Insight and Regrets of Pharmacy Students

[Amphetamine Salts]

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FYI, no employer cares that you are "essentially" graduated, and nobody is going to hire you now for a job you won't be able to start until next June. 90 days ahead of time is the maximum you can expect, and if you are in a saturated area (including all major US cities), then nobody is going to hire you until you have your license in hand.



Blah, blah, blah. You really didn't answer his question. Except you did. He was asking why you want/wanted to be a pharmacist/PA/AA. And your answer is money. And that was the point of his question, picking a career goal solely because of money is a horrible idea and destined to failure. As you've seen twice now. I've told you this before, so I know you don't care, but I'll repeat it again for the newbies reading here. FIRST AND FOREMOST, look at your interests AND aptitudes. THEN look at what sort of job would utilize those interests and aptitudes. THEN AND ONLY THEN if money is your primary objective, pick the job utilizing your interests and aptitudes that will make you the most money. So the real question you were being asked PA, is what are your interests and aptitudes that led you to consider being a pharmacist/PA/AA? And it's the fact that you've never articulated any, that people don't have high hopes of your succeeding in this 3rd professional school go-around.

actually, picking a career solely cause of money isn't a bad idea. i highly encourage that and i think people should do that if that's what they want. the issue is that pharmacy is not a career that will make you money, it's a career that will put you in debt. a career that will make you money is one that is highly unsaturated, requires as minimal amount of schooling as possible, and pays high. there's no problem picking a career based on these criteria. you don't need to have passion, aptitude, or interest for any career choice that you go into. sure it may help, but at the end of the day if you want to make money you're going to get into the job that makes the most money.

You know how there are those people in pharmacy, medical, dental, PA school that make you think, "geez, how did that guy/girl manage to even pass general chemistry or physics?" And then you're even more shocked when you hear about them graduating a year or two later? Yeah, at least two of those people managed to pass AA school and graduated in the c/o 2017 that I would've been in. During a lab session, the instructor asked one of these students what they should do for a patient in "X" scenario, and they answered, "Make them hypoxic." That's like the anesthesia equivalent of a pharmacist telling someone, "Take 5 g of cyanide." Some of these people are boneheaded stupid, and yet they just barely managed to pass. It's all a matter of putting in more practice time outside of regular lab hours, which I failed to do the first time around.

I don't even care about arguing with people on here anymore. At this point, all responses from others revolve around some variation of "We've already paid off our loans and saved up for retirement, but what have you done?," instead of refuting any of the fact-based statements I make about the current state of the pharmacy profession. At this point, I'm just passively watching the black hole that the entire profession is swirling around, just because it's both entertaining and awe-inspiring to witness the for-the-worse developments that seem to be occurring on a near-weekly basis. How could things possibly get worse for pharmacy? My money's on a wage freeze at CVS.

pharmacy is definitely going to ****. my issue with quitting schools and going into a different program is that it just feeds more into the bull**** that is higher education. i feel that you believe the solution to obtaining more money is to circle around and entertain these bull **** higher education programs. when in reality most of higher education is a scam and can be considered irrelevant if all you're looking for is a good income

 

[RxPreceptor]

If there's anything I regret, it would be unknowingly giving people a "good" impression of pharmacy as a career option; there's far too many lazy, do the bare minimum, take no responsibility, inexperienced & below-average knowledge base RPhs who wine & complain about his/her failed get rich career. I do not need more of these people to compete with for a job (from a sheer numbers stand point & deceptive BS resumes/CVs), nor do those who actually have a (keyword) genuine interest in pharmaceuticals.

Refer people to do more research & work as a technician before applying to Pharmacy schools

 

[Seriously Serious]

Even though I ignored @PAtoUnemployed months ago, I still get to see all of the threads he hijacks 👍

 

[Old]

If there's anything I regret, it would be unknowingly giving people a "good" impression of pharmacy as a career option; there's far too many lazy, do the bare minimum, take no responsibility, inexperienced & below-average knowledge base RPhs who wine & complain about his/her failed get rich career. I do not need more of these people to compete with for a job (from a sheer numbers stand point & deceptive BS resumes/CVs), nor do those who actually have a (keyword) genuine interest in pharmaceuticals.

