If you could go back and do it all over again - what profession would you choose?

[hajenkin]

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Considering the current environment within the field of pharmacy (over saturation, overworked/underpaid, etc.), would you go back and pursue a different field? If so, which direction would you go and why?

 

[Emmet2301]

I'm not a pharmacist, but was looking at Pharmacy School in undergrad.

Ultimately, I decided to get a job after undergrad rather than more school. I work in tech now. It's good for the most past. Kinda have to keep learning new things, but I think some jobs are like that.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Pharmacy, I didn't join for the money

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Financial advisor.

 

[johnpharm01]

Pharmacy, I didn't join for the money

So you give back half your paycheck to charity?

Dentist not much more investment to obtain degree, more profitable business, far superior working conditions

 

[wagrxm2000]

So you give back half your paycheck to charity?

Dentist not much more investment to obtain degree, more profitable business, far superior working conditions

We do plan on giving a lump sum to charity when we die

It's also a reason why I hate high taxes. Let us decide where it should go. Everyone knows it will be put to better use over giving it to our wasteful government

 

[APN-59 rph]

I think I would be a surveyor...Maybe an airline pilot...but that might bore me into a coma...
Maybe the owner of a home for reduced females...

 

[Pronounce Doxazosin]

Youtuber

 

[MilknCheerios]

Nursing to NP

 

[lord999]

At the time I did graduate, I would have still been a pharmacist. In 2020, I would become a line officer through the service academy, preferably armor or a battle manager.

 

[allantois]

I'm not a pharmacist, but was looking at Pharmacy School in undergrad.

Ultimately, I decided to get a job after undergrad rather than more school. I work in tech now. It's good for the most past. Kinda have to keep learning new things, but I think some jobs are like that.

did you major in computer science?

 

[PharFromNormal]

Influencer - like people, good at chemistry, hate blood so don’t want to be a doctor

 

[n64bomb]

Engineer

 

[Heist]

So you give back half your paycheck to charity?

Dentist not much more investment to obtain degree, more profitable business, far superior working conditions

Please look at dental forums

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I should clarify. Financial advisor is my 37 year old realistic job.

If I could go back in time in age and athletic ability, I'd become a physical penetration tester. That is probably the most fun job on the planet.

 

[Chrish]

Honest Starting Salary

Hi Y'all! This is a question that everyone loves to bend and twist and answer in very non straight forward ways. Bluntly speaking, realistically if I did a one year GPR/AEGD and went into practice what could I expect on AVERAGE my first year starting salary to be. Reiterating the the word...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Not sure how true these figures are but if they are correct then it’s pretty weird employed dentists making the same as pharmacy manager in retail. Dentist school has historically been harder to get in and they are tooth doctors and do procedures that make direct impact on patients’ lives. Dentist career wouldn’t be worth it if they don’t make at least $200k.

 

[deleted562805]

Honest Starting Salary

Hi Y'all! This is a question that everyone loves to bend and twist and answer in very non straight forward ways. Bluntly speaking, realistically if I did a one year GPR/AEGD and went into practice what could I expect on AVERAGE my first year starting salary to be. Reiterating the the word...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Not sure how true these figures are but if they are correct then it’s pretty weird employed dentists making the same as pharmacy manager in retail. Dentist school has historically been harder to get in and they are tooth doctors and do procedures that make direct impact on patients’ lives. Dentist career wouldn’t be worth it if they don’t make at least $200k.

Dental school is more expensive than pharmacy school or medical school. I heard many schools charge tuition at 70k per year. I did hear from a dental graduate on this forum, who said there is demand for general dentistry in rural areas at least

 

[Chrish]

I am sure there is demand for pharmacists in Mississippi or Oklahoma too but that doesn’t mean anything. Some areas will always be underserved..

 

[deleted562805]

True. However, there is a serious crisis of lack of general dentists in rural areas. I don’t think that is the case with pharmacy. Many rural areas are saturated too in pharmacy.

