If you weren't in pharmacy (or going into it), what careers would you consider?

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Justsomeone9

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If you weren't in pharmacy (or going into it), what careers would you consider? I am thinking I would enjoy the work of a pharmacist, since I get to be on my feet, help people, and not stare at a computer. Teachers only work 9 months of the year though, make half of what a pharmacist makes, and have less debt, and I think I would enjoy that field too.

I also have concerns about pharmacy's debt-to-income ratio compared to other fields (e.g. IT). Thoughts?

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OT, back when it wasn't a doctorate. Now it's too much education for the low pay. Still an in-demand job though.
 
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Med school. Dont care much about the pay since all things considered, doctors dont make THAT much more... residency, malpractice insurance etc. if you could budget yourself right and live within your limits, you can make a decent living being a pharmacist. I just envy my friends’ vast amount of medical knowledge and usage/practicality. Which is why i am serisouly considering a residency right now.
 
Med school. Dont care much about the pay since all things considered, doctors dont make THAT much more... residency, malpractice insurance etc. if you could budget yourself right and live within your limits, you can make a decent living being a pharmacist. I just envy my friends’ vast amount of medical knowledge and usage/practicality. Which is why i am serisouly considering a residency right now.

Doctors make significantly more especially if they specislize. Talking about easily doubling pharmacist pay. How is that not much more? I bet malpractice insurance is probably covered by the employer as well.
 
It's always the person who has not stood for literally 10-12hrs straight each day (minus the two minute crapper break, if you're lucky enough to get one), that assumes they would enjoy being "on their feet all day".

I'd probably be a ski bum. Help people get off the ski lift, hit fresh slopes daily, free lift tickets for working at the resort... sounds like a dream.
 
Elementary school teacher, a great teacher can change a kids life. I always dreamed about turning some poor kids' lives completely around.
I couldn't believe I gave all that up for this...... At the end of the day, money can't buy you everything. Too late for me to know this tho. I guess
all we can do is be grateful for and try your best to enjoy what we already have.
 
I would become a software engineer so that I can have a high-paying, in-demand job and avoid going into $200k+ debt.

One nice thing about that job it that it does not require education beyond a 4 year degree. Actually, sometimes software engineers do not have a degree but just a certificate or completed a 3 month boot camp costing $10k. If you decide you do not like the field you can quit without having thrown away a lot. BLS has their pay at $103k. I think the job might be boring though.
 
Elementary school teacher, a great teacher can change a kids life. I always dreamed about turning some poor kids' lives completely around.
I couldn't believe I gave all that up for this...... At the end of the day, money can't buy you everything. Too late for me to know this tho. I guess
all we can do is be grateful for and try your best to enjoy what we already have.
Yike's..have you talked to any school teachers lately?
I would consider the airlines..but those guys have had a history of strikes...furloughs...job actions..and airline management is just as ruthless as pharmacy...AND, you don't just kill one person..you get all the pax and yourself too....Law enforcement is interesting but demoralizing and getting pretty hopeless these days..sometimes a good thumping is the best justice..ya know? I think I would start out as a laborer in construction..get trained by a union ..learn the job from the bottom...get a degree in construction management and become a boss..or owner....a lot of youse guys apparently have a quarter of a mil to spend...why not on something challenging and useful?
 
Being a gym teacher would be okay. You get to divide the children into two and watch them bean each other in the face on dodgeball day. If the kids piss you off, you can make them run laps. If you don't give a **** that day, bust out the parachute and watch them do that nonsense. You can make them do stupid, embarrassing things like square dancing while laughing at them inside your head. There's the gov't fitness test where you get to inform the unathletic kids that the government considers them weak and inferior to the athletic kids.

Really the ideal job for the person that hates children.

And that's not to mention the government benefits. Three months off a year. No student teacher conferences. You can wear a hoodie and sweats to work every day. 8-3 job.

