new to pharmacy, need help.

[nitinb2k8]

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hi, i just graduated from a 4 year college in Florida with a bachelor's in biology. I am not getting any good jobs with this degree, so thinking of getting into pharmacy. I was initially thinking of taking some program for pharmacy technician at UF and other places, but its expensive, and i read that just by studying by myself, and taking the pharmacy tech board exam, i can get licensed, but I am not sure if I will get a job after getting licensed, so don't know if this is good for me, or should I try to directly go for pharmacy? i have a 3.35 overall gpa, and have done well in all pharmacy prereqs. I was thinking of going for pharmacy after finish pharmacy tech, but I don't want to waste my time, want to take PCAT, and get into some pharmacy school. I don't have any experience working at a pharmacy, so thats another problem. any advise would help, thanks.

 

[otcandrx]

just do it! - by nike

 

[RxWildcat]

I would skip out on the pharmacy tech classes, I don't think those will help you much with your goals. Your gpa is decent, so your next steps should be figuring out where you want to apply and what the specific pre-reqs are for that school and then start studying like crazy for the pcat.

 

[RxWildcat]

doh, double post

 

[PharmApp2008]

I would skip the tech stuff as a career choice but getting experience will be helpful. It looks like working as a tech with a bio degree doesn't pay as much as many other jobs you can be doing with the same degree. I decided to go to pharmacy school in the same situation that you are in now. I applied to 10 schools and had already been accepted to several when my last interview invites were coming in. Good luck!

 

[collegegirl247]

take your pcat and apply to pharmacy school 3.5 is a good enough gpa...dont waste your time on getting licensed as a tech- it wont help at all

 

[IrishRxMan]

I would talk to independent pharmacies to see about just getting volunteering or shadowing experience. They are usually more receptive to someone coming in their store than the big corps like Walgreens or CVS. That will take care of pharmacy experience for most schools. I agree with the others that said to skip taking the pharm tech classes. If you want to get your license to work in one, get the book and study it for a month or two before the test, but I wouldn't stress about working in one much. Do study for the PCAT and get with some of your old profs to get LOR's. Check out a book on writing personal statements and have someone in the english department at a CC or university close by look it over for spelling and grammar. You should do fine with your GPA because most schools look at the pre-reqs and/or math/science classes as a separate GPA. Just work hard and hit a home run with the PCAT and personal statement to improve your standings.