With that being said, the amount of debt as a dentist is not worth it in my opinion.

 

[Hels2007]

I would still choose pharmacy. It was an excellent choice back in 1999, and it has worked out well for me.

Now if you were asking what I would do if I were an 18 year old today... the hell do I know, I am a product of a different time and place.

If I retained all of my adult knowledge and experience when placed in the 18-year old body... I would go for a combination of business (marketing and/or market research) and biology/biotechnology/chemistry, though which one would be major or minor and whether I would want an MBA - I would have to do some research and think it through before I could answer.

 

[steveysmith54]

Med school.

 

[Sparda29]

I had a full scholarship to Hofstra and CUNY City College for their Biomedical Engineering programs, I would have probably done that and then applied for med school/pharmacy school instead of taking out almost $120k in loans for 3 years at LIU undergrad.

 

[deleted562805]

I had an gotten acceptance into Samuel Ginn Colledge of Engineering at Auburn University after high school. If I had to do it all over again, I would have probably taken up chemical engineering with pre med/prepharm classes, interned at a biotech company or oil plant and then applied to medical school instead majoring in Biology at Uab

 

[Emmet2301]

did you major in computer science?

No, I was a Chem major.

 

[txpharmguy]

Considering the current environment within the field of pharmacy (over saturation, overworked/underpaid, etc.), would you go back and pursue a different field? If so, which direction would you go and why?

Biomedical engineer

 

[JustFillIt]

There is only one thing that I truly ever would have loved being. My true dream profession would be:

A television weather man.

Unfortunately I do not have the hair for the job.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

There is only one thing that I truly ever would have loved being. My true dream profession would be:

A television weather man.

Unfortunately I do not have the hair for the job.

I don't think I've ever seen someone happier to work than my local weatherman talking about how an incoming flurry is bringing graupel. He also doesn't have the hair for the job but doesn't let him hold him back.

Sent from my HD1925 using SDN mobile

 

[Judgment Dragon]

CS.

 

[Rouelle]

Accountant.

 

[Emmet2301]

I don't think I've ever seen someone happier to work than my local weatherman talking about how an incoming flurry is bringing graupel. He also doesn't have the hair for the job but doesn't let him hold him back.

Sent from my HD1925 using SDN mobile

I've always wondered if the news reporters/weathermen actually care about the news/weather or just feign interest to do their jobs.

 

[grumpyRph]

ok...

pharmacy is actually kinda fun right? you get this interesting snapshot on society. and working for a chain, i mean... i get to know/learn more about my own city i live in, by working at different locations. isn't lunch break fun in a new part of the city? if it wasn't for the dire job prospects and less and less tech hours and blah blah , but i mean... as mundane and boring as most of it is, you do get to see an interesting aspect of people's lives and habits. whether its patients or coworkers lol. if i had more job security i would maybe just pick pharmacy again. (and also less weekend shifts. puke)

but other than that i wanted to be a rollercoaster designer, back up dancer for a pop star..omg secretly...high school math teacher and help coach a high school sport. ok and if money was no object i would go back to the best job i ever had (and will ever have) in my life: lifeguard at a country club. a DREAM!!!

 

[wetvet]

Honest Starting Salary

Hi Y'all! This is a question that everyone loves to bend and twist and answer in very non straight forward ways. Bluntly speaking, realistically if I did a one year GPR/AEGD and went into practice what could I expect on AVERAGE my first year starting salary to be. Reiterating the the word...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Not sure how true these figures are but if they are correct then it’s pretty weird employed dentists making the same as pharmacy manager in retail. Dentist school has historically been harder to get in and they are tooth doctors and do procedures that make direct impact on patients’ lives. Dentist career wouldn’t be worth it if they don’t make at least $200k.

