Considering Pharmacy - Advice Appreciated

[xeroxAV]

I am 18 years old. When I graduated last year, I thought broadly that law seemed like a decent idea, then a bit of research informed me that law has had a catastrophic meltdown in terms of good job availability due in large part to saturation. I am aware of the BLS prediction that there will be a surplus of 50k pharmacists by 2025 and that many areas in America are already saturated, especially urban areas.

However, I live in a rural area (KY) and prefer that anyway. According to Pharmacy Manpower's demand indicator(1), Kentucky is near the top in terms of pharmacists needed (though 3.5-3.9 still doesn't seem great). I am fine with living anywhere in the KY-OH-IN area. I would actually probably prefer retail to hospital work.

If I should become a pharmacist, should I attend UK or Appalachian College of Pharmacy, or any other regional school? I plan to get a BS (which I can have done in the next two years) then head to pharmacy school, if I do.

Any thoughts or help is appreciated.


(1) https://pharmacymanpower.com/map.php

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[Nguyen2017]

Don't get a Bachelor's degree which takes students 4 years. Take all pre-reqs; take PTCB test to earn the certificate, apply for pharm tech license, and a tech job; take PCAT then apply for a pharmacy school. Don't apply for many schools if your GPA is great.

I didn't know demand indicator for North CA, which is where I live, is 4. Hah!

 

[xeroxAV]

Don't get a BS. Take all pre-reqs; take PTCB test to earn the certification, apply for pharm tech license, and a tech job; take PCAT then apply for a pharmacy school. Don't apply many schools if your GPA is great.

I've never really considered not getting a BS, my family has always nudged me toward it but I'm aware it's not strictly necessary. I graduated high school w/ a decent number of credit hours, it'd be pretty simple to get one and I thought it'd make pharmacy school easier, because I'd get in easier and already have covered some of the curriculum. Should I skip it purely to get the Pharm. D faster?

I will definitely get a tech job before my first pharmacy school student loans, and I have a 4.0 but to be fair I only have like two semesters under my belt.

 

[Nguyen2017]

I skipped it to save time and money. I also applied for just one school to save $.
I worked as a pharm tech to learn about the career and to earn some $

 

[Apples2Oranges]

Avoid 4 years if you can. That's just a waste of time unless you want to consider other options. You can finish all the pre-reqs within 3 years (2 if you take a full load). Some pharmacy schools will allow undergrads without a BS to get a BS in pharmaceuticals sciences or something by the time they reach their third yr of pharmacy school. Therefore, you graduate with a BS and a PharmD.