Not working while in school

[pharmatme]

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Will not working in school for the first two years hurt my chances of landing a job? I'm in a three year program and constantly struggling. Will only working my third year (my final year) be good enough?

 

[Monsterdaddy]

Working taught me more about pharmacy than classes ever did. From my experience, if I had a choice of working causing lower grades but better contacts/job prospects vs better grades but no contacts I would choose working.

 

[Wickett]

Will not working in school for the first two years hurt my chances of landing a job? I'm in a three year program and constantly struggling. Will only working my third year (my final year) be good enough?

Big reason that I tell most people to avoid 3 year programs........unless you're a really strong student, you barely have time for anything but cramming coursework. I recommend working to build contacts, even if only 1-2x a month. With the market tightening more and more you need every connection you can get.

 

[gwarm01]

Follow up thread: Not working after graduation.

Get a job now if you can. Whether it's as a tech or intern, just try to get one in the area you want to work after graduating. It'll give a big edge. It's the trump card that can get you a hospital job without a residency if you're slick enough.

 

[pharmatme]

Based everyones suggestion I'll start looking for job after this semester is finished. Is it better to work in an independent or chain? Down the line I would like to open up a pharmacy in my family's retail store.

 

[a student]

Based everyones suggestion I'll start looking for job after this semester is finished. Is it better to work in an independent or chain? Down the line I would like to open up a pharmacy in my family's retail store.

Big chain is better for training your ability to handle a pharmacy. Independent is better if you want less stress outside of school.

 

[mustang sally]

I did work in school but not very much.

I regret my decision only because I didn't match to a residency (and it probably made it a little harder to find a job but I still found one). I would encourage everyone to work while in school.

 

[zamir]

I worked as certified technician while doing my prerequisites but did not work at all during pharmacy school (4 year program). After graduation I did not even have an intern position. I took the time I had to pass my exams and become licensed 2 months after graduation. During this time I was looking for positions left and right but only received an interview, and then offer, 2 months after licensure. I would highly recommend to start working at least your 3rd year or to attend your school's career fair (assuming your school does one). Having to pass my exams and also worrying about employment was not fun at all (felt like I shot myself in the foot). I believe you will be able to find a position after graduation w/o working but that might mean not working for weeks/months or having to relocate to undesirable locations.

 

[one pharmacy call]

I also worked as a tech during undergrad and did not work as an intern during pharmacy school. In fact, I went back as a tech during the summer to work at my old pharmacy since they weren't hiring interns at the time. I knew I wanted to go to retail from the very beginning, so I knew what skills to focus on at school and on rotations.

I had very good interviews at my school's career fair and had a job lined up before December of my P4 year. I started working as a grad intern immediately after graduation, which I found odd since I thought they would at least get me started interning before graduation.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably get a job just to help minimize my student loans. If I wanted to work in a hospital, I probably would've tried securing an intern or tech position ASAP to get hospital experience.

 

[Mr Medschool Money]

Will not working in school for the first two years hurt my chances of landing a job? I'm in a three year program and constantly struggling. Will only working my third year (my final year) be good enough?

I'm a med student so I know it is a lot different. My pharmacy friends enjoy what they do at work. They learn a lot while working, and the really nice paychecks decrease their amount of stress- they aren't worrying about how to pay rent this month. A little different in med school. But I'm trying to change that!

 

[a student]

I'm a med student so I know it is a lot different. My pharmacy friends enjoy what they do at work. They learn a lot while working, and the really nice paychecks decrease their amount of stress- they aren't worrying about how to pay rent this month. A little different in med school. But I'm trying to change that!

Med students should be allowed to work as intern pharmacists. This way when you become doctors, you can write prescriptions properly and give pharmacists less headaches.

 

[Mr Medschool Money]

Med students should be allowed to work as intern pharmacists. This way when you become doctors, you can write prescriptions properly and give pharmacists less headaches.

that sounds like a good paying job me! Where do I sign up?! lol

 

[PharmtoCS]

I'm a med student so I know it is a lot different. My pharmacy friends enjoy what they do at work. They learn a lot while working, and the really nice paychecks decrease their amount of stress- they aren't worrying about how to pay rent this month. A little different in med school. But I'm trying to change that!

Chances are that the pharmacists you encounter are not in retail.

 

[Mr Medschool Money]

Chances are that the pharmacists you encounter are not in retail.

