Leaving pharmacy

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PharmaSex

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Has anyone ever successfully left pharmacy to start another career? Do you know of anyone that has?

Just curious to see what options there are out there
 
That's a straw question, and yes, it's done quite a bit. There are quite a number who go to medicine, but in Minneapolis, there are quite a number of extremely successful real estate agents who happen to be pharmacists as well. I'm in a job that doesn't require me to be a pharmacist today, but I would have never gotten the job without having been one. And who knows, you could be the Home Depot founders too (Rutger alumni).

Realistically though, it's fairly straightforward. Now, if you are going to refine your question to "starting another career and keeping the same standard of living", well, that's a harder question to answer and much of the answer is motivation and sacrifice.

And this career I have right now (more using statistics and actuarial mathematics), I have the willpower and motivation to walk away from it if the future makes an AI good enough to replace me (I doubt it, because the point of my existence is to check the AI derived models for sensibility, correctness, and completeness), but I know my next career is going to be professional gardener, because no robot can make a garden look as beautiful as a $45k a year Master Gardener.

But, be aware that no career is inherently stable. You should always be willing to walk away from a bad enough situation as the only defense capitalism gives you, the freedom to sell your labor to whom you choose.
 
I know a few physicians who started off as pharmacists but then decided to switch over to medicine, i.e. they went to med school.

I'm a little confused by your question - people change careers all the time, why couldn't a pharmacist start another career? Go to night school and/or re-invent your resume and start applying for other jobs. Call up an old friend from undergrad and ask them if they have any leads. Start your own business. Drive for Uber. Join the military if you aren't too old and don't have any medical conditions.
 
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PharmaSex said:
Has anyone ever successfully left pharmacy to start another career? Do you know of anyone that has?

Just curious to see what options there are out there
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There’s several, with varying degrees of difficulty and opportunity cost

1. Utilize PharmD degree in adjacent pathways e.g equity research

2. Supplementary education, e.g coding bootcamp, MS

3. Another terminal degree, e.g. MD

4. High growth field that doesn’t require credentials e.g cannabis RE

Just depends what your risk tolerance is and what you’d like to do. Lots of possibilities out there.
 
PharmaSex said:
Has anyone ever successfully left pharmacy to start another career? Do you know of anyone that has?

Just curious to see what options there are out there
Click to expand...

One friend of mine worked at wag for 4 years but ended up going to med school. Hes a resident now. A few of my friends have a real estate license. As difficult as the time has been for some pharmacists, i still think its a great career with lots of upside. I wouldnt mind just being an owner of the pharmacy which i am hoping to do in 5-10 years.
 
I am still working as a pharmacist but earning from my investment has surpassed my pharmacist salary.

Let me say this...don’t follow what other people are doing. For example, I have high risk tolerance and I enjoy learning about finance. That is why investing works for me but it might not work for you.

Start by finding out what you are good at, then you need to take action but you also need to be realistic. It is not going to be easy to replace your 6 figures career. Just think about how long it took you to earn your PharmD. The road you are going to take is not only harder but you also need to deal with a lot of uncertainties, hardship and stress.

My suggestion is to start early while you are still working 40 hours as a pharmacist. One thing you don’t need is not knowing how you are going to pay rent with your new gig. Your mind needs to be clear so you can make good decisions.
 
BMBiology said:
I am still working as a pharmacist but earning from my investment has surpassed my pharmacist salary.

Let me say this...don’t follow what other people are doing. For example, I have high risk tolerance and I enjoy learning about finance. That is why investing works for me but it might not work for you.

Start by finding out what you are good at, then you need to take action but you also need to be realistic. It is not going to be easy to replace your 6 figures career. Just think about how long it took you to earn your PharmD. The road you are going to take is not only harder but you also need to deal with a lot of uncertainties, hardship and stress.

My suggestion is to start early while you are still working 40 hours as a pharmacist. One thing you don’t need is not knowing how you are going to pay rent with your new gig. Your mind needs to be clear so you can make good decisions.
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"I am still working as a pharmacist but earning from my investment has surpassed my pharmacist salary." this is impressive congrats!
 
giga said:
I'm a little confused by your question - people change careers all the time, why couldn't a pharmacist start another career?
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Sunk cost fallacy. People are afraid to do anything that might demonstrate that they took out $200k+ in loans and spend 4 years on a doctorate in vain. They will do anything that allows them to utilize their PharmD even if it means working in poor conditions for $35/hour when there could be better options out there. Just look at all the pre-pharms who won't do anything other than healthcare because they have "already taken the prerequisites and gotten a Bio degree."
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
One friend of mine worked at wag for 4 years but ended up going to med school. Hes a resident now. A few of my friends have a real estate license. As difficult as the time has been for some pharmacists, i still think its a great career with lots of upside. I wouldnt mind just being an owner of the pharmacy which i am hoping to do in 5-10 years.
Click to expand...

