Career change to pharmacist from engineer

[loveyoursmile]

Hi alls,

I hold a BS EE Degree from Berkeley and been working as a design engineer in a semiconductor company for ~3 years. I've found that engineer is not what i love to do for the rest of my life and thinking of a career change to pharmacist. Several years ago, I volunteered ~100 hours in hospital (not in pharmacy department, mostly escort visitors, deliver equipment, discharge patients, ...) and i really enjoy my time helping people there. Can any of you give me advice/second opinion about my chance of getting to pharmacy school?

Here is a brief of my stats:
I completed math/physics/gen chem with all A
Overall GPA: ~3.8 (including all all courses i ever taken at CC, Berkeley, MSEE courses)


Thanks
-lys

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[FarscapeGirl]

Hi alls,

I hold a BS EE Degree from Berkeley and been working as a design engineer in a semiconductor company for ~3 years. I've found that engineer is not what i love to do for the rest of my life and thinking of a career change to pharmacist. Several years ago, I volunteered ~100 hours in hospital (not in pharmacy department, mostly escort visitors, deliver equipment, discharge patients, ...) and i really enjoy my time helping people there. Can any of you give me advice/second opinion about my chance of getting to pharmacy school?

Here is a brief of my stats:
I completed math/physics/gen chem with all A
Overall GPA: ~3.8 (including all all courses i ever taken at CC, Berkeley, MSEE courses)


Thanks
-lys

How old are your classes? Many schools require the pre-reqs to be at most five years old.

Do you know if you have all the pre-reqs for some schools? I graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and still had to take a few classes (microbiology, public speaking, some o-chem).

Your grades are really good. You'd probably do well on the PCAT. I'd get some pharmacy experience (volunteering as a pharmacy assistant worked well for me). I was a career change, too, and I think having the pharmacy experience helped me to get in.

As long as your pre-reqs aren't old enough, you have all the classes, you have some pharmacy experience, and you can explain well why you want to be a pharmacist, you should be fine.

 

[loveyoursmile]

How old are your classes? Many schools require the pre-reqs to be at most five years old.

Do you know if you have all the pre-reqs for some schools? I graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and still had to take a few classes (microbiology, public speaking, some o-chem).

Your grades are really good. You'd probably do well on the PCAT. I'd get some pharmacy experience (volunteering as a pharmacy assistant worked well for me). I was a career change, too, and I think having the pharmacy experience helped me to get in.

As long as your pre-reqs aren't old enough, you have all the classes, you have some pharmacy experience, and you can explain well why you want to be a pharmacist, you should be fine.

Hi FarscapeGirl,

My classes were in 2002/2003 time frame. I am shooting for UCSF and UOP since i don't have to be far away from my family. I checked with the schools and they are OK with the courses I took at this time. Checking their pre-reqs, i still need gen bio/o-chem/physiology/microbiology/psychology. I plan to find volunteer position in pharmacy. Can I ask you to talk about your experience finding the volunteer job?

Thanks
-lys

 

[dstormz]

The best way is to become certified as a Pharmacy technician. With your academic achievements, this will not be such an arduous task.

After you are certified, I am sure there will be a lot of Pharmacies that will take you. If you work for Target, I think they will give you about 3k a year for tuition.

P.S. Do not stress too much about gaining acceptance, just focus on your PCAT and scoring above 70. And make sure you will apply early and to more than two schools!

 

[dumbguy]

Hi alls,

I hold a BS EE Degree from Berkeley and been working as a design engineer in a semiconductor company for ~3 years. I've found that engineer is not what i love to do for the rest of my life and thinking of a career change to pharmacist. Several years ago, I volunteered ~100 hours in hospital (not in pharmacy department, mostly escort visitors, deliver equipment, discharge patients, ...) and i really enjoy my time helping people there. Can any of you give me advice/second opinion about my chance of getting to pharmacy school?

Here is a brief of my stats:
I completed math/physics/gen chem with all A
Overall GPA: ~3.8 (including all all courses i ever taken at CC, Berkeley, MSEE courses)


Thanks
-lys

with your background, the adcom will probably question your motive as to why you want to change to pharmacy. Just be honest with them and don't tell them you want to help people. Build up your resume with pharmacy experience. Get a pharm tech license and start working in a pharmacy. At least show them you have worked in a pharmacy and is committed to this profession. You're not alone. It's certainly doable. If you're lucky, you may get in the first year applying, usually to the new schools. But with the top schools, it may take you longer. Good luck.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

The best way is to become certified as a Pharmacy technician. With your academic achievements, this will not be such an arduous task.

