Pharmacists: Are You Happy?

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Are you happy?

  • Yes

    Votes: 30 45.5%

  • No

    Votes: 36 54.5%
  • Total voters
    66
  • Poll closed .
Lol @ "simple question".

Sure, what a totally simple, non-loaded question with absolutely no bias or agenda behind it. Undoubtably OP just wants to know how many happy and unhappy SDN pharmacists there are. Just to keep it totally simple OP didn't even put any qualifiers on it.
 
Pre-pharmacy huh? Is this how you're going to make your career choice...not if you're going to be happy but if others are?
 
I got an idea. Ask this same question in the other professions. Then compare the answers you get here to theirs. I think the comparison will answer your question greatly.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
^ be sure to ask those in non-health professions. Reality is most of the health professions are completely saturated, require you to graduate with tons of debt, and are far more stressful compared to other professions.
 
Yes, both consciously (I am happy with my fate) and unconsciously (I continue to work irrespective of what I think some days). I'd be curious about a non-loaded version of the question. And yes, I would have no objection to working this job for $50k, I can afford to and that was my salary during the junior government years.
 
lord999 said:
Yes, both consciously (I am happy with my fate) and unconsciously (I continue to work irrespective of what I think some days). I'd be curious about a non-loaded version of the question. And yes, I would have no objection to working this job for $50k, I can afford to and that was my salary during the junior government years.
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Must be nice to have a sugar mama 😉😉😉
 
I understand there’s an array of factors that play into happiness. I’m trying to get an idea on every pharmacists current perspective on happiness in there life right this moment.

Individuals insist pre-pharmacy students not to go into pharmacy due to job saturation. Is that the only reason?
 
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acslater99 said:
Individuals insist pre-pharmacy students not to go into pharmacy due to job saturation. Is that the only reason?
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Job saturation + high debt burden from expensive schooling is a pretty good reason to avoid this path. There are several negative consequences to job saturation - reduced wages, less job security, lower quality students and new graduates (meaning your peers might not be all that great, and you have to spend 3 years with them, as well as the prestige of the PharmD has gone down over the years).

If you want other reasons not to pursue pharmacy, besides the risky and not great ROI, here are a few:

1) the profession's leadership has with very little to no political teeth to actually advocate for the needs of the profession - we have all heard "provider status is coming" for over 30 years, and now we can sometimes maybe prescribe birth control in a few states.

2) speaking of provider status, pharmacists in the fed government, especially IHS, have functioned as mid-level providers for decades. It doesnt work in the private sector because NPs and PAs are cheaper and are able to get good enough results. Capitalists dont care about potential money saved from preventing med errors or from optimizing med regimens, they care about generating revenue, and getting the bare minimum done as cheaply as possible.

3) pharmacy is experiencing an ongoing identity crisis. we cant even decide what constitutes a clinical pharmacist. Our leadership, instead of uniting us, takes advantage of this by creating all sorts of certificate programs and credentials that cost $1000s to acquire and maintain. It's a whole racket. This identity crisis is another reason we dont have provider status - not all pharmacists want to be providers, and they view provider status as a burden.

4) you are an auditor. Your job is to catch mistakes. You are the last line before a patient gets their meds. Sure, it is an important job and can be fulfilling, but it is also a very thankless job, and can be very frustrating after you catch the same mistake over and over and over again, and there is nothing you can really do about it because you are so far downstream in the system. And nobody really likes you. prescribers, nurses, and patients all see you as an obstacle. You are the P&T police and drug nanny. You have no friends. You will die alone.
 
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acslater99 said:
@giga

Knowing what you know now, would you still have pursued pharmacy?
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Even though i was being a bit tongue-in-cheek and hyperbolic in my previous post, I would not have pursued pharmacy knowing what I know now.

Pharmacy has treated me well, I have a great job, I have learned a lot of interesting things, and have developed good relationships with fellow pharmacists. I am definitely not miserable. Honestly, i just kind of find traditional pharmacy to be boring, while also being stressful and frustrating. It is rare that i feel empowered by my work (when i am working in the pharmacy). Maybe i'm just not a good pharmacist, but I don't enjoy the work that much. I often feel limited by how much of a positive impact i directly have on patient's health, which is what i actually care about. If i wasn't able to get the non-traditional job i have now (working in regulatory affairs where at least i have a good amount of autonomy over my work and feel like im advancing public health in a meaningful way) I would probably be very unhappy. So even though it has worked out for me for now, its because i salvaged my pharmacy education by pursuing a non-traditional route.

My best advice is to shadow as many different professionals as you can. If i had shadowed a greater diversity of professionals, i would have likely chosen a profession in which i have more autonomy, such as a physician. I didnt realize when i was younger how important that would be for my work satisfaction and sense of fulfillment.
 
giga said:
Even though i was being a bit tongue-in-cheek and hyperbolic in my previous post, I would not have pursued pharmacy knowing what I know now.