Refer people to do more research & work as a technician before applying to Pharmacy schools

I can see your point. You sound like you really stand out in pharmacy. I don't think you will ever have a concern about a job or promotions. Almost inspirational. Those average pharmacists will never get a job over you. I am sure the people you work with can see your genuine interest in pharmaceuticals and are quite taken with it. Great job.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Wow!! I'd be bitter too if my "boneheaded stupid" AA classmates graduated and started printing money/saving lives while I removed myself/was removed from AA school and went to a high dollar pharmacy school. Even more bitter if I did not finish pharmacy while new grads and current pharmacists start at 120K plus, many of whom have zero debt thanks to working hard/state school.

I will give you credit for assessing the job markets mostly correct though. There are better deals than RX, pa np dosim compsci accounting etc

PS I would have Loved a wage freeze at my CVS wage when I was still there. Holla!!!

Um, what year of pharmacy school do you actually think I was enrolled in when I dropped out? I left at the end of the P1 year. There are no new grads from my class that are earning $120k/year. They still have at least 2.5 more years to go before they can even think about earning any sort of FT salary, and what makes you think retail starting salaries will even be as high as $120k by that time? Of course, the irony is that even if they are still $120k by the time the class of 2020 graduates, it would still be an indication that pharmacist salaries are not rising with inflation. But hey, a stagnant-with-inflation salary of $120k and 1-2 weeks of PTO is still more than I'm getting right now, and that's all that matters, right? It's beyond obvious that the posters here resort to weak personal attacks on me because they can't actually refute the fact-based statements I'm making about the pharmacy profession.

BTW, I will be graduating from the program I'm going to attend approximately one year before the future hospital/clinical pharmacists in my (previously attended) pharmacy school class have even had the chance to finish their 1-year residency programs and start working. In other words, by the time I'm finished, they'll still have another year to go before they start earning a legitimate FT income, and that's assuming they don't get suckered into completing PGY2s. What's even more sad is that (with the exception of those who get jobs in states like CA) my starting salary is guaranteed to be higher than what those esteemed future hospital/clinical pharmacists will be earning, especially in the southeast. Technically, there are pharmacy students out there who are going to spend an amount of time pursuing PGY-2 residencies that is almost equivalent to the amount of time I'll be spending in school making the right choice.

... Congratulations on being comfortable with a wage freeze; it's partially because of apathetic attitudes like yours that pharmacy has become known as the wasteland of healthcare practitioners (especially when compared with the political lobbying, professional enthusiasm, and general ability to score political victories in professions such as nursing, PA, etc.). Case in point: for some reason I still get emails from APHA about the provider status wild goose chase, and it seems like every email is a copy-and-paste of the previous one: "We have enough signatures from politicians in the House, but we only have 49 in the Senate!" They NEVER actually announce that they've made even a semblance of progress on the issue. It's always the same: "Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures!" On the basis of simple mathematical reality, the provider status bill simply cannot and will not pass on a federal level in this country. Your profession literally can't move forward. The politicians don't even care.

 

[owlegrad]

Holy ****, we are the wasteland of healthcare now!? Why is APhA going to do about this?!

 

[PAtoPharm]

Holy ****, we are the wasteland of healthcare now!? Why is APhA going to do about this?!

Keep blasting out the same email month after month that says they only have the same number of Senate signatures that they had during the previous month and that while the APhA is doing everything they can to promote provider status, it's still going to depend on grassroots efforts from pharmacists if they want the bill to pass (thereby absolving themselves of any blame/responsibility for when the bill inevitably fails -- again)?

 

[Old]

Holy ****, we are the wasteland of healthcare now!? Why is APhA going to do about this?!

Wait, I am working in the wasteland of healthcare now?