****, this sounds better and better every second I think about it.
 
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Being a gym teacher would be okay. You get to divide the children into two and watch them bean each other in the face on dodgeball day. If the kids piss you off, you can make them run laps. If you don't give a **** that day, bust out the parachute and watch them do that nonsense. You can make them do stupid, embarrassing things like square dancing while laughing at them inside your head. There's the gov't fitness test where you get to inform the unathletic kids that the government considers them weak and inferior to the athletic kids.

Really the ideal job for the person that hates children.

And that's not to mention the government benefits. Three months off a year. No student teacher conferences. You can wear a hoodie and sweats to work every day. 8-3 job.

****, this sounds better and better every second I think about it.

I have thought about being a gym teacher but the field is saturated. Imagine living in San Diego, and being outside everyday monitoring kids play games.
 
I'll be in Silicon Valley and start my new cryptocurrency

... then i'll fail and maybe change career and work as a janitor for BART
 
One nice thing about that job it that it does not require education beyond a 4 year degree. Actually, sometimes software engineers do not have a degree but just a certificate or completed a 3 month boot camp costing $10k. If you decide you do not like the field you can quit without having thrown away a lot. BLS has their pay at $103k. I think the job might be boring though.
I agree that it’s not for everyone, but therein lies the argument of lifestyle vs career/professional satisfaction. I wouldn’t mind working a job in ANY technical area if I had access to a free onsite gym, free catered meals/free on-site cafeteria/take as much free food as you want home everyday, free massages, nap pods, weekly in-office “carnival” parties, free company bling/stationary/gadgets/apparel, stock options, multiple promotion opportunities or opportunities to move laterally across the company, in addition to the salary/schooling argument.

So there is definitely a lot more to consider than the debt/income ratio when it comes to being a software engineer vs pharmacist if you think about the fringe benefits.
 
I agree that it’s not for everyone, but therein lies the argument of lifestyle vs career/professional satisfaction. I wouldn’t mind working a job in ANY technical area if I had access to a free onsite gym, free catered meals/free on-site cafeteria/take as much free food as you want home everyday, free massages, nap pods, weekly in-office “carnival” parties, free company bling/stationary/gadgets/apparel, stock options, multiple promotion opportunities or opportunities to move laterally across the company, in addition to the salary/schooling argument.

So there is definitely a lot more to consider than the debt/income ratio when it comes to being a software engineer vs pharmacist if you think about the fringe benefits.

A lot of software outfits might have a few of those perks (to one degree or another), but to say that most have the majority of them is akin to thinking that most pharmacists can snag a clinical job right out of school, or that most med students can be high-paying surgical specialists. You’re only looking at the cream of the crop. Think less “The Internship” and think more “Office Space”.
 
Software engineers are in very high demand right now. Even if they do not start at six figures, it is not difficult for them to job hop every few months for a 20% or more raise.

Even if they do not get the Rolls Royce of the perks they still enjoy an immensely better quality of life compared to the average pharmacist. On average, they can at least be at a desk from 9-5 with a lunch break which is something the average pharmacist would kill for (10-14 hours on your feet with no breaks).
 
Software engineers are in very high demand right now. Even if they do not start at six figures, it is not difficult for them to job hop every few months for a 20% or more raise.

Even if they do not get the Rolls Royce of the perks they still enjoy an immensely better quality of life compared to the average pharmacist. On average, they can at least be at a desk from 9-5 with a lunch break which is something the average pharmacist would kill for (10-14 hours on your feet with no breaks).

Maybe I’m not hip with how this works, But wouldn’t employers be wary of hiring someone who has worked at three different outfits in the past year? How could they be sure that he won’t leave them as well when convenient?

Also, quality of life (And work) is subjective. To play devils advocate, two aspects of pharmacy that I like are 1) The ability to leave a shift and not think about work, AKA not taking work home with you (yes, I realize managers don’t have this perk), and 2) seeing immediate rewards/gratification from your work, AKA someone thanking you for recommendation, or fixing an issue with their RX.
 
