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Can you work while in pharmacy school?
Started by Spyris
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A lot of people do it, but it is tough. Part time jobs are possible, but not a full time job. You are going to be in class 20+ hours a week, and have exams every week. For me, the first semester was the easiest. If you want to work, keep the hours low for the first semester and judge accordingly.
Many people work part time or less. Most of my friends in pharmacy school work 5-10 hrs/week.
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mysteriousCIA said:
Most absolutely. You will be given an intern license when you start in pharmacy school. You can then work in any pharmacy and insured by whoever you work for.
For students in California, we pretty much HAVE TO work, just to get enough hours before we take the board exam (1500 hours of work experience).
I'm pretty sure the OP meant work in a pharmacy, not a massage parlor. 😛Abilify said:
bananaface said:
Isn't that assuming a lot?
Ditto to CA students having to work during school (or at least during the summer if you're lucky enough to land a neato internship for 40h/week). To get first dibs on jobs, I suggest working as a tech or clerk before pharmacy school. This will greatly ease the transition to working as an intern during pharmacy school. Getting an internship isn't easy depending on where you're from!
Yes, it is possible. I work ~25 hrs/week as a P3.
i meant for example working as a nurse probably every saturday and sunday only (i am an RN)bananaface said:
mysteriousCIA said:
Yes, you can work while in pharmacy school. You have to do what you have to do to pay the bills. I guess as an RN you have been working through pre-pharm so you are already used to balancing school/life/work. The only difference in pharmacy school is the total volume of work is immensely greater than what you would of encountered in pre-pharmacy. If you can make the adjustment (which you probably can) go ahead and work, but just try to explain w/ your supervisor to pursue routes where you can be off during finals. Finals in pharmacy school (depending on school) can often be back to back days and often more than one/day. I know this may of also been the case in undergrad, but the volume/level of comprehension required in pharmacy school is just greater. I worked an avg ~24hrs/wk through pharmacy school and in P4 year had to pull doubles (12hr shifts on Sat and Sun) to keep "lights on". I really don't think I am any exception so yes it can be done.
kwizard said:
Additional thoughts...If you can find a night shift Fri night and Sat night the differentials may also help financially and you can at least have the better part of Sunday to rest and study for any Monday morning exams. Any differences financially you can't absorb during the fall/spring semesters can be taken care of by picking up the hours during summer breaks. Like I said I typically did 24hrs/wk during fall and spring, but during breaks would go for ~50hr/wk to build up some savings and get ahead on the bills. I was a pharmacy tech so my salary was ok (base of $15/hr, ~17-18/hr w/ differentials for wknd and evening), but not as good as a RN.
Depending on whether you have to take out loans or not you can potentially get a refund check if loan outweighs tuition costs. This is nice, but typically doesn't last that long depending on price of living in your area. Is your job helping you out w/ tuition reimbursement? If you are part time you could probably get at least 1500/yr.
hi Mysterious CIA, I think you can do it like Friday night and SArtuday morning , then you cna start study for next Monday test on Sartuday afternoon or nightmysteriousCIA said:
these only thing is you may not have much live ouside school much , and it is stressful , but is is doable.
any way good luck to you
also just curious, how old are you when you back to pharmacy school, RN is good professional too,many people try also get into RN,
how you leave RN profession to pursue pharmacy, I ask you too because I plan to pursue pharmacy too as age 35 !!
24ProRx said:
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as far as i know, yes! you have to do an externship at a pharmacy, whether it be hospital or retail setting.
P1 normally get their student internship license shortly after they enter pharmacy school. Pharmacy is all about hands-on training and it is the pharmacy schools objective to get you started right away. If you are talking about a paid position, well, that's up to you.
I was thinking about the exact same thing last night! I was looking into financial aid stuff and it all really got me depressed about taking out loans for pharmacy school 🙁 . Do you think we'll have the time in our schedules to work though? Will we be able to work for pharmacies too, or just end up working a random part-time job?
You do have the option to work if you want to. Most school work loads would discourage it. I am going to wait until my second year so I can get my routine and schedule down so I will know if I can work. If you do it would probably only be 10-15 hours a week. Just find out what works for you.
