Is the pharmD worth it?

[tongiecc]

Hello everyone. Let me first say that this is perhaps the most useful forum on the net and that the individuals on it provide exceptional and highly relevant advice. So my hope is that you all could give me some advice on my current situation. Right now I currently have two years remaining until I obtain my pharmD, but am becoming very disenchanted with pharmacy as a whole. Is it really worth the schooling to go out and work under such high stress conditions, or put up with long shifts without any breaks? Yeah you might make $85k per year, but is that really that much when you have people with a 2 year RN degree or dental hygenists making just $10-20k shy of that and (usually) not having to deal with the same level of stress or responsibility? Right now I am looking at dentistry and do not even know if it is worth finishing the pharmD. Could some of you please give me some positive insight, because I seem to be surrounded by negative feelings toward pharmacy. Thanks guys.

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[ZpackSux]

Hello everyone. Let me first say that this is perhaps the most useful forum on the net and that the individuals on it provide exceptional and highly relevant advice. So my hope is that you all could give me some advice on my current situation. Right now I currently have two years remaining until I obtain my pharmD, but am becoming very disenchanted with pharmacy as a whole. Is it really worth the schooling to go out and work under such high stress conditions, or put up with long shifts without any breaks? Yeah you might make $85k per year, but is that really that much when you have people with a 2 year RN degree or dental hygenists making just $10-20k shy of that and (usually) not having to deal with the same level of stress or responsibility? Right now I am looking at dentistry and do not even know if it is worth finishing the pharmD. Could some of you please give me some positive insight, because I seem to be surrounded by negative feelings toward pharmacy. Thanks guys.

Hello Slaver..or ImNotslaver...or Julio...or Zerox... or clone..

IBTC

 

[Trancelucent1]

I have a big question for you: Did you not research the profession before you applied to pharmacy school??? There are many links under the FAQ page than can point you in the right direction as to what jobs you can get as a pharmacist. Not everyone goes into retail and I, for one, do not plan on that path (although I don't judge anyone who wants to). It's one of the only fields that has so many opportunities in different career paths. Although, I think this is a personal decision that NO ONE can answer for you. I just think that maybe you jumped the gun and didn't do your research to decide whether pharmacy was right for you.

 

[dgroulx]

Well, you don't have to work retail.

If you chose to work in a hospital, you sit down unless you're out looking at charts on the floor. You have a lunch break. There are no patients screaming at you. There is no patient contact at all. This has been my hospital experience while on a rotation this semester. Other hospitals may be different, but I'm sure they are all more relaxed than working retail.

 

[tongiecc]

Hey Zpak dude, I'm just some kid from kansas that wants advice, not some deranged lunatic that hates the world of pharmacy. I just want to hear something positive about pharmacy careers b/c it appears that every time I turn around someone has something bad to say about the profession, working conditions, etc. You seem to like your job out in Cali Zpak, so do you think you could just give me an idea of the stress level/working conditions of where you're at?

Thanks

J.D.

 

[ZpackSux]

Hey Zpak dude, I'm just some kid from kansas that wants advice, not some deranged lunatic that hates the world of pharmacy. I just want to hear something positive about pharmacy careers b/c it appears that every time I turn around someone has something bad to say about the profession, working conditions, etc. You seem to like your job out in Cali Zpak, so do you think you could just give me an idea of the stress level/working conditions of where you're at?

Thanks

J.D.

It's Zpack.. not Zpak. And I hate my job..

 

[tongiecc]

Thanks dgroulx! That's just what I wanted to hear. I had spent considerable time in both retail and hospital settings but I feel that the hospital pharmacy that I have experience with was more 'retail' in nature, so it is nice to obtain some insight as to what conditions are truly like in hospital pharmacy.

 

[tongiecc]

I seriously doubt that you hate it with as much as you talk about it, so come on, what does your typical work day consist of? High stress conditions? Thanks

 

[tongiecc]

What is the general consensus of you all on becoming a sales rep. after obtaining the pharmD? Know anyone that has taken this path?

