Honest Feedback/Advice Considering a Career as Pharmacist

[Danielle19755]

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Hello All!!

Let me give you some background on myself before I ask my questions. I am 33 years old and currently working in the Hospitality/Tourism field. I work full time 40 hours a week, I have some college credits. I have one child 12 years old now, and am 8 months pregnant. I am looking for a major career change and have always wished that I studied Pharmacy. I’m thinking about trying now. Is this impossible considering my background? I would basically be starting from scratch in school trying to obtain a degree then trying to obtain a PhramD. Is this possible full time as I would have to continue working full time? Please provide honest feedback. I don’t want to get my hopes up about this, try to pursue then see it is not possible. Thank you for your time!

Danielle
🙂

 

[Danielle19755]

Hello All!!

Let me give you some background on myself before I ask my questions. I am 33 years old and currently working in the Hospitality/Tourism field. I work full time 40 hours a week, I have some college credits. I have one child 12 years old now, and am 8 months pregnant. I am looking for a major career change and have always wished that I studied Pharmacy. I’m thinking about trying now. Is this impossible considering my background? I would basically be starting from scratch in school trying to obtain a degree then trying to obtain a PhramD. Is this possible full time as I would have to continue working full time? Please provide honest feedback. I don’t want to get my hopes up about this, try to pursue then see it is not possible. Thank you for your time!

Danielle

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

You can do it and it will be worth it once you complete it.

But it aint going to be easy..

Good luck.

 

[mug3n]

Are you a single parent? If you have to work full time and support two children and do pharmacy school, then no, don't get your hopes up. Pharmacy school is time and financially demanding and it looks like you don't have enough of either.

 

[Asian Girl]

Hello All!!

Let me give you some background on myself before I ask my questions. I am 33 years old and currently working in the Hospitality/Tourism field. I work full time 40 hours a week, I have some college credits. I have one child 12 years old now, and am 8 months pregnant. I am looking for a major career change and have always wished that I studied Pharmacy. I'm thinking about trying now. Is this impossible considering my background? I would basically be starting from scratch in school trying to obtain a degree then trying to obtain a PhramD. Is this possible full time as I would have to continue working full time? Please provide honest feedback. I don't want to get my hopes up about this, try to pursue then see it is not possible. Thank you for your time!

Danielle
🙂

Danielle, we are the same status (age, job and I have 2 children). When I came back to school 3 years ago, I tried part time first and worked full time. It worked out ok for me. Then a year later, I changed to full time school and still kept my full time job. It's hard but I can believe than I can make this far and keep up with my GPA 3.xx. I am applying this year and hopefully I can get in somewhere.
I think if we can manage our time and have some helps from family (husband or parents), we will do fine. Of course, our purposes are to become a phamacist but alot people did not get in 1st time. If I can get in 2010, I am going to try again 20xx. Never try, never know 🙂 and keep your hope.

AG

 

[Danielle19755]

Danielle, we are the same status (age, job and I have 2 children). When I came back to school 3 years ago, I tried part time first and worked full time. It worked out ok for me. Then a year later, I changed to full time school and still kept my full time job. It's hard but I can believe than I can make this far and keep up with my GPA 3.xx. I am applying this year and hopefully I can get in somewhere.
I think if we can manage our time and have some helps from family (husband or parents), we will do fine. Of course, our purposes are to become a phamacist but alot people did not get in 1st time. If I can get in 2010, I am going to try again 20xx. Never try, never know 🙂 and keep your hope.

AG

Thank you! Yes my husband supports what I am doing, so hopefully that will help. I appreciate your reply.. Good luck to you 🙂

 

[Athrok]

If you have a passion go for it. You'll be happier doing something you enjoy.

Working full time and going to Pharmacy school is going to be painful and a miserable situation - and not possible at all for many schools, but kudos for saying you wanted to study Pharmacy instead of looking for a paycheck.

 

[purplepower]

Danielle,

Look into the Creighton distance program. They are very selective but if you apply yourself in your pre-pharm. classes and score well on the pharmcas you can get in and work it around your schedule. It is the only distance entry-level pharmD program in the nation. That's what I would do if I were in your shoes. I wish you well, if you really want it you can do it.

 

[Danielle19755]

Danielle,

Look into the Creighton distance program. They are very selective but if you apply yourself in your pre-pharm. classes and score well on the pharmcas you can get in and work it around your schedule. It is the only distance entry-level pharmD program in the nation. That's what I would do if I were in your shoes. I wish you well, if you really want it you can do it.

I will look into that! Thank you 🙂

 

[cheeseboy2]

Hi Danielle,

I don't doubt that you will find the time and dedication to study (especially if you got into the distance program), but my concerns are age and loans. If you are starting off now with "some" college credits it's basically like entering as a college freshman/sophomore at the age of 19. You'll have to complete at least 2 years of pre-reqs and to better your chances, you'd need to complete a BS/AA which may take up to 3 or 4 years at best. Then, in the best case situation where you get in to a PharmD program straight from completing pre-reqs, the PharmD may take another 4 years to complete, and you may be coming out of all this with 200k+ of loans.

