(Advice needed) Pharmacy vs Physical therapy?

[HedgehogCute]

Hello,
So I am in my sophomore-junior year majoring in biology and I have maintained mostly 4.0s including General Bio, General chem and Anatomy and Physiology calculs1... etc in community college

I originally wanted to pursue pharmacy but a lot of negative comments on the internet (including forums here) and a few pharmacists that I have personally interviewed discouraged me to become a pharmacist because of the saturation of the market.

I am now considering Physical therapy but I am not sure if it is the right decision.


I prefer pharmacy and it suits me well personally considering my personality and interests
clinical pharmacist specifically ambulatory pharmacist is something that I am really interested in but retail pharmacist is still a good option to me.

but I know that having no jobs after getting a doctorate degree will be something that I cannot tolerate too.

Pharmacy and PT educations cost pretty similarly I think

To sum up,



Pharmacy



Pros:


It suits my personality and interests

doesn't require a bachelor's degree so I can save one year

academically more satisfying

Easier to be accepted

Higher starting salary

No Pcat required (universities I want to apply)


Cons :


SATURATED JOB MARKET

decreasing or static salary

Cannot have a private practice (technically yes)

More residency years and competitive residency matching



Physical therapy



Pros:


it somewhat suits my personality and interests

The job market is good

the profession will be never automated

Can open a private clinic in the future


Cons:

I am not an active person nor extrovert (INTJ and I am not a native English speaker)

Need to earn a bachelor's degree

GRE score required

low starting salary

competitive admission



Any other suggestions would be appreciated too

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[Dred Pirate]

don't go into pharmacy - go look at the future - it is NOT bright. I personally enjoy my job, but to get my job now you would need a PGY-2 plus get lucky - times have changed.

 

[deleted562805]

I would recommend PT school. You will provide a service that no other healthcare provider can encroach on. Plus, PTs are recognized as healthcare providers and can bill for their services.

Do not do pharmacy, pharmacy job market is going down. Hours and salary are getting cut in the retail world. Rural hospitals are cutting pharmacist hours too, so staff pharmacists and residents are struggling to pay off loans. For a hospital job in the city, you need a PGY-2 and network like crazy to get a job or end up staffing PRN in a rural hospital.
BLS statistics show 0% job growth in pharmacy. Do not do it.

 

[radio frequency]

Why are you not considering MD? Your GPA is not an issue obviously. Finish a strong BS degree, then decide what you want to apply to.

Pharmacy jobs are in the toilet. I considered PT before I went to pharmacy school but the payoff was terrible and there weren’t many jobs then, either. Believe it or not, pharmacy was a better choice than PT (and that’s saying something). It also doesn’t sound like PT would suit your strong points so I’m not sure why you would consider it.

 

[deleted562805]

I would recommend PT school. You will provide a service that no other healthcare provider can encroach on. Plus, PTs are recognized as healthcare providers and can bill for their services.

Do not do pharmacy, pharmacy job market is going down. Hours and salary are getting cut in the retail world. Rural hospitals are cutting pharmacist hours too, so staff pharmacists and residents are struggling to pay off loans. For a hospital job in the city, you need a PGY-2 and network like crazy to get a job or end up staffing PRN in a rural hospital.
BLS statistics show 0% job growth in pharmacy. Do not do it.

What radio frequency said I agree. You are capable of applying to MD school and if not MD school, PA school is a good back up.

For medicine, stick with USMD school- with the STEP1 exam as a pass and fail, it will be hard to match to high paying specialities that you like if you choose USDO. With PA, you can still pursue those specialities.

 

[Timbo]

Prior to COVID, PT is one of my hospital's biggest money maker and its facility has recently been expanded. Our pharmacy department on the other hand is constantly trying to prove our worth by expanding our services (such as patient education, medical histories, etc - things that nurses are already doing). Last year, the hospital just cut one of our positions. There are rumors that they are looking to downsize even further (wish me luck).

 

[mentos]

You are thinking about this the wrong way.

