Considering Becoming a Pharmacy Student

[Beasty Kato]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi, my names Sean and I'm fresh out of highschool. I plan on attending WVU for their 6 year pharmacy program if I do decide to enter the field.

I was debating on going to become a pharmacy tech or x-ray tech prior to going to college. Simply to get a steady income coming in and just some experience in the medical field to know if it's truly a field I want to be in. Do you guys think not going directly to school is a bad decision and/or that it would just be a waste of time going to school to be a tech?

The way I look at it especially as an x-ray tech I'll have financial footing for my education and if for some reason I can't hack in it pharmacy school, or my whole life comes tumbling down around me I'll still have a decent career to fall back on and even live on if it came down to it. Pharm tech has it's advantages too of course. I'd have experience in a pharmacy setting which would definately help with my later schooling and hopefully with acceptance and future jobs in the field, but the salary was good bit less than the x-ray tech. last I checked.

Another thing I'm curious about is the hours spent at pre-pharm and pharm school. How many hours per week on avg will I spend in class? Because obviously if I'm gonna have to be a full time student and have no time to work, it really does make getting a decent part-time job as a pharm or x-ray tech pretty pointless.

To be honest I really have no idea what I want to do yet, but this field is something that caught my eye. I'm really just looking for a little direction

 

[DownonthePharm]

How much training do you need for an X-ray tech? You get your pharm tech training on the job, so you can immediately go into the job market. Your experience in the pharmacy will definitely be a plus for you getting into and while you are in school.

The six year programs will probably want you to be a full time student from day one, which doesnt leave that much time for working. Honestly you really wont make much of a living doing either job part time. So use loans and grants to get through school and your part time job for gas money/food/etc.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Dont skip a year for work; it is not worth it. If you don't have a steady source of income to go to school, your financial aid should help. In fact, you may get money back after financial aid and scholarship. If worst was to come. . . do both. You'll have a lot of time on your hand in your first two years of pre-pharmacy. Another factor that you also have to consider is that for each year you wait, the tuition will go up. For my school, the tuition rate increase is about two thousand dollars each year. I am sure that the tuition rate increase in others are around the same if not higher. State schools are an exception.

Hi, my names Sean and I'm fresh out of highschool. I plan on attending WVU for their 6 year pharmacy program if I do decide to enter the field.

I was debating on going to become a pharmacy tech or x-ray tech prior to going to college. Simply to get a steady income coming in and just some experience in the medical field to know if it's truly a field I want to be in. Do you guys think not going directly to school is a bad decision and/or that it would just be a waste of time going to school to be a tech?

The way I look at it especially as an x-ray tech I'll have financial footing for my education and if for some reason I can't hack in it pharmacy school, or my whole life comes tumbling down around me I'll still have a decent career to fall back on and even live on if it came down to it. Pharm tech has it's advantages too of course. I'd have experience in a pharmacy setting which would definately help with my later schooling and hopefully with acceptance and future jobs in the field, but the salary was good bit less than the x-ray tech. last I checked.

Another thing I'm curious about is the hours spent at pre-pharm and pharm school. How many hours per week on avg will I spend in class? Because obviously if I'm gonna have to be a full time student and have no time to work, it really does make getting a decent part-time job as a pharm or x-ray tech pretty pointless.

To be honest I really have no idea what I want to do yet, but this field is something that caught my eye. I'm really just looking for a little direction

 

[Beasty Kato]

Yeah, the x-ray tech would be another two years, so yeah, that'd be a lot of wasted time.

Anyway, like I said I really like this course although I do think it could be really tough for me, but I still really don't know what I want to do. So, it's important to me that I have alternate paths and don't lock myself into a set path in college. I'll have to discuss this further when I go speak with people at WVU but what options do I have with all of the pre-pharm classes I'd be taking, as far as, moving into another field or simply moving toward another medical job?

 

[ultracet]

if you're not sure what you want to do then do not enter a 6 year program

go to college for 2-3 years
and then apply to school for whatever career path you choose

and have a good time too

 

[biturbomunkie]

Hi, my names Sean and I'm fresh out of highschool. I plan on attending WVU for their 6 year pharmacy program if I do decide to enter the field.

I was debating on going to become a pharmacy tech or x-ray tech prior to going to college. Simply to get a steady income coming in and just some experience in the medical field to know if it's truly a field I want to be in. Do you guys think not going directly to school is a bad decision and/or that it would just be a waste of time going to school to be a tech?

The way I look at it especially as an x-ray tech I'll have financial footing for my education and if for some reason I can't hack in it pharmacy school, or my whole life comes tumbling down around me I'll still have a decent career to fall back on and even live on if it came down to it. Pharm tech has it's advantages too of course. I'd have experience in a pharmacy setting which would definately help with my later schooling and hopefully with acceptance and future jobs in the field, but the salary was good bit less than the x-ray tech. last I checked.

Another thing I'm curious about is the hours spent at pre-pharm and pharm school. How many hours per week on avg will I spend in class? Because obviously if I'm gonna have to be a full time student and have no time to work, it really does make getting a decent part-time job as a pharm or x-ray tech pretty pointless.

To be honest I really have no idea what I want to do yet, but this field is something that caught my eye. I'm really just looking for a little direction

firstly, studying at any four-year institution should be considered a full time job. here in CA, UCs (state universities) encourage students to quit their full time jobs and concentrate on studies by offering loans and financial aids. i'm positive that other universities offer similar.

secondly, i wouldn't go for the six-year pharmacy program if i wasn't sure about becoming a PharmD. i would; however, continue my college education and explore other fields by volunteering and working part time over the weekends.

 

[ghabpharm]

As far as i know...wvu doesnt have a six-year program.