"ask me for advice" thread

[lorain]

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So I got the clearance from the mods to do this

And I want to lend this thread to people who have questions. I bring a good perspective as I:

1) have 2nd degree
2) didnt do residency, then tried to go back to do 1
3) worked retail and clinical
4) loads of student debt
5) given lots of interviews b/c of 2 and 3 above
6) + a lot of things I dont even remember lol

There are good posters here who offer experience, but I think Im younger than them and closer to the new generation 😉

So for students or those wanting advice, let me know.

My basic advice to pre-pharm students is simple: get out, the saturation will be a killer. Unless you are willing to do Pharmd, residency, + 2nd degree....that 8 years commitment is not worth it imo

I'll check this thread periodically to see if anyone has stuff...all I know is I wish I could learn from others when I was in school, so I'll try to provide info to others so they have something I always looked for when in school

 

[nnguyenc]

(1) chicken or the egg?
(2) half full or half empty?
(3) men that wear shape-ups?
(4) coke or pepsi?
(5) gloves or mitten?
(6) paper or plastic?


these are serious questions that i ask every tech when i first meet them
to determine if i will give them hell or not

 

[owlegrad]

Favorite part of being a pharmacist? Least favorite?

 

[lorain]

(1) chicken or the egg?
(2) half full or half empty?
(3) men that wear shape-ups?
(4) coke or pepsi?
(5) gloves or mitten?
(6) paper or plastic?


these are serious questions that i ask every tech when i first meet them
to determine if i will give them hell or not

chicken
when you work a 14 hr shift, i let it pass
coke zero
gloves, we get real snow here
plastic, easy to recycle

next

 

[lorain]

Favorite part of being a pharmacist? Least favorite?

least: saturation coming up, hard to move around now to different location
lack of camarederie between rph...i never see rph mentoring their students, either they are being abused or just neglected

favorite: the ability to make a difference in different settings, whether inpt or outpt...its just a matter of finding your niche and taking off. the pharmd is really flexible for a baseline start, if you were taught how to properly utilize it (I wasnt in school)

 

[lorain]

so yea this thread is for folks if they want to ask me any questions

im getting PMs, so thats good start 👍

 

[peacewalker]

Thank you for starting this thread, Sent you a PM btw.

A public question I have is:
You said you have done retail as well as clinical, which field did you enter first..and how long did it take for you to make that transition? Do you still do both (i.e part time?) and what do you believe are the pros/cons of retail vs clinical?

 

[minette]

So I got the clearance from the mods to do this

And I want to lend this thread to people who have questions. I bring a good perspective as I:

1) have 2nd degree
2) didnt do residency, then tried to go back to do 1
3) worked retail and clinical
4) loads of student debt
5) given lots of interviews b/c of 2 and 3 above
6) + a lot of things I dont even remember lol

There are good posters here who offer experience, but I think Im younger than them and closer to the new generation 😉

So for students or those wanting advice, let me know.

My basic advice to pre-pharm students is simple: get out, the saturation will be a killer. Unless you are willing to do Pharmd, residency, + 2nd degree....that 8 years commitment is not worth it imo

I'll check this thread periodically to see if anyone has stuff...all I know is I wish I could learn from others when I was in school, so I'll try to provide info to others so they have something I always looked for when in school

Hi, I have a question: I know in other threads you said residency is better than going for a 2nd degree. If someone is interested in pharmacy management, you doing a residency first then going for the MBA will be the way to go. Do you mean PGY 1 hospital residency or the 2-year management residency?
Another question: what about students who were not able to get a residency? Do you think it will be a bad idea to go for the MHA and do the executive fellowship?

 

[TemSirolimus]

So I got the clearance from the mods to do this

And I want to lend this thread to people who have questions. I bring a good perspective as I:

1) have 2nd degree
2) didnt do residency, then tried to go back to do 1
3) worked retail and clinical
4) loads of student debt
5) given lots of interviews b/c of 2 and 3 above
6) + a lot of things I dont even remember lol

There are good posters here who offer experience, but I think Im younger than them and closer to the new generation 😉

So for students or those wanting advice, let me know.

My basic advice to pre-pharm students is simple: get out, the saturation will be a killer. Unless you are willing to do Pharmd, residency, + 2nd degree....that 8 years commitment is not worth it imo

I'll check this thread periodically to see if anyone has stuff...all I know is I wish I could learn from others when I was in school, so I'll try to provide info to others so they have something I always looked for when in school

Good thread. As a pre-pharmer 5 years ago, this site helped me make educated choices about pharmacy.