They are in retail. But I can't say much more than that. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[Slippers]

My opinion on this is that it depends what type of pharmacy you want to work in later on: hospital or retail. For residency programs, work experience is a plus, but you definitely need a solid GPA and organizational involvement as well. So if this was your case, I would say skipping out on the job to focus on school would be your best decision. But from your post, it sounds like you're more interested in retail/community pharmacy. Work experience is DEFINITELY what you want for this field. We had a career fair at my pharmacy school, and I heard many students got job offers because they already worked with a company. Especially Walgreens and Kroger (although it was also the case for many other chains as well). Although I don't have any actual experience job-hunting as a pharmacist, I would think that although it wouldn't be impossible to find a job without having worked during pharmacy school, it will likely make it more challenging for you. It would probably involve a lot more phone calls and pavement pounding and working your way up with temp jobs/floater positions (which might end up being the case even if you do work during our current job market🤔🤔🤔).

If you're having trouble passing classes, I would still skip out on the job, because all the work experience in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have a degree. But if it's just your GPA you're worried about, most community pharmacies don't place a high emphasis on grades.

I can also say that how much you're expected to work while a student varies SIGNIFICANTLY among pharmacies. Some pharmacies want you to work 20 hrs+/week, and some are okay with 2-4 times per month. If you know any insiders personally, definitely ask how much they're expected to work. Or if you don't know anyone, just be open during the interview that you can't do more than 10-12 hrs/week (or whatever you think you can do).

Hope this helps!

 

[PAtoPharm]

My opinion on this is that it depends what type of pharmacy you want to work in later on: hospital or retail. For residency programs, work experience is a plus, but you definitely need a solid GPA and organizational involvement as well. So if this was your case, I would say skipping out on the job to focus on school would be your best decision. But from your post, it sounds like you're more interested in retail/community pharmacy. Work experience is DEFINITELY what you want for this field. We had a career fair at my pharmacy school, and I heard many students got job offers because they already worked with a company. Especially Walgreens and Kroger (although it was also the case for many other chains as well). Although I don't have any actual experience job-hunting as a pharmacist, I would think that although it wouldn't be impossible to find a job without having worked during pharmacy school, it will likely make it more challenging for you. It would probably involve a lot more phone calls and pavement pounding and working your way up with temp jobs/floater positions (which might end up being the case even if you do work during our current job market🤔🤔🤔).

If you're having trouble passing classes, I would still skip out on the job, because all the work experience in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have a degree. But if it's just your GPA you're worried about, most community pharmacies don't place a high emphasis on grades.

I can also say that how much you're expected to work while a student varies SIGNIFICANTLY among pharmacies. Some pharmacies want you to work 20 hrs+/week, and some are okay with 2-4 times per month. If you know any insiders personally, definitely ask how much they're expected to work. Or if you don't know anyone, just be open during the interview that you can't do more than 10-12 hrs/week (or whatever you think you can do).

Hope this helps!

Do you know what the expectations are among retail chain pharmacies, in regards to how many hours per week/month they expect their student interns to work? Does it vary from company to company, location to location, etc.? I am going to get an intern license soon, but I would really rather work (at least in the beginning) only 1 shift per week, so I didn't know if there was a "shortlist" of retail pharmacies that were known for being especially flexible in regards to hours/shift requirements for their interns.

Thanks...

 

[PharmDBro2017]

I think it is a huge mistake to NOT work while in pharmacy school, and I advise most people to search for a pharmacy job. I worked retail and hospital PRN while in school, and part time at a LTAC. It was often hard as hell and didn't provide much time to be with my spouse, but it has paid dividends into my career options.

Not only does it give you real world experience of what to expect when you graduate, it will help memorize generic/brand drugs, and much more. It will be your foot in the door come graduation when you still need a job. Get at least 1 year of work experience in a pharmacy.

 

[Slippers]

Do you know what the expectations are among retail chain pharmacies, in regards to how many hours per week/month they expect their student interns to work? Does it vary from company to company, location to location, etc.? I am going to get an intern license soon, but I would really rather work (at least in the beginning) only 1 shift per week, so I didn't know if there was a "shortlist" of retail pharmacies that were known for being especially flexible in regards to hours/shift requirements for their interns.