Pharmacy

Pros:

doesn't require a bachelor's degree so I can save one year

Easier to be accepted

No Pcat required (universities I want to apply)

This is why pharmacy has no future. These are cons, not pros.

Physical therapy

Cons:

Need to earn a bachelor's degree

GRE score required

competitive admission

These are good for the profession and will prevent saturation. These are pros, not cons.

 

[HedgehogCute]

Why are you not considering MD? Your GPA is not an issue obviously. Finish a strong BS degree, then decide what you want to apply to.

Pharmacy jobs are in the toilet. I considered PT before I went to pharmacy school but the payoff was terrible and there weren’t many jobs then, either. Believe it or not, pharmacy was a better choice than PT (and that’s saying something). It also doesn’t sound like PT would suit your strong points so I’m not sure why you would consider it.

Thanks for your response.
I have considered medical schools but I also value work-life balance a lot.
I understand that becoming a doctor is the best thing for me but I heard that medical schools are extremely competitive to get in and I will not have any free time in medical school.
I also have no experience in the healthcare field but just working part-time on campus as an office assistant and a peer tutor.
I think I will be considering medical school at some point while finishing my undergrad degree though
So any advice in terms of admission to the med school would be appreciated too.

What do you think about other degrees such as dentistry or optometry?
Also, what is the reason you found Pharmacy is still better than PT?

Why are you not considering MD? Your GPA is not an issue obviously. Finish a strong BS degree, then decide what you want to apply to.

Pharmacy jobs are in the toilet. I considered PT before I went to pharmacy school but the payoff was terrible and there weren’t many jobs then, either. Believe it or not, pharmacy was a better choice than PT (and that’s saying something). It also doesn’t sound like PT would suit your strong points so I’m not sure why you would consider it.

 

[deleted562805]

Thanks for your response.
I have considered medical schools but I also value work-life balance a lot.
I understand that becoming a doctor is the best thing for me but I heard that medical schools are extremely competitive to get in and I will not have any free time in medical school.
I also have no experience in the healthcare field but just working part-time on campus as an office assistant and a peer tutor.
I think I will be considering medical school at some point while finishing my undergrad degree though
So any advice in terms of admission to the med school would be appreciated too.

What do you think about other degrees such as dentistry or optometry?
Also, what is the reason you found Pharmacy is still better than PT?

Dentistry is also saturated, mainly general dentistry. It is highly recommended that you get specialized in dentistry. One also has do a residency and fellowship to be specialized in Orthodontics, Cosmetic Dentistry, or Oral Surgeon ( Oral Surgeon, you will also get a MD), because you can get a job you in those areas of dentistry, but not general dentistry. Also, Dental school is more expensive than medical school. They charge 70 to 80 k per year. You will be spending same amount of years in training in dentistry like medical school, but in more debt.

Optometry is not great either. Too many schools, salaries are low. You also need to get a residency to help with job prospects. Optometry is better than pharmacy at 10% job growth.

There are areas of medicine that have a good work life balance. Dermatology is one that has good work life balance- more procedural based field of medicine, less number of patients, less medications to deal with, but it is competitive to get into dermatology residency. Plastic surgery also has a good work life balance- less number of patients, more procedural based work, less medications to deal with, but more competitive to get a residency.Not all of medicine is terrible work life balance. Medicine is in demand because there are a shortage of doctors despite the job growth at 7%.

Have you thought of PA school? PA school has a pretty good work life balance. It is slightly less competitive to get in compared to medicine, but you have less liability than a doctor through supervision under a doctor and you see more less complicated patient cases. Job growth for PA is 31%

 

[deleted562805]

Thanks for your response.
I have considered medical schools but I also value work-life balance a lot.
I understand that becoming a doctor is the best thing for me but I heard that medical schools are extremely competitive to get in and I will not have any free time in medical school.
I also have no experience in the healthcare field but just working part-time on campus as an office assistant and a peer tutor.
I think I will be considering medical school at some point while finishing my undergrad degree though
So any advice in terms of admission to the med school would be appreciated too.

What do you think about other degrees such as dentistry or optometry?
Also, what is the reason you found Pharmacy is still better than PT?

