How should I go about becoming a pharmacist?

[343533]

I am posting this here because most of you are already in pharmacy school or past it, right?

I am currently a senior in high school. I am considering becoming a pharmacist but here's the thing. I don't want to apply straight to pharmacy schools a state away. New Jersey only has one which I probably won't get into.

I don't feel ready to live one state away or feel confident enough in becoming a pharmacist.

I do know that I enjoy chemistry. I keep hearing that you can major in chemistry or biology and get the bachelors. afterwards, I can apply to pharmacy schools.

I was taking a look at several curriculums and it doesn't make sense. to me, it seemed like a bachelor of chemistry curriculum and the prerequisites for pharmacy school don't match up.

Was it just me misreading the curriculums or do i really have to go out of my way and overload my schedules to the max 18 credits per semester to be done with it all in 4 years?

can someone who got a bachelors first help me out?

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[soos]

1.be sure its what you want'
2. chemistry chemistry chemistry - if you do not think you can get in straight away shoot for a two year business degree with chem/stats/ ect- this gets all the silly stuff out of the way
3. then be ready to run

 

[SHC1984]

First of all if you know you want to become a pharmacist you should just apply to pharmacy school straight from high school. That is a much smarter/cheaper/time saving move. If I knew I wanted to become a pharmacist when I was 18 years old I would have applied to UoP's 2+3 year program and got my PharmD at age 22. That would have been the smartest move and I would be a lot younger when I graduate too. You don't want to be an old when you graduate, trust me on this!

Okay I will answer your question now. Most pharmacy schools requires this:
English I and English II
Calculus I and Calculus II
Physics I+ lab and Physics II+ lab
General biology I+ lab and general biology II+ lab
general chemistry I+ lab and general chemistry II+ lab
Organic chemistry I+ lab and organic chemistry II + lab
Microbiology+lab
Statistics
Public speaking
Economics

I have a degree in chemistry. I took around 15 to 17 hours a semester and graduated in 4 years. Everything above was required for my degree except the three biology classes and public speaking so those were easy to take while I was getting my degree.

SO most pre-pharmacy classes are required for a chemistry degree. Except for a few biology classes and public speaking. You should be fine if you want to take that route, but like I say before appling to a 6 year program would be much smarter thing to do. Good luck!

 

[Its Z]

Go to medical school and become a plastic surgeon.

 

[SHC1984]

Go to medical school and become a plastic surgeon.

Yeah OP, if you are a male you should consider medical school instead.

 

[343533]

yes I am male. i don't think med school is for me. it seems way too intense. plus, I can't operate on anyone. hell NO. but you never know. that's why I want to major in chemistry. I am thinking about graduate school too so we'll see..

 

[Its Z]

Instead of chemistry, get a degree in petroleum engineering/geology and learn how to explore petroleum. That's what I'm going to make my son do if he doesn't make the PGA tour.

 

[343533]

no thanks.

 

[Its Z]

They make more money than pharmacist and there will be plenty jobs.

Not the case for pharmacist.

 

[343533]

it's not something i'm into.

 

[Its Z]

Ok,

If you're into raking up a huge student loan debt and not being able to find a job after your graduate, welcome to pharmacy!

 

[343533]

i'm against oil man. I dont' see a future in anything to do with it. mark my words, in a decade or so, it will have started to phase out.

 

[SHC1984]

it's not something i'm into.

I got your PM. I will answer it tommorrow b/c I am really suppose to be studying and not on here. LOL...

But anyways listen to It's Z, he knows a lot about the pharmacy profession and it's going to hell. My preceptor told me a million times that I was crazy for dropping out of dental school for pharmacy b/c the profession is crap. My own PRECEPTOR told me this!

I will give anything to be 18 years old again so I can do a different track. You should look into something else like investment banking or whatever Z said or dentistry (I hated it but it makes big $$$) or some career that isn't going to hell.

We aren't saying this to scare you its the fact right now. You are YOUNG, unlike me, you still have a chance to pick a good career! something that isn't going down the drain.

Good luck and I will PM you back tommorrow.

 

[343533]

thanks, i'm going to bed in a few minutes anyways.

 

[Its Z]

i'm against oil man. I dont' see a future in anything to do with it. mark my words, in a decade or so, it will have started to phase out.

