Being a Pharm Tech and Taking a Full Courseload

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kalikat

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10+ Year Member
Hey guys!

I just recently got hired by the wondrous CVS as a pharmacy technician and I'm already having reservations about it. I'm concerned I won't be able to manage my time properly this upcoming semester. For one, I'm taking Physics I, Organic Chem II, and A&P II (+ an "easy" course), which means I'm in school basically every single day. I made sure to let the hiring pharmacist know my school schedule but I may have also said something along the lines of "Let me see what I can do..." when asked if my schedule could be made more flexible. :\ But now that I'm thinking about it, my schedule most definitely cannot be made more flexible! In fact, would it be ridiculous for me to request to work only once a week (as opposed to two days, and sometimes after school)? I got straight A's last semester taking a similar courseload (A&P I, Calc I, Orgo I, + easy course). I feel like it would look really bad if I suddenly got B's because I took on this job. I mean, I'm not working there for the $$ since I'm getting paid pennies. PLUS, I got super bad vibes from the management and I haven't even started working yet! They seem really mean and stressed for no reason. UGH

Okay, so what I'm trying to ask in this needlessly long and disorganized post is have any of you worked as a retail pharmacy tech while taking a heavy courseload? How many hours did you work per week? What was your experience? Were you still able to get good grades? Will I live? And can you take me in your arms and cradle me while whispering repeatedly in a sweet and tender voice "CVS will not eat you alive"...??

I'm scared y'all.
 
I would take the job and try to give them at least 2 days a week. Can you work weekends? It sounds tough but I think pharmacy experience is just as important as your grades. and it will really tell you if you want to be in this field or not...

You remind me of myself! I always freak out about my course load! I am taking orgo II, Phys II, orgo lab, and A+P II. I was taking an "easy" psych class, but i dropped that since I heard orgo lab requires a lot of work for its one credit hour.

I am super jealous though, I really want pharmacy experience but haven't gotten a job! But I guess I just started looking.... *crosses fingers*

but only you know yourself and how you perform best, but if it were me I would take it.
 
oh yea *CVS will not eat you alive*

and I took 16 credit hours last semester, I had BIO II, A+P I, ORGO I and Macroeconomics.
I worked 2 days a week as a waitress for a restaurant for about 8-9 hours each day, and sometimes on the weekend I worked at a retail store.

I didn't find it too bad... but I really didn't get to see my friends or hang out a lot. I spent a lot of time studying but I never had to pull any all nighters, and I got out with straight As.

If you dont take that job send it over here! LOL Good luck
 
I won't lie, it definitely isn't easy. I've averaged 25 hours/week since the end of my senior year of high school and am now about to graduate. Yes, my GPA could have been better but I needed to pay for my train ticket to school, my textbooks, and the other miscellany of college life. I work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday usually (although this semester I cut the Sundays). I don't know what your store is like, but we have lots of kids who will work one weekend day and one weeknight (for example). Other places are short-staffed and aren't as flexible. That's a pretty tough schedule to tack on a lot of extra work (and even without it- props to you for straight As with three sciences!)...it's doable but you'll have to make cuts. I live at home and don't really see my friends ever. But that saves me cash since I'm not going out.
And no, CVS won't eat you alive if you don't let it! At the end of the day, it's a decent company for which to work.
 
kalikat said:
Hey guys!

I just recently got hired by the wondrous CVS as a pharmacy technician and I'm already having reservations about it. I'm concerned I won't be able to manage my time properly this upcoming semester. For one, I'm taking Physics I, Organic Chem II, and A&P II (+ an "easy" course), which means I'm in school basically every single day. I made sure to let the hiring pharmacist know my school schedule but I may have also said something along the lines of "Let me see what I can do..." when asked if my schedule could be made more flexible. :\ But now that I'm thinking about it, my schedule most definitely cannot be made more flexible! In fact, would it be ridiculous for me to request to work only once a week (as opposed to two days, and sometimes after school)? I got straight A's last semester taking a similar courseload (A&P I, Calc I, Orgo I, + easy course). I feel like it would look really bad if I suddenly got B's because I took on this job. I mean, I'm not working there for the $$ since I'm getting paid pennies. PLUS, I got super bad vibes from the management and I haven't even started working yet! They seem really mean and stressed for no reason. UGH

Okay, so what I'm trying to ask in this needlessly long and disorganized post is have any of you worked as a retail pharmacy tech while taking a heavy courseload? How many hours did you work per week? What was your experience? Were you still able to get good grades? Will I live? And can you take me in your arms and cradle me while whispering repeatedly in a sweet and tender voice "CVS will not eat you alive"...??

I'm scared y'all.
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I worked as a tech for CVS for 4 years and let me tell you my friend, that it is far from wondrous. I heard "hallelujah" when I was able to move on to pharmacy company I am with today.

Like you said, that job is about getting the experience to get in pharmacy school, not the crappy pay. Try it out, and see how it goes, but do not let that job get in the way of your studies. It is not worth it in the least bit.
 
Anything is possible. You will have to make sacrifices though.

I work full time, have a full course load, and am responsible for the pre-pharmacy association at my school, which consists of over 300 members.

It will definitely take a toll on you. There are positives and negatives to everything. Just remember what your priorities are and never lose site of your goal(s).

Good luck!
 
ttngu234 said:
Anything is possible. You will have to make sacrifices though.

I work full time, have a full course load, and am responsible for the pre-pharmacy association at my school, which consists of over 300 members.

It will definitely take a toll on you. There are positives and negatives to everything. Just remember what your priorities are and never lose site of your goal(s).

Good luck!
Click to expand...
+1 on doing full course load and full time work. I did it through undergrad and was out performing the pre-meds. Its possible but you have to be willing to let go of basically any free time.
 