Admissions to medical school:
1. Clinical work experience: you need to get a job with clinical experience- medical scribe or EMT. Medical scribe- you work closely with doctors and basically write the doctors soap notes. I would highly recommend medical scribe in ER- more exposure to fast pace environment and more exposure to medical doctors. EMT is not bad- you work in the fast pace environment in the ER, but not closely with doctors. Also, the clinical experience is not something I would add in the last minute when you are about to finish undergrad. I would ditch one of the two jobs you are currently working in for a part time heath care job. Ask the medical SDN forum- There are faculty members on that forum that can help you.

2. Shadowing: you need to shadow a wide variety of doctors, from Family medicine to internal medicine to surgery. I would ask the medical SDN forum about this too. They are helpful regarding how many shadowing hours you need etc.

3. MCAT: You need a 511 or above to have a shot at USMD schools. A score of 500-510 gives you a chance at USDO schools. Some one on the medical forum can correct me on this.

4. Have an idea of what field of medicine you want to pursue. Word of caution: The medical curriculum has changed. since USMLE STEP1 exam, which is a license exam required for 2nd year med students is now pass and fail. What does that mean? Well, if you are in a USMD school, it benefits you since you don’t have to worry about a particular score in order to match with a particular residency. If you are in a USDO or choose Caribbean , your options on which fields of medicine to pursue will be limited to mostly general IM or primary care. Or if you join Caribbean, you may not match into residency. Again, ask the medical forum community on SDN. They would know. My best advice is to shoot for USMD

5. Research- some research experience looks great for some medical schools that are focused on research like the Ivy leagues. Again, ask the medical forum on whether research experience is required for medical school. There are two types of research: basic science lab research or patient outcomes based research in a hospital. Patients outcome based research does not take as long as lab based research. Ask the medical forum on SDN, they would know best.

 

[AM77]

Thanks for your response.
I have considered medical schools but I also value work-life balance a lot.
I understand that becoming a doctor is the best thing for me but I heard that medical schools are extremely competitive to get in and I will not have any free time in medical school.
I also have no experience in the healthcare field but just working part-time on campus as an office assistant and a peer tutor.
I think I will be considering medical school at some point while finishing my undergrad degree though
So any advice in terms of admission to the med school would be appreciated too.

What do you think about other degrees such as dentistry or optometry?
Also, what is the reason you found Pharmacy is still better than PT?

Optometry is worse than pharmacy because they get paid the least and have a ridiculous amount of student loans. Plus the job market is saturated because new schools keep opening up.

 

[deleted562805]

Optometry is worse than pharmacy because they get paid the least and have a ridiculous amount of student loans. Plus the job market is saturated because new schools keep opening up.

According to BLS, job growth is 10% for optometry. But it faces the same problems like pharmacy.the pay is low and just as expensive as pharmacy. Plus, you need a residency to get hired due to saturation and too many schools

 

[BC_89]

...I have considered medical schools....

...I also have no experience in the healthcare field...

...What do you think about other degrees such as dentistry or optometry?

For all of these reasons bolded, you would do yourself a disservice jumping to one degree when you have no shadowing or related experiences in any specific health field.

For now, look at the most needed prerequisite courses and shadowing / work requirements needed for a given professional program (MD or PA for example) and check off the boxes needed for applicants. This way, you still have the opportunity to maneuver between programs that may spark your interest while still fulfilling the basic prerequisites with overlap requirements. Shadow physicians, shadow PAs, shadow PTs, shadow dentists, and shadow optometrists. After you shadow then shadow some more.

You did the right step by asking in this forum about pharmacy and what experiences current pharmacists have on this career path. As others said, I would continue to the other professional forums on here and read what they have to say. This will at least give you some idea of where you might be headed while still in school.

Food for thought: Graduate / Healthcare Professional Programs with easier acceptances have the hardest job placements.

