How important is doing summer internships and working through school?

[willrocks]

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Hello all,

I could do with some advice from new pharmacy graduates. Your help would be much appreciated.

I am considering going to a 3 year school in the fall, but my main concern is that due to the intensity of the curriculum I won't be able to work during the year and intern during the summer. While I will obviously gain a year advantage over new grads in the job market, I am highly concerned that my lack of interning experience will be a huge burden in obtaining a first job. Am I correct in assuming that?

Also, I am assuming that once I get my first job as a pharmacist, any future jobs will be based upon my success as a pharmacist at the first job, and the fact that I never interned/worked for a company before (in school) won't matter correct? Is it also correct to assume that if I do a residency after graduation, employers will look at my success in the residency over whether I interned for their company before?

Any first hand stories you guys have regarding this topic would be great also.

Thanks,
William

 

[naseuy]

Hello all,

I could do with some advice from new pharmacy graduates. Your help would be much appreciated.

I am considering going to a 3 year school in the fall, but my main concern is that due to the intensity of the curriculum I won't be able to work during the year and intern during the summer. While I will obviously gain a year advantage over new grads in the job market, I am highly concerned that my lack of interning experience will be a huge burden in obtaining a first job. Am I correct in assuming that?

Also, I am assuming that once I get my first job as a pharmacist, any future jobs will be based upon my success as a pharmacist at the first job, and the fact that I never interned/worked for a company before (in school) won't matter correct? Is it also correct to assume that if I do a residency after graduation, employers will look at my success in the residency over whether I interned for their company before?

Any first hand stories you guys have regarding this topic would be great also.

Thanks,
William

If I am not mistaken, you are required to do a set amount of hours to become fully licensed in many states, if you are to graduate without hours, then companies may sign you on as a "Graduate intern" (at a reduced salary) where you may fulfill your requirements.

 

[renetto]

If I am not mistaken, you are required to do a set amount of hours to become fully licensed in many states, if you are to graduate without hours, then companies may sign you on as a "Graduate intern" (at a reduced salary) where you may fulfill your requirements.

Are the APPE and IPPE that are required in order to graduate not enough?

Something doesn't sound right.

 

[willrocks]

Hello,
Thanks for your responses. I will have already completed the additional work hours needed to sit for the NAPLEX at an independent pharmacy prior to entering school in the fall. I was talking about working/interning for a company (i.e. major retail chain) in addition to the IPPE/APPE, and the effects of that experience on obtaining a first job as a pharmacist.

 

[renetto]

Here's my problem: I'm unable to work at a pharmacy for internship because the nearest pharmacy with available internships is an hour and a half away from me and they told me the hours they want I cannot fulfill.

So in other words, when I graduate with my Pharm.D I will just be a tech for a year? I don't think so. Something doesn't add up.

 

[bacillus1]

Here's my problem: I'm unable to work at a pharmacy for internship because the nearest pharmacy with available internships is an hour and a half away from me and they told me the hours they want I cannot fulfill.

So in other words, when I graduate with my Pharm.D I will just be a tech for a year? I don't think so. Something doesn't add up.

Well then, apply for summer internships and hope you get in. Also some states don't require extra hours, so maybe get a license there? (Delaware requires 1500 but they can all be gotten from APPEs if your school has 1500 hours of them). Also offer to work as an intern with tech pay at a closer pharmacy. I know people that are getting their intern hours that way. I don't think there's anywhere in the continuous US that's not inside a national park that doesn't have a pharmacy closer than an hour and a half away.

 

[renetto]

Well then, apply for summer internships and hope you get in. Also some states don't require extra hours, so maybe get a license there? (Delaware requires 1500 but they can all be gotten from APPEs if your school has 1500 hours of them). Also offer to work as an intern with tech pay at a closer pharmacy. I know people that are getting their intern hours that way. I don't think there's anywhere in the continuous US that's not inside a national park that doesn't have a pharmacy closer than an hour and a half away.

