Is pharmacy school worth it?

[Future Pharmacy Student]

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Hello! I am in my first year of pre- pharmacy school and I hate it. I did poorly on my first chemistry and calculus exams. I'm really struggling to adjust to college and I don't know if pharmacy school is worth the stress. I have read about the saturation in the pharmacy job market and I am concerned that I will come out of school in $200K+ debt and not be able to find a job. I have not enjoyed my college experience so far and it's just going to get more difficult from here. I'm not used to doing so poorly in my classes and it's making me anxious and upset. It has taken a great toll on me, and if I am not going to be able to find a job in 6 years, my hard work now will mean nothing. So, I want to know if I should stick to pharmacy. What does the job market look like? Will I be able to find a job in 6 years in Pennsylvania? What other careers have a better job outlook than pharmacy? What makes the pharmacy profession so good/bad? How different is pharmacy school from the pre-proffesional years? I would love to hear from current professional pharmacy students or graduates and hear your recommendations. It will really put me at ease and help me figure out my future. Thanks in advance!

 

[GrapePropel]

Hello! I am in my first year of pre- pharmacy school and I hate it. I did poorly on my first chemistry and calculus exams. I'm really struggling to adjust to college and I don't know if pharmacy school is worth the stress. I have read about the saturation in the pharmacy job market and I am concerned that I will come out of school in $200K+ debt and not be able to find a job. I have not enjoyed my college experience so far and it's just going to get more difficult from here. I'm not used to doing so poorly in my classes and it's making me anxious and upset. It has taken a great toll on me, and if I am not going to be able to find a job in 6 years, my hard work now will mean nothing. So, I want to know if I should stick to pharmacy. What does the job market look like? Will I be able to find a job in 6 years in Pennsylvania? What other careers have a better job outlook than pharmacy? What makes the pharmacy profession so good/bad? How different is pharmacy school from the pre-proffesional years? I would love to hear from current professional pharmacy students or graduates and hear your recommendations. It will really put me at ease and help me figure out my future. Thanks in advance!

The schooling only gets a lot worse. The job market is terrible in PA. EXTRA terrible if you are within 2 hours from Pittsburgh, Erie or Phili (they each have at least one pharm school). Erie pharm school is the largest in the nation i believe. Some good jobs in rural Alaska still though if you don't mind the cold, lack of light and being alone for days.

you should switch to:

PA
MED SCHOOL
NURSING

COMPUTER SCIENCE
CPA

You should be happy you came to the correct conclusion right now instead of after getting into 200k+ debt and never being able to escape it.

 

[PharmDtoB816]

Hello! I am in my first year of pre- pharmacy school and I hate it. I did poorly on my first chemistry and calculus exams. I'm really struggling to adjust to college and I don't know if pharmacy school is worth the stress. I have read about the saturation in the pharmacy job market and I am concerned that I will come out of school in $200K+ debt and not be able to find a job. I have not enjoyed my college experience so far and it's just going to get more difficult from here. I'm not used to doing so poorly in my classes and it's making me anxious and upset. It has taken a great toll on me, and if I am not going to be able to find a job in 6 years, my hard work now will mean nothing. So, I want to know if I should stick to pharmacy. What does the job market look like? Will I be able to find a job in 6 years in Pennsylvania? What other careers have a better job outlook than pharmacy? What makes the pharmacy profession so good/bad? How different is pharmacy school from the pre-proffesional years? I would love to hear from current professional pharmacy students or graduates and hear your recommendations. It will really put me at ease and help me figure out my future. Thanks in advance!

Im sorry to hear that you are struggling so much with your sciences...I think you should concentrate on finding your passion first before asking if this or that career worth it...if you don't get elementary science (gen Chem, I'm assuming) and don't have much interest in it, then OChem and all the other upper levels will be even more difficult ...and with bad stats it will be hard to get into grad school...and even if you do, it will only be getting more and more advanced.
However, where there is a will there is a way! you are still in your first year, maybe science is not your thing...try other classes and see what excites you the most...and then go from there!

In terms of jobs...I understand that there are a lot of people who are struggling finding a position...but that goes for any well paid profession...there are MDs who can't find a job as well as PhD...the thing you should keep in mind though when reading these forums, that people who have jobs will probably not post about it, it's people who aren't happy with their position/can't get a job who will search for the topics and write about it...so be as it may, if you don't have genuine interest in the field, I would not recommend you wasting your time and money just to have a degree. Sometimes it takes time to find your passion, so keep exploring!

 

[everyone one sees B]

Most 1st years will have to adjust to the rigors of college. You probably did really well in high school and as a result, your relatively poor grades are making you question your innate intelligence and talents. I say, take your low quiz scores now and focus on the effort you need to invest into getting good grades and figuring out what you need to do to succeed. Before you rule out pharmacy, make sure you work as a pharmacy clerk or talk to current pharmacists. You can also ask them how they feel about the job market saturation. Tbh, forums are helpful because they give you an idea of what everyone else is doing/has been doing, but like PharmDtoB816 mentioned, people only post when they have really great news or bad news.

Take away: just take your time as a 1st year and talk to pharmacists, or other health professionals about what they do and see if any of these professions interest you. You probably started as pre-pharmacy for a reason. Dive deeper into pharmacy and find pharm students/pharmacists to talk to about your situation. More than likely, they've been in your shoes and would love to help you out. Keep rocking it! You're still figuring everything out, and that's fine.

 

[PharmtoCS]

You made the right call. The job market for pharmacists is terrible and continues to get worse each year. It is simply too risky to take out $200k+ to go to pharmacy now given the chances of your degree being a complete waste.

I would recommend computer science instead, or going to a coding bootcamp. You enjoy far better job prospects, better work conditions, and a gross salary comparable to that of pharmacists without having to take out $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school.

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