After you are certified, I am sure there will be a lot of Pharmacies that will take you. If you work for Target, I think they will give you about 3k a year for tuition.

P.S. Do not stress too much about gaining acceptance, just focus on your PCAT and scoring above 70. And make sure you will apply early and to more than two schools!

To get my volunteer position, I talked to some pharmacist contacts, who put me in touch with the volunteer coordinator at one of the hospitals. I had to get an assistant license through the state. I only had to volunteer once a week, and it worked out well since I'm still working in my other job.

I think you may be fine just applying to two schools, especially if you end up with PCATs in the 90s. You're stats are pretty good, and with those and a good PCAT score, you should have a good chance. If you don't get in the first year you apply, you could apply to more schools the next year.

 

[UES Girl]

To get my volunteer position, I talked to some pharmacist contacts, who put me in touch with the volunteer coordinator at one of the hospitals. I had to get an assistant license through the state. I only had to volunteer once a week, and it worked out well since I'm still working in my other job.

I think you may be fine just applying to two schools, especially if you end up with PCATs in the 90s. You're stats are pretty good, and with those and a good PCAT score, you should have a good chance. If you don't get in the first year you apply, you could apply to more schools the next year.

She's applying to two schools that don't require PCAT, so technically for her taking PCAT is not only useless, it will be a waste of money and most importantly time.



I'm not sure about UOP, but UCSF likes well rounded applicants with a lot of community service/involvement and especially leadership roles. Also almost everyone I know who got accepted, including myself, has some kind of research experience under their belt. I'm strongly encouraging her to get involved in community service - I know her GPA is really high, but she'll need a few perks to add to it to be a strong applicant.


Perhaps, she can explore community service by doing some:
-teaching
-finding a local organization that is in need of help
-mentoring youth


I hope this helps. Also, if you have time on your hands - read this year's and last year's UCSF threads, a lot of applicants posted their background info and that will not only give you some ideas on what you can do to make your application stronger, but it will allow you to assess where you as an applicant stand compared to others.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

She's applying to two schools that don't require PCAT, so technically for her taking PCAT is not only useless, it will be a waste of money and most importantly time.



I'm not sure about UOP, but UCSF likes well rounded applicants with a lot of community service/involvement and especially leadership roles. Also almost everyone I know who got accepted, including myself, has some kind of research experience under their belt. I'm strongly encouraging her to get involved in community service - I know her GPA is really high, but she'll need a few perks to add to it to be a strong applicant.


Perhaps, she can explore community service by doing some:
-teaching
-finding a local organization that is in need of help
-mentoring youth


I hope this helps. Also, if you have time on your hands - read this year's and last year's UCSF threads, a lot of applicants posted their background info and that will not only give you some ideas on what you can do to make your application stronger, but it will allow you to assess where you as an applicant stand compared to others.

And, yes, don't take the PCAT unless it's required for a school you decide to apply to! I forgot about that.

I'm still kind of used to grad school applications; almost every school requires the GRE. That is definitely not the case with pharmacy schools.

 

[loveyoursmile]

She's applying to two schools that don't require PCAT, so technically for her taking PCAT is not only useless, it will be a waste of money and most importantly time.



I'm not sure about UOP, but UCSF likes well rounded applicants with a lot of community service/involvement and especially leadership roles. Also almost everyone I know who got accepted, including myself, has some kind of research experience under their belt. I'm strongly encouraging her to get involved in community service - I know her GPA is really high, but she'll need a few perks to add to it to be a strong applicant.


Perhaps, she can explore community service by doing some:
-teaching
-finding a local organization that is in need of help
-mentoring youth


I hope this helps. Also, if you have time on your hands - read this year's and last year's UCSF threads, a lot of applicants posted their background info and that will not only give you some ideas on what you can do to make your application stronger, but it will allow you to assess where you as an applicant stand compared to others.

FarscapeGirl/cheburashka,

I really appreciate your advices/responses. They are very helpful to me. I am wondering that if a guy will be treated special in pharmacy school since more than 2/3 of students are female (like how girls are treated in engineering school) ?

Btw, can you please let me know if my remaining pre_reqs that i will be taking at CC (instead at 4-year university) affect my admission chance?