How are the realtors doing financially? I know it can be lucrative but it must be scary to not have a consistent salary and rely on commission.
 
mentos said:
How are the realtors doing financially? I know it can be lucrative but it must be scary to not have a consistent salary and rely on commission.
Click to expand...

I know one of them still works as a pharmacist at a hospital doing night shifts 7 on 7 off. On off weeks he does the realtor stuff. I hear its a good side gig. My other friends also still work as pharmacists but lart time. So im gonna assume its more for supplimental reasons.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
I know one of them still works as a pharmacist at a hospital doing night shifts 7 on 7 off. On off weeks he does the realtor stuff. I hear its a good side gig. My other friends also still work as pharmacists but lart time. So im gonna assume its more for supplimental reasons.
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Nice I wonder if they get woken up a lot during their on weeks, or how they handle open houses if they're working the same night? I know people like to call/text realtors at all waking hours.
 
As soon as I save enough to retire while working a part time 20k year Monday through Friday no weekend easy job like working at a board game store working 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I am doing that as soon as possible
 
giga said:
I know a few physicians who started off as pharmacists but then decided to switch over to medicine, i.e. they went to med school.

I'm a little confused by your question - people change careers all the time, why couldn't a pharmacist start another career? Go to night school and/or re-invent your resume and start applying for other jobs. Call up an old friend from undergrad and ask them if they have any leads. Start your own business. Drive for Uber. Join the military if you aren't too old and don't have any medical conditions.
Click to expand...

When I mean “successfully”, I am referring to the liabilities that come with a pharmacy degree. Specifically, student loans and keeping around the same standard of living. While you can easily switch jobs, I am more interested in those that moved career paths that can support your bills and preferred lifestyle.
 
BMBiology said:
I am still working as a pharmacist but earning from my investment has surpassed my pharmacist salary.

Let me say this...don’t follow what other people are doing. For example, I have high risk tolerance and I enjoy learning about finance. That is why investing works for me but it might not work for you.

Start by finding out what you are good at, then you need to take action but you also need to be realistic. It is not going to be easy to replace your 6 figures career. Just think about how long it took you to earn your PharmD. The road you are going to take is not only harder but you also need to deal with a lot of uncertainties, hardship and stress.

My suggestion is to start early while you are still working 40 hours as a pharmacist. One thing you don’t need is not knowing how you are going to pay rent with your new gig. Your mind needs to be clear so you can make good decisions.
Click to expand...

What type of investments are you involved in? I am currently at the beginning processes of learning to trade securities and identify long term investments.
 
PharmaSex said:
What type of investments are you involved in? I am currently at the beginning processes of learning to trade securities and identify long term investments.
Click to expand...

I think rentals are a good way to make good money but you need to do your homework, have low debt to income ratio and 20-25% down payment.

Everything is local so you are competing against the guy across the street, not some stock trader living in New York. Unlike the stock market, there is a lot of inefficiency in the housing market.
 
Buying rentals with today's valuation is meh. Appreciation isn't guaranteed. You are lucky if you can break even today. Anyone who bought in 2009-2017 makes some money. There are a lot of ghost houses in metro CA from Chinese cash buyers, they will drop 1-2M cash without blinking and let it sit there. Today, rent will not/barely covers your PITI + 8% property management + maintenence costs in overpriced markets. Investment property is also work. Gonna have to pass coz I'm lazy.
 
Momus said:
Buying rentals with today's valuation is meh. Appreciation isn't guaranteed. You are lucky if you can break even today. Anyone who bought in 2009-2017 makes some money. There are a lot of ghost houses in metro CA from Chinese cash buyers, they will drop 1-2M cash without blinking and let it sit there. Today, rent will not/barely covers your PITI + 8% property management + maintenence costs in overpriced markets. Investment property is also work. Gonna have to pass coz I'm lazy.
Click to expand...

