Advice!! Should I take a paycut?!

[Pharm47]

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I need some advice! I am going to apply to pharmacy school for the 2007 cycle, and I'm wondering how important pharmacy experience is. I currently work as a business consultant, making about $40k a year. I just got offered a pharmacy technician job, making $12.95/hr and starting at only 24hrs/week! This is a huge paycut, but I know that pharmacy is what I want to do. How much would this job help my chances at admission? I know my husband and I could afford it (just), but I was hoping to save up money for when I am a full-time student (so we can still pay our mortgage!)

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[HABANERO4ME]

I think you should not.. because it not solely depend on pharmacy experience the school is looking at when you apply. I believe the major factor is GPA, Degree hold or obtained, interview session and lastly the pharmacy experience. It depend on the school that you are trying to apply to. do a search for that school to see if they value pharmacy experience. Hope this will help.

 

[RachGator]

I need some advice! I am going to apply to pharmacy school for the 2007 cycle, and I'm wondering how important pharmacy experience is. I currently work as a business consultant, making about $40k a year. I just got offered a pharmacy technician job, making $12.95/hr and starting at only 24hrs/week! This is a huge paycut, but I know that pharmacy is what I want to do. How much would this job help my chances at admission? I know my husband and I could afford it (just), but I was hoping to save up money for when I am a full-time student (so we can still pay our mortgage!)

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I too was in a similar position. I needed pharm experience but I couldn't afford to give up my other jobs. What I did was sign up with my school to do a job shadowing/community service type activity where I volunteered in the pharmacy from 5-10 hours a week (if you have that kind of extra time). I got to get the feel of the pharmacy, increase my service hours, and still work. My level of pharm experience wasn't the shining part of my application but the interviewers were happy to see some experience. From what I understand, different schools look at the amount of experience in different lights. Maybe you can find out from people in the admissions office (after the rush is over) or students who interviewed at your schools to see what they want. Hope this helps!

 

[ethyl]

That was a major reason why I didn't get any direct pharmacy experience. It would have been a big paycut if I quit my job and worked in a pharmacy. I think I got a bigger praise from my interviewers regarding my work in professional environments compared to if I had worked in a pharmacy. So long as you make up for it by shadowing pharmacists and conveying your knowledge of the field, it'll all be good.

 

[Pharm47]

I think you should not.. because it not solely depend on pharmacy experience the school is looking at when you apply. I believe the major factor is GPA, Degree hold or obtained, interview session and lastly the pharmacy experience. It depend on the school that you are trying to apply to. do a search for that school to see if they value pharmacy experience. Hope this will help.

I got my BA in Biology, with a 3.7ish. I really want to go in-state (Oregon State). Their website is a little sparse...so I'm not sure if these stats are good for OSU.

 

[HABANERO4ME]

I dont know much about OSU. As Oregian, Im pretty sure they will give you some preference than other application. Check with the school. DO OSU need PCAT? Ask the people who got accepted into OSU from SDN. I think they can shed the light for you..

 

[cosmicstarr]

I would try volunteer at a pharmacy. I am planning to do that, although it is difficult to find a hospital volunteer positions because in my area, those are only offered M-F 8-4, which are during the hours I work.

I think I'll be able to get a connection with a community pharmacy that will let me volunteer and shadow on Saturdays. Also, volunteering at a hospital (non-pharmacy position) may also be helpful because it shows you are interested in healthcare.

I momentarily thought about becoming a pharm tech, but the paycut would just be far too drastic (from $75k/year to $14/hour....I don't think so!)

 

[DownonthePharm]

I was in a similar position. I couldnt afford to support myself and pay off my final prereqs if I had quit my job to become a pharmacy tech (although some days its tempting 😉 ). So I found other ways to get my pharmacy experience, do some volunteering, pass the PTCB exam. As long as you come across as having a clue what a pharmacist does (such as in your personal statement/interview) it isnt going to count against you so much, especially if you have good academic scores. Schools realize that not everyone is going into this still being supported by their parents, or fresh out of undergrad. I think at my interview they were actually impressed with all the things I was juggling at once.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I stayed in my $35,000/year job as long as I could after deciding to pursue pharmacy. I took one year's worth of pre-reqs while working fulltime. When it came time for Organic Chemistry (8 credit hours of it in 8 weeks last summer) I quit my job and concentrated on getting straight A's in Orgo. After Orgo was over I got a job as a pharmacy tech that paid $7/hour. When I got accepted to pharmacy school I got a raise to $8/hour.

It's been hard to live on less money, but we have mostly adjusted. My husband has a pretty good job but we do have a child and things can get expensive. We haven't taken out any loans yet (paid cash for pre-req tuition) but will for pharmacy school. I'm not looking forward to the debt...

 

[PILLMAN]

I know how you feel - you want to MAXIMIZE your chances because you just don't know how things will turn out. But the little that it helps may not be worth what you're giving up, especially when you're talking about your mortgage involved.

You got a real competitive gpa w/ a science major. It's much higher than mine. I also didn't have any experience, except a little shadowing to get the feel for it. I too wouldn't given up too much money to switch to pharm tech/clerk job.

But it worked out ok for me. I have lots of work experience (technology & management) so I played that up - seems like adcoms liked it. I applied to 4 CA schools, interviewed at 3, accepted at 2.

 

[freshbeatschris]

I need some advice! I am going to apply to pharmacy school for the 2007 cycle, and I'm wondering how important pharmacy experience is. I currently work as a business consultant, making about $40k a year. I just got offered a pharmacy technician job, making $12.95/hr and starting at only 24hrs/week! This is a huge paycut, but I know that pharmacy is what I want to do. How much would this job help my chances at admission? I know my husband and I could afford it (just), but I was hoping to save up money for when I am a full-time student (so we can still pay our mortgage!)