Don't kid yourself. Oil will power us for another 100+ years...

 

[343533]

maybe, but it will be replaced. oil is running out buddy.

 

[Its Z]

maybe, but it will be replaced. oil is running out buddy.

I tell you what.. you figure out how to get into pharmacy school first.

And when you're in RX school, we'll talk about the geo-political and financial implications of greenback's reliance on worldwide petroleum trade and utilization.

 

[343533]

truth be told Mr. Z, this kind of comfirms my own hypothesis.

here's what's going on. I first was sure about pharmacy. then i wasn't so sure. I wanted to do research in chemistry. my parents are like, it's not a good life, not much money. so i did a compromise. i'll major in chemistry while doing the requirements for pharmacy so, see i have 2-4 years to really think about this. I can decide by then i'm sure.

I thought that pharmacy might be going down the drain. people paying so much for marked up medicine doesn't make sense but i guess all the years of school make it worth it..if i did become a pharmacist, i was thinking in a hospital setting..

we'll see how it goes cuz i ave many options right now.
med school(prolly not), dental school, law school for patent law, pharmacy school, become a chemist, or go on to graduate school

 

[Passion4Sci]

Cold fusion 2012, believe it!

 

[Its Z]

Cold fusion 2012, believe it!

bah..Dr. Brown already invented it...in 1985.

 

[Momus]

We left coal as the primary energy in favor of oil in early 20th century. Now, although declining, coal as energy still has a huge share around ~22% world energy after almost 110 years...

Oil is still going to be used for at least 150-200 years from now.. it's not easy to mass utilize a new form of energy quickly.

Geologist is in demand . Most of my friend out of the country has a good living earning around $90k and their salary and bonus keep creeping up.

 

[Its Z]

^
^
^

OP is a high school kid... they're fed all kinds of liberal crap from their hippy teachers. Sad thing is...they believe em.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Yeah OP, if you are a male you should consider medical school instead.

I didn't know only men could go to medical school. Wow, I learn something new every day.

 

[Momus]

Women doctors will outnumber men within a decade: research

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...l-outnumber-men-within-a-decade-research.html

Most men are doomed! We stuck working at labor intensive jobs which don't pay **** and we die earlier age because of it too >_>; By 2030, there will be more stay at home dad than that of mom... Well, I guess I shouldn't complain I'd like to see men using a baby strap on and having a baby shower...

 

[tabascosauce]

why the hell would I want to be at the mercy of OPEC? its an environmental and national security benefit to get off oil.

 

[Farcus]

I got your PM. I will answer it tommorrow b/c I am really suppose to be studying and not on here. LOL...

But anyways listen to It's Z, he knows a lot about the pharmacy profession and it's going to hell. My preceptor told me a million times that I was crazy for dropping out of dental school for pharmacy b/c the profession is crap. My own PRECEPTOR told me this!

I will give anything to be 18 years old again so I can do a different track. You should look into something else like investment banking or whatever Z said or dentistry (I hated it but it makes big $$$) or some career that isn't going to hell.

We aren't saying this to scare you its the fact right now. You are YOUNG, unlike me, you still have a chance to pick a good career! something that isn't going down the drain.

Good luck and I will PM you back tommorrow.

I like how u're literally scaring the crap out of OP. But frankly i think if i could I might of gone medicine. We'll see if my impression change when I go hospital rotations.

 

[Its Z]

why the hell would I want to be at the mercy of OPEC? its an environmental and national security benefit to get off oil.

And if no one buys oil, other countries have no need for American dollars in their central reserve banks. What happens then?

 

[SHC1984]

I didn't know only men could go to medical school. Wow, I learn something new every day.

I said that under the assumption that most women would like to get married and have children one day. Being a surgeon takes up most of your time and so it would not be a good job to have if you want time to your children. As a pharmacist you can work part time and spend most of your time with your children.

But you are right. If a woman chooses to never have children then being a surgeon wouldn't be a bad choice.

 

[SHC1984]

I like how u're literally scaring the crap out of OP. But frankly i think if i could I might of gone medicine. We'll see if my impression change when I go hospital rotations.

LOL...I wasn't trying to scary him...I was just telling him what my preceptor told me. If I can be 18 years old again I do NOT know what I want to do with my life. I still don't know what to do with my life and I am almost 26 years old.