 

[rxkrafted]

Don't even put pharmacy as an option. You were smart enough to look at the job outlook unlike these new pharmacy students nowadays. Just look at your pros... Why do you think they're making it easier to get accepted into pharmacy schools now? Because its tempting people like you even though you know the job market sucks for pharmacy. You know its saturated already yet you are considering it because they don't require PCAT scores anymore and its an easier route.

 

[APN-59 rph]

If you pursue pharmacy you are staring at a 99% chance of work life disaster....Now..I just saved you 200 grand..you owe me 1 grand consultant fee....forward to the APHA home for reduced Pharm D females...

 

[Sleepingdoc]

You make 66-86k a year after a PT vs. 120-140k a year in pharmacy... or a 90-100$ an hour as a plumber or ac mechanic with no loans and 4 months of training in trade school

 

[deleted562805]

You make 66-86k a year after a PT vs. 120-140k a year in pharmacy... or a 90-100$ an hour as a plumber or ac mechanic with no loans and 4 months of training in trade school

Those six figure salaries for pharmacy are true if you are a pharmacy manager, now a days. Very misleading. It is more like $48/hr assuming if you get 40 hours a week

 

[LegendaryPanda]

Dentistry is also saturated, mainly general dentistry. It is highly recommended that you get specialized in dentistry. One also has do a residency and fellowship to be specialized in Orthodontics, Cosmetic Dentistry, or Oral Surgeon ( Oral Surgeon, you will also get a MD), because you can get a job you in those areas of dentistry, but not general dentistry. Also, Dental school is more expensive than medical school. They charge 70 to 80 k per year. You will be spending same amount of years in training in dentistry like medical school, but in more debt.

This is only half true. Dentistry is only saturated in metropolitan areas and big cities. In the rural areas, there is an extreme shortage. However, no one seems to want to move to bum **** nowhere, so they stay in the big cities and saturate the market there. If you are willing to move into the Midwest, or any rural area, you’ll do well and have no competition.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

This is only half true. Dentistry is only saturated in metropolitan areas and big cities. In the rural areas, there is an extreme shortage. However, no one seems to want to move to bum **** nowhere, so they stay in the big cities and saturate the market there. If you are willing to move into the Midwest, or any rural area, you’ll do well and have no competition.

Same goes for all healthcare fields.. Even pharmacy... people want to live in big cities so they saturate everything there.

 

[deleted562805]

Same goes for all healthcare fields.. Even pharmacy... people want to live in big cities so they saturate everything there.

Well, not quite true. There is saturation in rural areas, except maybe rural CVS or Walgreens. The demand has been met for pharmacy everywhere. Now, in other health care fields, medicine and dentistry. Yes, there is a shortage.

 

[Saiyo]

Is Health IT still a hot career? if so, I would totally try to do that if I was in your position.

 

[mentos]

You make 66-86k a year after a PT vs. 120-140k a year in pharmacy... or a 90-100$ an hour as a plumber or ac mechanic with no loans and 4 months of training in trade school

Maybe ten years ago. Most new pharmacists do not make close to 120-140k per year in 2020. Those are outliers, not the norm. Average market rate is $50/hr with 32 guaranteed hours = $83,200 per year before taxes. Try paying off $200,000 in loans, living comfortably, saving for a house, and raising a family on that salary.

 

[PSOP Student]

I originally wanted to pursue pharmacy but a lot of negative comments on the internet (including forums here) and a few pharmacists that I have personally interviewed discouraged me to become a pharmacist because of the saturation of the market.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated too

Machines can count pills faster than you.

Machines can NOT teach, engage and motivate a patient to rehab them.

Pretty clear which field to go into and why pharmacy schools are begging students to apply to a dying field.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Maybe ten years ago. Most new pharmacists do not make close to 120-140k per year in 2020. Those are outliers, not the norm. Average market rate is $50/hr with 32 guaranteed hours = $83,200 per year before taxes. Try paying off $200,000 in loans, living comfortably, saving for a house, and raising a family on that salary.

Whats stopping people from working two jobs???? 32 hours? jeez, two jobs is 64 hours... and getting paid 170 grand for it??? Physicians are working 80-90 hours and getting 120-200 grand for primary care plus all that liabitily.
Grass is always greener on the other side my friend.