I really hate to be brutally honest, but in the best case situation you'd be ~40 yrs old with 200k+ down. Other people, please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'd just hate to see you start your pre-reqs then realize how long the road is ahead of you. If you really want to study Pharmacy, I suggest you go back to school, take some classes, figure out how it's going to work as a full-time student and a full-time mom. If it seems to be working well after 2 years - go all the way. If you're struggling, hey, you'll be close to getting a bachelors or AA and that will open up tons of opportunities.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Hi Danielle,

Since you have "some" college credits, I am going to have to consider them probably not applicable to pharmacy school pre-requisites, and probably over the decay limit for most pharmacy schools (3,5,7 years).

Since this is the case, you've got at least ~2 years of full-time CC work ahead of you for another Associate's degree, which I assume is what you're shooting for. Given that is the case, juggling full-time work, family and very difficult classes (Especially if you haven't been "school minded" for a long time), you really need to be sure you're ready for this undertaking.

Since no one else has asked, why did you not go after Pharmacy to begin with, however many years ago it was? I'm just curious about what your impetus for making this inquiry is at 33 as opposed to in your past.

It's not impossible, and I will wait with rapt attention to see how you are going to progress through it, but it is going to be a really steep incline. From a CC, you're going to have to perform really well, and don't forget you'll need extra-curriculars like volunteerism, a pharmacy club leadership role, or something of that nature. Getting some work experience will be in your benefit, too.

Straight shooting here: No one can tell the future, but one thing is for sure. In ~2 years, a CC-only applicant (no BS, no work exp in pharmacy) with anything short of a superb GPA (3.8+) will have a tough time stacking up for all but the least competitive schools. The problem there is two-fold. Pharmacy as a burgeoning field is changing rapidly... And there will come a time, perhaps in the near future, perhaps not, that the adage "A PharmD is a PharmD" will no longer hold water, and you may be forced to relocate drastically to get a job. How will your husband and kids feel about this? I have no idea, but I'm sure you know them well and can take that into consideration.

Have you stayed at all sharp with math and science? I'm a re-entry/non-traditional student also, albeit with less of a gap between schooling than you have, and I had a really hard time adapting from an education in a soft science to difficult math (Calculus anyone? Yuck). Not to mention Physics and such.

What I'd do in your position is call or e-mail every CoP that you're interested in, and see how much of your college credit, if any, is still usable for pre-requisite classes. With any luck, you won't need to retake the humanities and such, and can focus on math and science, which will speed you up a lot in getting onto the pharmacy track.

It would behoove you to study for the CPhT exam for two reasons: 1., it will enable you to more easily find a small part-time job wherein you can snag some pharmacy experience (important for some schools, but helps you answer "What does a Pharmacist do?"and other Qs if they come up on your interview) and because it's a primer with a little mathematics like dilutions and alligations that will get your brain in shape.

Welcome to the forum and I hope you find happiness and joy in going after your dream.

 

[inquirer89]

I would work part time or volunteer at a pharmacy first to see what you're getting into. Then if you truly can see yourself doing pharmacy, then go for it. Best wishes!

 

[RNtoPharmD]

When taking prerequisites, full-time work is possible.
During Pharm school, full time work is not possible.
You need to make M-F available for classes.
You could work part-time every weekends like me but you life will be miserable with no dayoffs and will have to work hard to get As (I think). I think you're luckier than me because you're married!! Being married with children will make you concentrate on family life and don't need to have time of seek other enjoyment (dating/vacation) like single folks. (I'm just being ironic)

I recommend going to your school "career service" and doing some personality/career test, shadowing pharmacist etc.. before making commitment.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Double-post, also in pre-pharmacy...

 

[medicalCPA]

Thanks, Passion. Merging...

 

[diastole]

You can do this but it is going to take some sacrifice from your family. Someone is going to have to step up to watch the baby while you are attending classes and studying. When you get to pharmacy school, you almost certainly won't be able to work full-time but you can get student loans to cover the costs. It isn't enough to attend school and support a family but I'm assuming your husband will be working so you should be able to make it through with his income. However, that may require some scaling back on your part. Right now, I'm uprooting my family from our four bedroom house and we are going into a very small two bedroom apartment. It's a bit depressing to feel like you are moving backwards financially at an age when your peers are moving forward but I guess that is part of the sacrifice that I mentioned. You can do this if you really want it but be aware that it will affect the whole family and some parts of it are not fun at all.

 

[geekgolightly]

My husband was 33 when he started pharm school. We went from a nice home in KC to a small sort-of ratty 2 bedroom apartment in Erie, PA. We sold when the market was at it's worst, and lost 20k in the process. Our lives are dramatically different and now we are facing the idea of having to move to an unfamiliar city in order to obtain a job, as the job market in pharmacy is tightening.

He is used to getting excellent grades and has had to deal with some low B's. He can't seem to catch enough study time to make straight A's any longer, as when he is off school, I am often at work and he has the kiddo.

But, IMHO, it is worth it. I am really proud of him. 😀

 

[The Fargoan]

OP, In 6 years you'll be 6 years older anyway. If you really think you'll love Pharmacy, then do it. You'll still have 25 years of a career (and I can't imagine spending 25 miserable years in a job you don't love). I went back after some time in the working world and it hasn't been bad at all (except for the starving student part). But I also don't have a husband or kids. My class does have a 40-something with 5 kids. He doesn't get A's in every class but he's making it work and he'll get a job too.

When I thought about going back I made an appointment with the Admissions office of the school of pharmacy. I took in my old college transcripts and talked about what I needed to do to be accepted with only 1 more year of pre-reqs. They were very helpful and I was accepted within the year. Good luck!