Pharmacy, PT, or OT?? help a poor confused soul

[Ramenoodles]

Please help me I am really confused. I am into my junior year of college and I am still not sure which healthcare career I want to pursue. I worked as a pharmacy technician in retail and had a horrible boss who verbally assaulted me which contributed to me hating the experience. Also when I worked there the counting of pills stressed me out plus I was the only tech there and I always felt lost. I prefer group settings and I don't think i'll ever be able to memorize all the brand and generic drug names. And I do not like how you're working against a clock and you have 50 tasks that need to get done at once and you're the boss as a pharmacist so all responsibility falls on you if anything messes up...and some patients are very rude they treat you like a slave. I know so many people that pursue this field and they seem to love everything about it and it comes so easily to them...maybe I just don't have the confidence or personality for it and am scared I will mess up 🙁

The things I do like about it are:

• the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it's a pretty straightforward job
• learning about drug interactions
• conversing with patients
• the pay

I am also thinking of PT or optometry. PT sounds really interesting; I like how interactive it is and how your physically working to help reduce the pain of a patient. I am an active person so I feel I will enjoy that. I also like how you're not looking at a screen all day. To me, the PT environment seems more people friendly. The con is I know it pays less than pharmacy and requires the same amount of studying and I am not sure if hours are flexible.

I don't know much about optometry. I hear the pay is good but you probably need to start your own practice for that and I am not sure how I feel about that.

I know I probably need to volunteer at PT places and shadow an OT but what if I'm still confused. This is the year to be taking grad school exams and doing applications and I still don't know what I want and everyone around me does...I feel because I don't have a clear path my grades and motivation have also suffered. I don't even know if i'll get into any grad schools with my gpa.

In the end I just want to be happy and make a good living. I am really lost. If someone could guide me I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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[PA_dud3]

Optometry is arguably more saturated than Pharmacy. Most new practitioners seem to be working in chain eye stores, from what I've read. They make less than RPhs unless you start your own practice. OT is Occupational Therapy, Optometry is OD. I shadowed a DPT and a PTA for about 8 hours, it's interesting work, but not something I am more interested in than pharmacy (largely because I loathe touching people).

Floating as an RPh probably will only net you around 32 hours/week as a base. A lot of floaters do get FT hours but you should probably expect to get around 32 hours or less going in. You also, as the name implies, won't be at the same store most of the time. Pharmacy is also a lot more than memorizing brand/generic names and interactions. Try to get more tech experience if you can. I had to work as a tech for about 6 months or so before I finally decided this was something I wanted to pursue.

You'll get a lot of people saying the market is saturated and how you'll never find a job as an RPh. The market is saturated, but not to the extent where it is impossible to find a job. However, I would be very sure this is something you want to do before pursuing it. I sort of know what I'm getting into and I am fine with that, in the end it comes down to what you're willing to do and where you're willing to go to do it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Seriously Serious]

I would not stress too much about it, good news is, each job will pay the bills and allow you to live a comfortable life. Go with the one you enjoy, it will make you happy. If you hate being a tech, you will most likely hate being a pharmacist.

 

[deleted950169]

Honestly it doesn't sound like you're interested in pharmacy for the right reasons. I would explore other options. There's a lot of allied health professions and if you hate retail, that's a good 80% of the jobs. If you didn't enjoy being a tech, I wouldn't be a pharmacist either- it's a high stress job which doesn't seem suited to what you want. I'd honestly explore other fields, both in and out of healthcare. You can help people in lots of roles.

 

[radio frequency]

I wouldn’t pick any of those options today, but I would lean toward optometry first, then pharmacy, then PT if those were my only choices. PT has a terrible ROI when you look at the school costs vs the pay. Being unable to pay off the debt for the schooling you needed in order to practice would be very stressful. In all other respects, it’s a pretty nice career.

 

[PharmtoCS]

In the end I just want to be happy and make a good living. I am really lost. If someone could guide me I would really appreciate it.

I would look at non-healthcare STEM professions, i.e. computer science or engineering. These majors lead to jobs that pay well, are in high demand compared to pharmacy, offer better work conditions (not on your feet for 14 hours with no bathroom or lunch break), and do not require you to take out $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years of your life in school.