It's not that the only pharmacy near me is an hour and a half away, it's that the only one with a spot available is an hour and a half away. I've tried everything, every intern spot is closed until next august which is when I start my APPE.

 

[aboveliquidice]

IPPE & APPE should be sufficient to sit the law exam in your state (where you school resides).

Earning your pharmD and sitting the Naplex have nothing to do with hours. Your state law exam however, will have a minimum hours requirement.

If you do not have enough hours to fulfill the requirement, you can work as a graduate intern to gain hours. Once you sit the Naplex, you can work for a set amount of time before you will be required to sit the state law exam (though this time period refers to those moving to a state I believe; varies by state).

This is from what I remember... not sure how much this varies by state or is simply antiquated by time.

 

[Pianopooh]

Hello,
Thanks for your responses. I will have already completed the additional work hours needed to sit for the NAPLEX at an independent pharmacy prior to entering school in the fall. I was talking about working/interning for a company (i.e. major retail chain) in addition to the IPPE/APPE, and the effects of that experience on obtaining a first job as a pharmacist.

We have accelerated students at our school. From my experience, it seems students who worked during the school year was an advantage in their knowledge of brand/generic names for our Drug Exams -- but they were always time pressed since they had a lot on their plate. If you can make the time to work, then go for it. If not, don't stress yourself out. As for obtaining a job, it seems pretty much equal for all students, whether or not they worked during the school year.

 

[renetto]

IPPE & APPE should be sufficient to sit the law exam in your state (where you school resides).

Earning your pharmD and sitting the Naplex have nothing to do with hours. Your state law exam however, will have a minimum hours requirement.

If you do not have enough hours to fulfill the requirement, you can work as a graduate intern to gain hours. Once you sit the Naplex, you can work for a set amount of time before you will be required to sit the state law exam (though this time period refers to those moving to a state I believe; varies by state).

This is from what I remember... not sure how much this varies by state or is simply antiquated by time.

So let me see if I understand you...as a student in Oklahoma, when I graduate I will be allowed to take the Naplex and the law exam for OK but if I want to move to Texas then I will not be allowed to take the law exam and thus I will not be allowed to get a job as a pharmacist.

That just doesn't sound right, wouldn't these schools be advising their students to work and study? I've never had an adviser tell me I should be working at a pharmacy as an intern or I won't be a real pharmacist when I graduate.

 

[bacillus1]

So let me see if I understand you...as a student in Oklahoma, when I graduate I will be allowed to take the Naplex and the law exam for OK but if I want to move to Texas then I will not be allowed to take the law exam and thus I will not be allowed to get a job as a pharmacist.

That just doesn't sound right, wouldn't these schools be advising their students to work and study? I've never had an adviser tell me I should be working at a pharmacy as an intern or I won't be a real pharmacist when I graduate.

My advisor has never told me to work, in a state where extra hours are required. So? You should've found out beforehand what the intern hour requirements are for any states that you may move to after graduation. It's the advisor's responsibility to answer questions about your curriculum as they arise, not to spoonfeed you everything you need to know to graduate and become a pharmacist. Do you really want to leave your future in your advisor's hands? You should be finding things out yourself.

 

[renetto]

My advisor has never told me to work, in a state where extra hours are required. So? You should've found out beforehand what the intern hour requirements are for any states that you may move to after graduation. It's the advisor's responsibility to answer questions about your curriculum as they arise, not to spoonfeed you everything you need to know to graduate and become a pharmacist. Do you really want to leave your future in your advisor's hands? You should be finding things out yourself.

I only figured that out a year and a half ago through people but come on, advisers shouldn't be that lazy. I don't expect them to tell me to shower but if I come into their office dirty and smelling, you'd think they would say something...

So intern hours are NOT IPPE and APPE hours? in other words my Pharm.D gives me a title of "graduate intern" and not "pharmacist". Great...

