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does having a bachelor's help finding a job easier?
Started by abdc
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just curious to know if weather the person with both a pharmD and a bachelor's in a related area would get the job as opposed to a person with just the pharmD.
No... MPH, MHA, MBA (maybe). A BS though - that would be a much more difficult sale.
If you could convince me that your BS in *insert subject here* makes you a better pharmacist then sure. But I have a friend who graduated pharmacy school and previously had a degree in music education and if he asked me that question I would start laughing and pour a glass of scotch.
Then say no.
Then say no.
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Depends on what kind of job you would be looking for, and what kind of bachelor's degree you would have.
just curious to know if weather the person with both a pharmD and a bachelor's in a related area would get the job as opposed to a person with just the pharmD.
A B.S in business or management type might indeed give you a better shot of finding a job, especially in retail. You have no idea how many Pharm.D or doctorate holders who don't have even the basic business sense.
B.S in some of applied sciences might help a bit as well for more research oriented jobs.
But I suspect that good prior work experience will trump all of them.
No, not for your typical pharmacy job.
General, no.
I have a MBA and have been recruited harder by some of the retail companies because I know HR laws and have managed before.
I was even offered a DM job straight out of school but I hate retail....
I would advise anyone to get some business experience or knowledge because it is very useful stuff for pharmacy especially retail where alot of business aspects come into play.
I have a MBA and have been recruited harder by some of the retail companies because I know HR laws and have managed before.
I was even offered a DM job straight out of school but I hate retail....

I would advise anyone to get some business experience or knowledge because it is very useful stuff for pharmacy especially retail where alot of business aspects come into play.
What about psychology?
Well, maybe if you wanted a Psych residency, huh??? 
Well, maybe if you wanted a Psych residency, huh??? 
What about engineering?
Are you going to be building a bridge? not much.
What about psychology?Well, maybe if you wanted a Psych residency, huh???
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👍 best chance
What about psychology?Well, maybe if you wanted a Psych residency, huh???
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No... How about a PGY1 with a heavy psych rotation load + publishing a psych related study.
I understand the concept. You BA/BS should have a value add effect. In the real world however, it doesn't translate to much.
Compare a person w/ a foreign language degree. It has a value add if the pt population speaks that language. However, it is immediately trumped by someone who is local and speaks the language, withou any relating degree at all.
At best, it looks nice on your resume/cv. It won't get you a job however, there are for more compelling reasons to give someone a job. Among these are skills and experience (OJT), networked relations, ability to interview.
Language skills are actually a good thing to list on your resume, especially if you speak multiple languages. That's a good attention-grabber (since few people in this country speak even two foreign langauges, let alone more), and makes you more memorable -and being memorable is everything if someone is thumbing through a stack hoping to pick five to ten people to interview. It's not a major deciding factor, it's merely a factor to skew things in your favor when the decision maker is on the fence about you. No need to get a Bachelor's degree, though... it's enough to just learn the language well (or at least be honest about the level of knowledge - I have seen too many examples when people grossly overstate their fluency in a given language, and majoring in a language doesn't necessarily mean someone can speak it, in US languages are not taught very well, pretty much everyone can pass as long as they can put two words together 🙄 ).
I would say business/finance/economics/management majors would be the most relevant, for someone who wants to enter pharmaceutical industry, or work for a PBM, or open their own pharmacy. For staff pharmacist position in a hospital or retail bachelor's degree is completely irrelevant, in my opinion.
I would say business/finance/economics/management majors would be the most relevant, for someone who wants to enter pharmaceutical industry, or work for a PBM, or open their own pharmacy. For staff pharmacist position in a hospital or retail bachelor's degree is completely irrelevant, in my opinion.
I would say business/finance/economics/management majors would be the most relevant, for someone who wants to enter pharmaceutical industry, or work for a PBM, or open their own pharmacy. For staff pharmacist position in a hospital or retail bachelor's degree is completely irrelevant, in my opinion.
Thank you so much. 🙂
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Are you going to be building a bridge? not much.
😆 Are you kidding? That's not the only thing engineers do. An engineering degree (from a reputable school) will provide a very strong basis for complex problem solving among other skills. I was thinking it would at least help in getting into pharmacist jobs with an IT slant, and industry jobs as well, especially R&D.
😆 Are you kidding? That's not the only thing engineers do. An engineering degree (from a reputable school) will provide a very strong basis for complex problem solving among other skills. I was thinking it would at least help in getting into pharmacist jobs with an IT slant, and industry jobs as well, especially R&D.
This extrapolation is based upon opinion - if you have received your BS, you want it to mean something. Especially considering all of the time and effort to obtain it. The value is in the opportunity to pursue a higher degree. There are several managers on this board. I'm sure they can recall how often a 4 yr degree (not counting the Bpharm) has been a deciding factor.
No... How about a PGY1 with a heavy psych rotation load + publishing a psych related study.
I understand the concept. You BA/BS should have a value add effect. In the real world however, it doesn't translate to much.
Compare a person w/ a foreign language degree. It has a value add if the pt population speaks that language. However, it is immediately trumped by someone who is local and speaks the language, withou any relating degree at all.
At best, it looks nice on your resume/cv. It won't get you a job however, there are for more compelling reasons to give someone a job. Among these are skills and experience (OJT), networked relations, ability to interview.
Uhm...I was joking. My psych degree is pretty much useless, I know that. At least my Psych Brand toilet paper was free 🙂
Thanks for the info anyway. Does that mean my Spanish speaking ability will go a long way in certain settings?
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Uhm...I was joking. My psych degree is pretty much useless, I know that. At least my Psych Brand toilet paper was free 🙂
Thanks for the info anyway. Does that mean my Spanish speaking ability will go a long way in certain settings?
Sigh... I always miss the /s
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