 

[JamesPharmD]

Please help me I am really confused. I am into my junior year of college and I am still not sure which healthcare career I want to pursue. I worked as a pharmacy technician in retail and had a horrible boss who verbally assaulted me which contributed to me hating the experience. Also when I worked there the counting of pills stressed me out plus I was the only tech there and I always felt lost. I prefer group settings and I don't think i'll ever be able to memorize all the brand and generic drug names. And I do not like how you're working against a clock and you have 50 tasks that need to get done at once and you're the boss as a pharmacist so all responsibility falls on you if anything messes up...and some patients are very rude they treat you like a slave. I know so many people that pursue this field and they seem to love everything about it and it comes so easily to them...maybe I just don't have the confidence or personality for it and am scared I will mess up 🙁

The things I do like about it are:

• the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it's a pretty straightforward job
• learning about drug interactions
• conversing with patients
• the pay

I am also thinking of PT or optometry. PT sounds really interesting; I like how interactive it is and how your physically working to help reduce the pain of a patient. I am an active person so I feel I will enjoy that. I also like how you're not looking at a screen all day. To me, the PT environment seems more people friendly. The con is I know it pays less than pharmacy and requires the same amount of studying and I am not sure if hours are flexible.

I don't know much about optometry. I hear the pay is good but you probably need to start your own practice for that and I am not sure how I feel about that.

I know I probably need to volunteer at PT places and shadow an OT but what if I'm still confused. This is the year to be taking grad school exams and doing applications and I still don't know what I want and everyone around me does...I feel because I don't have a clear path my grades and motivation have also suffered. I don't even know if i'll get into any grad schools with my gpa.

In the end I just want to be happy and make a good living. I am really lost. If someone could guide me I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I would think carefully before going to pharmacy school. Look into job market of your location. Lots of grad students don't have offer yet. You can look into PA (Physician Assistant). If you want to be call as "doctor" like most pharmacist which is rare btw, then you can look in to DPA (Doctor of Physician Assistant)

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Please help me I am really confused. I am into my junior year of college and I am still not sure which healthcare career I want to pursue. I worked as a pharmacy technician in retail and had a horrible boss who verbally assaulted me which contributed to me hating the experience. Also when I worked there the counting of pills stressed me out plus I was the only tech there and I always felt lost. I prefer group settings and I don't think i'll ever be able to memorize all the brand and generic drug names. And I do not like how you're working against a clock and you have 50 tasks that need to get done at once and you're the boss as a pharmacist so all responsibility falls on you if anything messes up...and some patients are very rude they treat you like a slave. I know so many people that pursue this field and they seem to love everything about it and it comes so easily to them...maybe I just don't have the confidence or personality for it and am scared I will mess up 🙁

The things I do like about it are:

• the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it's a pretty straightforward job
• learning about drug interactions
• conversing with patients
• the pay

I am also thinking of PT or optometry. PT sounds really interesting; I like how interactive it is and how your physically working to help reduce the pain of a patient. I am an active person so I feel I will enjoy that. I also like how you're not looking at a screen all day. To me, the PT environment seems more people friendly. The con is I know it pays less than pharmacy and requires the same amount of studying and I am not sure if hours are flexible.

I don't know much about optometry. I hear the pay is good but you probably need to start your own practice for that and I am not sure how I feel about that.

I know I probably need to volunteer at PT places and shadow an OT but what if I'm still confused. This is the year to be taking grad school exams and doing applications and I still don't know what I want and everyone around me does...I feel because I don't have a clear path my grades and motivation have also suffered. I don't even know if i'll get into any grad schools with my gpa.

In the end I just want to be happy and make a good living. I am really lost. If someone could guide me I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Oof.

If that's the part you're worried about, you're in for a world of hurt if you do get into a pharmd program

 

[DruggieDoRight]

Optometry is arguably more saturated than Pharmacy. Most new practitioners seem to be working in chain eye stores, from what I've read. They make less than RPhs unless you start your own practice. OT is Occupational Therapy, Optometry is OD. I shadowed a DPT and a PTA for about 8 hours, it's interesting work, but not something I am more interested in than pharmacy (largely because I loathe touching people).