 

[renetto]

Sorry for the double post but I want something clarified

http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/files_pdf/hours.pdf

From the Texas State Board of Pharmacy website "This internship experience must be gained in a pharmacy licensed with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, under the continuous and direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist who is registered as a preceptor with the Board. A pharmacist-intern may be credited no more than 50 hours per week"

So when I get my license in Oklahoma, I will have to work for 1500 hours as an intern in Texas?

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Sorry for the double post but I want something clarified

http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/files_pdf/hours.pdf

From the Texas State Board of Pharmacy website "This internship experience must be gained in a pharmacy licensed with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, under the continuous and direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist who is registered as a preceptor with the Board. A pharmacist-intern may be credited no more than 50 hours per week"

So when I get my license in Oklahoma, I will have to work for 1500 hours as an intern in Texas?

Ok...firstly what is the rule for getting a license in Oklahoma?????

Do you need hours outside of school and how many?

If you aren't going to want to be licensed in Texas, why are you looking/ giving us to look at a Texas internship form?

 

[renetto]

Ok...firstly what is the rule for getting a license in Oklahoma?????

Do you need hours outside of school and how many?

If you aren't going to want to be licensed in Texas, why are you looking/ giving us to look at a Texas internship form?

I said I wanted to move to Texas in a previous post, please read the previous posts next time.

So let me see if I understand you...as a student in Oklahoma, when I graduate I will be allowed to take the Naplex and the law exam for OK but if I want to move to Texas then I will not be allowed to take the law exam and thus I will not be allowed to get a job as a pharmacist.

That just doesn't sound right, wouldn't these schools be advising their students to work and study? I've never had an adviser tell me I should be working at a pharmacy as an intern or I won't be a real pharmacist when I graduate.

EDIT: I actually looked it up for Texas and from what I read, IPPE and APPE is enough to get your license for Texas. I guess this is now a moot point.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

I said I wanted to move to Texas in a previous post, please read the previous posts next time.




EDIT: I actually looked it up for Texas and from what I read, IPPE and APPE is enough to get your license for Texas. I guess this is now a moot point.

sorry. I have scanning habits.

btw: you can take the law exam for a different state and then become licensed. for that state.

 

[willrocks]

Not to digress, but lets revert to the topic of my original post. Recent/Upcoming PharmD grads, do you think that working through school and doing summer internship programs for a company you would like to work for is a significant enough advantage towards obtaining your first pharmacy job to go to a 4 year instead of a 3 year school?

 

[type b pharmD]

Not to digress, but lets revert to the topic of my original post. Recent/Upcoming PharmD grads, do you think that working through school and doing summer internship programs for a company you would like to work for is a significant enough advantage towards obtaining your first pharmacy job to go to a 4 year instead of a 3 year school?

Guess who are going to get the job offers? people inside the company or people the company has no experience with?

 

[renetto]

Guess who are going to get the job offers? people inside the company or people the company has no experience with?

Oh come on, in the end we get the same education and pass the same exam. How else is a recently graduated Pharm.D supposed to get a job?

With your logic I better start working for CVS if I want to work for them, they wouldn't want a Walgreens grad 🙄

 

[Argentium]

Oh come on, in the end we get the same education and pass the same exam. How else is a recently graduated Pharm.D supposed to get a job?

With your logic I better start working for CVS if I want to work for them, they wouldn't want a Walgreens grad 🙄

Err most if not all companies have a higher hire rate for interns

 

[type b pharmD]

Oh come on, in the end we get the same education and pass the same exam. How else is a recently graduated Pharm.D supposed to get a job?

With your logic I better start working for CVS if I want to work for them, they wouldn't want a Walgreens grad 🙄

"oh come on" ??

It's plain and simple common sense!!

Picture yourself as a hiring manager. You have a job opening.