 

[mentos]

Whats stopping people from working two jobs???? 32 hours? jeez, two jobs is 64 hours... and getting paid 170 grand for it??? Physicians are working 80-90 hours and getting 120-200 grand for primary care plus all that liabitily.
Grass is always greener on the other side my friend.

Who wants to work 64 hours a week? If you don't want to see your wife and kids and have no social life, I guess you could. It would be hard to balance two 32 hour jobs since your schedule would rotate from opening to closing to weekends and holidays. Most pharmacies are only open until 7pm-9pm and earlier on weekends. All of the shifts overlap. One job would have to be retail, the other non retail otherwise conflict of interest.

One full time job and a per diem is more realistic if you're lucky enough to get two jobs. I used to do this but it was hard to get hours at the per diem. I gave up all my weekends and holidays for two years. It simply wasn't worth keeping just because of the amount of BS training modules that you have to do. Imagine doing all those CVS training modules twice.

 

[Wednesday5]

[I've changed my profession from PT to PharmD]

I have a Bachelor of Physical Therapy (outside of the U.S. top 1 medical school in that country),1 year of internship as a physical therapist intern, I was the class president of the School of Physical Therapy, graduated, and I was applying for many Doctor of Physical Therapy programs in the US, but eventually, I left the PT profession and chose pharmacy fields. I just got admitted to one Doctor of Pharmacy program in the US.

It really depends on what is "suitable" for you!

I left PT because being a PT would cause, and has caused me occupational injuries in just 1 year. BUT, for some of my peers who are quite muscular, they suffer no occupational injuries and they enjoy that the PT job can burn the calories when they're working! LOL

"I don't want to, and I don't plan to be a pharmacist. I chose a PharmD degree." After doing some research, I found that PharmD has the highest diversity in career options. Only 45% of PharmD graduates work as a retail pharmacist, and this number will keep decreasing. Because: Dispensing drugs for a PharmD graduate is like giving modality treatments for PT graduates. Giving modality treatment for PTs pretty much doesn't require using our brains but I got paid the same and it's the easiest job in the PT field. If the duties you're doing now doesn't require complicated thinking and problem-solving skills that much, it is going to be replaced with machines/ computers/ AI. It's also a waste of knowledge in the profession.
I don't plan to be a pharmacist but work in other pharmacy fields which require a PharmD degree.

researching jobs on Indeed and check the requirements they ask "before" you apply for either PharmD or DPT would be a good idea also.

 

[Timbo]

Whats stopping people from working two jobs???? 32 hours? jeez, two jobs is 64 hours... and getting paid 170 grand for it??? Physicians are working 80-90 hours and getting 120-200 grand for primary care plus all that liabitily.
Grass is always greener on the other side my friend.

I was working two jobs - one 32 hours inpatient and one prn retail. I was let go last year of my retail position due to lack of need. They have more than enough new grads to fill their floater positions, furthermore they have been cutting hours anyway. Also I was not always available to work when they needed me to cover because of my inpatient job. It costs them money to keep me on board because they still need to pay me for monthly training, so I understand the decision to let me go. Working two jobs isn't as easy as you think. It's a scheduling nightmare and employers don't want that.

 

[Marzapan]

"I don't want to, and I don't plan to be a pharmacist. I chose a PharmD degree." After doing some research, I found that PharmD has the highest diversity in career options. Only 45% of PharmD graduates work as a retail pharmacist, and this number will keep decreasing. Because: Dispensing drugs for a PharmD graduate is like giving modality treatments for PT graduates. Giving modality treatment for PTs pretty much doesn't require using our brains but I got paid the same and it's the easiest job in the PT field. If the duties you're doing now doesn't require complicated thinking and problem-solving skills that much, it is going to be replaced with machines/ computers/ AI. It's also a waste of knowledge in the profession.
I don't plan to be a pharmacist but work in other pharmacy fields which require a PharmD degree.

researching jobs on Indeed and check the requirements they ask "before" you apply for either PharmD or DPT would be a good idea also.