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I took a much smaller paycut than the one you are considering, but it was a shock to my wallet nonetheless. I also gave up things like better hours, no commute (I worked at the school I went to), tuition waivers, etc. I regretted it immensly. It turns out, I didn't need that pharmacy experience to get into pharm school. I only worked at Walgreens for 4 months and I hated every single minute of it. I dreaded going to work everyday.

After I quit, I ended up going back to my old job at a lower position.

My best advice would be, if your stats are decent (GPA, PCAT), KEEP the job you are at now. You will be getting plenty of experience when you get to school with possible externships and rotations and elective residencies if you choose.

... but that is just my humble opinion.

In retrospect, the two good things about my pharmacy experience at Walgreens is 1. I am now a licensed and certified technician, and more importantly 2. I know without a doubt that I DO NOT want to do retail pharmacy after I graduate with my PharmD.

Chris

 

[insipid1979]

2. I know without a doubt that I DO NOT want to do retail pharmacy after I graduate with my PharmD.

Chris

Hmmm...that usually seems to be the case...I wonder where all these retail pharmacists come from 😕
Must be the cash incentives

Also, back to dizzying avatars I see...haha
Someone keeps knocking your pictures down...you must have cats

Maybe it was "DownonthePharm" cat

 

[freshbeatschris]

Also, back to dizzying avatars I see...haha
Someone keeps knocking your pictures down...you must have cats

Maybe it was "DownonthePharm" cat

I am owned by two cheeky fur-balls of love as well.
Mine are fairly talented. As you can see, this one sings opera. 😀

Chris

 

[Moxxie]

I am owned by two cheeky fur-balls of love as well.
Mine are fairly talented. As you can see, this one sings opera. 😀

Chris

I loooooove the picture of your kitty! I took some great pictures of ours the other day but I can't find the cord to transfer them onto my computer. Was this an extended yawn or a screech?

 

[freshbeatschris]

I loooooove the picture of your kitty! I took some great pictures of ours the other day but I can't find the cord to transfer them onto my computer. Was this an extended yawn or a screech?

It was HUGE luck. I was face down on the floor by the front door trying to get a picture of this overly friendly squirrel when Sweet Pea came by and started watching what I was doing. I thought the angle was great, so I turned around and started to get a picture of her when she got bored and started yawning. The picture snapped just as her mouth reached it's widest point.

Cats are tricky little buggers to get good images.

Chris

 

[mph2pharm]

I have absolutely no pharmacy experience but I got interviews at both schools that I applied to (was accepted into one and waiting to hear back from the other). I was asked about pharmacy experience in one interview (the school I got into) and wasn't even asked in the other interview. I was in a similar situation where I couldn't give up my job and take that type of paycut (I have a mortgage to pay). We have things in place to be o.k. (I hope) once I start school in the fall.

As someone else said, some schools may be really big on prior pharmacy experience but if you don't have it (like me) then in your interview really try to play up the experiences that you do have and relate that to the work of a pharmacist when/if possible.

I suggest that you keep your good paying job (put away some money for when you actually HAVE to quit your job to start school) and if you have time, volunteer somewhere (say a hospital) to get pharmacy experience.

Good luck!

 

[Pharm47]

Thanks for everyone's advice. To be honest, I was hoping for a different answer, because I am SO bored at my job lately. The money is good, and unfortunately necessary, but I just feel like I'm treading water. Its a job I have no interest in, but I'm stuck because I bought a house right after undergraduate! All I do is sit in front of my computer, read forums and admission requirements, and stress out. At least as pharmacy tech, I wouldn't have permanent internet access, so I wouldn't get my panties in a bunch every day. UGH!

Ok, I feel better now that I vented...

 

[rxlynn]

Thanks for everyone's advice. To be honest, I was hoping for a different answer, because I am SO bored at my job lately. The money is good, and unfortunately necessary, but I just feel like I'm treading water. Its a job I have no interest in, but I'm stuck because I bought a house right after undergraduate! All I do is sit in front of my computer, read forums and admission requirements, and stress out. At least as pharmacy tech, I wouldn't have permanent internet access, so I wouldn't get my panties in a bunch every day. UGH!

Ok, I feel better now that I vented...

OK - well, I'll give you a bit of the opposite viewpoint. I left a 40K job in 2000 to take a pharmacy tech job paying 9.50 per hour. At the time, I was mainly trying to get a job that I could flex around my child and get rid of my commute. And, like you I was stuck in a job that didn't have a lot of move-up potential and I was bored with a lot of it. To be fair, I will note that I have a husband with a good job - that made the decision easier. Fast forward 5 years to last July - my tech salary is up to 15/hour, but more importantly I have a very clear picture of what retail pharmacy is like - the good and the bad. I know a lot more about drugs than someone who's never set foot in a pharmacy. I've been able to see how our pharmacists handle a variety of situations that come up in a retail environment. While I agree with the earlier posters that you don't need to have pharmacy experience to get accepted, I don't think that real time spent working in a pharmacy can do anything but strengthen your application, and help you personally decide if this is really something you want to do.

I felt my experience really helped me in interviews as well. So, I obviously have a bias to get the experience. Is there any way the pharmacy would let you just work some nights and weekends? Maybe they or somebody else in their district would have an opening for less hours per week that you could do around your other job? One of the techs at our store has a full-time job, and she works for us only on Sunday 10-6 - something like that.