Choice 1: Hire from inside the company:

+ Employee knows your computer system, your workflow system, and all company policies.
+ Employee already is an efficient and productive worker
+ No additional training will be necessary
+ Employee is known and respected by coworkers and mangement. (plays well with others)

By hiring from inside, you save money on up front costs (training, low productivity adjustment period, getting to know the system).

You also save money and stress in the long run because it is a guaranteed win .. because you know ahead of time you're going to get a good worker (you or other employees in the company can attest to the candidate being efficient and productive)

Choice 2: Hire from outside the company.

Advantages : .. none
Disadvantages
- Must sink money into training
- There will be a period where the employee is more or less losing your company money as they adapt to the workflow and use of your computer systems and need help from other workers.
- The worker could be a slacker, may be bad with customers, or may not get along well with your other workers (and no, an interview will not ferret out these traits.. anyone can BS an interview). Thus, you may have to fire them and hire another employee a few months down the road.



And yes .. if you want to work for CVS after graduation, i would recommend working for them now to get a leg up on outside applicants or applicants who had worked at walgreens. And you say "how else is a newly graduated pharmD supposed to get a job". Well the answer is , there are more positions open than can be filled by internal applicants.

Obviously you will still be able to get a job, but I suspect internal candidates will have a leg up on the desirable locations, hours, etc. Why wouldnt they? It's only common sense! One advantage you might have over other applicants though is having gone to a 3 year school, a hiring manager might be impressed at your ability to handle intense workloads more so than someone who stretched pharmacy school out for 4 years.

 

[nicolemsm]

"oh come on" ??

It's plain and simple common sense!!

Picture yourself as a hiring manager. You have a job opening.

Choice 1: Hire from inside the company:

+ Employee knows your computer system, your workflow system, and all company policies.
+ Employee already is an efficient and productive worker
+ No additional training will be necessary
+ Employee is known and respected by coworkers and mangement. (plays well with others)

By hiring from inside, you save money on up front costs (training, low productivity adjustment period, getting to know the system).

You also save money and stress in the long run because it is a guaranteed win .. because you know ahead of time you're going to get a good worker (you or other employees in the company can attest to the candidate being efficient and productive)

Choice 2: Hire from outside the company.

Advantages : .. none
Disadvantages
- Must sink money into training
- There will be a period where the employee is more or less losing your company money as they adapt to the workflow and use of your computer systems and need help from other workers.
- The worker could be a slacker, may be bad with customers, or may not get along well with your other workers (and no, an interview will not ferret out these traits.. anyone can BS an interview). Thus, you may have to fire them and hire another employee a few months down the road.



And yes .. if you want to work for CVS after graduation, i would recommend working for them now to get a leg up on outside applicants or applicants who had worked at walgreens. And you say "how else is a newly graduated pharmD supposed to get a job". Well the answer is , there are more positions open than can be filled by internal applicants.

Obviously you will still be able to get a job, but I suspect internal candidates will have a leg up on the desirable locations, hours, etc. Why wouldnt they? It's only common sense! One advantage you might have over other applicants though is having gone to a 3 year school, a hiring manager might be impressed at your ability to handle intense workloads more so than someone who stretched pharmacy school out for 4 years.

👍

 

[Old Timer]

Oh come on, in the end we get the same education and pass the same exam. How else is a recently graduated Pharm.D supposed to get a job?

With your logic I better start working for CVS if I want to work for them, they wouldn't want a Walgreens grad 🙄

Now, with the market the way it is, CVS will not hire an outside student unless your particular market has a shortage. If the market continues to fall, they may not hire all of their graduates. The answer is pretty easy:

Candidate One: Works for the company. Has been observed and qualified. Has worked enough hours that Q/A training will occur during the grad intern period. Candidate is ready to work as soon as they get their license.

Candidate Two: Has never worked for the company. Company has no clue about the skill level of the candidate. Candidate has NO practical work experience outside of IPPE two years ago and 2 months of APPE experience in the last year. Candidate will require extensive training in all company policies & procedures as well as Q/A training.

