First I want someone to refute my points:
1) Where you go to school does not make any difference in how much money you earn over a lifetime. That's the only point I made.
2) Nobody makes a decision in the real world based on where someone went to college. You don't pick your Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, friends, spouse based on where they went to school.
Finally, College fairs are about how to pay for college, not what school to go to. That was done "IN HOUSE" in our family as well.
I have never disputed that going to an elite medical school will help with a better residency. But five years after that, it's the better doctor that gets ahead, regardless of where he/she went to school. If that wasn't the case, all they would need to know when interviewing is your name and what school you graduated from.
Find me a list of any profession that correlates with better schools = more money. Look at Fortune Magazines list of the wealthiest Americans. Some of them dropped out of College, some of them never went to college and some of them went to non "elite" universities. Maybe the only list would be this years Nobel Prize winners.
Epic did weigh and and he agreed with me about the value of an "Elite" University. He did not answer the question about the relationship between quality and type of school.
p.s. I wondered where you had been....
Oh - I'm here.....always have been. You've just not been in the right circles enough to know
.
Ok - I'll refute some of your points. #1 - you stated that was your only point - that was not, but we'll give you a pass on that. But, let's get to the point itself - where you go to school will correlate with how much you earn over a lifetime. You may be right, but thats irrelevant. That was not the OP's frustration. Reading back over the OP's initial frustration, he/she spoke of all graduates were good no matter where they went (I agreed, but pointed out they might not become great in those areas which did not specifically mentor & encourage things beyond pharmaceutical knowledge).
For the sake of paragraphs, the OP also was frustrated over the possibility of getting passed over for someone from a prestigious school. I pointed out that could indeed be true. I've only got my own experience, which spans 30 years - anecetotal, but still there. But, I've also got the observations of colleagues I've worked with over that length of time. It does happen, but not uniformly. I have many colleagues who have not graduated from prestigious pharmacy schools, yet have moved far ahead just because of what they have done in the last 30 years professionally. It might have been harder for them than me, but they have done it. Likewise, I've got some of my own classmates who are still in a hospital basement checking pyxis fills - thats their choice & they like it. Its all about the choice of what you do with what is given to you as an opportunity.l
So - you brought up money - not the OP. If money is what you want to turn this conversation into - start your own thread!
Point #2 -- Yes - I did pick my spouse based on where he went to school. We went to the same school (altho he chose a different doctoral program) & lived in the same building. Had fate not chosen us to go to the school at the same time in the same place - I'd not have married him. Do you think I'd have married a USC dentist - god forbid!!!!
(he was accepted there too - inside joke!). We also were at the same undergraduate school at the same time, but didn't know each other - its a big....oh & yes, well known school.
Actually, I do pick my doctors based on where they went to school. Yep - I do look at their "pedigree" & make my choice based on that. Sure - there jerks everywhere, but I did pick ob/gyns, pediatricians (thank god I'm past that!), internists, & unfortunately - neurologists & neurosurgeons. I must respectfully disagree with you again - five years after a residency.....I don't care how "ahead" that physician is (again - you get back to money) - I care how well versed they are in what my ailment or well-care requires. Drsdn graduated from a great dental school, but one of our closest friends graduated from a different dental school - still prestigious, well known & well respected. He is far more financially well off than we are - why? Because drsdn & I made a choice long, long ago on what kind of a life we wanted, thus what kind of a practice he would have (a long story for a different time). Earned income over a lifetime is a different topic entirely - again!
For the OP - this thread has gone off topic into money. Perhaps because you spoke of debt. I can appreciate debt - my education was so long ago it was just a fraction of what yours costs. But, I've paid for two college educations for children, part of one medical school (she's getting some loans as well) & looking to another graduate program for the other...so I understand something of what you think about.
But, over time, this debt will seem small. It is debt which allows you to make that living which will allow you to proceed with your life. The debt you incur for buying a house, cars, having children & god-forbid, paying for a significant illness or injury (yep - been there - again...that long story I spoke of) - will make this education debt small in comparison.
But, I'm speaking from years of experience. I know my kids well enough to know you probably think just like them, and discount what folks like Old Timer, Epic & I (oh...even sdn1977
) say. We know you need to go out & live your own lives, make your own mistakes & choices - yep...on your own. You also need to vent your frustrations - which is a good thing right here.
Will what school you go to make a difference? Yes - if you choose to do nothing other than just go there then expect the world to fall in your lap.
Will a graduate of UCSF, UNC, (ok.....we'll include USC, but just for epics sake
) or any of the other well known & prestigious schools automatically get you opportunities if you do nothing other than just go - just like the other student? No - that name automatically will not get you getter opportunities.
For both, you must go on & reach out & beyond what you get pharmaceutically. Some of the more prestigious schools actually incorporate that into their curriculum. Some of the other schools will not, so you'll have to work harder to get it. But, hard work will pay off.
You have your lifetime making this education be valuable for you. Think beyond what it costs - if you can. Try to reach out & think what your education might do for the public & the profession....not you. If you can do that - you will be able to compete successfully with every graduate from every program across the country. That may not translate into a high paying job, but it most definitely will translate into professional satisfaction.
For some of us, success is measured by things other than money. That does not mean those who measure it by money are wrong - its a choice they make & they will move to jobs which will make the most money.
But, that is why you see others who choose to work in areas with lower pay - because their measure of success is different. I worked for >20 years in hospitals full time. It sometimes paid more, now it is paying less than ambulatory. The pay was never the reason I did/do it - it is the professional satisfaction.
Now - these years, while you're in school will allow you to freely (well - not so free financially) experience as many aspects of the profession as they are able to give you. While you are young & have fewer obligations, experience as much as you can & find the path which will meet your measure of success.
I do agree with Old Timer - as you get older, your reflection on your life comes back to what you valued & defined as success. The choices drsdn & I made certainly changed our fianacial success, but allowed us that balance of professional success & personal happiness which was important to us.
You, over these next years, will find your own.
Good luck, enjoy the profession, and become a great pharmacist who gives all your patients, colleagues & other healthcare folks the very best of what you can professionally.
