Doctor to Pharmacist? Good Move or Nuts?

[Bobby Mercer]

Hey Pharmacists,

I am currently finishing my DPM degree and am not too thrilled with the future of my profession and was highly considering pharmacy as a career. I don't need to list all the reasons why I like it or the things I see my pharmacists friends doing, but my question to all of you is, do you think this is a good move?

In case you don't know much about podiatry, its a lot of wound care, nail care, orthotics, minor surgical procedures, etc. They say the income average is 100k but its very hard to believe and have heard many stories of it being half of that. But I dont mean this to be a lecture on podiatry, I know you dont care, but do you think starting in pharmacy is better?

Keep in mind I will be about 200,000 bucks in debt from school and would be starting pharmacy school with practically no money. Is it worth it?

Is pharmacy what you thought it would be? Do you think I should just cut my losses, stay in podiatry and do that? Or go into pharmacy, accumulate more debt, do school again, but have the reward of a steady high paying, high demand job like a pharmacist?

Thank you for your time and help.

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[WVUPharm2007]

Stay a podiatrist. The less people I have competing with me for jobs the better. Not to mention that you're going to be financing two doctorates. It'll run you at least another $100k to get a PharmD. $300k in debt minimum? That's rough. Not to mention that by the time you graduate, they are going to probably require residencies to get a decent job...so that's another 6-7 years before you can be a practicing pharmacist once you start. Unless you are content with counting pills at CVS...and trust me, nothing in all of healthcare outside of nursing aid is worse than that job. Not to mention the fact that pharmacy schools are opening left and right, which will result in lowered demand in the not too distant future (the effects are already being seen in major metros).

If looking at feet every day makes you clinically depressed, you might want to look into it...but if its "just another job" type of thing and you don't have some sort of intense interest in pharmacology, I'd just stick with what you are doing...

 

[MountainPharmD]

You will have the same issues with Pharmacy. There are alot of Pharmacist who are not thrilled with the future of the profession. The grass isn't always greener. Make the best out of the path you have choosen. I think Podiatry offers many more opportunities over pharmacy. I'd trade places with you if I could.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Hey Pharmacists,

I am currently finishing my DPM degree and am not too thrilled with the future of my profession and was highly considering pharmacy as a career. I don't need to list all the reasons why I like it or the things I see my pharmacists friends doing, but my question to all of you is, do you think this is a good move?

In case you don't know much about podiatry, its a lot of wound care, nail care, orthotics, minor surgical procedures, etc. They say the income average is 100k but its very hard to believe and have heard many stories of it being half of that. But I dont mean this to be a lecture on podiatry, I know you dont care, but do you think starting in pharmacy is better?

Keep in mind I will be about 200,000 bucks in debt from school and would be starting pharmacy school with practically no money. Is it worth it?

Is pharmacy what you thought it would be? Do you think I should just cut my losses, stay in podiatry and do that? Or go into pharmacy, accumulate more debt, do school again, but have the reward of a steady high paying, high demand job like a pharmacist?

Thank you for your time and help.

if you like pharmacology and drugs and such go for pharmacy....but if it isn't about that and it is just for the money, the posters above are correct. Pharmacy isn't going to be profitable like it use to in the past. There are plenty of other endeavors that would be more highly profitable.

 

[smileyangel11]

With an estimated debt of ~$300,000, I'm guessing you have to pay back $2500-$2800 a month to pay off student loan in 10 years. If you are making $120,000 as an pharmacist, your after-tax pay is ~$7500/mo. Rental/Food will cost at least another $1500. So you are at most left $3000/mo to raise your family and build your retirement. Seriously, it is not worth money of 2 doctorate degrees.

Consider going to dental school if money is a big factor. It is also 4 years (excluding residency), but you are a lot more financially better off than being a pharmacist. Then, save money when you are working as an associate and try to buy your own practice ASAP .
.

 

[type b pharmD]

With an estimated debt of ~$300,000, I'm guessing you have to pay back $2500-$2800 a month to pay off student loan in 10 years. If you are making $120,000 as an pharmacist, your after-tax pay is ~$7500/mo. Rental/Food will cost at least another $1500. So you are at most left $3000/mo to raise your family and build your retirement. Seriously, it is not worth money of 2 doctorate degrees.

Consider going to dental school if money is a big factor. It is also 4 years (excluding residency), but you are a lot more financially better off than being a pharmacist. Then, save money when you are working as an associate and try to buy your own practice ASAP .
.