 

[Ivorymist]

Hi there tongiecc,

It doesn't take a PharmD to become a sales rep. Lots of sales reps just go through an intense course of training about the drugs/products they promote, some competing products, and the disease state that the products pertain to. Sometimes you don't even have to have a degree.

I'm sure that many of the negative things you've heard about pharmacy is related to retail. If stress is your main concern, you can staff at a hospital pharmacy (preferrably a larger hospital where you have several other pharmacists working with you at once and helping you out) where there's no rush (for the most part), no stress with customers, and you get a lunch break as dgroulx mentioned. On a typical day you would enter/check physician orders, check the IVs and TPNs made by the technicians, make some chemo, things like that. The hospital staff pharmacists I work with are not stressed at all.

If it was me, if I was in a 4-year program and I'm already done with 2 years of it, I'd carry on with it for the sake of completing it...but that's just me.

 

[Glycerin]

What is the general consensus of you all on becoming a sales rep. after obtaining the pharmD? Know anyone that has taken this path?

Many people do this as well. You would certainly have the advantage of having in depth knowledge of the drugs that you are marketing. Just be sure you have good marketing and communication skills.

 

[Glycerin]

If it was me, if I was in a 4-year program and I'm already done with 2 years of it, I'd carry on with it for the sake of completing it...but that's just me.

Exactly. You are halfway there. Go ahead and finish it, and if the many outlets that pharmacy has to offer are not for you, then pursue dentistry or whatever you wish. I think it'd be rather silly to be that close to obtaining a Pharm.D. and not finish unless you were medically or emotionally unable.

 

[tongiecc]

Hey thanks a bunch you guys, it's great to hear the positive aspects rather than the negatives.

 

[trishias]

Well, you don't have to work retai
If you chose to work in a hospital, you sit down unless you're out looking at charts on the floor. You have a lunch break. There are no patients screaming at you. There is no patient contact at all. This has been my hospital experience while on a rotation this semester. Other hospitals may be different, but I'm sure they are all more relaxed than working retail.

You must do rotations in a hospital where the work load is light! Seriously, the hospital I work in , we (pharmacists and techs) rarely get to have a lunch break. We eat when we get a chance but our motto is "Patients First!" Sometimes its at the expense of the employees!

 

[ChemAngel]

hi tongiecc,


being a first year student...I really can't give you as much insight as the others...but I can say this..

EVERY job has its drawbacks. There IS no such thing as a perfect job...just the perfect job for a certain person.

What makes a job a good job is when you can overlook the negatives because they are outweighed by the positives.

Find out what is it exactly that bothers you about the pharmacy career? is it the subject matter? the patients? the responsibility? the no lunch breaks?

Than research...pharmacy is one of the few careers that doesn't restrict you to one category.

besides hospital and retail....you can work for the FDA, the insurance companies, get into research, getting into the business aspects of a retail company.

There is even something called nuclear pharmacy...that they wake up at 1am-8am to do chemo-therapy medications. no need to deal with patients, all the lunch break time you want....the drawback: working in the middle of the night.

like I said, every job has its drawbacks....

for dentists...there isn't as much options as pharmacy, and you STILL have to deal with customers. For RNs, you also have to deal with the customers...i've seen some people do some pretty rude things to RNs.

I'm personally going to go for something called "cousultation pharmacy" which are in hospitals and nursing homes. But I don't mind dealing with the customers, I like it. The thing that bothers me about retail is the lack of time I have to devote to those customers.


everyone is different...but if I were you, I'd research the opportunities and see your options....good luck and hope that helped.

 

[imperial frog]

Each pharmacy route takes a different type of person to make it work. I come from a business background so the "horrors" of retail don't really seem all that different from what I've experienced before. If you can't handle that there are a number of other paths that you can take in the profession.

 

[baggywrinkle]

It's Zpack.. not Zpak. And I hate my job..