What abou living, expenses, feeding, books, car maintenance and all that stuff, would we get to use loans for that too😕 . Men this si costly and scaring me but its just the tot that in d long run it wld pay off ( i hope)
In theory you get enough in loans to support yourself without working. A lot of students choose to work a few hours a week for some extra money though.
most students choose to start working after their first year in pharm school. it gives them a little time to adjust and get used to the workload. in our second year class, an average student works around 20 hrs/week and some students even have 2 jobs (one inpatient and one retail)
thank you guys for your opinions and experiences. I'm glad it is possible to do that and people are doing it. Man!!! I'm getting a job as sson as I get in. I've been taking 19 credits each semester, have a job 20 hours a week but still getting a B+ so that won't be any problem then in Pharmacy school
I didn't realize until I went through the process the first year, but your financial aid package will be figured to include a certain amount for living expenses, books, and miscellaneous expenses. Now, you certainly don't have to take all the loans if you don't want to and have another way to support yourself, but you will be able to take out loans for the things you list above.
I would say about 2/3 to 3/4 of my class is working at least a little bit per week for pay. However, one thing I didn't realize until after school had already started was that we would be required to log a certain number of hours in practice settings in the first three years, and those (per ACPE) cannot be paid time. So, just know to ask about how many hours of volunteer, shadowing, etc. your particular school will require - I have found that is seriously eating into the time I could have worked for pay.
thank you very much I will do that as soon as I receive an acceptation. I'm pretty sure I will get one acception from my schools. One do not require interview, the other one does. So in brief One can start working by the second year of schoo. Right?
I think maybe a lot of people wait just to get settled in, especially if they have to move to a new place for school. I had an existing job in the same city where I now go to pharmacy school, so there was no reason for me to wait until 2nd year to get intern hours. Also, at my school 2nd year has the reputation of being the hardest, so I'm not sure it would be the best time to start a new job too.
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Same here. P2 year is suppose to be the most difficult year. I think it would be easier to start working now, instead of waiting, because you could incorporate work into your routine. Just make sure your grades are good. I had to stop working the last two weeks of the semester to prepare for 5 exams and 5 finals. One draw-back though, the time off forced me to find creative, inexpensive Christmas gifts. That was interesting.
Is anyone planning to work during pharmacy school? If so, how many hours?
I currently work full time as a clinical laboratory scientist (medical technologist) in a reference lab. Assuming I am accepted to Pharmacy School, I am going to try to work about 16 hours a week at my current job. I may have to cut back on this though, especially during test weeks. I hope I can handle it!
I absolutely don't.
The primary reason being there's no benefit; I think if I was in dire need of the money i'd take out a loan. I need my own time, I exercise 4-5x a week- outside of that there's not much time for anything else, school is a lot of hours.
The "apply what you learn" is hysterical. If you're itching to see a prescription for ranitidine, you can work during the summer. In my curriculum at least counseling patients is a part of a "skills" course, including OSCE situations etc. so you get to apply it there.
Some of the people who do work don't "mind it", but when I have lecture from 9am-5pm and I see them have to leave the last lecture early, with a look of pain on their face, as they have to work 530-10pm or something it's pretty bad. Why do that for ~40$?
If it's not absolutely essential, save yourself the energy and use it for exercise or studying or socializing. All three would better yourself in my opinion more than counting 30 amoxil 500mg. repeatedly.
The primary reason being there's no benefit; I think if I was in dire need of the money i'd take out a loan. I need my own time, I exercise 4-5x a week- outside of that there's not much time for anything else, school is a lot of hours.
The "apply what you learn" is hysterical. If you're itching to see a prescription for ranitidine, you can work during the summer. In my curriculum at least counseling patients is a part of a "skills" course, including OSCE situations etc. so you get to apply it there.
Some of the people who do work don't "mind it", but when I have lecture from 9am-5pm and I see them have to leave the last lecture early, with a look of pain on their face, as they have to work 530-10pm or something it's pretty bad. Why do that for ~40$?
If it's not absolutely essential, save yourself the energy and use it for exercise or studying or socializing. All three would better yourself in my opinion more than counting 30 amoxil 500mg. repeatedly.
I worked 35 hours a week. It's doable. I respectfully disagree with Requiem, though. I've found that working while I was in school actually did help me remember the stuff long term.
As long as you do it respectfully!😡
I made my post in haste; and that's the benefit of these forums as you get a pile of viewpoints.
Personally, trying to keep up with hockey/running and other things on top of work and school would be incredibly trying. Depends on your year too, first year I probably could've for sure.