 

[lord999]

actually, picking a career solely cause of money isn't a bad idea. i highly encourage that and i think people should do that if that's what they want. the issue is that pharmacy is not a career that will make you money, it's a career that will put you in debt. a career that will make you money is one that is highly unsaturated, requires as minimal amount of schooling as possible, and pays high. there's no problem picking a career based on these criteria. you don't need to have passion, aptitude, or interest for any career choice that you go into. sure it may help, but at the end of the day if you want to make money you're going to get into the job that makes the most money.


pharmacy is definitely going to ****. my issue with quitting schools and going into a different program is that it just feeds more into the bull**** that is higher education. i feel that you believe the solution to obtaining more money is to circle around and entertain these bull **** higher education programs. when in reality most of higher education is a scam and can be considered irrelevant if all you're looking for is a good income

Tell me that after you've made enough money. I deal with practitioners all the time who have 1st world problems because they only chose the job due to the money, not because they could actually stand the work. It does catch up with you eventually. It's a balance like everything else, you need to at least tolerate the work that you wouldn't mind working it in it under worse circumstances than you currently are and you need to make enough that you don't have to worry about the rest. Picking a career for any sole reason to the exclusion of others is going to end badly for anyone (with the possible exception of the priesthood where they can't help themselves but be called to it as it certainly isn't rewarding otherwise, but there are plenty of disaffected priests as well).

 

[Z-Qualizer]

BTW, I will be graduating from the program I'm going to attend approximately one year before the future hospital/clinical pharmacists in my (previously attended) pharmacy school class have even had the chance to finish their 1-year residency programs and start working. In other words, by the time I'm finished, they'll still have another year to go before they start earning a legitimate FT income, and that's assuming they don't get suckered into completing PGY2s. What's even more sad is that (with the exception of those who get jobs in states like CA) my starting salary is guaranteed to be higher than what those esteemed future hospital/clinical pharmacists will be earning, especially in the southeast. Technically, there are pharmacy students out there who are going to spend an amount of time pursuing PGY-2 residencies that is almost equivalent to the amount of time I'll be spending in school making the right choice.

Wait... so did you get accepted somewhere? I didn't know you had even applied yet?

 

[Rouelle]

Holy ****, we are the wasteland of healthcare now!? Why is APhA going to do about this?!

Provider status will save us...

 

[Dr. Pill]

Um, what year of pharmacy school do you actually think I was enrolled in when I dropped out? I left at the end of the P1 year. There are no new grads from my class that are earning $120k/year. They still have at least 2.5 more years to go before they can even think about earning any sort of FT salary, and what makes you think retail starting salaries will even be as high as $120k by that time? Of course, the irony is that even if they are still $120k by the time the class of 2020 graduates, it would still be an indication that pharmacist salaries are not rising with inflation. But hey, a stagnant-with-inflation salary of $120k and 1-2 weeks of PTO is still more than I'm getting right now, and that's all that matters, right? It's beyond obvious that the posters here resort to weak personal attacks on me because they can't actually refute the fact-based statements I'm making about the pharmacy profession.

BTW, I will be graduating from the program I'm going to attend approximately one year before the future hospital/clinical pharmacists in my (previously attended) pharmacy school class have even had the chance to finish their 1-year residency programs and start working. In other words, by the time I'm finished, they'll still have another year to go before they start earning a legitimate FT income, and that's assuming they don't get suckered into completing PGY2s. What's even more sad is that (with the exception of those who get jobs in states like CA) my starting salary is guaranteed to be higher than what those esteemed future hospital/clinical pharmacists will be earning, especially in the southeast. Technically, there are pharmacy students out there who are going to spend an amount of time pursuing PGY-2 residencies that is almost equivalent to the amount of time I'll be spending in school making the right choice.

... Congratulations on being comfortable with a wage freeze; it's partially because of apathetic attitudes like yours that pharmacy has become known as the wasteland of healthcare practitioners (especially when compared with the political lobbying, professional enthusiasm, and general ability to score political victories in professions such as nursing, PA, etc.). Case in point: for some reason I still get emails from APHA about the provider status wild goose chase, and it seems like every email is a copy-and-paste of the previous one: "We have enough signatures from politicians in the House, but we only have 49 in the Senate!" They NEVER actually announce that they've made even a semblance of progress on the issue. It's always the same: "Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures!" On the basis of simple mathematical reality, the provider status bill simply cannot and will not pass on a federal level in this country. Your profession literally can't move forward. The politicians don't even care.