If your conclusion after "researching" the pharmacy profession is that the PharmD offers one of the most diverse career options, AND you want to pursue a PharmD but not become a pharmacist, then you are a lost cause and there is no point in anyone giving you advice. Good luck with your pursuits...

 

[Wednesday5]

If your conclusion after "researching" the pharmacy profession is that the PharmD offers one of the most diverse career options, AND you want to pursue a PharmD but not become a pharmacist, then you are a lost cause and there is no point in anyone giving you advice. Good luck with your pursuits...

I mean being a retail pharmacist is not my personal ultimate life goal.

 

[deleted562805]

I mean being a retail pharmacist is not my personal ultimate life goal.

You do realize the non retail jobs are more or less a lottery. Look how many good candidates who have not matched into a hospital residency. The average match rate for clinical pharmacy is 60%. Fellowships are very few in number and are even more competitive to get. 10-20% match in fellowships. Majority of jobs are retail or if lucky staff pharmacy jobs.

Those statistics are terrible compared to other health care professions who have better job prospects/ outlooks.

 

[PSOP Student]

Whats stopping people from working two jobs???? 32 hours? jeez, two jobs is 64 hours...
Grass is always greener on the other side my friend.

You should think about working 5 jobs part time! The more the better! It would be great! Whats stopping people from working ten job??? 32 hours? 168 hours mean more money!


I see someone has never had a job on either side of the field.

 

[Wednesday5]

[The pros and cons of being a physical therapist]

I was a foreign-trained PT. I have clinical experience in all 4 specialties outside of the US and observation experience at 8 different settings in the United States.

*Pros:

• You'll have warm and long-term relationships with your patients. Your patients will tell you "you've saved my life".
• Achievements. You evaluate, diagnose, and treat as a physician (S-O-A-P), the only difference is you treat with conservative plans.
• Highly respected by patients and surgeons. Surgeons rely on you.

*Cons:

• Occupational injuries. No matter how heavy your patients are, you have to be able to protect them. Get prepared to lift up 200-300lbs. PT schools will teach you how to protect yourself and lower down the weight you have to lift. But if you're really too lean and not so muscular, this help is limited, and working as a PT will still give you lumbar and knee injuries. Two of my PT supervisors had to have lumbar surgeries when they were 30-40 years old because of the PT job.
• Disappointing income. The income PTs receive doesn't match how professional they are.
• I got sad sometimes because most of my patients were severely disabled and the conditions they have are permanent. your patients will be like your family members or friends and it's sad to see them suffer.

I hope this will help.

 

[BidingMyTime]

It suits my personality and interests

You literally have no idea if this is true, if you haven't actually worked in a pharmacy. Whatever you think pharmacy is, it probably isn't. You need to work in a pharmacy, ideally both hospital and retail. If you can only do one, then work retail, because that is statistically likely to be where you work.

doesn't require a bachelor's degree so I can save one year

As others have said, this is actually a con. Pharmacists with a BS degree, have more to fall back on, when they can't get a job as a pharmacist. I would strongly recommend getting a BS first, even if not required by your school.

academically more satisfying

You literally have no idea if this is true. I suspect you think this, because you think it is all bookwork, and you like books, and you would prefer not working with people (based on your saying that you are aren't an extrovert), but you literally have no idea what either profession entails.

Easier to be accepted

This is a big con, and given your GPA, this is not anything you need to worry about.

Higher starting salary

Maybe. 4 years from now, who knows.

No Pcat required (universities I want to apply)``````

This is a con, an school not requiring the PCAT is not a school you want to go to. Your criteria for picking a pharmacy school, should #1 be, a school with a 95% or higher NAPLEX pass rate.

Cannot have a private practice (technically yes)

Pharmacists will never independently practice, so don't even consider it as a possibility. You CAN have your own private retail pharmacy.

More residency years and competitive residency matching

Add on to this, even after getting a residency, you will likely end up with a retail job (if you are lucky to get a job.)

Cons:
I am not an active person nor extrovert (INTJ and I am not a native English speaker)

Most pharmacists work in retail. If you think you will have trouble working with people because you aren't an extrovert, than pharmacy is definitely not for you.

