Part Time job while pursuing Pharm D

Started by avik224
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avik224

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I was just wondering:

What is the best pharmacy-related part time job, in terms of income and experience in the field??
 
If you have some free time you may want to look into becoming a certified pharmacy technician. You can learn more about this on www.ptcb.org , you can buy a workbook to study for cheap off amazon. While you are studying you can start to go out and turn in applications at local pharmacies, independents, chain store, grocery outlets and so on. That will only give you insight into the community side of pharmacy if you interested in hospital pharmacy it is harder to get experience. You will most likely have to start as a volunteer in the hospital and hope there is an opening at the pharmacy sometime. But volunteering at a hospital always looks good and is very informative, you can get a feel for different healthcare professions.

Another way to get your foot in the door is have your high school counselor setup a job shadow or two with some local pharmacists to get a snapshot of what things are like and see if they have some advice for you. If they like you this also may be a good way to get your foot in the door to becoming a technician. The pharmacists will usually try to find a slow time to conduct the job shadow so you can get some questions answered.

Income when it comes to pharmacy jobs depends on where you live but most pharmacy clerks will start off at minimum wage or slightly above, some places start there techs a few dollars above minimum wage. I hvae friends making 10 bucks as clerks and friends making 14 bucks as techs. The wages vary depending on experience.
 
How long would it take to study for pharm tech????

Do people really do that as an undergrad or student in Pharm D program??? Isn't pharm technician a degree by itself??

Also, when obtaining either a job as a clerk or a tech, would it help if I had research experience at Rutgers School of Pharmacy, even if the research was related to melanoma development and finding a cure???
 
pharm tech is a certification, not a degree.

it depends how well you are able to study. there's not way for anyone to know how long it would take you to study for the pharm tech certification exam. 1-2 months should be enough.

although research experience doesn't have anything to do with being a clerk or a tech, experience does help, and as a clerk/tech, they will train you and help you through it. you just need to first get your foot in the door.
 
How long would it take to study for pharm tech????

Do people really do that as an undergrad or student in Pharm D program??? Isn't pharm technician a degree by itself??

Also, when obtaining either a job as a clerk or a tech, would it help if I had research experience at Rutgers School of Pharmacy, even if the research was related to melanoma development and finding a cure???

Several people in my class work as techs at various pharmacies in the area and lots of prepharmacy people volunteer in hospitals or work as techs. By this October you will need to be certified to be a Pharmacy technician so might as well do it. In my opinion almost all schools like to see that you have had pharmacy experience and know that this is the career for you. It isn't a written rule and people definitely get into pharmacy school without experience working in a pharmacy but I have friends that got rejected last year due to lack of experience/knowledge some with and some without an interview and I am sure there are people on this forum that had that happen to them.

Make some money while in school, connections for letters of recommendation,experience to talk about in essays and during your interview plus you get a better feel for the profession and maybe internship offers once you become a Pharmacy Student.
 
pharm tech is a certification, not a degree.

it depends how well you are able to study. there's not way for anyone to know how long it would take you to study for the pharm tech certification exam. 1-2 months should be enough.

although research experience doesn't have anything to do with being a clerk or a tech, experience does help, and as a clerk/tech, they will train you and help you through it. you just need to first get your foot in the door.

My CC offered an AS in Pharmacy Technology. Essentially a Pharm Tech degree. The adjunct faculty in charge of the internships was hoping that the BOP would make the degree mandatory in CA. I don't see it happening though.
 
For those ppl in 0-6 Pharm D. Programs:


How many hours did you manage to work, per week, as a pharm tech???

Does it get significantly harder to work such hours when transferring from pre-professional to professional phase???

Is it manageable to work enough hours to earn about $10k per year and still have a perfect GPA in school???

Are the bosses considerate when you cannot come to work due to excessive studying, and or Midterms/Finals???