Software engineers are in very high demand right now. Even if they do not start at six figures, it is not difficult for them to job hop every few months for a 20% or more raise.

Even if they do not get the Rolls Royce of the perks they still enjoy an immensely better quality of life compared to the average pharmacist. On average, they can at least be at a desk from 9-5 with a lunch break which is something the average pharmacist would kill for (10-14 hours on your feet with no breaks).

Er....The LACK of quality of life comes up in IT forums all the time. 40 hour a week jobs are unicorns, that's the price of being in demand. 50 hours is the usual, it's not unheard of for 60 averages and 80-90 on sprint shipping. For us, that's not just reflected in the bill, we physically see their key logs for when they are in the building versus out of it, and they must surrender their cell phones and all other electronic devices on entering those buildings. And they are paid a flat rate, if the product doesn't ship, they don't get paid.

Tradeoffs, tradeoffs.
 
15 - 16 years ago my freshman year in high school, I was in our FFA welding class. I stuck with it all 4 years and got a job (back when min wage was $5 and change) making $20 an hour plus overtime....No education in college.

Looking back, I would’ve worked part time gig as a mig welder while getting a petroleum or mechanical engineering degree. After 3-5 years of overtime and raking in money, I’d do part-time gig while being a welding or mechanic instructor then put the rest of my free time in hunting and fishing trips.

Tempting though, with cheap healthcare and a 2k tax free compensation in my account every month, I may slowly transition to side gigs since my pharmD education is covered and convert to part time while pursuing my hobbies.
 
Maybe I’m not hip with how this works, But wouldn’t employers be wary of hiring someone who has worked at three different outfits in the past year? How could they be sure that he won’t leave them as well when convenient?

Also, quality of life (And work) is subjective. To play devils advocate, two aspects of pharmacy that I like are 1) The ability to leave a shift and not think about work, AKA not taking work home with you (yes, I realize managers don’t have this perk), and 2) seeing immediate rewards/gratification from your work, AKA someone thanking you for recommendation, or fixing an issue with their RX.

Even in tech, companies are wary of hiring someone who has been at their last job for less than ~2.5-3 years, unless they are coming off a contract job.

The ability to leave work at work is a huge plus. Also there is some autonomy. The store manager is not hanging out on the pharmacy. Pharmacy school requires a lot of mental energy obviously, but, from my experience as a tech, it doesn't seem like pharmacists have to think very hard on the job, which in my book is a plus. It was stressful in the way I imagine working in McDonald's is stressful: there could be long lines, angry customers (somewhat rare), and it had an assembly line feel. It was stressful in the customer service and busyness sense, but did not require strenuous thought, which was nice.

There should be stool that pharmacists can can sit on when verifying or working the cash register.
 
Tech hub cities software engineers, specialty doc, early Youtuber... All can pull $500k/yr easy (after 5 yr - about 2 promotions for software)

You get a mediocre paying job as pharmacist. $130-140k places you right in just be able to afford a crappy house in big metro.
 
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I may be doing a PhD in pharmaceutical science and pursue a career in academia/research after graduation.
 
Software engineers are in very high demand right now. Even if they do not start at six figures, it is not difficult for them to job hop every few months for a 20% or more raise.

Even if they do not get the Rolls Royce of the perks they still enjoy an immensely better quality of life compared to the average pharmacist. On average, they can at least be at a desk from 9-5 with a lunch break which is something the average pharmacist would kill for (10-14 hours on your feet with no breaks).
Look at the PDF I posted above, they might not be the happiest but they are #1 in lowest on the job stress level.

Those base salaries WITHOUT bonus and stock grant (+50%)... /droll
Those damn perks...
 
Maybe I’m not hip with how this works, But wouldn’t employers be wary of hiring someone who has worked at three different outfits in the past year? How could they be sure that he won’t leave them as well when convenient?

Supply and demand just like pharmacy 10-15 years ago. Tech employers are hurting for workers, and the employees are taking advantage. Once you get a bit of experience after that first lower paying job you jump ship to the next one for a massive raise and more perks.