Working throughout the summers is always an option too.
I still have a semester or so to go.. but assuming everything goes to plan my workload will be cut back considerably.
I have already worked out with my employer what I will still be doing (about 10 hours a week) and what I will no longer be doing.
The only reason I decided to keep doing the ten hours of stuff I will be doing is because I am the only that one that has ever done it... I started it so I'm not going to just tell them to figure it out on their own. I figure they trusted me enough to see if it would work (which it does) that I would return the kindness of keeping it going.
I have already worked out with my employer what I will still be doing (about 10 hours a week) and what I will no longer be doing.
The only reason I decided to keep doing the ten hours of stuff I will be doing is because I am the only that one that has ever done it... I started it so I'm not going to just tell them to figure it out on their own. I figure they trusted me enough to see if it would work (which it does) that I would return the kindness of keeping it going.
I chose not to work, not because of a busy school schedule or anything. I just like to have time to do other things thats non-pharmacy related. I already spend about 50 hours on pharmacy school weekly (classes, homework, study, externship), working 10-15 hours leaves me with no time to do other things, ie: work out, basketball, etc. Pharmacy is my career, it is not my life.
Having some pharmacy work experience under your belt definitely helps with school. My classmates who have never worked in pharmacy are sooooo lost in lab sometimes. You can tell who has experience and who doesn't, but it is not essential.
I hardly ever work during school. I find it difficult to manage school + commuting + hubby/child, so I just don't add much else on top of that. I don't have to worry about the money too much though...I'm lucky that my husband has a good job and I get extra loans for child-related expenses.
I plan to work during the summer. Maybe not full-time, I haven't decided.
I hardly ever work during school. I find it difficult to manage school + commuting + hubby/child, so I just don't add much else on top of that. I don't have to worry about the money too much though...I'm lucky that my husband has a good job and I get extra loans for child-related expenses.
I plan to work during the summer. Maybe not full-time, I haven't decided.
I plan on continuing to work at the hospital pharmacy as a tech per diem every other weekend. I think working actually helps...crazy I know.
What are the extra loans you get for child related expenses. I plan on tightening the belt a bit with the budget, but I wasn't aware of loans for child related expenses while in school. Are they private loans? I may be interested. Thanks.
Well maybe you should try working in pharmacy school before you call it "hysterical". I work ~10 hours a week and find it rather helpful. It helps you learn brand/generics, practice your counseling skills (what you do at most schools isn't enough and too artificial), helps you remember exclusions for various conditions, and gives you a chance to network with people in the field.
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I get additional graduate plus loans for childcare expenses. I had to file an affadavit that was signed by my childcare provider documenting what we pay during the school year for childcare. Then my financial aid office increased my student budget and I got more loans.
I've worked in a pharmacy for over 550 hours. As I said, it's good to have a bunch of viewpoints on the matter. Personally, the time lost at activities outside of pharmacy, activities which I enjoy - does not equate to learning brand/generic names and practicing counseling, for me. Saturday morning I'd rather catch up on sleep, relax and play some sports. Working full-time/part-time during the summer will be more than enough for getting you the extra practice and learning the practical skills that go into a pharmacy, in my opinion.
If you find it really helpful and enjoyable, go for it man.
Thank you very much. I will look into that.
Mike36,
I'm a medical technologist as well, and I think that I am going to work as well (reduced hours). I have a mortgage, and I would rather not add to the loans I already have left over from undergrad. I would prefer to limit the loans to actual pharmacy school tuition. Although, I know it will ultimately depend on how difficult it is to get my studying in. Do you think you will work throughout the week, or just do a weekend schedule?
Some people can handle it, and some people aren't as good at it. Count me as one who fits the latter category as my grades suffered after taking a seemingly low-key research position. I would do it all again if I had the choice as it taught me valuable lessons about work. However, you just have to look at your strengths and weaknesses and accept certain limits and understand that you may or may not handle working while going to school.
For me, I realized that I need to focus solely on meeting the requirements for a PharmD. I can work during the summer but I've accepted that having a stressful and erratic schedule will not fly for me in pharmacy school, but you might handle things differently.🙂
For me, I realized that I need to focus solely on meeting the requirements for a PharmD. I can work during the summer but I've accepted that having a stressful and erratic schedule will not fly for me in pharmacy school, but you might handle things differently.🙂