Pharmacy has treated me well, I have a great job, I have learned a lot of interesting things, and have developed good relationships with fellow pharmacists. I am definitely not miserable. Honestly, i just kind of find traditional pharmacy to be boring, while also being stressful and frustrating. It is rare that i feel empowered by my work (when i am working in the pharmacy). Maybe i'm just not a good pharmacist, but I don't enjoy the work that much. I often feel limited by how much of a positive impact i directly have on patient's health, which is what i actually care about. If i wasn't able to get the non-traditional job i have now (working in regulatory affairs where at least i have a good amount of autonomy over my work and feel like im advancing public health in a meaningful way) I would probably be very unhappy. So even though it has worked out for me for now, its because i salvaged my pharmacy education by pursuing a non-traditional route.

My best advice is to shadow as many different professionals as you can. If i had shadowed a greater diversity of professionals, i would have likely chosen a profession in which i have more autonomy, such as a physician. I didnt realize when i was younger how important that would be for my work satisfaction and sense of fulfillment.
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Well I appreciate your honest feedback, thank you.

Do you feel you have a great work-life balance? Can you say you have a lot of time for your family?
 
acslater99 said:
Well I appreciate your honest feedback, thank you.

Do you feel you have a great work-life balance? Can you say you have a lot of time for your family?
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My work-life balance isn't great, but thats mostly a self-induced problem. One of the draw backs of having more autonomy over your work is you have to be more self-disciplined about setting up boundries around when work stops. If i wanted to make more time to spend with family i certainly could.
 
I guess it really depends on your outlook of the work you do, the environment and your coworkers. I would say I am pretty happy where I am at and my work-life balance is pretty good. Providing direct patient care in the ambulatory environment has many positives. I have strong working relationships with all physicians at my clinic and have wonderful assistants that work under me. Additionally I have my own schedule and work autonomously. I realized ambulatory care, for me, provides the most satisfaction. I always recommend to all my students to gain as much exposure in different pharmacy environments to make the decision where you want your career to go.
 
I am now. CVS sucked the life out of me and when I jumped ship it was the best move I could've made. It's cliché to say money isn't everything, especially when you need money to survive in life in whatever venture you choose. But it was a no brainer between more money/less free time vs less money/more time at home with wife and dog. I value my time a lot more than I did when I got out of school.
 
lord999 said:
It is, although I'm answering as if she isn't around, I earned enough that I wouldn't mind. If she had it her way, I'd be the house husband.
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I wouldn’t mind being a house husband, but I’m not that lucky lol
 
acslater99 said:
Do you feel you have a great work-life balance? Can you say you have a lot of time for your family?
Click to expand...

I think that the profession is not naturally conducive to maintaining work-life balance. Many pharmacists battle with inconsistent work schedules, working beyond the 40 hour work week, or taking work home. It's not impossible to maintain a balance, but you have to be extra cognizant and set boundaries.

And I would also place myself in the "meh, it's fine" category. It's not I-want-a-career-change bad, but I personally would not have chosen this path again if I knew what I know now.
 
John Detter said:
I think that the profession is not naturally conducive to maintaining work-life balance. Many pharmacists battle with inconsistent work schedules, working beyond the 40 hour work week, or taking work home. It's not impossible to maintain a balance, but you have to be extra cognizant and set boundaries.

And I would also place myself in the "meh, it's fine" category. It's not I-want-a-career-change bad, but I personally would not have chosen this path again if I knew what I know now.
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The schedule was a big problem for me. When I was a hospital pharmacist I was constantly working different shifts, every other weekend, didn't have set days off, and struggled to get vacation time approved.

I enjoyed parts of the work, but overall it was a little too stressful and took a toll on my personal life. Most of my colleagues felt the same.

I'm much happier with work now that I'm in a non-traditional role.
 
Yup. Love my job/career/workplace.

I can work 100 hours over 10 days straight and still enjoy my work, that beats my old career where I’d drag myself to hour 40 of the week.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
I guess after a while your happiness is directly proportional to the number of neurons the people around you possess. Yeah some smart people are pretty mean but dealing with people with two brain cells and trying to make them synapse day after day will take a toll on you.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
pre-med? why do you ask? i am happy as a pharmacist but wouldn't recommend to others. are you happy as a pre-med?
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I actually am happy being pre-med.

The main reason I created this thread is to get a general view on current pharmacists happiness. I recently became a father and the last two weeks have been the happiest I've been. Which changes my views about going into medical school. I'm viewing my options because physician training and the profession itself is very time consuming. We're talking about 4 years of medical school plus 3-5 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship (if I decide to specialize). Not being able to attend my daughters milestones in life will be tough on me.