Back in the pharmacist shortage days I don't think that pharmacy chains cared if you job hopped either. They only cared that they had someone to fill the position for the time being.
 
Tech hub cities software engineers, specialty doc, early Youtuber... All can pull $500k/yr easy (after 5 yr - about 2 promotions for software)

You get a mediocre paying job as pharmacist. $130-140k places you right in just be able to afford a crappy house in big metro.

Sorry, no... Unless you have a ‘beautiful mind’, a la Good Will Hunting, $500k/year just doesn’t mix with “easy”, no matter what field. If it were, everyone would be doing it.
 
Sorry, no... Unless you have a ‘beautiful mind’, a la Good Will Hunting, $500k/year just doesn’t mix with “easy”, no matter what field. If it were, everyone would be doing it.
6M+ total employement in tech must be at genius level according to your "beautiful mind". That PDF give you a starting salary. Keep spouting nonsense...
 
6M+ total employement in tech must be at genius level according to your "beautiful mind".

I’m pretty sure the average total pay for those six million isn't 500k. The ones making that kind of money are 1)in the minority, and 2) probably more into management than engineering, aka the tech equivalent of regional manager.
 
I’m pretty sure the average total pay for those six million isn't 500k. The ones making that kind of money are 1)in the minority, and 2) probably more into management than engineering, aka the tech equivalent of regional manager.
Calculate 5% of those. Is it a good will hunting level? Which is it? Make up your mind.
 
Calculate 5% of those. Is it a good will hunting level? Which is it? Make up your mind.

The Good Will Hunting part is something of an exaggeration of course, but either way, you can’t take the top 5% of one profession and compare it to the average of another.

And as far as the PDF, most of the figure in the 95th percentile are way under $200,000. Curious which orifice you pulled $500,000 out of...
 
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The Good Will Hunting part is something of an exaggeration of course, but either way, you can’t take the top 5% of one profession and compare it to the average of another.
  • Software engineer base 120k avg (+50% more compensation on stock grant and bonus) is a 4 year degree. Merit pay increase. You are 2-3 promotion away to make 350k-$500k. 25% job growth. Perks. Flexible schedule. 1.2M total employment.
  • Pharmacy base 120k avg is a 6-8 year degree with 200k student loan. 0-1% raise, almost 0 bonus. 0 merit base pay increase. 3% job growth. 0 perks. Not flexible schedule. 300k total employment.

Tell me who is the dumb one going into pharmacy now.

Invent me a time machine.
 
The Good Will Hunting part is something of an exaggeration of course, but either way, you can’t take the top 5% of one profession and compare it to the average of another.

And as far as the PDF, most of the figure in the 95th percentile are way under $200,000. Curious which orifice you pulled $500,000 out of...
"Salaries reflect starting pay only. Bonuses, incentives and other forms of compensation are not taken into account." Learn to read bud...

With 25% job growth, opportunities are pretty much endless to job hop.

Bonus and stock compensation example
Levels.fyi - Compare career levels across companies
 
Doctors make significantly more especially if they specislize. Talking about easily doubling pharmacist pay. How is that not much more? I bet malpractice insurance is probably covered by the employer as well.

Right. Easily doubling but also had to spend 4-5 years in residency so well deserved im sure. But how many MDs make that much over $200k? We can make $120k at 25-26 if one bolted after 2 years of undergrad to pharm school. Whereas MDs would be early to mid 30s by the time they make real money.

Not all MDs will be working for an employer. Lots of them have their own practice. Most of my MDs friends think pharmacists have it good lol
 
Tech hub cities software engineers, specialty doc, early Youtuber... All can pull $500k/yr easy (after 5 yr - about 2 promotions for software)

You get a mediocre paying job as pharmacist. $130-140k places you right in just be able to afford a crappy house in big metro.

I love it... $500k/easy. Like any random software engineer from State U can go out to Cali and bring in a half a million.

Literally the salary guide you posted has average salaries around the "standard" pharmacist wage.