On the other hand, he could do income based repayment , pay around $1600 a month, and have his loans forgiven after working 10 or 15 years for the va.

 

[J ROD]

With an estimated debt of ~$300,000, I'm guessing you have to pay back $2500-$2800 a month to pay off student loan in 10 years. If you are making $120,000 as an pharmacist, your after-tax pay is ~$7500/mo. Rental/Food will cost at least another $1500. So you are at most left $3000/mo to raise your family and build your retirement. Seriously, it is not worth money of 2 doctorate degrees.

Consider going to dental school if money is a big factor. It is also 4 years (excluding residency), but you are a lot more financially better off than being a pharmacist. Then, save money when you are working as an associate and try to buy your own practice ASAP .
.

Try about $3800/month.......with 300K debt.

 

[J ROD]

OP, I think you would have a better career in podiatry.

It just may take some time to build a practice.....still should make over 100K coming out with some effort.

 

[MDJPharmD]

With an estimated debt of ~$300,000, I'm guessing you have to pay back $2500-$2800 a month to pay off student loan in 10 years. If you are making $120,000 as an pharmacist, your after-tax pay is ~$7500/mo. Rental/Food will cost at least another $1500. So you are at most left $3000/mo to raise your family and build your retirement. Seriously, it is not worth money of 2 doctorate degrees.

Consider going to dental school if money is a big factor. It is also 4 years (excluding residency), but you are a lot more financially better off than being a pharmacist. Then, save money when you are working as an associate and try to buy your own practice ASAP .
.

Have you seen the state of the dental profession!? They are in worse shape than all of us. My school charges 60k a year in tuition for the DMD program x 4 years. Thats a quarter of a mil ignoring any tuition increases and cost of living. Not to mention, associate dentists (if you can find a practice hiring) do not make substantially more than PharmD grads (enough to adjust for the increased debtload that is.) I sat in on a "State of the Dental Profession" lecture at my school--they cite many of the same problems as ALL of the health professions....too many schools, too much insurance involvment, too many tech trades increasing productivity of particular practices, and not to mention mal practice insurance.
Back to the point of the original poster:
I cannot speak for podiatry, but if you are looking for career diversity then look no further than pharmacy. Those who complain about the profession are simply too afraid to venture out. PharmD's are utilized extensively in:

-All Clinical Specialty Roles (Cardio, ID, Onco, Peds, etc)
-Hospital Pharmacy
-Nuclear Pharmacy
-Public Health
-Ambulatory Clinics in Anti Coag, Diabetes Management, etc.
-Pharmaceutical Industry (clinical research, marketing, medical/sci liason)
-Academia
-Specialty Compounding
-Community Pharmacy
-Independant Pharmacy Ownership
-and more.....

That sounded like a commercial, but all of those factors sealed my decision to persue a PharmD as opposed to any other graduate degree in a health profession.

Hope that helped.

 

[museabuse]

Have you seen the state of the dental profession!? They are in worse shape than all of us. My school charges 60k a year in tuition for the DMD program x 4 years. Thats a quarter of a mil ignoring any tuition increases and cost of living. Not to mention, associate dentists (if you can find a practice hiring) do not make substantially more than PharmD grads (enough to adjust for the increased debtload that is.) I sat in on a "State of the Dental Profession" lecture at my school--they cite many of the same problems as ALL of the health professions....too many schools, too much insurance involvment, too many tech trades increasing productivity of particular practices, and not to mention mal practice insurance.
Back to the point of the original poster:
I cannot speak for podiatry, but if you are looking for career diversity then look no further than pharmacy. Those who complain about the profession are simply too afraid to venture out. PharmD's are utilized extensively in:

-All Clinical Specialty Roles (Cardio, ID, Onco, Peds, etc)
-Hospital Pharmacy
-Nuclear Pharmacy
-Public Health
-Ambulatory Clinics in Anti Coag, Diabetes Management, etc.
-Pharmaceutical Industry (clinical research, marketing, medical/sci liason)
-Academia
-Specialty Compounding
-Community Pharmacy
-Independant Pharmacy Ownership
-and more.....

That sounded like a commercial, but all of those factors sealed my decision to persue a PharmD as opposed to any other graduate degree in a health profession.

Hope that helped.

you also forgot to mention that no degree is needed to enter pharmacy school. You can be a 20 yo punk ass kid with 2 years of community college and enter a "professional" medical program. Which is one of the reasons many other health care professionals look down on pharmacy.