Why pharmacy as a alternative, you all may ask. I volunteer at a hospital and I became friends with one of the staff pharmacists and he tells me that he enjoys his career choice and should consider it. It seems as if he is in a calm mood at all times.

I truly have a passion for medicine do not get me wrong. But given the training that it requires is a bit unappealing at this moment in life.

While I am considering pharmacy school, I don't know if it is the right choice for me. Pharmacy school is also 4 years but residency is only 1-2 years. On the other hand, I heard the profession isn't going in the right place. With job saturation playing big factor.

I value time with my family more than I do money. Which is pulling me in different directions as far as what I want to do for a career.
 
acslater99 said:
I actually am happy being pre-med.

The main reason I created this thread is to get a general view on current pharmacists happiness. I recently became a father and the last two weeks have been the happiest I've been. Which changes my views about going into medical school. I'm viewing my options because physician training and the profession itself is very time consuming. We're talking about 4 years of medical school plus 3-5 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship (if I decide to specialize). Not being able to attend my daughters milestones in life will be tough on me.

Why pharmacy as a alternative, you all may ask. I volunteer at a hospital and I became friends with one of the staff pharmacists and he tells me that he enjoys his career choice and should consider it. It seems as if he is in a calm mood at all times.

I truly have a passion for medicine do not get me wrong. But given the training that it requires is a bit unappealing at this moment in life.

While I am considering pharmacy school, I don't know if it is the right choice for me. Pharmacy school is also 4 years but residency is only 1-2 years. On the other hand, I heard the profession isn't going in the right place. With job saturation playing big factor.

I value time with my family more than I do money. Which is pulling me in different directions as far as what I want to do for a career.
Click to expand...
You can always consider PA, Podiatry, denistry, PT school - other good alternatives that can potentially require less time to achieve.
 
acslater99 said:
I actually am happy being pre-med.

The main reason I created this thread is to get a general view on current pharmacists happiness. I recently became a father and the last two weeks have been the happiest I've been. Which changes my views about going into medical school. I'm viewing my options because physician training and the profession itself is very time consuming. We're talking about 4 years of medical school plus 3-5 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship (if I decide to specialize). Not being able to attend my daughters milestones in life will be tough on me.

Why pharmacy as a alternative, you all may ask. I volunteer at a hospital and I became friends with one of the staff pharmacists and he tells me that he enjoys his career choice and should consider it. It seems as if he is in a calm mood at all times.

I truly have a passion for medicine do not get me wrong. But given the training that it requires is a bit unappealing at this moment in life.

While I am considering pharmacy school, I don't know if it is the right choice for me. Pharmacy school is also 4 years but residency is only 1-2 years. On the other hand, I heard the profession isn't going in the right place. With job saturation playing big factor.

I value time with my family more than I do money. Which is pulling me in different directions as far as what I want to do for a career.
Click to expand...

There is also IT or software engineering. They allows you to earn a very good salary, live a very good quality of life (unless if you work for a startup or Amazon), are currently in very high demand, and do not require you to take out the astronomical loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school as required of most health professionals.
 
acslater99 said:
I actually am happy being pre-med.

The main reason I created this thread is to get a general view on current pharmacists happiness. I recently became a father and the last two weeks have been the happiest I've been. Which changes my views about going into medical school. I'm viewing my options because physician training and the profession itself is very time consuming. We're talking about 4 years of medical school plus 3-5 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship (if I decide to specialize). Not being able to attend my daughters milestones in life will be tough on me.

Why pharmacy as a alternative, you all may ask. I volunteer at a hospital and I became friends with one of the staff pharmacists and he tells me that he enjoys his career choice and should consider it. It seems as if he is in a calm mood at all times.

I truly have a passion for medicine do not get me wrong. But given the training that it requires is a bit unappealing at this moment in life.

While I am considering pharmacy school, I don't know if it is the right choice for me. Pharmacy school is also 4 years but residency is only 1-2 years. On the other hand, I heard the profession isn't going in the right place. With job saturation playing big factor.

I value time with my family more than I do money. Which is pulling me in different directions as far as what I want to do for a career.
Click to expand...

I've gone through alot before i got to pharmacy school. After college, got a master's and working in clinical research for 3 years. Thought about med school but realized i'll be well past 40 before i can start practicing. Pharmacy was a good choice for me at the time and i am enjoying my career and my current job but still... would not recommend to others. I feel like i got lucky. not everyone will have the opportunity that i got. Statistically, majority of pharm school grads will work in big cooperate retail... and with Amazon getting in the game, it's highly likely retail will suck even more. so... ya no don't do it.
 
