I've been considering pharmacy, but I'm just wondering if there is enough challenge in the job. My current job is very monotonous, and I'm bored all of the time, which is why I am returning to school (present job is business related). Will I face the same monotony is pharmacy?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Depends on what you consider 'challenging'
Personally I am headed into retail and I have never been more excited in my life. I enjoy the challenge of retail management, workflow optimization, and maximizing customer experience and benefit. I also enjoy the challenge of the fast pace and pressure. I don't forsee getting bored for at least 10-20 years, although I may eventually transition to management or consulting.
If self motivated research projects, organization-wide analysis, understanding new clinical material sound enjoyably challenging ro you , then you'd definitely be challenged in an inpatient or outpatient clinical position.
There's a lot of different aspects to pharmacy. All positions have some element of challenge (ok maybe not mail order or ltc dispensing lol) .. and your progression and enjoyment is basically what you make of it.
That said, most pharmacists will fall into one of a couple of different groups, just because retail + inpatient + outpatient clinical basically encompasses 95+% of jobs.
Based on what I have seen , the places where you are challenged more are ones where you have more open ended responsibilities (retail , project management/clinical supervisor, director, safety/cost/quality analysis). Some jobs, such as prn staffing, and also assembly line warehouse / call center jobs.. are not very challenging in that they do not require much In the way of independent thought or work effort, and stress more of just keeping the machine going.
Many jobs are repetitive. . This won't disappear for you in pharmacy, especially in entry level positions.. the challenge is what do you do to make an impact and grow and change things.. and how do you optimize things .
Pharmacists are given a good deal of professional latitude and ultimate "say-so" in most jobs . So It will be what you make of it.. this is obviously an improvement over being a business drone..
But if you are talking strictly about being challenged by academic material or learning and applying brand new information. . Pharmacy doesn't have that as much as say, research, teaching, or being an MD .
In pharmacy your core role will mostly be strictly defined. Doesn't mean there aren't exciting challenges. Just depends on what you want out if your career.
It would help us to know... What do you find challenging?
If you mean being able to move up the ladder based on your performance and ideas, then yes pharmacy has plenty of that, particularly on the business side of things (retail, insurance, management, quality improvement)
If you mean having to digest complex ideas and apply new knowledge constantly, then maybe pharmacy isn't the best field, since it mostly runs based on growing and optimizing existing systems.
If you mean never running out of work to do and ways to improve, then you're in the right place! I am a small business owner and I find that much of my experience on that front is relatable to retail, particularly the ideas of constant improvement and making independent decisions to optimize all aspects of the business. It is exciting to be in the mix day In and day out, directly contributing tl the business's success, much of which boils down to your on the fly decisions.
Pharmacy school on the other hand, was a very ****ty kind of challenge because I did not feel that it related to real life or how I see things (academic vs business mindset) .
Some people think being more academic, educated, or more of a top expert constitites a valuable challenge. If this is the only way you'll be satisfied, I'd recommend other fields.. because ultimately only a handful of pharmacists in the country are really academic and clinical trendsetters.. researchers and MDs get more opportunity to do this and get more credit.