I've never known of any official list, but from my experience this is something that depends more on individual pharmacy managers rather than a company. E.g. one Kroger may be entirely different from another. I've heard from my class that IN GENERAL, Kroger tends to be understanding of students and requires them to work less often. But then there's other Kroger locations that want students to work essentially close to full time. There are some Walgreens locations that are willing to hire "floater" positions for both students and pharmacists. I knew someone who actually only worked a couple of times a month. Essentially, you're an extra who can work at any of the Walgreens locations. If a store needs help/someone called in sick, they put you on schedule. Not sure on the specifics though. And the CVS I know of wants quite a few hours per week... but I believe all of this depends on the location and the manager.

Are you in pharmacy school right now? Got any classmates you could ask?

 

[Slippers]

Word of warning though... Walgreens and CVS have an online application that lets you select certain locations... but I think after a certain number of days it goes out to all the Walgreens or CVS stores in the area. If this happens and you're offered an interview at a store you're not sure of, I think it's hard to go wrong by being honest about your work availability. Definitely try to compromise and offer more than your 'ideal' if you're truly interested. But the worst they can say is no. And it's a whole lot easier to tell them you can only work so many hours during an interview than it is after your manager already put you on a schedule. Unless you say something absurd like "I can only work a maximum of 3 hours weekly, between the hours of 12PM and 3 PM and all Fridays and weekends are entirely unacceptable," show up in sweatpants, or generally make a fool of yourself, you won't get blacklisted from the company. In fact, if they like you, they might know a different manager who better suits your availability and send you their way.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Word of warning though... Walgreens and CVS have an online application that lets you select certain locations... but I think after a certain number of days it goes out to all the Walgreens or CVS stores in the area. If this happens and you're offered an interview at a store you're not sure of, I think it's hard to go wrong by being honest about your work availability. Definitely try to compromise and offer more than your 'ideal' if you're truly interested. But the worst they can say is no. And it's a whole lot easier to tell them you can only work so many hours during an interview than it is after your manager already put you on a schedule. Unless you say something absurd like "I can only work a maximum of 3 hours weekly, between the hours of 12PM and 3 PM and all Fridays and weekends are entirely unacceptable," show up in sweatpants, or generally make a fool of yourself, you won't get blacklisted from the company. In fact, if they like you, they might know a different manager who better suits your availability and send you their way.

Thanks for the advice. I actually commute to a school that is somewhat far away from where I live at home, so I probably wouldn't want to work at a pharmacy location in the vicinity of where the school is (that's why I haven't really talked to students). Ironically enough, there are Kroger locations near where my school is, but none near where I live. After seeing another poster mention it, I guess what I'm looking for is a company that offers PRN scheduling. In the retail world, I've heard good things about Publix, so maybe I'll check with them. I wonder if there's a way to find out if a particular location offers PRN scheduling for interns prior to applying... should I just point-blank ask the manager?

 

[bulldog1123]

I've never known of any official list, but from my experience this is something that depends more on individual pharmacy managers rather than a company. E.g. one Kroger may be entirely different from another. I've heard from my class that IN GENERAL, Kroger tends to be understanding of students and requires them to work less often. But then there's other Kroger locations that want students to work essentially close to full time. There are some Walgreens locations that are willing to hire "floater" positions for both students and pharmacists. I knew someone who actually only worked a couple of times a month. Essentially, you're an extra who can work at any of the Walgreens locations. If a store needs help/someone called in sick, they put you on schedule. Not sure on the specifics though. And the CVS I know of wants quite a few hours per week... but I believe all of this depends on the location and the manager.

Are you in pharmacy school right now? Got any classmates you could ask?

CVS requires 8-10 hours a week on my offer letter. That's usually one weekend shift for me (Sat 9a-6p) which still leaves me Friday night, Saturday night and all of Sunday for class, leisure, etc.

 

[useruseruser]

I went to a 3 year program and most classmates starting working during 2nd year. Keep in mind interviews start Oct-Dec of your third year. If you've only just started working your third year, you won't have much experiences to talk about by the time interviews come around. Maybe try to land a job at least 6 months before interviews if you can. I definitely feel like it was easier for classmates who had retail experience to secure job offers early.

During school I worked at CVS and my intern coordinator wanted us to work 10 hours per week (ideally split between 2 days). I just did one 10 hour shift a week on the weekends. I think most of my classmates were like me and just dedicated one full weekend shift to work. I know some interns at Kroger barely worked though. Maybe once every other week.

 

[Sparda29]

Big chain is better for training your ability to handle a pharmacy. Independent is better if you want less stress outside of school.

Disagree. Stay away from big chains. You'll learn bad habits there because of the need for being faster for "improved customer service".