Are you kidding, Candidate one will get the job every time.

 

[type b pharmD]

Now, with the market the way it is, CVS will not hire an outside student unless your particular market has a shortage. If the market continues to fall, they may not hire all of their graduates. The answer is pretty easy:

Candidate One: Works for the company. Has been observed and qualified. Has worked enough hours that Q/A training will occur during the grad intern period. Candidate is ready to work as soon as they get their license.

Candidate Two: Has never worked for the company. Company has no clue about the skill level of the candidate. Candidate has NO practical work experience outside of IPPE two years ago and 2 months of APPE experience in the last year. Candidate will require extensive training in all company policies & procedures as well as Q/A training.

Are you kidding, Candidate one will get the job every time.

this is what i just said lol

Great minds think alike!

Although I wouldnt use the term "shortage" because there are probably a lot of markets without a "shortage" of pharmDs that could still hire from outside.

Ie a small city with no pharmacy schools, no interns working there, they may have some openings but wouldnt be considered a shortage, they'd have no option but to hire from outside. although i guess they could offer incentives for their interns in other cities to move there

 

[pharmwannebe2]

i honestly believe that experience is more important than school for the most part. Seriously everyone gets their pharmd and passes the NAPLEX to be licensed but if you have the extra experience in pharmacy it looks more appealing to an employer

also I think you are a fool if you don't set foot into a pharmacy before you graduate (IPPE and APPE don't count...6 weeks isn't going to give you a clear indication about anything). I have seen a lot of recent graduates just walk into a retail pharmacy just to quit a few months later and then look for a better opportunity (like residency). Then they didn't relieze what that entailed so they quit that and came back to retail.

 

[renetto]

Now, with the market the way it is, CVS will not hire an outside student unless your particular market has a shortage. If the market continues to fall, they may not hire all of their graduates. The answer is pretty easy:

Candidate One: Works for the company. Has been observed and qualified. Has worked enough hours that Q/A training will occur during the grad intern period. Candidate is ready to work as soon as they get their license.

Candidate Two: Has never worked for the company. Company has no clue about the skill level of the candidate. Candidate has NO practical work experience outside of IPPE two years ago and 2 months of APPE experience in the last year. Candidate will require extensive training in all company policies & procedures as well as Q/A training.

Are you kidding, Candidate one will get the job every time.

A lot of Pharm.D's are graduating without work experience in a pharmacy but you don't hear about a lot of them being unemployed.


Either way, I can't get an intern job anywhere that will meet my needs (the closest one wants me to work a certain time of day and during that time I have class) so they tell me sorry. I guess I should probably drop out and find another career if what you say is true, which I highly doubt is the case.

EDIT: type b pharmD, your examples are very incorrect. It doesn't take very long, especially for me, to get used to a certain program or workflow...it's very easy to adapt, if you can't do that then you wouldn't have been able to get a pharm.D in the first place. Second, how do you know all of this stuff about the applicant being well respected? He could be an a-hole for all you know.

I just used CVS as an example, I hope to move back to Texas and be able to find a job near Arlington. A job is a job, after all.

 

[Argentium]

A lot of Pharm.D's are graduating without work experience in a pharmacy but you don't hear about a lot of them being unemployed.


Either way, I can't get an intern job anywhere that will meet my needs (the closest one wants me to work a certain time of day and during that time I have class) so they tell me sorry. I guess I should probably drop out and find another career if what you say is true, which I highly doubt is the case.

EDIT: type b pharmD, your examples are very incorrect. It doesn't take very long, especially for me, to get used to a certain program or workflow...it's very easy to adapt, if you can't do that then you wouldn't have been able to get a pharm.D in the first place. Second, how do you know all of this stuff about the applicant being well respected? He could be an a-hole for all you know.

