Nevermind, maybe going to Med school is not the answer.

[MountainPharmD]

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I guess Doctors make to much money and need a pay cut to save the system. I suppose there is always HVAC school.

http://www.slate.com/id/2227965/?gt1=38001

 

[meister]

Some of that is higher reimbursement on procedures, some of that is the fact that American doctors typically work 5-10 more hours per work than their European counterparts.

The Europeans also graduate with little or zero debt from school. I'd much rather take that with lower income than high income and $300k+ in debt...

 

[WVUPharm2007]

All US healthcare workers except for nursing aides and EMTs are overpaid. I'm not complaining or anything.

 

[Sparda29]

I guess Doctors make to much money and need a pay cut to save the system. I suppose there is always HVAC school.

http://www.slate.com/id/2227965/?gt1=38001

Perhaps they should make Medical school and Pharmacy school programs that you go to straight out of high school instead of this wasting 4 years in college nonsense. Just make year 1 of school be all the prerequisites, or increase the rigor and quality of high school science courses.

Tuition is too high, that is a fact. You have the economy plummeting but tuition stays the same??? Counting both my undergrad and pharmacy school, I'm going to be around $250K in debt by the time I graduate. ****, I should have just gone to CUNY for undergrad, I would have been able to pay for my undergrad($8000 for 4 years), instead of LIU where I forked out almost $85K for 3 years.

 

[MountainPharmD]

I'm going to be around $250K in debt by the time I graduate.

Seriously? 250k in debt to be a pharmacist? That is like a $600.00 to $700.00 payment a month for 30 years. Wow.....

 

[meister]

Seriously? 250k in debt to be a pharmacist? That is like a $600.00 to $700.00 payment a month for 30 years. Wow.....

Lol, higher than that my friend. Interest rates are 6.8% last I checked. When I'm done, I'll be $320k in debt at 6.8% for a nice 20 year repayment rate of like $2500 a month.

 

[Sparda29]

Seriously? 250k in debt to be a pharmacist? That is like a $600.00 to $700.00 payment a month for 30 years. Wow.....

I'm gonna make my payments quadruple what the loan company suggests so that I don't get sucked into that interest vacuum and I can be finished with the loans in around 6 years, just gotta live frugally for those first few years after graduation. Other option is joining the military and getting that loan forgiveness.

Truth be told, I got lured in by those rumors of $1 Million/3 years in Alaska.

 

[meister]

I'm gonna make my payments quadruple what the loan company suggests so that I don't get sucked into that interest vacuum and I can be finished with the loans in around 6 years, just gotta live frugally for those first few years after graduation. Other option is joining the military and getting that loan forgiveness.

To pay off $250k at 6.8% over ten years would mean $2900 a month.

$320k over ten years is $3700.


F*ck.

 

[type b pharmD]

I'm gonna make my payments quadruple what the loan company suggests so that I don't get sucked into that interest vacuum and I can be finished with the loans in around 6 years, just gotta live frugally for those first few years after graduation. Other option is joining the military and getting that loan forgiveness.

Truth be told, I got lured in by those rumors of $1 Million/3 years in Alaska.

Dont feel alone sparda, i'll have 175k when i'm done. Hopin i can pay it off in about 6 years as well with a decent standard of living (ie 1500 a month to live off of or so)

 

[meister]

Dont feel alone sparda, i'll have 175k when i'm done. Hopin i can pay it off in about 6 years as well with a decent standard of living (ie 1500 a month to live off of or so)

If you're single then it's definitely doable.

 

[type b pharmD]

If you're single then it's definitely doable.

yeah the way i see it, $450 a month for rent, $150 a month for a car, $300 for groceries, and the leftovers for insurance, utilities, and cheap beer.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Truth be told, I got lured in by those rumors of $1 Million/3 years in Alaska.

Yep, we all know someone who did. Its okay.

You would be crazy not to go into the military. Get the government to repay some of those loans.

 

[meister]

yeah the way i see it, $450 a month for rent, $150 a month for a car, $300 for groceries, and the leftovers for insurance, utilities, and cheap beer.

$450 for rent? Where the hell do you live?

I would at least want a 1BR apartment or at the minimum my own room. Own room + food + beer + decent car = doable.

 

[type b pharmD]

$450 for rent? Where the hell do you live?