Established Dentist in my area make more than $200K. It depends on how many chairs are in the clinic and how many hours you want to work.
One Dentist just wanted 2 chairs, slower pace because he had a lot of outside hobbies. Another Dental clinic average 80-100 clients a day because of their specialty, very large staff, and everything was done in house. Another Dentist owned 18 clinics. So it really depends on the individual.
My father in law was a pharmacist and owned a "mom and pop" drug store.
My mother in law was a pharmacist and worked for the state.
My brother in law was a pharmacist and was head of out patient pharmacy at a large medical center.

 

[DH1987]

I probably would have became a programmer/software developer, because that is what I was going to do before I made the decision to go pharmacy. But I let people get in my head and steer me away from programming because it's "nerdy" and uncool. God, I should have never listened to them, because it is now rated as one of the best jobs in the US. But I digress. Back then, I did some research on various occupations, and at the time that I had researched it, pharmacy was projected to have strong job growth. Go to school for 6 years, get paid $120k/year, with a good outlook. Sounds great!

But in 2012, right as I get accepted into pharmacy school, I learn about the looming saturation. But I'm 25 years old at this point, I needed to get a career started and felt that changing majors was not an option. So I bit the bullet and proceeded with pharmacy.

It was a stressful four years, but I graduated and was fortunate enough to secure a job as a pharmacist in 2016. I educated myself financially and learned that the smartest decision possible was to clear the student loan debt ASAP. I'm so glad I did that now, because it seems pharmacy is falling apart and I cannot say with 100% confidence that I won't be fired or laid off soon, because the brand new grads get started at lower salaries than me. Two pharmacy managers in my area got fired for very questionable reasons. Also, I feel the chronic stress is impacting my health - I feel tired a lot and my sleep pattern is messed up. If I keep this up, I will probably develop some serious health issues in my 40's.

For now, I'm milking pharmacy for all I can, investing every penny I can afford to, and teaching myself programming/data science on my off-time - like I should have in the first place. I'm getting the f*** out of pharmacy as fast as I can, whether via financial independence, or by getting a job as a programmer/data scientist, or if I'm really lucky, get fired. Now, back to Python coding...

 

[BidingMyTime]

Yes, but then I'm more than half-way through my work career. If I were just starting out now, no, I think we are beyond the point where the financial investment needed for a degree is justified.

 

[CUninja]

I imagine I will be doing pharmacy part time within the next 2-3 years and very little within 5 to 7 years. Time to put the MBA to good use completely outside of healthcare.

 

[mentos]

Software engineer. My good friend from high school makes 180k and works wherever he wants in the world. Before Covid, he did mileage runs (look up on FlyerTalk) so he gets to fly first class for free all the time. He racks up tons of miles and points and all of his vacations are practically free. If he wants to go to the office, they provide free gourmet breakfast and lunch. He was laid off when his previous company was bought out, but got a job within 3 weeks while getting paid severance from the old company - so he had double income for a year. He actually wanted to take a break for a few months but his current company was desperate to hire him.

 

[DH1987]

Software engineer. My good friend from high school makes 180k and works wherever he wants in the world. Before Covid, he did mileage runs (look up on FlyerTalk) so he gets to fly first class for free all the time. He racks up tons of miles and points and all of his vacations are practically free. If he wants to go to the office, they provide free gourmet breakfast and lunch. He was laid off when his previous company was bought out, but got a job within 3 weeks while getting paid severance from the old company - so he had double income for a year. He actually wanted to take a break for a few months but his current company was desperate to hire him.

And to think, this could have been me had I stuck to my guns. Ughhh.

 

[Saiyo]

180k and works wherever he wants in the world.

I've made a huge mistake....

 

[deleted562805]

And to think, this could have been me had I stuck to my guns. Ughhh.

The lesson learned is stick to what you want to do and be single minded about it. In the words of Gary Vaynerchuck, do **** for you. I am guessing the people who steered you away from software engineering into pharmacy never worked as a software engineer, right?