 

[thedrunkenpharm]

I was one of those punk ass kids. I didn't do anything other than the admissions pre-reqs and I got in to the only school I applied to. It was a cakewalk.

 

[museabuse]

I was one of those punk ass kids. I didn't do anything other than the admissions pre-reqs and I got in to the only school I applied to. It was a cakewalk.

congrats! you didn't create the game your just playin it. A few years ago it was very competitive and I would say 70 percent or more in my class had degrees, now I think with all the new schools the majority will be punk ass community college kids with 2.5 gpas... Hahaha.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

You can be a 20 yo punk ass kid with 2 years of community college and enter a "professional" medical program.

Described me to a "T"...my pride...it hurts...

...though I did it back in '02-'03 when there were nothing but old schools and a GPA of less than 3.5 was laughed at...

 

[thedrunkenpharm]

There is no shame in community college. I transferred to University after one semester of comm. college. Chemistry at my community college was 10x more difficult than at my University. My prof at comm. college was a physical chemist with a masters and Ph.D from Cornell and enough R&D work to shame most chemists today. I walked in to General Chemistry II with the ability to ace tests blindfolded because of the kind of intimate classroom setting community college provided.

I don't think community college is a hindrance to medical programs at all. Research has statistically proven that community college transfers do better at University than those who start University initially. The best physical therapists, pharms, dentists, and optometrists I know started off at comm college.

 

[type b pharmD]

Described me to a "T"...my pride...it hurts...

...though I did it back in '02-'03 when there were nothing but old schools and a GPA of less than 3.5 was laughed at...

Yeah I went to a CC for a lot of my prereqs too, and, the only thing I have to say about CC haters is this: my undergrad physiology and biochemistry classes were more in depth than pharmacy school physiology and biochemistry.

 

[museabuse]

Yeah I went to a CC for a lot of my prereqs too, and, the only thing I have to say about CC haters is this: my undergrad physiology and biochemistry classes were more in depth than pharmacy school physiology and biochemistry.

I'm not hate'in on CC, you can be a punk ass kid with 2 years from university. I highly reccommend CC for first 2 years on way to a 4 year degree. All I'm sayin is all these new schools are making pharmacy less competitive and 20 yo with C averages are getting in. I personally think a bachelor degree should be required. What other programs can you go to school for 5 years and have doctorate and 120000 dollar/year job. I dunno about you but if I was a md and some 22 yo making more money than me thinks they have this powerful clinical knowledge and on same level as me because they can dose vanco and tobra, councel on coumadin, and change to oral meds, I would tell them to stfu. All I am saying is I can see how certain people in the medical field think pharmacy is kinda of a joke because how young graduates can be and how you only need 2 years to get into a professional medical program. Yes I know that an extra 2 years doesn't make you better or give you more clinical knowledge but it looks like we actually had to put some effort and time into earning a pharmD.

 

[thedrunkenpharm]

If a Bachelor's degree was required, I wouldn't have gone to pharmacy school. I think the 5 year B.Pharm was and is good enough.

Thanks to my not having a degree, I was counted as an undergraduate for financial aid purposes and I got just about 80% of my tuition for Rx school paid for with grants. My first loan was in Rx school and it wasn't that much. If I had a degree, everything would be loans.

But if a degree was mandatory, I would have become an RN at comm college and done a RN to MSN program and be an NP or CRNA. Or be a dental hygienist, either one.

 

[museabuse]

If a Bachelor's degree was required, I wouldn't have gone to pharmacy school. I think the 5 year B.Pharm was and is good enough.
.

Exactly, pharmacy is the fastest and easiest career to make bank. Make bachelor degree mandatory and that would hopefully weed out people who don't care about the profession and only in it for $50/hr paycheck. People who really want to be pharmacists would still persue the career and earn a bachelors. Then we would have better quality graduates.

 

[nicolemsm]

congrats! you didn't create the game your just playin it. A few years ago it was very competitive and I would say 70 percent or more in my class had degrees, now I think with all the new schools the majority will be punk ass community college kids with 2.5 gpas... Hahaha.