I would at least want a 1BR apartment or at the minimum my own room. Own room + food + beer + decent car = doable.

right now i pay $625 for a 1000 sq foot 2 bedroom , heat + parking incl, in a major metro area..

but after school i'll probably go to rural wisc or MN. i think 2 bedrooms can be found pretty easily for $550, so im thinkin a 1bd would be 450


edit:

Ok, talked to my friend, he lives in a city of 50,000, and he only pays $450 for a NICE 2 bedroom. So yeah, you dont have to move to the sticks to live reasonably.

 

[Farmercyst]

Yeah, I'm down about $110K right now with 1.5 years to go. I've got about $50K left for tuition and probably another $60K I'll have to pull for living expenses. It'd be more if I didn't start school with some savings in tow. My own fault for doing it in SoCal with 3 kids I guess.

 

[PHARMDhope2b]

Where do you live?

Im gonna live on 1/2 my income and pay a lil over the min payment each month. I am in no rush to pay my loans back and will not live poorly for more years just to pay them back faster. If i get extra monies then I will send that in.

right now i pay $625 for a 1000 sq foot 2 bedroom , heat + parking incl, in a major metro area..

but after school i'll probably go to rural wisc or MN. i think 2 bedrooms can be found pretty easily for $550, so im thinkin a 1bd would be 450

 

[Sparda29]

I might not have to worry about rent/utilities, well maybe I do, but my mom doesn't want me to move out until I get married. It's a good thing and a bad thing, good because I wouldn't have to worry about rent and food, bad because I won't be able to bring home a different chick every weekend.

But considering the fact that my mom and dad are probably not going to be together much longer, I'll probably chip in when it comes to household money. Other thing is that, when we bought our house, it was pretty cheap ($248K). We made some modifications to the house, and property values have skyrocketed where we live, so we could actually sell this thing for ~$600K and then move to another place with a lower cost of living.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

I might not have to worry about rent/utilities, well maybe I do, but my mom doesn't want me to move out until I get married. It's a good thing and a bad thing, good because I wouldn't have to worry about rent and food, bad because I won't be able to bring home a different chick every weekend.

But considering the fact that my mom and dad are probably not going to be together much longer, I'll probably chip in when it comes to household money. Other thing is that, when we bought our house, it was pretty cheap ($248K). We made some modifications to the house, and property values have skyrocketed where we live, so we could actually sell this thing for ~$600K and then move to another place with a lower cost of living.

I would think the bigger problem about not living by yourself than not being able to bring a woman home every weekend would be that when you get married, you might not know how to take care of yourself. While your wife may put up with it, it may just drive her crazy enough that you'll end up with more problems.

Please tell me that even though you are living home, you do know how to cook, wash dishes, clean, and do laundry.

 

[Maxpwer222]

Please tell me that even though you are living home, you do know how to cook, wash dishes, clean, and do laundry.

I had a roommate in Undergrad, who asked me how to use a plunger. I facepalm'd SO hard. Also he put the soap in the dishwasher while the door was still vertical.

 

[SHC1984]

Please tell me that even though you are living home, you do know how to cook, wash dishes, clean, and do laundry.

I live at home and I can do 2 out of the 4 things you listed. However, since I am in school I techinically do NONE of the above. Thats the perks of living at home.

 

[Sparda29]

I would think the bigger problem about not living by yourself than not being able to bring a woman home every weekend would be that when you get married, you might not know how to take care of yourself. While your wife may put up with it, it may just drive her crazy enough that you'll end up with more problems.

Please tell me that even though you are living home, you do know how to cook, wash dishes, clean, and do laundry.

I love cooking but I don't do the dishes (dish washer FTW). Clean, yeah here and there, I'm rarely at home on the weekdays (out of the house from 8AM-2AM). I don't mind doing the laundry, but my parents don't want me anywhere near the the laundry, since I get all OCD about separating all the colors and materials out, so I end up running like 6 cycles.

 

[Zrchrn]

To pay off $250k at 6.8% over ten years would mean $2900 a month.

$320k over ten years is $3700.


F*ck.

Maybe you can work in a place where they help you pay back your loans. If you're in Maryland I hear they have a program where if you go general practice they pay you 75k for loans. Though in the long run that is less income, and if you don't like it then it's a dumb idea anyways (but if your in it, it would be nice).


As long as you get debt deferment or w/e it is called for residencies, you can live frugally as a resident (honestly, you'll be in the hospital working or sleeping most of the time. ) and pay a bunch of it back before interest kicks in.

The other thing is you can deduct a percentage of the interest payments from your taxes. At least I think so. If you look into it and work the system you can at least lighten the load on yourself.