Dude I really dont know how you don’t get it. You clearly aren’t stupid, but you seem to continually try and make the same repetitive point over and over and over... and over. No one is disputing that pharmacy is a questionable (at best) career choice at this point. The reason people have such a problem with you is because you continually try to come here and rejustify your decisions in life as if it gives you some sort of validation for making the decisions that you have up to this point. In all honesty, you probably made the right choice, why do you feel the need to prove that to anyone other than yourself?

 

[PAtoPharm]

Wait... so did you get accepted somewhere? I didn't know you had even applied yet?

Honestly, at this point, I would rather avoid making overtly specific statements regarding my future plans and any progress I've made towards carrying them out. At this point, someone who attended AA school, left, attended pharmacy school, left that, and then attended "X" school is going to have such a unique and specific academic history to the point that I would likely be the only person in the US with that sort of background.

 

[DrVader]

Honestly, at this point, I would rather avoid making overtly specific statements regarding my future plans and any progress I've made towards carrying them out. At this point, someone who attended AA school, left, attended pharmacy school, left that, and then attended "X" school is going to have such a unique and specific academic history to the point that I would likely be the only person in the US with that sort of background.

You're special alright.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I mean, what else is a student with a 2.8-3.1 B.S. in Biology sopposed to do besides pharmacy? Med/Dental school is out, and most likely PA school so it’s either optometry, nursing, or podiatry.

Personally, I think if you can stand feet (pun intended) Podiatry is the best that low 3.0 GPA students can hope for.

 

[AudiLova619]

These kinds of posts should be sticked in pre-pharmacy forum so they can open their eyes and make decisions. I don't regret for being a pharmacist but if I would have done all over again, I would not chose pharmacy at this point. Job market is super saturated, heavy loan debt...This is a negative investment.

does anyone think dentistry will become like this? Being that its leaning toward corporate.

 

[PAtoPharm]

You're special alright.

From one health professions flunky to another, I guess you'd know, right?

 

[lord999]

does anyone think dentistry will become like this? Being that its leaning toward corporate.

Not in the sense that pharmacy and medicine is going through, but dentists have always been reimbursement vulnerable as allowable cost games are common in their industry. The debt and practice startup costs are very high.

 

[Amphetamine Salts]

Honestly, at this point, I would rather avoid making overtly specific statements regarding my future plans and any progress I've made towards carrying them out. At this point, someone who attended AA school, left, attended pharmacy school, left that, and then attended "X" school is going to have such a unique and specific academic history to the point that I would likely be the only person in the US with that sort of background.

i still don't understand the obsession with these healthcare professions. you have yet to explain why you are even pursuing these programs. i'm speculating that society has driven it so far into your head that healthcare is the be all end all

 

[GypsyHummus]

Working in Healthcare Has a lot of attractive qualities.

i still don't understand the obsession with these healthcare professions. you have yet to explain why you are even pursuing these programs. i'm speculating that society has driven it so far into your head that healthcare is the be all end all

 

[PAtoPharm]

i still don't understand the obsession with these healthcare professions. you have yet to explain why you are even pursuing these programs. i'm speculating that society has driven it so far into your head that healthcare is the be all end all

Not much else going on in terms of a viable professional/white-collar job market in my area. Basically, everyone who has ever "made something" of themselves here has either pursued a healthcare career or been born into a rich family, aside from a few random entrepreneurs (restaurant owners, etc.). If you talk to people who are in college or people who have recently graduated from high school, everyone who wants to do something that pays relatively well is pursuing nursing, MD/DO, dental, or PA school.

 

[Pharmd = Phake Doctor]

You're special alright.

Dude I really dont know how you don’t get it. You clearly aren’t stupid, but you seem to continually try and make the same repetitive point over and over and over... and over. No one is disputing that pharmacy is a questionable (at best) career choice at this point. The reason people have such a problem with you is because you continually try to come here and rejustify your decisions in life as if it gives you some sort of validation for making the decisions that you have up to this point. In all honesty, you probably made the right choice, why do you feel the need to prove that to anyone other than yourself?

You have no idea. PAtoPharmtoUnemployedParasite has been a laughing stock on the pharmacy forums for a long time. Look at most of his recent posts. No one bothers to answer his serious questions because no one likes him and we've all learned to tune him out. The only people who interact with him are people who haven't seen his childish rants and are puzzled by the antagonistic posts he makes toward successful pharmacists.

