Going for a Second Prof. Degree?

[rehabman284]

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Hey guys,

I'm 28 and a recent graduate of a Doctor of Physical Therapy(DPT) program. I received my undergraduate degree in health science and a chemistry minor in '03. I am interested in pursuing pharmacy as a career, but am concerned for a few reasons(I did use the search function 🙂. I attended a private undergraduate school(Wake Forest University) and accrued a lot of debt. In addition, I have some debt from my professional degree. Grand total of about 110k. All that I really need to do is take the PCAT and apply, I guess I am just looking for opinions on entering when I am 30 or 31. I think that I have maxed out my Stafford loans, so I am wondering if there are other sources of loans besides GradPlus? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[wes011]

Can you pay off your loans before applying?

Hey guys,

I'm 28 and a recent graduate of a Doctor of Physical Therapy(DPT) program. I received my undergraduate degree in health science and a chemistry minor in '03. I am interested in pursuing pharmacy as a career, but am concerned for a few reasons(I did use the search function 🙂. I attended a private undergraduate school(Wake Forest University) and accrued a lot of debt. In addition, I have some debt from my professional degree. Grand total of about 110k. All that I really need to do is take the PCAT and apply, I guess I am just looking for opinions on entering when I am 30 or 31. I think that I have maxed out my Stafford loans, so I am wondering if there are other sources of loans besides GradPlus? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[rehabman284]

I won't be able to pay them off completely, but can make a substantial dent in them. I currently make about 60k a year, but if I do home health next year, that should move me up to 80-85k/year. I'm just looking for loan sources that aren't outrageous before going back.

 

[IrishRxMan]

You may be better off living like a pauper for the next few years and saving up the most you can and make up the difference with grad plus. The only other option is alternative loans for the first year of pharmacy school and apply for every pharmacy scholarship out there and hope you get some for the next three years. As far as being early 30's, it's no big deal. You will be able to pay off everything without a problem. Having two professional degrees could work for you in ways that other PharmD. holding graduates won't have as an option. You could set up a pain management clinic or something like that.

 

[tahi193]

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[UES Girl]

I would assume age is not what is holding him back when he is only 28 and the avrage age of entering student is 24-25.

As for loans, can you defer the repayment phase ?

Are you currently in repayment already ?

If you haven't entered the repayment phase yet, has you interest already been capitilized ? Can you at least pay off the interest ?

I would asume private loans would be the way to go besides grad plus.

 

[rehabman28]

I'm in repayment for my undergrad loans and most of my grad loans. If I got one of the Healthcare professions loans at like 5% then interest doesn't accrue while in pharmacy school. The other loans would be put on deferment while in pharm school. I would like to switch careers b/c I really can't live on 60k a year. I have several friends who are pharmacists and went to school less(6 years) than I did(7.5) and make double or more what I make. I have had an interest in pharmacy for some time, but these factors have pushed me even more so in that direction.

Thanks so much for all the advice and replies!

P.S. and yes, Wake Forest is beautiful!

 

[homeslice]

I'm in repayment for my undergrad loans and most of my grad loans. If I got one of the Healthcare professions loans at like 5% then interest doesn't accrue while in pharmacy school. The other loans would be put on deferment while in pharm school. I would like to switch careers b/c I really can't live on 60k a year. I have several friends who are pharmacists and went to school less(6 years) than I did(7.5) and make double or more what I make. I have had an interest in pharmacy for some time, but these factors have pushed me even more so in that direction.

Thanks so much for all the advice and replies!

P.S. and yes, Wake Forest is beautiful!

I hope you don't plan on making double or more what you make now by the time you're done with pharm school. The gravy train is over.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Uh, what's wrong with being a DPT?

 

[PonderingChoice]

My obligatory long-term earnings post:

I'm 24, got my B.S. in microbio. According to my estimates based on projected earnings with my B.S. vrs. a Pharm.D., if I were to start working at a pharmacist AFTER 32, I'd be losing money by pursuing my Pharm.D. Remember taxes are a big deal, and so is the years of lost labor/accrued debt. I assume you're making more than I would be with a DPT (vrs. my B.S.), and you're older, so your projections are significantly less favorable, especially if there is any drop in a pharmacist's salary. Not that I buy all the doom and gloom regarding pharmacy, but if pharmacist's wages don't keep up with cost of living expenses for a few years, that's not insignificant.

As Passion4Sci asked: what's wrong with a DPT? Alternately, what's awesome about being a pharmacist?

Ah you said you make 60K a year. Well, on average, you'll be making around 90K after 20 years work experience. ~75K after 10 or so years of experience. In sum: I don't think you will be increasing your lifetime earnings, even if you do, the gains will be marginal. Plus you have to deal with the associated problems of attending pharmacy school.

 

[rehabman28]

Nothing wrong with being a DPT except for the uber low salary. If I work for 10-15 years as a DPT, I may increase my salary to 70K--but that's a big maybe. The earning potential just doesn't increase that much. My friend's fiance started at Costco at $120,000 plus a 20k signing bonus(kind of a small town so they added the incentive). But it's not about just the money...I want to use my brain a little more. Interested in going into compounding.

 

[PonderingChoice]

Nothing wrong with being a DPT except for the uber low salary. If I work for 10-15 years as a DPT, I may increase my salary to 70K--but that's a big maybe.

900 Payscale reporting individuals say otherwise. I admit Payscale's numbers could be flawed, but is your 70K figure anything more than a guess?

My friend's fiance started at Costco at $120,000 plus a 20k signing bonus(kind of a small town so they added the incentive). But it's not about just the money...I want to use my brain a little more. Interested in going into compounding.

Median pharmacist's salary is 105K in California. 120K + 20K signing bonus is not common, so using those figures is going to contaminate your decision making process.