 

[DH1987]

The lesson learned is stick to what you want to do and be single minded about it. In the words of Gary Vaynerchuck, do **** for you. I am guessing the people who steered you away from software engineering into pharmacy never worked as a software engineer, right?

Correct. Some of them are now even more miserable than myself. Should have never listened to them, but that's a drawback of being young and foolish.

Nobody suggested pharmacy to me as a career, I just ended up doing research on it after I began to question my initial career choice. I landed on pharmacy because, at the time, job outlook was supposed to be good.

 

[redfish955]

In todays corona-virus high debt school world.

Online Degrees from the Indiana University Online

With over 120 online degrees at Indiana University Online to choose from, you can advance your career on your own schedule right from home.

online.iu.edu

Then I would pick out a rewarding masters like cs, stats, engineering, or etc. IMO math should be the major or choice for undecided because of how versatile it can be when picking out a masters and how easy college is if you only have one hard class to take each semester.

 

[deleted562805]

Correct. Some of them are now even more miserable than myself. Should have never listened to them.

Yeah, I have had a 40 year old cousin working in a marketing firm telling me not do medicine. He has never worked as doctor, knows nothing about healthcare, and thinks Nurses only take care of patients by themselves, lol. Never listen to those people because they are either jealous or want you to be lower financially than them.

 

[DH1987]

I have had similar experience with extended family. 40 year old cousin in marketing telling me it’s impossible to do medical school. Never worked as a doctor, nor has experience in the health care industry and says Nurses do everything, lol. Never listen to those types of people. They are either jealous or want you to be at a lower state financially than them. That’s their agenda

I agree. I just used to be a shy kid with low self-esteem. One thing that pharmacy taught me is that the average person is a lot more stupid than I gave them credit for, therefore anyone's opinion of me should have no weight. I only listen to one person in this world now, and that is me.

 

[mentos]

And to think, this could have been me had I stuck to my guns. Ughhh.

I've made a huge mistake....

As soon as Covid-19 came to USA, he went to Hawaii. Not a bad place to be. He's still there renting a luxury high rise oceanfront Airbnb for dirt cheap, while his roommates are paying his mortgage back home.

But he has been programming since like 3rd grade so he is very good. Not every software engineer is able to do this.

 

[DH1987]

But he has been programming since like 3rd grade so he is very good. Not every software engineer is able to do this.

That's alright. If I can make a livable salary in a good work environment, and I don't have to go back to school, I'm in. I'd probably eventually want to push myself for a higher salary, but I'd say that's a better position than being chronically stressed and wondering every day if I should just quit.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Geez, some people complaining... at least pharmacist work 32 hours a week and make 60$ an hour.... Med residents make less than minimum wage after med school for 90-100 hours per week... Grass is always greener on the other side..

 

[El-Rami]

Well, sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

 

[lord999]

What I don't understand is why the ones who feel so trapped don't pursue those alternate careers as a gig first (except the ones that require more than full time investment). It's not a regret you that is impossible rectify, it does take work, but it's not the situation where you are so swamped as to lack downtime on working that up. You should make the choice to move before your employer does. That's a lesson I learned from my elder classmen who washed out of the first tech boom and were in pharmacy classes in their 40s. Pharmacy's worked out for them.

Those regrets don't have to stay that way. Even medicine, you can reinvent yourself and go toward it. I sincerely doubt that Pharmacy is likely to work out for new grads for a full career now unless they really, really work at it. But where most of the ones who really regret it, you're nowhere too late to need to stick this out.

 

[Momus]

Geez, some people complaining... at least pharmacist work 32 hours a week and make 60$ an hour.... Med residents make less than minimum wage after med school for 90-100 hours per week... Grass is always greener on the other side..

At least? Do you think most pharmacists can even get a job in this market?

Someone is new here

 

[allantois]

At least? Do you think most pharmacists can even get a job in this market?

Someone is new here

most can