How can you be lazy when you are working 50+ hours a week?
 
Working extra shifts (if they are available) does not require nearly as much research, planning, and risk-taking as much as investing in real estate. That being said, opportunities are drying up and the taxes on the extra W-2 income are killer.
 
On pace to make more money from investment than from physician work in about 4-6 years for me here.

I'm naturally good at investment. I make about 70-100K a year through investment during my years as a medical student.

Just figure out what you're good at and then develop that skillset. It can be coding, making a youtube channel, fixing up houses and selling them for profits, or real estate management.

Personally also know some medical residents making an extra 70-100K a year buying up old houses, fixing them up, and selling them for profit.
 
Pharmacy is one of the top fields to retire at 60 in. Any career change will likely be a financial downgrade including medicine because of the opportunity cost. There are likely a ton of different things you can do in pharmacy for 60-85k a year that you may want to consider. This is what most engineers and accountants are earning annually.
 
Black Coffee 24/7 said:
On pace to make more money from investment than from physician work in about 4-6 years for me here.

I'm naturally good at investment. I make about 70-100K a year through investment during my years as a medical student.

Just figure out what you're good at and then develop that skillset. It can be coding, making a youtube channel, fixing up houses and selling them for profits, or real estate management.

Personally also know some medical residents making an extra 70-100K a year buying up old houses, fixing them up, and selling them for profit.
Click to expand...

Only issue with fixing up houses is that you need money to buy them. Where did the med students get hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a house and extra money to fix?

I am thinking about a few side gigs, flipping houses being one but thats years later when i can save up some money.

What specific things have you done to get those 70-100k? Just curius?
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Only issue with fixing up houses is that you need money to buy them. Where did the med students get hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a house and extra money to fix?
Click to expand...

Student loans. Money is fungible. Good on them for investing the money instead of blowing it on exotic vacations, designer clothes, cars, and electronics like some students do. 20% down for a fixer upper would be easy to borrow while a student.
 
mentos said:
Student loans. Money is fungible. Good on them for investing the money instead of blowing it on exotic vacations, designer clothes, cars, and electronics like some students do. 20% down for a fixer upper would be easy to borrow while a student.
Click to expand...

Hmm that doesnt make alot of sense. No one is going to give you a loan for a house while you have no income and already in so much debt. 20% on a typical house in texas would be $40-50k. So youre claiming that by not going on vacations and not buying stuff, you can potentially save up 50k, which already is a loan to begin with, to get another loan? Haha yeah... that doesnt sound like a sound investment nor even possible.
 
Charcoales said:
As soon as I save enough to retire while working a part time 20k year Monday through Friday no weekend easy job like working at a board game store working 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I am doing that as soon as possible
Click to expand...

That's actually a nice dream, where your hobby is your occupation and have enough money saved that stepping down works. I know quite a number of school teachers, librarians, and horticultural park/outdoor maintenance who "retired" from more burdensome jobs into something they wanted to actually do. I'm hoping that I can get an archivist position someday when I'm all burnt out.
 
yeah i did. wasn't hard but I left after my first semester. Currently about to be a 4th yr med student. Still gonna graduate with ~150k debt but all things considered it's not that bad. Glad i didn't finish pharmacy though, seems to be getting horrible now.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
Hmm that doesnt make alot of sense. No one is going to give you a loan for a house while you have no income and already in so much debt. 20% on a typical house in texas would be $40-50k. So youre claiming that by not going on vacations and not buying stuff, you can potentially save up 50k, which already is a loan to begin with, to get another loan? Haha yeah... that doesnt sound like a sound investment nor even possible.
Click to expand...
I think he means take out additional student loans, which almost anyone can get, and use that to buy a house. That may or may not be fraudulent, but I know pharmacists who also used student loan money to fund businesses.
 
gwarm01 said:
I think he means take out additional student loans, which almost anyone can get, and use that to buy a house. That may or may not be fraudulent, but I know pharmacists who also used student loan money to fund businesses.
Click to expand...

Probably not....debt to income ratio would be too high to qualify for a mortgage.
 
Residents make around 55k, that's higher than the average household income. It's feasible that a 4th year med student (especially from a state school) could take out extra loans and then apply for a mortgage during their residency.
 
For most middle class, real estate is the only asset where you can make a bunch of money because of leverage. Of course you have to know what you are doing. Leverage can also destroy you.
 
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