Advice Please

[Nature Bounty]

Hello

I am in need of some advice in term of choosing the next path of my career. I am non-trad, 32 years old. I want to do medicine, but being this old in life, I went ahead and applied to a PharmD program, as a backup. Currently, I have been accepted into a PharmD program and a Postbacc program that is affiliated with a DO school (VCOM). They both begin in the fall.

My dilemma is that in the Postbacc program I would have to maintain a certain GPA to matriculate in the DO school next year, whereas I can begin the Pharmacy program right away in the fall. My worry is making that required GPA for the Postbacc that is funded by a private loan and not making the cut.

However, I also know how saturated the Pharmacy field is at the moment and I feel like I am shooting myself in the foot by going the Pharm route, but it is also the shortest path to having an income and possibly settling down.

I am not posting this here on SDN so that someone can make a decision for me because I know at the end of the day, I would have to do that, but I was wondering if anyone here has gone through something similar and chose one vs. the other. Are you happy with your decision now, or would you do something different? Would you choose the Postbacc to DO path, at an age like me, with past undergrad loans, knowing that you may or may not make it? Or would you just jump in the Pharm field and forget medicine all together?

I apologize for the long post, but I am hoping for any advice here.

Thank you.

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[Nippyfan]

Greetings!

I understand your dilemma completely and was too considering a few different options before I ultimately chose my field.

From your post, it sounds like you aren't really too enthused by the prospects of Pharmacy and are really only considering it because of the ability to start a program with a foreseeable end. Unfortunately, though, with the job crunch that that profession is currently facing and will continue to face as more and more schools open, I would stay clear of Pharmacy. On the other hand, the post bacc is a great idea, theoretically, but it can actually be quite daunting, especially if you aren't certain that you can maintain the necessary GPA required to auto matriculate. So, if you aren't confident pursuing that route, think long and hard about incurring further debt and possibly ending up disappointed.

Also, have you considered PA, nursing, and/or podiatry programs? Depending on your clinical hours, shadowing experiences, MCAT score, etc., you may be able to slide into one of these alternative fields and be quite happy in the end.

Good luck!

 

[Nature Bounty]

Greetings!

I understand your dilemma completely and was too considering a few different options before I ultimately chose my field.

From your post, it sounds like you aren't really too enthused by the prospects of Pharmacy and are really only considering it because of the ability to start a program with a foreseeable end. Unfortunately, though, with the job crunch that that profession is currently facing and will continue to face as more and more schools open, I would stay clear of Pharmacy. On the other hand, the post bacc is a great idea, theoretically, but it can actually be quite daunting, especially if you aren't certain that you can maintain the necessary GPA required to auto matriculate. So, if you aren't confident pursuing that route, think long and hard about incurring further debt and possibly ending up disappointed.

Also, have you considered PA, nursing, and/or podiatry programs? Depending on your clinical hours, shadowing experiences, MCAT score, etc., you may be able to slide into one of these alternative fields and be quite happy in the end.

Good luck!

Thanks. I did think about the NP/PA route but since my undergrad was a while ago, I will have to re-take many of the prereqs in order to apply. This can easily take over a year and I don't have that kind of time left. Podiatry is great but I simply cannot stand foot deformities, so it also won't work for me. So, at this point, either I go for the postbacc and do my best or give in and start pharm.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

You need to forget your age and the timeline and focus on the career. Do you want to be a pharmacist or a doctor? They are 2 very different fields and that's what you need to decide on. I had many classmates in medical school who were in their 30's and 40's so that's certainly not a deal breaker. Choose the career you want, not the path that's less difficult. Good luck!!


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