I just used CVS as an example, I hope to move back to Texas and be able to find a job near Arlington. A job is a job, after all.

denial ... 👍

 

[type b pharmD]

A lot of Pharm.D's are graduating without work experience in a pharmacy but you don't hear about a lot of them being unemployed.


Either way, I can't get an intern job anywhere that will meet my needs (the closest one wants me to work a certain time of day and during that time I have class) so they tell me sorry. I guess I should probably drop out and find another career if what you say is true, which I highly doubt is the case.

EDIT: type b pharmD, your examples are very incorrect. It doesn't take very long, especially for me, to get used to a certain program or workflow...it's very easy to adapt, if you can't do that then you wouldn't have been able to get a pharm.D in the first place. Second, how do you know all of this stuff about the applicant being well respected? He could be an a-hole for all you know.

I just used CVS as an example, I hope to move back to Texas and be able to find a job near Arlington. A job is a job, after all.

Ok it doesnt take long for you to adapt, but you arent speaking for everyone else. I know it takes me a long time to learn a new way of doing business.

And saying that the internal candidate is an ******* is just sidestepping the actual point. The external candidate is just as likely to be an ******* and not get the job as well. You have to compare two similar candidates. And the one who already works for the company is going to be hired first hands down, every time. Granted, like i said before, there are tons of jobs unfilled so people with no experience obviously are still employed. If there were enough interns to satisfy all of walgreens' and cvs' hiring needs, then nobody else would be getting hired. I hear this is the case in places like orange county and new york city. These markets are prime examples. There are job openings (unadvertised) but they go straight to the best interns, and often outsiders arent even considered. On the other hand you have cities like milwaukee, where there are interns there but not too many, not all of them take the available jobs, and there are still 5 figure signing bonuses for people who didnt intern. Go figure.. Like I usually say , the pharmacist shortage/surplus cannot currently be generalized for the entire US.

 

[Silvermist]

A lot of Pharm.D's are graduating without work experience in a pharmacy but you don't hear about a lot of them being unemployed.


Either way, I can't get an intern job anywhere that will meet my needs (the closest one wants me to work a certain time of day and during that time I have class) so they tell me sorry. I guess I should probably drop out and find another career if what you say is true, which I highly doubt is the case.

EDIT: type b pharmD, your examples are very incorrect. It doesn't take very long, especially for me, to get used to a certain program or workflow...it's very easy to adapt, if you can't do that then you wouldn't have been able to get a pharm.D in the first place. Second, how do you know all of this stuff about the applicant being well respected? He could be an a-hole for all you know.

I just used CVS as an example, I hope to move back to Texas and be able to find a job near Arlington. A job is a job, after all.

I think their point is just that if you have an "in" at the company, you are more likely to be selected regardless of qualifications. Which is true in a lot of industries.

Take me as an example: back in the late 90s, I was a college intern at a software company and worked for the director of sales. She liked me a LOT and we kept in touch. I finished my college classes a semester early and couldn't decide if I should go back to school or look for a job instead. She and I had lunch one day and I explained my problem. I wasn't fishing for a job or anything, even!! Her exact words were: "Well, I have two openings in my department. Which one do you want?"

I picked the one that sounded best and started work a few weeks later. I was fresh out of college, and I later learned that this department was so hot that a lot of internal people - with years of experience and in their early 30s, not 20 like me - had been angling for the job. But she bypassed them because she knew me, and she knew I would do a good job.

(Epilogue - she was right, I was quickly promoted through the organization and stayed there til the dot-com bust when every company went to h3ll in a handbasket. She and I are still friends and she wrote me a glowing rec for pharmacy school!)

Bottom line: was it fair I got the job? Nope. A lot of the internal people were PO'd, and as someone in my early 30s now, I don't blame them one bit! But as the old adage goes, "it's not what you know, it's who you know!"

I think they are saying, the same principle applies here.