Just remember, having a 2.5 GPA and 10 years as a pharmacy tech will never compare to having a 3.80 GPA and 50 volunteer hours. Pharm schools want to know you can pass their classes.

kalikat said:
Hey guys!

I just recently got hired by the wondrous CVS as a pharmacy technician and I'm already having reservations about it. I'm concerned I won't be able to manage my time properly this upcoming semester. For one, I'm taking Physics I, Organic Chem II, and A&P II (+ an "easy" course), which means I'm in school basically every single day. I made sure to let the hiring pharmacist know my school schedule but I may have also said something along the lines of "Let me see what I can do..." when asked if my schedule could be made more flexible. :\ But now that I'm thinking about it, my schedule most definitely cannot be made more flexible! In fact, would it be ridiculous for me to request to work only once a week (as opposed to two days, and sometimes after school)? I got straight A's last semester taking a similar courseload (A&P I, Calc I, Orgo I, + easy course). I feel like it would look really bad if I suddenly got B's because I took on this job. I mean, I'm not working there for the $$ since I'm getting paid pennies. PLUS, I got super bad vibes from the management and I haven't even started working yet! They seem really mean and stressed for no reason. UGH

Okay, so what I'm trying to ask in this needlessly long and disorganized post is have any of you worked as a retail pharmacy tech while taking a heavy courseload? How many hours did you work per week? What was your experience? Were you still able to get good grades? Will I live? And can you take me in your arms and cradle me while whispering repeatedly in a sweet and tender voice "CVS will not eat you alive"...??

I'm scared y'all.
Click to expand...
 
Man! I want a pharmacy technician job so bad 🙁 I've been going to 20 different pharmacies (CVS & Walgreens) during the winter break, handing in my resume, and still no call. And I even told them that I am certified and volunteering at this clinic as a medical dispensary staff.

I guess I got looked down to since right now I'm working at a fast food restaurant... Any advice?
 
xKenny said:
Man! I want a pharmacy technician job so bad 🙁 I've been going to 20 different pharmacies (CVS & Walgreens) during the winter break, handing in my resume, and still no call. And I even told them that I am certified and volunteering at this clinic as a medical dispensary staff.

I guess I got looked down to since right now I'm working at a fast food restaurant... Any advice?
Click to expand...


For me, it was a case of just finding the right pharmacist to talk to who was willing to take me on. That took a full year (and a move across the country) while pounding pavement visiting every pharmacy on every street corner, but it happened eventually. What worked for me was finding the right pharmacy manager (he had sort of a "thing" for taking pre-pharmers under his wing) and explaining that I was studying to be a pharmacist; those seemed to be the magic words. Also, I'd cast your net wider than CVS and Walgreens. Try looking up independent pharmacies and grocery store pharmacies in the area and dropping by to meet pharmacy managers. If nothing else, be willing to accept the fact that you may have to volunteer if you really want pharmacy experience right now, while you continue your job search (yup, I did that too.) But the result for me of all that trouble is that now I have 2 1/2 years of paid retail and hospital pharmacy tech-ing under my belt. If you want it bad enough, it'll happen. Good luck. :luck:
 
delano2000 said:
I'm almost possible that a lot of us had to endure the same thing too. We made it out alive and so will you.
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+1 on this. The important thing is to always put aside the time you need to study for everything. Friends and family are important, but your education is as well.

On the same note, I am taking 13hrs this semester and working as a pharmacy tech about 38 hours a week. It's not easy to juggle but you have to remain dedicated. 😱
 
xKenny said:
Man! I want a pharmacy technician job so bad 🙁 I've been going to 20 different pharmacies (CVS & Walgreens) during the winter break, handing in my resume, and still no call. And I even told them that I am certified and volunteering at this clinic as a medical dispensary staff.

I guess I got looked down to since right now I'm working at a fast food restaurant... Any advice?
Click to expand...

dancingallday said:
For me, it was a case of just finding the right pharmacist to talk to who was willing to take me on. That took a full year (and a move across the country) while pounding pavement visiting every pharmacy on every street corner, but it happened eventually. What worked for me was finding the right pharmacy manager (he had sort of a "thing" for taking pre-pharmers under his wing) and explaining that I was studying to be a pharmacist; those seemed to be the magic words. Also, I'd cast your net wider than CVS and Walgreens. Try looking up independent pharmacies and grocery store pharmacies in the area and dropping by to meet pharmacy managers. If nothing else, be willing to accept the fact that you may have to volunteer if you really want pharmacy experience right now, while you continue your job search (yup, I did that too.) But the result for me of all that trouble is that now I have 2 1/2 years of paid retail and hospital pharmacy tech-ing under my belt. If you want it bad enough, it'll happen. Good luck. :luck:
Click to expand...

This is your best bet. Independent pharmacies usually are more willing to this. Even try a local hospital.
 
Thanks guys for all your input! I didn't realize how hard it was to land a pharm tech job.. I guess I should feel lucky then that I live in a metropolitan area where there is literally at least 1 pharmacy per block. 😛

I think I'm just going to try out the schedule they give me and if it becomes too overwhelming I'm going to request fewer hours.

Also good luck to all those searching for pharm tech jobs. My advice would be to speak to the pharmacist in charge and clearly let them know you plan on pursing a career in pharmacy. And then follow up! That seems to be the trick because in my experience, applying online is hopeless.
 
Keep in mind that companies have to be looking to hire in order to hire you. From there, they have to find someone who can fill their gaps.

Finding a technician job can be a lengthy process, but keep applying and be patient. I understand that applications take a long time, but be persistent and it will come.
 
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