I don't know the fascination on the forum about posting unicorn tech jobs and their salaries in Silicon Valley. They exist. They are also the best and brightest, in highest COLA area in the United States.

If I started quoting unicorn upper management CVS or enterprise hospital admin salaries I'd be laughed out of the forum.

What percentage of USA "software engineers" do you think work at FAANG? <0.1%?
 
I love it... $500k/easy. Like any random software engineer from State U can go out to Cali and bring in a half a million.

Literally the salary guide you posted has average salaries around the "standard" pharmacist wage.

I don't know the fascination on the forum about posting unicorn tech jobs and their salaries in Silicon Valley. They exist. They are also the best and brightest, in highest COLA area in the United States.

If I started quoting unicorn upper management CVS or enterprise hospital admin salaries I'd be laughed out of the forum.


What percentage of USA "software engineers" do you think work at FAANG? <0.1%?

Again, those are average starting salaries not including bonus and stock grant.

Your average unicorn upper management in retail or hospital (DL/pharmacy director) can barely break $180k (if that). They manage about 100-120 pharmacists.

Your regional vice president managing 10-15 district leaders? $250k total compensation tops. Our career has a a short dead end. You are dead once you reach this level there is no higher salary. It's laughable to compare tech with pharmacy.

Look up the number of FAANMG software engineers total employment + all the notable companies below and get back to me. I am too lazy to do the math. The number is there. The grass IS greener in tech.

upload_2018-12-15_15-17-52.png
 
Again, those are average starting salaries not including bonus and stock grant.

Your average unicorn upper management in retail or hospital (DL/pharmacy director) can barely break $180k (if that). They manage about 100-120 pharmacists.

Your regional vice president managing 10-15 district leaders? $250k total compensation tops. Our career has a a short dead end. You are dead once you reach this level there is no higher salary. It's laughable to compare tech with pharmacy.

Look up the number of FAANMG software engineers total employment + all the notable companies below and get back to me. I am too lazy to do the math. The number is there. The grass IS greener in tech.

View attachment 244338

“Too lazy to do the math”

Therein lies the problem. Not just with you, but with everyone and their brother on this forum who talk about how wonderful the world of computer software is, yet never actually do anything constructive towards reaching that mystical land of gourmet meals and onsite gyms. You all are either too lazy, or have enough self-awareness to realize that you don’t have the talent required. Yet you treat it like a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to giving others advice. Either put up or shut up.
 
“Too lazy to do the math”

Therein lies the problem. Not just with you, but with everyone and their brother on this forum who talk about how wonderful the world of computer software is, yet never actually do anything constructive towards reaching that mystical land of gourmet meals and onsite gyms. You all are either too lazy, or have enough self-awareness to realize that you don’t have the talent required. Yet you treat it like a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to giving others advice. Either put up or shut up.
You want me to do all the research and post it for you all over again (I have given plenty of evidence salary surveys and documents; yet, you can't even draw a simple conclusion or even read). All you said "Whaaaa whaaa whaaa they don't make that much, they only make less than 200k starting". It's all BS. Is that what you call constructive? You can Google sh1t yourself how many employees all of these companies I mentioned above have. It's a simple arithmetic math. No wonder why you think you need "beautiful mind" good wil hunting intellect or 1% NBA like skill LMAO. You don't have to believe me. Please make yourself feel better pharmacy is the best job to pursue now.
 
“Too lazy to do the math”

Therein lies the problem. Not just with you, but with everyone and their brother on this forum who talk about how wonderful the world of computer software is, yet never actually do anything constructive towards reaching that mystical land of gourmet meals and onsite gyms. You all are either too lazy, or have enough self-awareness to realize that you don’t have the talent required. Yet you treat it like a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to giving others advice. Either put up or shut up.
Hey! I have an on-site gym! No gourmet meals, but they did serve smoked salmon and beer last week. I'm not sure what the occasion was.
 