If you want to see a 30-year-old virgin INCEL (who happens to be 100K+ in debt, unemployed, and living in his mother's basement) act like a 3-year-old child I recommend you read the following 17-page thread he started:

The HRSA predicts an oversupply of ~50,000 pharmacists by 2025; similar predictions for NPs/PAs

Also, he's full of s***. He makes up stuff all the time. He keeps on changing the GPA he got in pharmacy school, puts up fake salary information for jobs that don't exist, and supposedly knows every DOP and PIC in Georgia and they all told him to not go into pharmacy (and none of them ever bothered to offer him a job!)

 

[Z-Qualizer]

Honestly, at this point, I would rather avoid making overtly specific statements regarding my future plans and any progress I've made towards carrying them out. At this point, someone who attended AA school, left, attended pharmacy school, left that, and then attended "X" school is going to have such a unique and specific academic history to the point that I would likely be the only person in the US with that sort of background.

I respect that, except that statements like:

• "Yes, I got accepted into a PA/AA program, and will be enrolling in the spring"

• "No, not yet... still in the application process... got a technician job in the meantime"

are hardly specific, and in no way make you vulnerable to getting doxed. If you can't even give your fans/supporters a decent update on your status, then why are you here??

 

[wagrxm2000]

Um, what year of pharmacy school do you actually think I was enrolled in when I dropped out? I left at the end of the P1 year. There are no new grads from my class that are earning $120k/year. They still have at least 2.5 more years to go before they can even think about earning any sort of FT salary, and what makes you think retail starting salaries will even be as high as $120k by that time? Of course, the irony is that even if they are still $120k by the time the class of 2020 graduates, it would still be an indication that pharmacist salaries are not rising with inflation. But hey, a stagnant-with-inflation salary of $120k and 1-2 weeks of PTO is still more than I'm getting right now, and that's all that matters, right? It's beyond obvious that the posters here resort to weak personal attacks on me because they can't actually refute the fact-based statements I'm making about the pharmacy profession.

BTW, I will be graduating from the program I'm going to attend approximately one year before the future hospital/clinical pharmacists in my (previously attended) pharmacy school class have even had the chance to finish their 1-year residency programs and start working. In other words, by the time I'm finished, they'll still have another year to go before they start earning a legitimate FT income, and that's assuming they don't get suckered into completing PGY2s. What's even more sad is that (with the exception of those who get jobs in states like CA) my starting salary is guaranteed to be higher than what those esteemed future hospital/clinical pharmacists will be earning, especially in the southeast. Technically, there are pharmacy students out there who are going to spend an amount of time pursuing PGY-2 residencies that is almost equivalent to the amount of time I'll be spending in school making the right choice.

... Congratulations on being comfortable with a wage freeze; it's partially because of apathetic attitudes like yours that pharmacy has become known as the wasteland of healthcare practitioners (especially when compared with the political lobbying, professional enthusiasm, and general ability to score political victories in professions such as nursing, PA, etc.). Case in point: for some reason I still get emails from APHA about the provider status wild goose chase, and it seems like every email is a copy-and-paste of the previous one: "We have enough signatures from politicians in the House, but we only have 49 in the Senate!" They NEVER actually announce that they've made even a semblance of progress on the issue. It's always the same: "Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures! Only 4x signatures!" On the basis of simple mathematical reality, the provider status bill simply cannot and will not pass on a federal level in this country. Your profession literally can't move forward. The politicians don't even care.

You got into a program? Congrats!!!

 

[PharmDBro2017]

PA, have you heard the phrase “counting your chicks before they hatch”? Quit talking about how high your starting salary 2-4 years from now will be... you haven’t even actually started a program lol. Ridiculous.

Congrats on getting into a program, more details?

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Igra]

Can I ask a serious question? Do you think prepharm students don't read the pharmacy forum and see these posts? Do you think if we posted more in the prepharmacy forum we might reach them in time, before they make the switch to pharmacy students and, except in rare cases like @PAtoPharm, it becomes too late?