Relax z, everyone goes through it. It's a phase, you'll outgrow it.

 

[ZpackSux]

Relax z, everyone goes through it. It's a phase, you'll outgrow it.

was being sarcastic..

 

[tupac_don]

Hello everyone. Let me first say that this is perhaps the most useful forum on the net and that the individuals on it provide exceptional and highly relevant advice. So my hope is that you all could give me some advice on my current situation. Right now I currently have two years remaining until I obtain my pharmD, but am becoming very disenchanted with pharmacy as a whole. Is it really worth the schooling to go out and work under such high stress conditions, or put up with long shifts without any breaks? Yeah you might make $85k per year, but is that really that much when you have people with a 2 year RN degree or dental hygenists making just $10-20k shy of that and (usually) not having to deal with the same level of stress or responsibility? Right now I am looking at dentistry and do not even know if it is worth finishing the pharmD. Could some of you please give me some positive insight, because I seem to be surrounded by negative feelings toward pharmacy. Thanks guys.

Are you kidding me or what????????? You think that RN's and dentist have a less stressfull job than pharmacists??? No offence but you are out of your mind. The job of a pharmacist is first of all way cleaner than that of a nurse, plus you tend to do a lot more shift work as an RN than as a pharmacist. Actually RN's can make as much as pharmacist if not more, you know they are making about 42 to 45 an hour, also if RN is in ICU or ER, they are making more like 50 an hour. Add if you are a CRNA, although that's 3 years on top of an RN degree and you can make 1/4 of a million with overtime of course.
Pharm D is defiently worth it, reconsider what you are thinking. Job of a pharmacist is not all that stressful to tell you the truth, particularly when you gain some experience in the job. Also know that certain practice areas are more stressfull then others. But you can find less stressful if you want. But on the whole, job of an RN or a dentist is substantially more stressful. Dentists do get paid more than pharmacists, but if I were you I would not jump ship. Just finish out Pharm D. You are probably having doubts b/c the professors are pushing you hard, you hate the studying, don't fret working is more relaxed, no projects no assignments, unless of course you wanna do residency. You just do your shift go home and then can play with your time and money. Not all that bad believe me. I think you should really talk to some pharmacists who are living the life, before you say how stressful of a profession it is. Personally I couldn't disagree with you more. Seriously reconsider what you are thinking. GOod luck.

 

[Z e r o X]

Are you kidding me or what????????? You think that RN's and dentist have a less stressfull job than pharmacists??? No offence but you are out of your mind. The job of a pharmacist is first of all way cleaner than that of a nurse, plus you tend to do a lot more shift work as an RN than as a pharmacist. Actually RN's can make as much as pharmacist if not more, you know they are making about 42 to 45 an hour, also if RN is in ICU or ER, they are making more like 50 an hour. Add if you are a CRNA, although that's 3 years on top of an RN degree and you can make 1/4 of a million with overtime of course.
Pharm D is defiently worth it, reconsider what you are thinking. Job of a pharmacist is not all that stressful to tell you the truth, particularly when you gain some experience in the job. Also know that certain practice areas are more stressfull then others. But you can find less stressful if you want. But on the whole, job of an RN or a dentist is substantially more stressful. Dentists do get paid more than pharmacists, but if I were you I would not jump ship. Just finish out Pharm D. You are probably having doubts b/c the professors are pushing you hard, you hate the studying, don't fret working is more relaxed, no projects no assignments, unless of course you wanna do residency. You just do your shift go home and then can play with your time and money. Not all that bad believe me. I think you should really talk to some pharmacists who are living the life, before you say how stressful of a profession it is. Personally I couldn't disagree with you more. Seriously reconsider what you are thinking. GOod luck.

What the opportunities for advancement are in retail pharmacy?

 

[ItsGavinC]

Just wanted to drop by and say I'm amazed at all the stuff the Pharm Ds go through to get their degrees. Props to you all!