You want me to do all the research and post it for you all over again (I have given plenty of evidence salary surveys and documents; yet, you can't even draw a simple conclusion or even read). All you said "Whaaaa whaaa whaaa they don't make that much, they only make less than 200k starting". It's all BS. Is that what you call constructive? You can Google sh1t yourself how many employees all of these companies I mentioned above have. It's a simple arithmetic math. No wonder why you think you need "beautiful mind" good wil hunting intellect or 1% NBA like skill LMAO. You don't have to believe me. Please make yourself feel better pharmacy is the best job to pursue now.

Slowly and once more: either put up or shut up. If it's as easy and linear a path to success as you claim, then there is no reason why you should still be working as a pharmacist. Especially since coding bootcamps are all the rage now.

I never said software engineering is a bad deal, or that pharmacy is an especially good deal. It depends on the individual, what their priorities are in terms of work/life balance, and what they're good at. All the salary spreadsheets and BLS job market statistics in the world, even if they are true, aren't gonna help you actually learn how to code well enough for someone to pay you six figures. If you can, then go for it, wish you the best. But talking about how it's easy money/perks, yet refusing to jump ship yourself, all the while complaining about how crappy your current field is, that means you've only looking at one side of the coin.
 
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Computer and Information Technology Occupations : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

No one is debating that software/IT is a better career trajectory than pharmacy, has better job growth for the next 10 years, has better life style, less student loans, etc., etc.

We're just calling you out that you make it sound so easy to hit $500k+. Will the 0.1% percent in software make more than the 0.1% in pharmacy, sure.

Does pharmacy suck, sure. Not debating that.

But just get out of town with the outrageous.

I know it's hard to believe, but life does exist outside of the Bay Area California bubble.
 
Slowly and once more: either put up or shut up. If it's as easy and linear a path to success as you claim, then there is no reason why you should still be working as a pharmacist. Especially since coding bootcamps are all the rage now.

I never said software engineering is a bad deal, or that pharmacy is an especially good deal. It depends on the individual, what their priorities are in terms of work/life balance, and what they're good at. All the salary spreadsheets and BLS job market statistics in the world, even if they are true, aren't gonna help you actually learn how to code well enough for someone to pay you six figures. If you can, then go for it, wish you the best. But talking about how it's easy money/perks, yet refusing to jump ship yourself, all the while complaining about how crappy your current field is, that means you've only looking at one side of the coin.
Let me remind you of the thread title "If you weren't in pharmacy (or going into it), what careers would you consider?"
 
Computer and Information Technology Occupations : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

No one is debating that software/IT is a better career trajectory than pharmacy, has better job growth for the next 10 years, has better life style, less student loans, etc., etc.

We're just calling you out that you make it sound so easy to hit $500k+. Will the 0.1% percent in software make more than the 0.1% in pharmacy, sure.

Does pharmacy suck, sure. Not debating that.

But just get out of town with the outrageous.

I know it's hard to believe, but life does exist outside of the Bay Area California bubble.
Software engineer as individual contributor in major cities tech hubs can make $350k TC (most will be stuck here), $500k TC for mid level manager. Yep, still better than pharmacy. Thanks for confirming.

You are right. It's not just in SV.

Now to make this actionable, make me 18 yo again, I would have switched in a heart beat.


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I’m half of a pharmacist software developer couple so I just wanted to chime in. We lived in a decent sized city in the Midwest and my SO was making $120k after several years of work. He started around $60k. We wanted to move west so I found a job in a small-ish city. He’s been applying for jobs and most jobs for his experience level out here are $70-85k. Entry level jobs are $50-60k. It’s also been tougher for him to find a job than we expected because there aren’t a lot of tech jobs here. Sure there’s remote work out there but that’s mostly been around $100k. Before someone’s like mOvE tO a BiGgEr CiTy he’ll make enough to pay for both of you even if you can’t find a pharmacist job. We like it here and money isn’t everything, we’ll still make a decent living here.

Edited to delete ‍♀️ which somehow decided to show up in the middle of a sentence.
 
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