Am I happy with my decision to pursue pharmacy? Yes, and this was after going to college for a couple of years taking science/math classes without having a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life (my major was "general studies" for the first two years of college before deciding on pharmacy back in 2004). I never stepped foot into a pharmacy work area until the summer after my first year of pharmacy school. After graduation, I started working at a hospital, and I think this is where I was meant to be. I floated for a couple of years throughout the hospital, ICU for 3 years, then oncology for 1.5 years. I decided that I wanted to become board certified, so I studied, took the exam, and I passed in the fall of 2017. I will not be getting compensated for this nor was this done to keep my current position; this was for me.

While working in a hospital has downfalls, I would much rather work here any day than work at a chain pharmacy. Some people are cut out for that. I my area (and I'm certain that this is pretty consistent across the board), you get significantly more money working in retail/community. This is not worth the hassle that comes with it in my opinion. I also think I was indirectly skewed from retail pharmacy by my pharmacy preceptor when I worked at a chain as an intern during pharmacy school.

I like what I do. I don't know what else I would be doing if I went back to college all over again. I make decent money, and I met my wife (nurse) at my hospital. There are some days that are worse than others, but for the most part, the good ones outweigh the bad.
 
I'm very happy in my current position. I enjoyed retail floating as well, definitely was not happy at some of the hellishly busy, understaffed stores with in notorious CII problem areas.
 
I am happy that i have a job. I am making over 150 k. It could be worse.
 
Why do you think the individuals who voted “No” are not happy?

Does it differ with everyone? Or is there some correlation between why pharmacists aren’t happy?
 
I am not happy about the working condition. I am however happy that i am able to pay my bills. The market is saturated in south florida. My friend has been looking for a job for over a year now with no luck.
 
Pharmacy sucks. LMAO... It's a sh1tty profession. It pays the bill IF you get a job. Hold on to it for your dear life. Good luck.
 
ancienbon said:
I am not happy about the working condition. I am however happy that i am able to pay my bills. The market is saturated in south florida. My friend has been looking for a job for over a year now with no luck.
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I loved living is South Florida, but hated making.. oh, what was it? $46/hr by the time I left? It's ridiculous how low pay is compared to the cost of living in the area.
 
Let’s be honest - almost no one in this world is “happy with our job”. We do it because we need to take care of outlrselves and our families.

Honestly, I am not at all happy with the retail job I have (pic of a very busy pharmacy with 10 full time teammates). However I am happy to cash the check and do awesome things with my family with the money.

I would not wish the stress, pressure, and the pure comical redicilousness that is a common day in the pharmacy on anyone. However if you can tolerate it - it pays a solid middle class wage
 
acslater99 said:
Why do you think the individuals who voted “No” are not happy?

Does it differ with everyone? Or is there some correlation between why pharmacists aren’t happy?
Click to expand...

Work a year in a super busy retail. Why ask - just do it for yourself and see
 
Here's the thing, yes, I am very happy with my career choice. I love pharmacy and the different aspects of it. But I am mid-career. I graduated with minimal debt (just a bit over half of my 1st year salary.) I have been through the "golden" years where a pharmacist could literally get hired anywhere they wanted to work, and because of that, I have been able to work in a variety of different work environments. And while my savings aren't great, I do have more than the average American saved for retirement.

But would I be as happy today if I was graduating with $200,000 debt hanging over my head, and limited career prospects? I certainly would have less variety of work experience. Graduating today would be a completely different experience for me.

So when you ask a general question with no qualifiers whatsoever, you are going to get answers that probably are not applicable to your situation.

A better question for starters would be, pharmacists who have graduated between 18 months and 3 years ago, are you happy with your career choice? (newer than 18 months pharmacists may still be in denial and not have the reality of their career options and debt sink in yet.)
 
Ditto to Biding - I came out of school just after the pharmacy bubble burst, but you could still get a job easily (but without bonuses) and you probably couldn't choose exactly where you wanted to go/shift you wanted. I don't recommend people go into pharmacy now.

I have been very fortunate, mixed with a few wise choices - I have had great jobs and a lot of flexibility and career satisfaction and get paid well. Pharmacy has been great to me. That said, happiness is fleeting; trying to make it a constant state is the root of so many problems. Personally and professionally, I aim to find times of happiness, avoid choosing unhappiness when possible, but understand that I will experience both - sometimes within the same 5 minutes. And in between those extremes, there is a lot of meh.
 
smhrx11--I knew about the retail gambit long before you had the experience. I decided not to go into it for that reason alone because I knew I could not handle the pressure that facet of pharmacy brings. However, I may have to choose a Graduate Intern position at one of the retailers, although I know I won't survive longer than 1 year. Everyone needs a job though and I have few options. Having said that, can you apply to a hospital position, prior authorization, independent pharmacy, nuclear pharmacy, or other facet without recent experience (within 5 years) or an internship of some kind or are you stuck in retail completely as a new graduate?

I am not as fortunate as most of you.
 
Market saturation alone is reason to not consider pharmacy. If you can't get a job or can only work a limited number of hours or have to move cross country to get any job, what is the point of even considering the field?
 
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