-thanks
lys

 

[UES Girl]

FarscapeGirl/cheburashka,

I really appreciate your advices/responses. They are very helpful to me. I am wondering that if a guy will be treated special in pharmacy school since more than 2/3 of students are female (like how girls are treated in engineering school) ?

Btw, can you please let me know if my remaining pre_reqs that i will be taking at CC (instead at 4-year university) affect my admission chance?

-thanks
lys

As far as gender positively affecting your admissions, I would not count on it. When I was interviewing at UCSF, at least in our group, most applicants were men. At the interview at a different school, it was about an equal proportion of applicants that were males an females.

As far as pre-reqs being taken in CC, this has to be the most fueled heated topic on SDN with people strongly advocating that it's either beneficial/or may negatively impact you. My personal opinion: I would take them at CC and I know people got accepted after taking their pre-reqs at CC.

 

[loveyoursmile]

As far as gender positively affecting your admissions, I would not count on it. When I was interviewing at UCSF, at least in our group, most applicants were men. At the interview at a different school, it was about an equal proportion of applicants that were males an females.

As far as pre-reqs being taken in CC, this has to be the most fueled heated topic on SDN with people strongly advocating that it's either beneficial/or may negatively impact you. My personal opinion: I would take them at CC and I know people got accepted after taking their pre-reqs at CC.

Hi cheburashka,

Sorry if there is confusion. Regarding the gender, what i meant was student life, not for the admission purpose.

Thanks
-lys

 

[UES Girl]

Hi cheburashka,

Sorry if there is confusion. Regarding the gender, what i meant was student life, not for the admission purpose.

Thanks
-lys

Sorry, that I wouldn't know, I am a freshly admitted P-0, with no real pharmacy school experience yet.

 

[kerokero]

lys, I was in a similar position from yours. I'm an engineer (10 years in industry) that switched to pharmacy. The above posts made very valid suggestions/comments, esp regarding the pharmacy experience and why the switch. I wanted to suggest attending the UCSF preview sessions and supplemental sessions when they are made available. Checkout their website for the dates. You can ask alot of questions that are pertinent to your situation from the admission director/assistant. I found these very valuable.

 

[loveyoursmile]

lys, I was in a similar position from yours. I'm an engineer (10 years in industry) that switched to pharmacy. The above posts made very valid suggestions/comments, esp regarding the pharmacy experience and why the switch. I wanted to suggest attending the UCSF preview sessions and supplemental sessions when they are made available. Checkout their website for the dates. You can ask alot of questions that are pertinent to your situation from the admission director/assistant. I found these very valuable.

Hi kerokero,

Thanks. You remind me of a good point that i almost forget about.

 

[BelowTheMean]

seriously there are more things you can do. pharmacy isnt all that it seems to be.

 

[loveyoursmile]

seriously there are more things you can do. pharmacy isnt all that it seems to be.

BelowTheMean

Can you elaborate more?

-lys

 

[tootoo30]

As far as gender positively affecting your admissions, I would not count on it. When I was interviewing at UCSF, at least in our group, most applicants were men. At the interview at a different school, it was about an equal proportion of applicants that were males an females.

As far as pre-reqs being taken in CC, this has to be the most fueled heated topic on SDN with people strongly advocating that it's either beneficial/or may negatively impact you. My personal opinion: I would take them at CC and I know people got accepted after taking their pre-reqs at CC.

I don't think taking your classes a CC should be a problem, you already have a degree with a stellar GPA, so they already know you can handle tough classes because that is a very impressive degree you have there!

HTH

 

[PharmD727]

seriously there are more things you can do. pharmacy isnt all that it seems to be.

I completely agree. I've been in pharmacy 12 years and it's going downhill. I wouldn't recommend it. Sadly when I first got into pharmacy it was way better but that was in 2006 before the 2008 economy crash.

My advice is ask pharmacists their honest opinion on the field before spending a ton of time and money on it. Better to know the truth. In regards to helping people sadly pharmacy has gone away from that direction. It's become more and more about money and what the corporations want.

 

[PharmtoCS]

How things have changed.

Back then you would been guaranteed a job and signing bonus upon graduating from pharmacy school. Now it's the engineering (especially software) jobs that the signing bonuses, virutally guaranteed jobs, and massive raises minus the $200k+ in loans and additional 4 years in school.