I'm prepharm for Fall 2018, and I've thumbed through a lot of these pharmacy forums, not just the "pre-pharmacy" ones. I just like reading about peoples experiences and whatnot and I imagine other people do the same.

 

[owlegrad]

I'm prepharm for Fall 2018, and I've thumbed through a lot of these pharmacy forums, not just the "pre-pharmacy" ones. I just like reading about peoples experiences and whatnot and I imagine other people do the same.

Yeah, so did I when I was prepharm. I think most do. 🙂

 

[PAtoPharm]

You have no idea. PAtoPharmtoUnemployedParasite has been a laughing stock on the pharmacy forums for a long time. Look at most of his recent posts. No one bothers to answer his serious questions because no one likes him and we've all learned to tune him out. The only people who interact with him are people who haven't seen his childish rants and are puzzled by the antagonistic posts he makes toward successful pharmacists.

If you want to see a 30-year-old virgin INCEL (who happens to be 100K+ in debt, unemployed, and living in his mother's basement) act like a 3-year-old child I recommend you read the following 17-page thread he started:

The HRSA predicts an oversupply of ~50,000 pharmacists by 2025; similar predictions for NPs/PAs

Also, he's full of s***. He makes up stuff all the time. He keeps on changing the GPA he got in pharmacy school, puts up fake salary information for jobs that don't exist, and supposedly knows every DOP and PIC in Georgia and they all told him to not go into pharmacy (and none of them ever bothered to offer him a job!)

I respect that, except that statements like:

• "Yes, I got accepted into a PA/AA program, and will be enrolling in the spring"

• "No, not yet... still in the application process... got a technician job in the meantime"

are hardly specific, and in no way make you vulnerable to getting doxed. If you can't even give your fans/supporters a decent update on your status, then why are you here??

Blah, blah, blah. Just more insults. I don't care. I could find you a jobs website that lists 5 pages worth of PA/NP jobs in a single area, and you'd still say they were made up - apparently just like the dermatology PA job listing I posted here that sounded so good to you that you Googled it, then confirmed it to exist, and yet you still came to the bizarre conclusion that it was some sort of decoy job listing posted by the recruiter just for the hell of it. And what did you base that conclusion on? Oh, that's right -- because the same recruiter had an NP job listing advertising over $200k in potential annual earnings, but when you researched the job listing further, you saw that it was really offering "only" up to $180k. That obviously confirms every single job listing I could post on here to be figments of my imagination, right? I mean, it's not like $180k is still significantly more than what any retail pharmacist aside from those in the "pharmacy promised land" of CA will ever make, right (especially in the current climate of salary freezes, labor cuts, maneuvers by CVS to avoid paying bonuses...)?

Every time I post statistical FACTS indicating that the pharmacy profession is rapidly declining on multiple fronts, you say that I'm making crap up. How about this: instead of the baseless put-downs, why don't you find similar studies that actually REFUTE what I'm posting on here? Is it because you can't? Is it because they don't exist, because not even the AACP and APhA can spin made-up propaganda that paints the profession in a favorable light anymore?

Or are you just going to make another post calling me a virgin, an incel, a beta, et al?

You got into a program? Congrats!!!

Maybe!

PA, have you heard the phrase “counting your chicks before they hatch”? Quit talking about how high your starting salary 2-4 years from now will be... you haven’t even actually started a program lol. Ridiculous.

Congrats on getting into a program, more details?

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I don't want to be too specific, but let's just say that that my future is on track to be MUCH brighter than it would've been if I had stayed in pharmacy school.

 

[PAtoPharm]

I respect that, except that statements like:

• "Yes, I got accepted into a PA/AA program, and will be enrolling in the spring"

• "No, not yet... still in the application process... got a technician job in the meantime"

are hardly specific, and in no way make you vulnerable to getting doxed. If you can't even give your fans/supporters a decent update on your status, then why are you here??

