, but beyond that...
So...if there are any ladies out there who are practicing phamacists (particularly retail) between the ages of 25-40, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts.
- Was pharmacy promoted to you as a great career opportunity for women?
- Does pharmacy allow the flexibility in scheduling to work part-time anymore?
- For women who work retail who have worked part-time in the past, do you believe this has limited your advancement opportunities (PIC, DM, etc.)
- Is there anything else of relevance about being a female pharmacist that ladies considering entering the profession should know about?
Me and my dumb Y chromosome thank you in advance.
In the past, I've often promoted pharmacy (in particular retail pharmacy) as a fantastic career option for women, noting the flexibility in scheduling and the ability to work part-time; women who wanted to juggle work and raising a family could do so, and do so without harming their career (advancement opportunities for retail pharmacists are limited).
Given my audience of ~20 young ladies, I was ready to launch into how fantastic pharmacy is for women and address all of those points above, but I stopped myself because I wasn't sure that any of those points were true anymore; everything I've heard and read in the last 12-18 months (job market tightening, push to 14 hour shifts, less tech help, move to require immunization services off the clock, take it or leave it attitude by the chains, etc.) had led me to question these tenets. The salary is still fantastic, but beyond that...
So...if there are any ladies out there who are practicing phamacists (particularly retail) between the ages of 25-40, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts.
- Was pharmacy promoted to you as a great career opportunity for women?
- Does pharmacy allow the flexibility in scheduling to work part-time anymore?
- For women who work retail who have worked part-time in the past, do you believe this has limited your advancement opportunities (PIC, DM, etc.)
- Is there anything else of relevance about being a female pharmacist that ladies considering entering the profession should know about?
Me and my dumb Y chromosome thank you in advance.