For starters, I dont think anybody can make the claim bolded above. Far too many variables involved.

Do you see salaries dropping in the future with the increased supply of pharmacists?

At times, pharmacy profession seems like a fleeting fad. i.e, came into high fashion about 15 years ago and will fade just as quick in the next 10. How did we go from a $20,000 sign on bonus with only a 4 year BSpharm to 8-month long job search with an 8 year Pharm.D?

 

[mustang sally]

Let's say you were starting all over from your very first match day when you didn't match (which is going to be a reality for many students this year, me thinks).

Knowing what you know now, what would be your next move? What would you do the same? What would you do differently? Obviously finding a job should be the top priority, but I guess I'm looking for more sage advice than that.

 

[lorain]

ROFL my PM account is flooded

give me some time to respond back

 

[lorain]

Let's say you were starting all over from your very first match day when you didn't match (which is going to be a reality for many students this year, me thinks).

Knowing what you know now, what would be your next move? What would you do the same? What would you do differently? Obviously finding a job should be the top priority, but I guess I'm looking for more sage advice than that.

the question has to be why didnt you match?

when I went back to do a residency, I did not match. It was b/c I was arrogant, I had 2 degrees compared to 1 that pharm students come with, and I thought I would easily get a spot, foolish of me

when I did not match, I made a blitz of applications everywhere. I then found a job of my liking after 100 days of searching. I would say if you dont match, dont get desperate and sign up for a job you may not want to do in the first place. at the same time, see if you want to try again for a residency or not? I have a friend, who did not match last year, who this year did research instead of working retail, and now hes got many interviews this year

let me think more about this 1 and add more later

 

[lorain]

Good thread. As a pre-pharmer 5 years ago, this site helped me make educated choices about pharmacy.

For starters, I dont think anybody can make the claim bolded above. Far too many variables involved.

Do you see salaries dropping in the future with the increased supply of pharmacists?

At times, pharmacy profession seems like a fleeting fad. i.e, came into high fashion about 15 years ago and will fade just as quick in the next 10. How did we go from a $20,000 sign on bonus with only a 4 year BSpharm to 8-month long job search with an 8 year Pharm.D?

1) retail companies are making less stores now than b4, but more schools are pumping our rph....thats a supply/demand thing right there. even when the economy picks up again, they will not build stores as fast as b4
2) some hospitals are struggling and have tightened their budget
3) check a state that has multiple pharm schools, and how many job openings that state has, it wont be many

 

[lorain]

Hi, I have a question: I know in other threads you said residency is better than going for a 2nd degree. If someone is interested in pharmacy management, you doing a residency first then going for the MBA will be the way to go. Do you mean PGY 1 hospital residency or the 2-year management residency?
Another question: what about students who were not able to get a residency? Do you think it will be a bad idea to go for the MHA and do the executive fellowship?

yes, i stand by my statement that residency first, then 2nd degree

a 2nd degree alone is not helpful you need the experience to combine it with to do many great things

how you do it is up to your interests. personally, I would do a one yr residency, get into a clinical position, start a 2nd degree part time (it'll take 2 yrs to do it), and then after you complete, then look for positions to move up to

 

[lorain]

Thank you for starting this thread, Sent you a PM btw.

A public question I have is:
You said you have done retail as well as clinical, which field did you enter first..and how long did it take for you to make that transition? Do you still do both (i.e part time?) and what do you believe are the pros/cons of retail vs clinical?

i did retail, worked on 2nd degree part time basis
i applied for residency, didnt get it
i then searched for months and found a clinical position. it was more of a hybrid position, but I was so strong on the clinical side they made me 100% clinical

I dont work retail and I never will again. the pros of retail are the money and the day of during the week. the cons are that you are some1's bit** and things always change on you....I loved retail, honestly I did, until I was forced to do flu shots while doing 500 scripts AND my budget tech hours were cut

clinical to me is more fulfilling, less pressure of making a mistake, and more opportunity for future growth

 

[PharmD1988]

My basic advice to pre-pharm students is simple: get out, the saturation will be a killer. Unless you are willing to do Pharmd, residency, + 2nd degree....that 8 years commitment is not worth it imo

current pharmacy student here. its pretty obvious the combination of more pharmacy schools, bad economy, and fewer older pharmacists retiring are all together causing the problem.

my question is though, if you dont recommend pharmacy what would you do instead?
Dentistry: good money and somewhat demand but tuition costs are more than 200k at more than 70% of the schools
med school: hearing rumors of drastic pay cuts/reimbursement cuts in the future
physician assistant: heard jobs are not as easy to come by

some ppl are saying that students should avoid healthcare all together and go into accounting and finance, though I am pretty sure the job market could just as bad as ours.