Can you tell me which schools accept CC students with 2.5s? I mean holy **** I won't work hard anymore and just let my 3.8 (soon to be 3.9) drop into the gutters..... Screw volunteering and gaining my CPhT cert too.... man you got this game all figured out..... I want the knowledge you possess

 

[type b pharmD]

Can you tell me which schools accept CC students with 2.5s? I mean holy **** I won't work hard anymore and just let my 3.8 (soon to be 3.9) drop into the gutters..... Screw volunteering and gaining my CPhT cert too.... man you got this game all figured out..... I want the knowledge you possess

wasnt dyouville advertising on tv that they would accept basically anyone who applied?

 

[museabuse]

Can you tell me which schools accept CC students with 2.5s? I mean holy **** I won't work hard anymore and just let my 3.8 (soon to be 3.9) drop into the gutters..... Screw volunteering and gaining my CPhT cert too.... man you got this game all figured out..... I want the knowledge you possess

Some schools will always be competitive, but some of the newer diploma mills charging 40000/yr seemed to be accepting student with less than 3.0 averages. I don't have hard data but just reading threads in prepharm I am reading that people are getting accepted with stats that wouldn't have gotten you an interview 6 years ago.

 

[bigpharmD]

you also forgot to mention that no degree is needed to enter pharmacy school. You can be a 20 yo punk ass kid with 2 years of community college and enter a "professional" medical program. Which is one of the reasons many other health care professionals look down on pharmacy.

nothing different than being a nurse or becoming an NP

 

[thedrunkenpharm]

Can you tell me which schools accept CC students with 2.5s? I mean holy **** I won't work hard anymore and just let my 3.8 (soon to be 3.9) drop into the gutters..... Screw volunteering and gaining my CPhT cert too.... man you got this game all figured out..... I want the knowledge you possess

Well, I prayed a lot and I've been wearing a lucky amulet since I was 16, so I believe those contributed quite a bit. I had just applied to get used to the application process. My stats were VERY unremarkable. 3.67 GPA. That's it. No volunteer work, clubs, research, pharmacy experience...0. Nothing. 1 application...1 admission (to a top 10 Rx School btw). I just got lucky...I also wore a really badass suit to the interview.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Well, I prayed a lot and I've been wearing a lucky amulet since I was 16, so I believe those contributed quite a bit. I had just applied to get used to the application process. My stats were VERY unremarkable. 3.67 GPA. That's it. No volunteer work, clubs, research, pharmacy experience...0. Nothing. 1 application...1 admission (to a top 10 Rx School btw). I just got lucky...I also wore a really badass suit to the interview.

what color was the badass suit.. cause if it was purple I would totally chose you for pharm school.

 

[nicolemsm]

Well, I prayed a lot and I've been wearing a lucky amulet since I was 16, so I believe those contributed quite a bit. I had just applied to get used to the application process. My stats were VERY unremarkable. 3.67 GPA. That's it. No volunteer work, clubs, research, pharmacy experience...0. Nothing. 1 application...1 admission (to a top 10 Rx School btw). I just got lucky...I also wore a really badass suit to the interview.

Dude you missed the point. museabuse said there's young kids (19/20 yr olds) getting in with UNDER 3.0 GPAs. You obviously don't fit that requirement.... You had above the what schools consider good (3.5)..... plus you didnt apply to a rinky dink just opened the shop private school..... totally diff than the example I was basing my reply off

 

[rxlea]

DYouville probably did take everyone that applied. I don't recall anyone ever posting that they were rejected. Then again, most people don't post when they are rejected which sucks. It might help other applicants gauge where to apply and where not to apply.

 

[rxlea]

Exactly, pharmacy is the fastest and easiest career to make bank. Make bachelor degree mandatory and that would hopefully weed out people who don't care about the profession and only in it for $50/hr paycheck. People who really want to be pharmacists would still persue the career and earn a bachelors. Then we would have better quality graduates.

I am all for requiring a bachelors degree. And I think you are right...it would produce more well-rounded, better quality graduates.

 

[Momus]

I am all for requiring a bachelors degree. And I think you are right...it would produce more well-rounded, better quality graduates.

Get paid 1/2 than an MD who does about the same amount of study+2 year residency sucks...

 

[Momus]

Well, I prayed a lot and I've been wearing a lucky amulet since I was 16, so I believe those contributed quite a bit. I had just applied to get used to the application process. My stats were VERY unremarkable. 3.67 GPA. That's it. No volunteer work, clubs, research, pharmacy experience...0. Nothing. 1 application...1 admission (to a top 10 Rx School btw). I just got lucky...I also wore a really badass suit to the interview.

Maybe because you are a minority and they just want to fill that gap for 10% total students lol? >_>