Full Time Job and Part Time School?

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phuongvu

phuongvu

Junior Member
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Hey everyone, I have a problem, and it's been bugging me for the last couple weeks...Basically, I was just hired as a full time pharm tech position at a Walgreen. I don't really want to work full time, but there's no option to choose and it's really hard to find a pharm tech job in my area, so I took the offer. This year is my 2nd year doing pre-courses for pharmacy, but I have mostly everything done, only 3 more classes to go in order to be able to apply for a pharm school in my area. I'm thinking of going to school part time and working full time. I'll be working about 35 hours/week and taking about 6-9 credits. I really want to finish all reprequisites as soon as I can, but I also want to have hand on experience with pharmacy. Do you think working full time and going to school part time is good idea? Can you please share some advices on what I should do? All are appreciated! Thank you.
 
phuongvu said:
Hey everyone, I have a problem, and it's been bugging me for the last couple weeks...Basically, I was just hired as a full time pharm tech position at a Walgreen. I don't really want to work full time, but there's no option to choose and it's really hard to find a pharm tech job in my area, so I took the offer. This year is my 2nd year doing pre-courses for pharmacy, but I have mostly everything done, only 3 more classes to go in order to be able to apply for a pharm school in my area. I'm thinking of going to school part time and working full time. I'll be working about 35 hours/week and taking about 6-9 credits. I really want to finish all reprequisites as soon as I can, but I also want to have hand on experience with pharmacy. Do you think working full time and going to school part time is good idea? Can you please share some advices on what I should do? All are appreciated! Thank you.
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Here is what an admissions officer told me. Your coursework and PCAT score are first and foremost the most important components of your application. Any work experiences/volunteer experiences/etc. etc. are secondary. If you cannot demonstrate you can handle a rigorous academic schedule, then no matter how terrific your extracurriculars are, it will still pale in comparison compared to someone who has the GPA and PCAT and only a basic background knowledge of the pharmacy field.

It's really up to you, but as you seem like you're still in your undergraduate years, I would advise against going to school part time just for the sake of the experience. There are plenty of other ways of gaining volunteer experience in a pharmacy besides committing 40-hr weeks. Also, your ability to focus on academics falls sharply when you take on a job. (I know, I had three jobs at the same time, which is partly why I struggled)
 
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