 

[CUninja]

Hello,
Thanks for your responses. I will have already completed the additional work hours needed to sit for the NAPLEX at an independent pharmacy prior to entering school in the fall. I was talking about working/interning for a company (i.e. major retail chain) in addition to the IPPE/APPE, and the effects of that experience on obtaining a first job as a pharmacist.

Question: Did you have your intern license while you were at the independent pharmacy? Because in many states, hours worked before getting your intern's license do NOT count towards pharmacist licensure. You should check your state's rules on this.

It may be that the IPPE/APPE are enough in your state anyway...but you need to look at the board of pharmacy's website in the state you plan to work after graduation for the specific rules.

 

[willrocks]

Hello,
Thank you all for your input. In response to the above poster, MA requires 750 intern hours in addition to the IPPE/APPE's. They will accept intern hours worked as long as you have completed the second year prior to beginning to work, i.e., my hours working at the independent pharmacy will count, so that is not of concern.

Here is what I have been thinking. If I was to attend the 3 year school and do a residency, I would be better prepared to enter clinical pharmacy than if I attended the 4 year school without a residency. However, I would be better prepared to enter retail after graduating from a 4 year school because I could pick a company and work for them throughout school. Based on your experiences, is this a valid assumption?

Best,
William

 

[type b pharmD]

Hello,
Thank you all for your input. In response to the above poster, MA requires 750 intern hours in addition to the IPPE/APPE's. They will accept intern hours worked as long as you have completed the second year prior to beginning to work, i.e., my hours working at the independent pharmacy will count, so that is not of concern.

Here is what I have been thinking. If I was to attend the 3 year school and do a residency, I would be better prepared to enter clinical pharmacy than if I attended the 4 year school without a residency. However, I would be better prepared to enter retail after graduating from a 4 year school because I could pick a company and work for them throughout school. Based on your experiences, is this a valid assumption?

Best,
William

You can do anything you put your mind to. The school choice is not going to limit you that much. Also, there are plenty of people at 3 year schools who work occasionally on weekends. A single night a week and maybe one weekend shift seems like something most retail stores would be cool with as far as intern hours (i dont know since i have never set foot in a retail pharmacy except for my IPPEs , but most of my classmates work this type of schedule, around 10-12 hours per week, and it works for them).

Go with the 3 year school simply because you'll be able to work one more year of your life and retire a year earlier, or make more money, and pay less loan interest on your loans. I would choose the 3 year in a heartbeat if it was me for these reasons.

Also, while you may have difficulty finding a retail job in a metro area without experience, you can find a job in a more rural location (small city, town, or "village") without experience, and it turns out that these retail jobs are way more desirable anyway since they usually are a lot slower paced and you can get to know your customers/patients better anyway. It's also easier to train and get to know the job at a less busy store. After that you could transfer to a store in a city later on if you wanted.

Dont forget to consider all your options. Nothing is set in stone either. Going to a 3 year school may just end up meaning that you spend more time as a grad intern (you can choose to pay off your loans at a rate you can afford to under the income contingent repayment program). 6-8 months as a grad intern isnt going to hurt that much.. you're still making a lot of money compared to the average american and working in a pharmacy.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Hello,
Thank you all for your input. In response to the above poster, MA requires 750 intern hours in addition to the IPPE/APPE's. They will accept intern hours worked as long as you have completed the second year prior to beginning to work, i.e., my hours working at the independent pharmacy will count, so that is not of concern.

Here is what I have been thinking. If I was to attend the 3 year school and do a residency, I would be better prepared to enter clinical pharmacy than if I attended the 4 year school without a residency. However, I would be better prepared to enter retail after graduating from a 4 year school because I could pick a company and work for them throughout school. Based on your experiences, is this a valid assumption?

Best,
William

Residencies are getting tougher to get into...a lot of people have good grades but they also want to make sure they have the experience. Like if you want to work as a clinical pharmacist at a hospital...they would probably choose someone with hospital experience over someone without any because that person is trained and already knows what they are doing/suppose to do.