When I say "specific," I just mean that I don't want to post specifics about the profession I have chosen to pursue. I'm primarily concerned about my future professors, classmates, employers, etc. putting two-and-two together, so to speak, if I have to submit academic transcripts at some point from all the programs I have attended. It's been so long since I've bothered to step out of the basement and try to talk to girls, I'm not sure what the world's going to be like out there when I finally do try to get back in the game.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Blah, blah, blah. Just more insults. I don't care. I could find you a jobs website that lists 5 pages worth of PA/NP jobs in a single area, and you'd still say they were made up - apparently just like the dermatology PA job listing I posted here that sounded so good to you that you Googled it, then confirmed it to exist, and yet you still came to the bizarre conclusion that it was some sort of decoy job listing posted by the recruiter just for the hell of it. And what did you base that conclusion on? Oh, that's right -- because the same recruiter had an NP job listing advertising over $200k in potential annual earnings, but when you researched the job listing further, you saw that it was really offering "only" up to $180k. That obviously confirms every single job listing I could post on here to be figments of my imagination, right? I mean, it's not like $180k is still significantly more than what any retail pharmacist aside from those in the "pharmacy promised land" of CA will ever make, right (especially in the current climate of salary freezes, labor cuts, maneuvers by CVS to avoid paying bonuses...)?

Every time I post statistical FACTS indicating that the pharmacy profession is rapidly declining on multiple fronts, you say that I'm making crap up. How about this: instead of the baseless put-downs, why don't you find similar studies that actually REFUTE what I'm posting on here? Is it because you can't? Is it because they don't exist, because not even the AACP and APhA can spin made-up propaganda that paints the profession in a favorable light anymore?

Or are you just going to make another post calling me a virgin, an incel, a beta, et al?



Maybe!



I don't want to be too specific, but let's just say that that my future is on track to be MUCH brighter than it would've been if I had stayed in pharmacy school.

Hey so I'm curious were prepharmacy years enough prerequisites to get into the program? I thought I read someone say you need a bachelors degree.

 

[Apotheker2015]

I'm prepharm for Fall 2018, and I've thumbed through a lot of these pharmacy forums, not just the "pre-pharmacy" ones. I just like reading about peoples experiences and whatnot and I imagine other people do the same.

It's rough for pharmacists right now. You name it. All desirable markets are saturated. Undesirable markets are too. Those had an opening at one point and someone sacrificed, moved to bumble EFF and won't let go off that job either. Since there's too many of us, employers are playing games with schedules, base hours and benefits. We are not unionized. In other words, we do not have "cojones". Look at nurses... No one dares mess with them. They go on strike and the world stops. No one would notice if we went on strike.

This is all to say: enter at your own risk. It's great that you are checking out these forums, too and not limiting yourself to the pre-pharm forums. Advice for you: stay away from schools with flipped classroom and required attendance. You want high technology and of course, all lectures recorded. You can watch them at high speed.

With everything that's happening, who knows? We might even end up being absorbed by another profession. Keep your options open.

Best of luck!

 

[Igra]

It's rough for pharmacists right now. You name it. All desirable markets are saturated. Undesirable markets are too. Those had an opening at one point and someone sacrificed, moved to bumble EFF and won't let go off that job either. Since there's too many of us, employers are playing games with schedules, base hours and benefits. We are not unionized. In other words, we do not have "cojones". Look at nurses... No one dares mess with them. They go on strike and the world stops. No one would notice if we went on strike.

This is all to say: enter at your own risk. It's great that you are checking out these forums, too and not limiting yourself to the pre-pharm forums. Advice for you: stay away from schools with flipped classroom and required attendance. You want high technology and of course, all lectures recorded. You can watch them at high speed.

With everything that's happening, who knows? We might even end up being absorbed by another profession. Keep your options open.

Best of luck!

I appreciate the advice, you're the first person who has explained the situation instead of just posting nonsense like "lol enjoy 200k debt loans".

I'm aware of the situation, and I've worked in pharmacy for years as a technician. I've got better perspective for pharmacy than most people, and I will have great job prospects because of these connections I've made. My current manager is changing my status to intern while I'm in school so I can keep my foot in the door.

Right now I work firsthand with nurses, crna's, AA's, and anesthesiologists, and if I weren't so confident in the connections I've made in my years as a tech, I would totally go the crna route. AA is probably not terrible, but in states like Texas where they haven't earned an official license status (yet) I know jobs are scare.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Hey so I'm curious were prepharmacy years enough prerequisites to get into the program? I thought I read someone say you need a bachelors degree.