Barring all that, stay safe in Afghanistan. Or maybe you'll just get sent to Germany for a little-bit. 👍

 

[Zrchrn]

Perhaps they should make Medical school and Pharmacy school programs that you go to straight out of high school instead of this wasting 4 years in college nonsense. Just make year 1 of school be all the prerequisites, or increase the rigor and quality of high school science courses.

Tuition is too high, that is a fact. You have the economy plummeting but tuition stays the same??? Counting both my undergrad and pharmacy school, I'm going to be around $250K in debt by the time I graduate. ****, I should have just gone to CUNY for undergrad, I would have been able to pay for my undergrad($8000 for 4 years), instead of LIU where I forked out almost $85K for 3 years.

Ugh! I'm feeling for ya. Why!!!!!!
There's got to be a way for you to get rid of that debt quicker. You should work part time on the weekends for a little bit.
That's like what 100k at least for your full time job + 50k part time + your sanity. You'll be out a little bit quicker.


Also, I would think it would be better if you had a wife with a job. She would be able to help cover some of the bills, so you could spend your money on debt.

 

[Passion4Sci]

All US healthcare workers except for nursing aides and EMTs are overpaid. I'm not complaining or anything.

And Pharm Techs.

Or do they not even fall in health care? Kinda more like fast food I guess?

 

[MountainPharmD]

And Pharm Techs.

Or do they not even fall in health care? Kinda more like fast food I guess?

I would add pharmacy techs as well. I do not know why anyone would want to work as a tech in retail. The stress is high the pay is low. You have to deal with the idiot customers all day and the wierd pharmacists. Yep, I would put techs at the top of the list.

 

[IrishHammer]

I would add pharmacy techs as well. I do not know why anyone would want to work as a tech in retail. The stress is high the pay is low. You have to deal with the idiot customers all day and the wierd pharmacists. Yep, I would put techs at the top of the list.

Keep in mind, though, most people only work temporarily as a tech. You don't see many career techs. To that end, it's more about getting some exposure to the field and starting your climb up the proverbial corporate ladder of pharmacy. But primarily the exposure. Imagine how many fewer jackoffs would apply to pharmacy school if they had real pharmacy experience beforehand.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Keep in mind, though, most people only work temporarily as a tech. You don't see many career techs. To that end, it's more about getting some exposure to the field and starting your climb up the proverbial corporate ladder of pharmacy. But primarily the exposure. Imagine how many fewer jackoffs would apply to pharmacy school if they had real pharmacy experience beforehand.

You hit on one of the major problems in retail. Good smart techs do not stay around long. They are smart enough to find something better. Why would anyone put up with the low pay and the abuse for a whole career?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

The techs in hospitals can make $15/hour in my neck of the woods. For a job that requires at most a certificate...that ain't bad...

 

[type b pharmD]

The techs in hospitals can make $15/hour in my neck of the woods. For a job that requires at most a certificate...that ain't bad...

yeah techs make $15 back in my hospital too, no cert needed. It's definitely a viable long term job. Good benefits for sure and stable employment.

 

[meister]

There shouldn't exist a full-time job that pays less than $15/hr.

 

[type b pharmD]

There shouldn't exist a full-time job that pays less than $15/hr.

this is why i wont be doing a residency

 

[WVUPharm2007]

this is why i wont be doing a residency

Hahahahaha.

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

this is why i wont be doing a residency

zing

 

[meister]

this is why i wont be doing a residency

Good for you, wish I had the option...

 

[pharmd718]

Techs in my hospital make $22 per hour. However they have to pass the PTCB licensing exam. they go to pharmacy tech school at a city college for 3 months and they are done.

They also get all the benefits I have. A month vacation, full sick pay, personal days, holidays off...etc etc.

 

[Ackj]

Techs in my hospital make $22 per hour. However they have to pass the PTCB licensing exam. they go to pharmacy tech school at a city college for 3 months and they are done.

They also get all the benefits I have. A month vacation, full sick pay, personal days, holidays off...etc etc.

If they need 3 months of studying to pass the PTCB exam, perhaps your hospital should hire an additional pharmacist to double-check what they fill. A little brand generic, a little mg to mcg, mL/min to gtt, even some addition and subtraction... things don't get too much easier.

That being said, my hospital paid $14/hour, and gave employees one year to pass the PTCB. All of our techs were older than 30 and presumably this was their career (the benefits could justify this).