My advice for pre-pharm folks...AVOID pharmacy unless....

[King2440]

1. You go to the top 3 rated school in your state.

2. You have a mad PASSION for pharmacy.

3. You realize you most likely will be working at a FOR profit company that continue to find ways of becoming more “efficient”


I am not saying to NOT go to pharmacy school, but to really reconsider things. The few people you read about getting a FT job at 120k+ was the norm just 5 years ago. It’s more than likely that you will graduate and will NOT get a job and have to pay back loans. (unless you are that A+ intern).

Just here in N. Dallas there were over 200+ applicants for a 48 hour biweekly salaried job. The bubble has long burst, so I urge you to really evaluate things before applying.

Just do your research. There are reasons that schools are extending deadlines...

Good luck.

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[Pharmacy is a Scam]

1. You go to the top 3 rated school in your state.

2. You have a mad PASSION for pharmacy.

3. You realize you most likely will be working at a FOR profit company that continue to find ways of becoming more “efficient”

These are all bad reasons for pursuing pharmacy.

1. There are 50 states and 142 pharmacy schools. To say that you should go to a top 3 rated school in your state is basically saying “go to any pharmacy school except in states where there are more than 3 schools”.

2. 99% of pre-pharms choose pharmacy because they are “passionate” about helping people and getting that 6-figure paycheck.

3. They will interpret this as “there will be new jobs in the future because provider status will save the day.”

 

[King2440]

These are all bad reasons for pursuing pharmacy.

1. There are 50 states and 142 pharmacy schools. To say that you should go to a top 3 rated school in your state is basically saying “go to any pharmacy school except in states where there are more than 3 schools”.

2. 99% of pre-pharms choose pharmacy because they are “passionate” about helping people and getting that 6-figure paycheck.

3. They will interpret this as “there will be new jobs in the future because provider status will save the day.”

I think you missed the point. I’ll be more blunt.

1. If you can’t get into a top school in your state, you are too dumb and will fail out.

2. We still need pharmacists for sure. But not 1 billion a year. We need the people that truly want to do pharmacy for the CARE. That is what will make you a great retail pharmacist. You want money - go be a plumber. Less school and similar salary with less liability.

3. 95% grads will be retail pharmacist. Box box companies run the show. If you are not going to perform to their standards (more with less, crazy efficiency, limited breaks, limited time off, constant work emails/text, ever changing field, pressure from PBMs, lower reimbursement rates, increases in rph:tech ratio) then pharmacy is not for you.

Side note: APhA is a bunch of crap. They need to focus on the true problem in pharmacy. For those that work, you know what that is.

 

[alpha12]

1. You go to the top 3 rated school in your state.

Dumb reason to go to pharmacy. Doesn't matter if you go to the top ranked school in the country or the worst. You will be a pharmacist and you will have a tough time finding a job that pays well. CVS or walgreens isn't giving you an extra 20k a year cause you went to a better school. In fact they will hire whoever is the cheapest. It's called business.

2. You have a mad PASSION for pharmacy.

This is not a reason to choose a career. You have to take the salary you will make along with the time and cost of schooling into consideration. Going to school for 6-8 years and maybe residency on top along with 200k loans to get a job that pays 80k is not worth it.
I love cars but I am not going to be a mechanic because I doubt I will make the salary I need to live comfortably.

3. You realize you most likely will be working at a FOR profit company that continue to find ways of becoming more “efficient”

Number 3 is good advice but it seems like prepharms don't care. If only pharmacy schools were willing to take in less money to protect the profession.

 

[King2440]

Dumb reason to go to pharmacy. Doesn't matter if you go to the top ranked school in the country or the worst. You will be a pharmacist and you will have a tough time finding a job that pays well. CVS or walgreens isn't giving you an extra 20k a year cause you went to a better school. In fact they will hire whoever is the cheapest. It's called business.


This is not a reason to choose a career. You have to take the salary you will make along with the time and cost of schooling into consideration. Going to school for 6-8 years and maybe residency on top along with 200k loans to get a job that pays 80k is not worth it.
I love cars but I am not going to be a mechanic because I doubt I will make the salary I need to live comfortably.



Number 3 is good advice but it seems like prepharms don't care. If only pharmacy schools were willing to take in less money to protect the profession.

With so many options today, when I have two equal pharmacist candidates, I would personally say school is a deciding factor.

Two equal candidates: 1 from a top ranked national program (in your state) that has been around for decades/centuries vs someone who went to school online or moved halfway across the country to go to a new school. Easy decision for me.

 

[King2440]

Also it’s very sad that schools do not talk about current job placement or outlook. But then again, why would they hurt there business?

 

[alpha12]

With so many options today, when I have two equal pharmacist candidates, I would personally say school is a deciding factor.

Two equal candidates: 1 from a top ranked national program (in your state) that has been around for decades/centuries vs someone who went to school online or moved halfway across the country to go to a new school. Easy decision for me.

Most pharmacies dont care. If the guy from the top ranked school wanted 60 bucks and hour and the new grad from a bad school wanted 40 i think most pharmacies would choose the cheaper guy. That's how businesses operate. They just need a guy with a pharmacy license behind the counter for the cheapest price possible. Do you have any studies that show people that went to better pharm schools got better opportunities or are you just assuming?

 

[Timbo]

Also it’s very sad that schools do not talk about current job placement or outlook. But then again, why would they hurt there business?

I think most schools survey upon graduation to see who have found employment, residency, and who are still unemployed. Mine did anyway. However the results aren't made public. I think ACPE should require post-graduation employment surveys and force them to be made public

 

[Modest_anteater]

1. You go to the top 3 rated school in your state.

2. You have a mad PASSION for pharmacy.

3. You realize you most likely will be working at a FOR profit company that continue to find ways of becoming more “efficient”


I am not saying to NOT go to pharmacy school, but to really reconsider things. The few people you read about getting a FT job at 120k+ was the norm just 5 years ago. It’s more than likely that you will graduate and will NOT get a job and have to pay back loans. (unless you are that A+ intern).

Just here in N. Dallas there were over 200+ applicants for a 48 hour biweekly salaried job. The bubble has long burst, so I urge you to really evaluate things before applying.

Just do your research. There are reasons that schools are extending deadlines...

Good luck.

2. You have a mad PASSION (TM) (R) for pharmacy.

 

[PharmtoCS]

If you live in a saturated metro area then you need to accept the possibility that you will most definitely have to move hundreds or thousands of miles away to the middle of nowhere indefinitely and never be able to ever move back to your city of choice due to the lack of jobs.

 

[percyeye]

Is a somewhat "okay" salary the only thing that draws people to Pharmacy?
How are they able to get that many students through the doors? When everyone knows that you'll go to school and then work crappy hours at some CVS?

I've asked before but really didn't get an answer from any Pre-pharm students. What exactly is making you take the plunge into this career when you know what the future looks like?

 

[allantois]

Is a somewhat "okay" salary the only thing that draws people to Pharmacy?
How are they able to get that many students through the doors? When everyone knows that you'll go to school and then work crappy hours at some CVS?

I've asked before but really didn't get an answer from any Pre-pharm students. What exactly is making you take the plunge into this career when you know what the future looks like?

It’s prob one of the least competitive professional programs to get into these days

 

[BC_89]

I applied to only 3 in-state schools and received interview invitations for all of them. It makes me want to explore other career options because it feels like I can get in whenever I want.

If you have no contingency to offset your debt to income ratio then follow your gut and explore other options. Pre-reqs overlap closely with other healthcare professions.

Balance out what you “like” with working and what “pays” you to work long-term

**Edit** Moving to Job Market sub-forum