Best Masters Degree with a PharmD

[NYJets44]

Hey guys,

I will start my first year of pharmacy school in the fall and I needed some advice. The school I am going to will offer a dual-degree pathway which I want to take advantage of. Along with your PharmD, they offer different masters degrees. Of the degrees listed below, which will benefit me the most in terms of finding a well-paying job and security.

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Science (MS) in Pharmaceutical Science
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Health Informatics
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Regulatory Sciences
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Clinical Research Administration
• Master of Arts (MA) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Master of Arts (MA) in Corporate and Organizational Communication

Thanks

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[nonizondi]

Hey guys,

I will start my first year of pharmacy school in the fall and I needed some advice. The school I am going to will offer a dual-degree pathway which I want to take advantage of. Along with your PharmD, they offer different masters degrees. Of the degrees listed below, which will benefit me the most in terms of finding a well-paying job and security.

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Science (MS) in Pharmaceutical Science
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Health Informatics
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Regulatory Sciences
• Master of Health Science (MHS) in Clinical Research Administration
• Master of Arts (MA) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Master of Arts (MA) in Corporate and Organizational Communication

Thanks

Your pharmd has more value than a masters degree and a masters degree without work experience is not going to be useful . Unless you get your MBA from a top 10 business school you won't get much from it. Some pharmacy residency programs would pay for your MBA if you wan't to get one..

 

[Pharmd = Phake Doctor]

The answer to your question is: none of the above.

The only tangible thing those fancy master's programs are going to get you is more debt (in exchange for a useless piece of paper.)

When it comes to pharmacy, having connections (and job experience) will always TRUMP some puny master's degree.

 

[lord999]

The answer to your question is: none of the above.

The only tangible thing those fancy master's programs are going to get you is more debt (in exchange for a useless piece of paper.)

When it comes to pharmacy, having connections (and job experience) will always TRUMP some puny master's degree.

Agreed, with one small caveat that if your workplace wants to pay you to get it, take the opportunity.

 

[Rouelle]

Count me as another vote agreeing with the above posters. I have a Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, and PharmD. The Master's is the degree out of that group that was a waste of time for me.

In particular, of the degrees OP listed, none is particularly valuable. If you want something with value, try a Master's in biostatistics (you would be a valuable tool to some researchers who don't know stats) or accounting (you could save yourself some money in taxes and financial planning).

Just my opinions, others will disagree...

 

[gwarm01]

My friend did a concurrent MPH with her PharmD and never utilized it. It's more debt and more stress for no real benefit. I wouldn't do it unless you can find a real, tangible use for the degree.

 

[y0ssarian87]

I agree with the above posters that none are particularly or inherently valuable for your career going forward. However that's not to say it doesn't have value, both financially and personally.

I was in a dual degree program in pharmacy school, and it benefitted me both financially and personally. Being a dual degree student, I was eligible for and received certain scholarships that I wouldn't've gotten as only a PharmD student. It totaled to around $15k of additional scholarship money. Because the master's degree program I was in was administered through the School of Pharmacy, I incurred no additional tuition or fees. It was a net financial benefit. It was also something I enjoyed. It was different from my PharmD curriculum, and it was a technical discipline that brought together my love for research, development, and PK.

It was a lot of work, and between work, student orgs, research, and the dual degree, I was frequently burnt out. Despite enjoying the content, I don't think I would do it again. It was just one more thing that I took on that I didn't need to.


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[lord999]

Count me as another vote agreeing with the above posters. I have a Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, and PharmD. The Master's is the degree out of that group that was a waste of time for me.

In particular, of the degrees OP listed, none is particularly valuable. If you want something with value, try a Master's in biostatistics (you would be a valuable tool to some researchers who don't know stats) or accounting (you could save yourself some money in taxes and financial planning).

Just my opinions, others will disagree...

Not at all. The PhD has NEVER been financially worth it in the end, however, it does open certain very narrow pathways that if you want to walk down those, you can. Problem is that most don't, and the degrees are very much oversold through the survivors bias of people who have them. My main criteria for recruiting a PhD student from the PharmD's is always whether they are dissatisfied in their work, and that they can name the reasons if not necessarily the solution. The problem is that most enter the program through inertia rather than having a good reason to do it.

 

[mustang sally]

Is it already included in the price of your pharmacy school tuition? Otherwise I wouldn't bother.

I have a master's degree (from before pharmacy school) and so far it has been of zero benefit to me.

 

[Lnsean]

Count me as another vote agreeing with the above posters. I have a Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, and PharmD. The Master's is the degree out of that group that was a waste of time for me.

In particular, of the degrees OP listed, none is particularly valuable. If you want something with value, try a Master's in biostatistics (you would be a valuable tool to some researchers who don't know stats) or accounting (you could save yourself some money in taxes and financial planning).

Just my opinions, others will disagree...

damn wtf...you got 4 degrees? sheeshhh

 

[Lnsean]

I'd just get a masters in computer science and go work for a startup for a small chunk of equity...once they go IPO...you can cash in and retire.

 

[Apples2Oranges]

None unless it's for your personal enrichment or your company wants it for a promotion.

 

[MrBonita]

Believe it or not, an MBA will help you, if you decide to be a project manager in the field of pharmacy or decide to move up the pharmacy ladder into a district manager role. Most interviewers will be impressed with you over other candidates if you have an MBA from a top 50 school but not if you got it from like Devry university. Getting a pharm.d/MBA will show you can take a heavy workload and most employers that hire salaried pharmacist will see an opportunity to hire someone that can do the work of two for the price of one. If the school is offering you this, it is obvious, you are a special case and should take the opportunity. Good lucky.

 

[nonizondi]

Getting a pharm.d/MBA will show you can take a heavy workload and most employers that hire salaried pharmacist will see an opportunity to hire someone that can do the work of two for the price of one. If the school is offering you this, it is obvious, you are a special case and should take the opportunity. Good lucky.

Lol..... what are you spinning

 

[jblil]

OP - provided you do not have to go into extra debt for the Master's, I'd advise you to get the MBA. I have a couple of engineering degrees, a MBA and a DPT. I have used all those degrees at different periods of my life as I made several career changes - I get bored if I stay too long in one field.

I found the MBA to be valuable for 2 reasons:
1) it taught me how to invest my own money. It also teaches you to evaluate a situation through a business perspective (profit-and-loss, overhead, competition, taxes, etc), which very few of us can do innately.
2) it allowed me to start a side business: I do consulting for small/medium businesses; it is fun and it has been lucrative for me. I always advocate diversifying your income streams whenever you can.

 

[Jbrl]

My belief is that the choice to dual degree depends on two factors:

1. What you plan to do with a 2nd degree
2. The strength of the school in that specific degree and in general

The first determines whether it makes sense in the first place, while the second determines whether the school will provide enough resources or opportunities to make it worth it. Eg MBA at UNC is vastly different than MBA at unranked school. Why? On-campus recruiters and the brand recognition. You can quite easily lateral to non-traditional routes.

In terms of what will provide you the most well-paying and secure job, well... without more information, none of them as most everyone else said. Figure out what you would use each degree for practically. Retail, hospital and industry don't require any of the above. You're better off using the study time for other things if that's your goal.