Floating as an RPh probably will only net you around 32 hours/week as a base. A lot of floaters do get FT hours but you should probably expect to get around 32 hours or less going in. You also, as the name implies, won't be at the same store most of the time. Pharmacy is also a lot more than memorizing brand/generic names and interactions. Try to get more tech experience if you can. I had to work as a tech for about 6 months or so before I finally decided this was something I wanted to pursue.

Wrong, it will only net you 48 hours every two weeks and for that position we had about 70 applicants for it as well.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

The things I do like about it are:

• the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it's a pretty straightforward job
• learning about drug interactions
• conversing with patients
• the pay

If by “flexible hours” you mean working different hour shifts that vary on both weekdays and weekends week-to-week without you having any say because you’re only guaranteed 24 hours for a full time position, then yes, I guess you can consider the hours flexible.

If by “conversing with patients” you mean you enjoy working at a Mcdonalds and getting verbally harassed about why their prescriptions aren’t ready yet, why doesn’t insurance cover their drugs, etc. then I guess you can consider it a job with rewarding patient interactions.

If by “working as needed as floaters” you mean commuting 100 miles for a 4 hour shift at a different store each day is nice, then I guess you can consider being a floater a good gig.

If by “pay is nice” you mean that pharmacists make $60/hour but most can only get 24 hours per week due to the saturation making their annual salary <$80k with no benefits then I guess you can consider it a good paying job.

All you need to get into pharmacy school is a pulse and eligibility to take out $200k+ in student loans so I’ll let you figure out which profession is more competitive and more saturated for yourself.

 

[PA_dud3]

Wrong, it will only net you 48 hours every two weeks and for that position we had about 70 applicants for it as well.

In my area floaters get around 32 as a base.

 

[princeafrica]

Shadow a dentist and see if you might like dentistry. Super comfortable lifestyle and there is a lot of things you can go into with dentistry. You said your gpa is low though, idk how low but its getting more and more competitive

 

[deleted950169]

In my area floaters get around 32 as a base.

This is definitely subject to change in the next couple of years

 

[JamesPharmD]

Never too late to get out of pharmacy. Think carefully before making a big decision that impact you and your family

 

[Lnsean]

Do what you like...you only have one life. Honestly, everything looks saturated so at least pick something you like.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Seriously, if you don't think you can memorize brand vs generic drugs, then most likely no career in health care is for you. All the careers you mention require a lot of memorization. What is your current GPA? Have you taken prerequisites such as gen chem and organic chem? What were your grades in those classes, as well as your biology classes? It is true that literally anyone can get accepted to pharmacy school, but that doesn't mean everyone graduates, nor is graduating any guarentee of passing the Naplex and getting licensed. You need to find a career that matches your actual aptitudes and abilities first and foremost.

 

[Timbo]

• the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it's a pretty straightforward job
• learning about drug interactions
• conversing with patients
• the pay

• Do you really just want to work 2 days after graduating? Unless you have another source of income or a significant other who's working full time, you'll never pay off your loans or even be able to pay your bills that way.
• If you work retail, no one gives a **** if you discover a dangerous drug interaction. Corporate doesn't keep track of that, all they care about is script count and flu shots. Whenever you find a significant interaction or dangerous dosing, you'll spend hours on the phone trying to contact the doctor's office, only being able to leave messages for a receptionist or assistant who can't even spell lisinopril. Meanwhile you're falling behind and people are getting pissed that their norcos aren't ready. Your numbers are now worse of because of the whole ordeal.
• Conversing with patients is pretty cool, i'll give you that, but I think if you work PT or OT you can have longer conversations beyond talking about the weather
• The pay is good for now if you're lucky to graduate and get a job. But 4 years from now? I foresee massive unemployment, cuts in hours and salaries.

If I were you I would pick anything but pharmacy. Even just finding a job after getting your bachelor's is the better option IMO.