Like I said, I don't want to be too specific, but I don't think I ever said anything about not having a bachelor's degree...

 

[DrVader]

From one health professions flunky to another, I guess you'd know, right?

I'm in IT/ Business now. If I go back to school it will be because someone pays me to do it. But you are spending money on this program and that program and you are not making money.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Like I said, I don't want to be too specific, but I don't think I ever said anything about not having a bachelor's degree...

Oh, what's your bachelors in? So you went to school for four years before pharmacy school or are you talking about those years that you got your degree?

 

[PAtoPharm]

Oh, what's your bachelors in? So you went to school for four years before pharmacy school or are you talking about those years that you got your degree?

I have had a bachelor's degree for a while now. I would rather not say what subject it's in, but I have all the pre-reqs to qualify to apply to MD/DO, PA/AA, pharmacy, and other health professions programs.

 

[Igra]

I have had a bachelor's degree for a while now. I would rather not say what subject it's in, but I have all the pre-reqs to qualify to apply to MD/DO, PA/AA, pharmacy, and other health professions programs.

I don't understand why on earth you wouldn't want to say your bachelor's? Why are you trying to be so secretive?

 

[owlegrad]

I don't understand why on earth you wouldn't want to say your bachelor's? Why are you trying to be so secretive?

He already said he doesn't want to be doxxed. Obviously knowing what his BA is in would be the one piece of personally identifiable information that would put him over the top. That he is an ex-PA, ex-Pharm student is ambiguous enough that no one who knows him could possibly put it together.

At any rate doxxing is against the TOS, so if he doesn't want to share a piece of information, let's leave it at that.

 

[wagrxm2000]

I have had a bachelor's degree for a while now. I would rather not say what subject it's in, but I have all the pre-reqs to qualify to apply to MD/DO, PA/AA, pharmacy, and other health professions programs.

You don't have to tell me the subject but are you at least using it while you wait to be accepted?

 

[PAtoPharm]

You don't have to tell me the subject but are you at least using it while you wait to be accepted?

Nope, never did anything with it. Total waste

 

[BidingMyTime]

When I say "specific," I just mean that I don't want to post specifics about the profession I have chosen to pursue. I'm primarily concerned about my future professors, classmates, employers, etc. putting two-and-two together, so to speak, if I have to submit academic transcripts at some point from all the programs I have attended. It's been so long since I've bothered to step out of the basement and try to talk to girls, I'm not sure what the world's going to be like out there when I finally do try to get back in the game.

I agree with you, it wouldn't be too hard for the school administration to figure out who you are from the information you've already given (assuming they have any interest in reading a pharmacy board, which they probably don't.) I would bet that none of your professors or fellow students will care about your history, and I bet that none of them read this pharmacy board. At this point, I don't think you can give out much more information that would make you any more identifiable than you already are, to someone who knows you in real life. But it's always a good idea to be general on a public board. Really, nobody needs to know what your bachelor's degree is in, especially since you never used other than to get accepted into professional schools. But you could also probably give a general answer as well, like you got a BS or a BA.

Hey so I'm curious were prepharmacy years enough prerequisites to get into the program? I thought I read someone say you need a bachelors degree.

His original AA program is just a specialized PA program, so he would have needed a bachelor's for that.

 

[wagrxm2000]

I agree with you, it wouldn't be too hard for the school administration to figure out who you are from the information you've already given (assuming they have any interest in reading a pharmacy board, which they probably don't.) I would bet that none of your professors or fellow students will care about your history, and I bet that none of them read this pharmacy board. At this point, I don't think you can give out much more information that would make you any more identifiable than you already are, to someone who knows you in real life. But it's always a good idea to be general on a public board. Really, nobody needs to know what your bachelor's degree is in, especially since you never used other than to get accepted into professional schools. But you could also probably give a general answer as well, like you got a BS or a BA.



His original AA program is just a specialized PA program, so he would have needed a bachelor's for that.

I was really just curious if he was just another one of those people that wasted money for a degree they won't use. It's good that he got it though if he finds a school willing to accept him. If it's anything like pharmacy acceptance then I imagine he will eventually find someone that will. It is concerning though seeing the way certain people think here and have or will have degrees in health care.