Whats stopping people from working two jobs???? 32 hours? jeez, two jobs is 64 hours... and getting paid 170 grand for it??? Physicians are working 80-90 hours and getting 120-200 grand for primary care plus all that liabitily.
Grass is always greener on the other side my friend.

The unemployment rate for pharmacists. When many pharmacists can't even get 1 job, it's even more unlikely that someone would get 2 jobs (because the first job will have a varying schedule that is never the same, and no 2nd job is going to wait to the last minute to schedule around someone, when they can just hire a desperate pharmacist who has no other obligations.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Oh, and to add on, because I got distracted by the fact that you will most likely be working in retail....

Even if you do get a clinical job, you will be dealing every day, face-to-face with doctors and nurses, and other pharmacists and technicians as well. And to a lesser extent patients. You will have to do in-services and teaching for different areas of the hospital, and chances are you will also be teaching out-patient classes to patients. So it's not like clinical or hospital jobs are great for introverts either. You really need to get a job in a hospital and/or retail, to see what pharmacists really do, becaue I think you have the wrong perception.

 

[deleted562805]

Oh, and to add on, because I got distracted by the fact that you will most likely be working in retail....

Even if you do get a clinical job, you will be dealing every day, face-to-face with doctors and nurses, and other pharmacists and technicians as well. And to a lesser extent patients. You will have to do in-services and teaching for different areas of the hospital, and chances are you will also be teaching out-patient classes to patients. So it's not like clinical or hospital jobs are great for introverts either. You really need to get a job in a hospital and/or retail, to see what pharmacists really do, becaue I think you have the wrong perception.

Well OP can do Drug Information or work for Poison Control if OP feels that they are not extrovert. Unfortunately, one either has to know someone to get those jobs because there are no job openings for these positions.
Managed Care pharmacy caters to introverts but does not have as much residency programs compared to hospital/clinical residency.

 

[Sine Cura]

You can be an introvert and work retail. You will just hate everyone, every day

 

[deleted562805]

Also, “hot field” of informatics pharmacy caters to introverts 100%. Just don’t do a useless residency. Get a degree in CS specific to informatics will help you more so than a residency

 

[deleted562805]

OP, if you are thinking about pharmacy. Don’t do it. Getting into pharmacy school is easy. Does not matter whether it is established or diploma mill. Both types of school are easier to get into than undergrad. Please listen to Paul Tran, a hospital pharmacist with 5 years of experience

 

[HedgehogCute]

You literally have no idea if this is true, if you haven't actually worked in a pharmacy. Whatever you think pharmacy is, it probably isn't. You need to work in a pharmacy, ideally both hospital and retail. If you can only do one, then work retail, because that is statistically likely to be where you work.



As others have said, this is actually a con. Pharmacists with a BS degree, have more to fall back on, when they can't get a job as a pharmacist. I would strongly recommend getting a BS first, even if not required by your school.



You literally have no idea if this is true. I suspect you think this, because you think it is all bookwork, and you like books, and you would prefer not working with people (based on your saying that you are aren't an extrovert), but you literally have no idea what either profession entails.



This is a big con, and given your GPA, this is not anything you need to worry about.



Maybe. 4 years from now, who knows.



This is a con, an school not requiring the PCAT is not a school you want to go to. Your criteria for picking a pharmacy school, should #1 be, a school with a 95% or higher NAPLEX pass rate.




Pharmacists will never independently practice, so don't even consider it as a possibility. You CAN have your own private retail pharmacy.



Add on to this, even after getting a residency, you will likely end up with a retail job (if you are lucky to get a job.)




Most pharmacists work in retail. If you think you will have trouble working with people because you aren't an extrovert, than pharmacy is definitely not for you.



The unemployment rate for pharmacists. When many pharmacists can't even get 1 job, it's even more unlikely that someone would get 2 jobs (because the first job will have a varying schedule that is never the same, and no 2nd job is going to wait to the last minute to schedule around someone, when they can just hire a desperate pharmacist who has no other obligations.