 

[bmkleinb]

Accounting can be a very good field to get into in my opinion, but I personally am not going that route. My father is an accountant and my brother is finishing up his work needed to get his CPA. If you do the work to be competitive with grades and some work experience/internships during undergrad and you complete a MAC program or MBA which leads to a CPA, you will find a job. To that, I have very little doubt. However, like any other field, you have to be sure that you actually want to pursue that route for more reasons then just being able to get a job and making a decent/good/great living. The reason I am personally not going into accounting is the work hours mostly. To get ahead, forget about a 40 hour week: be prepared for more like 55-60 or more for the majority of your career.

Pay ranges dramatically, lower entry level positions start from the 30 range(basic data entry jobs) to the 50 mark(CPA, public accounting or good position private) to the 80-100 range for mid to upper level. The upside pay is easily above 100, ranging from the low hundreds to the millions depending on what field/company and the million other things pay depends on.

One nice thing, you won't have nearly the debt of pharmacy school/med/dental/ or nearly any other professional school.

Don't take this post as a way of me talking you out of accounting, it honestly is a great field that will always have its place in the economy.

 

[lorain]

Accounting can be a very good field to get into in my opinion, but I personally am not going that route. My father is an accountant and my brother is finishing up his work needed to get his CPA. If you do the work to be competitive with grades and some work experience/internships during undergrad and you complete a MAC program or MBA which leads to a CPA, you will find a job. To that, I have very little doubt. However, like any other field, you have to be sure that you actually want to pursue that route for more reasons then just being able to get a job and making a decent/good/great living. The reason I am personally not going into accounting is the work hours mostly. To get ahead, forget about a 40 hour week: be prepared for more like 55-60 or more for the majority of your career.

Pay ranges dramatically, lower entry level positions start from the 30 range(basic data entry jobs) to the 50 mark(CPA, public accounting or good position private) to the 80-100 range for mid to upper level. The upside pay is easily above 100, ranging from the low hundreds to the millions depending on what field/company and the million other things pay depends on.

One nice thing, you won't have nearly the debt of pharmacy school/med/dental/ or nearly any other professional school.

Don't take this post as a way of me talking you out of accounting, it honestly is a great field that will always have its place in the economy.

i wouldnt go into accounting

if the US reforms its tax code

accountants will be SOL

 

[lorain]

current pharmacy student here. its pretty obvious the combination of more pharmacy schools, bad economy, and fewer older pharmacists retiring are all together causing the problem.

my question is though, if you dont recommend pharmacy what would you do instead?
Dentistry: good money and somewhat demand but tuition costs are more than 200k at more than 70% of the schools
med school: hearing rumors of drastic pay cuts/reimbursement cuts in the future
physician assistant: heard jobs are not as easy to come by

some ppl are saying that students should avoid healthcare all together and go into accounting and finance, though I am pretty sure the job market could just as bad as ours.

i would go into mid level practitioner role, especially if you can handle looking at blood...there just arent enough docs to manage the pt load

I think the future of PA is better than Pharmd cuz they can write a rx, while we cant

 

[bmkleinb]

Accounting honestly has very little to do with taxes. Yes, there are some CPA tax accountants, but the VAST majority work for companies doing the books and what not, which will always be around. Additionally, public accounting is auditing(not exactly taxes), which hires a large amount of accountants as well. If you are thinking about accounting though, these boards would not be the place I look for my information on that topic. For medical related fields though, these boards are amazing 😀

 

[lorain]

two other pieces of advice:

1) if you are thinking about a residency, probably go ahead and do it.
2) be willing to be bold and try something different....my buddy was in retail, a hospital position opened up and he didnt apply cuz he didnt think hed get it....i recommended he apply, and he got the position b/c the other rph interviewed badly and he did well

 

[cuedee]

It would probably be better to find a school that offers a dual degree program. Several schools offer MBA/PharmD.