Thanks for everyone's helpful and honest advice about the Pharmacy and Physical Therapy field.

After doing a lot of research about the pharmacy and the healthcare field in general, I am switching my major now to nursing to become a Nurse Practitioner eventually.

I understand this is also the profession that will be saturated at some point, but at least I don't need to pay lots of tuition.

I don't hate interacting with other people in fact that often really motivates me. I just meant I am not a super outgoing person when I said I am introverted.

Nursing always has been part of my heart but nurses are considered as subordinates of physicians in my country and there is no advanced degree in nursing except for some MSN and Ph.D.

I hope I am making a wise decision

 

[deleted562805]

Thanks for everyone's helpful and honest advice about the Pharmacy and Physical Therapy field.

After doing a lot of research about the pharmacy and the healthcare field in general, I am switching my major now to nursing to become a Nurse Practitioner eventually.

I understand this is also the profession that will be saturated at some point, but at least I don't need to pay lots of tuition.

I don't hate interacting with other people in fact that often really motivates me. I just meant I am not a super outgoing person when I said I am introverted.

Nursing always has been part of my heart but nurses are considered as subordinates of physicians in my country and there is no advanced degree in nursing except for some MSN and Ph.D.

I hope I am making a wise decision

You are making a good decision. You will have more opportunities as a nurse and Nursing as a profession is much more versatile in that your skills will be needed in any department. Plus BSN school is definitely cheaper than pharmacy school.

After BSN and years of work experience as a nurse , more
Opportunities open up for nursing: NP, CRNA, and medical informatics. NP is a good field to get into and even CRNA is good field to get into too. You will be a health care provider and can bill for your services. Medical informatics is also a good career that takes nurses if you don’t like the patient care side of nursing.

 

[PharmtoCS]

I mean being a retail pharmacist is not my personal ultimate life goal.

Which is why you should not go into pharmacy since that is where the vast majority end up...if there are any retail jobs left by the time you graduate.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Oh, and to add on, because I got distracted by the fact that you will most likely be working in retail....

Even if you do get a clinical job, you will be dealing every day, face-to-face with doctors and nurses, and other pharmacists and technicians as well. And to a lesser extent patients. You will have to do in-services and teaching for different areas of the hospital, and chances are you will also be teaching out-patient classes to patients. So it's not like clinical or hospital jobs are great for introverts either. You really need to get a job in a hospital and/or retail, to see what pharmacists really do, becaue I think you have the wrong perception.

With all this- again what did you expect when you went into pharmacy? Sorry did not mean to be harsh... but most people who is going into pharmacy is expecting either a clinical or a retail job.... yes Jobs suck everywhere, its a reason why its called a job... you have to do it to make money- not exactly for fun.... same goes for every field.

 

[BidingMyTime]

With all this- again what did you expect when you went into pharmacy? Sorry did not mean to be harsh... but most people who is going into pharmacy is expecting either a clinical or a retail job.... yes Jobs suck everywhere, its a reason why its called a job... you have to do it to make money- not exactly for fun.... same goes for every field.

I expected that I would need to talk to people, and I worked both hospital and retail pharmacy in undergrad, so I had an idea what to expect as a pharmacist. Personally, I love pharmacy--both retail and hospital, I have no regrets about my career choice. My point was, it seems clear the OP who has never worked in a pharmacy, has no idea what it entails. And there are lots of threads here from people who have regretted their career choice because they didn't do any research into what they were getting into. (And OP has added on that now that they have researched pharmacy, then intend to be a NP instead.

 

[BaSsHeAd]

“Pharmacy Pros:

Easier to be accepted

PT cons:

competitive admission”



yikes

 

[Dred Pirate]

“Pharmacy Pros:

Easier to be accepted

PT cons:

competitive admission”



yikes

I have no idea what the acceptance rates are for PT - but I do remember in the late 90's where PT was super competitive.

 

[Xenophylia]

You can be an introvert and work retail. You will just hate everyone, every day

And even if you're not an introvert, after several years in retail this will still be true....