Pharmacy vs. Engineering

[AmyShyu]

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I'm really sure what I really want to do but I'm considering pharmacy as a good undergrad for maybe law school, medical school, or business school. Would pharmacist have a hard time finding jobs by the time I graduate because theres alot of people going into pharmacy?

Would you say engineering or pharmacy is harder to get a good GPA to get into a top grad school or law or medical school?

Oh...BIG NO NO....kiddo...you don't know what you're talking about.....

Good GPA is not easy in pharmD nor engineering..you might want to try something like a pre-law or pre-med if that's where you want to go and play safe... As for grad school, it will depend on your true interest and what you want the degree for. Basically...a top grad school will like you to be GPA3.6+, GRE 1400+ out of 1600 with essay 5.5 out of 6. with a lot of EC and lots of research and some work experiences(MBA, up high GMAT). Those are not difficult to do if you have time and work hard on the tests and EC and experiences. Except for the grad school, you don't need to waste your time completing a bs degree to prove you are good enough for a medical degree or law school. For the pharmD you need to be not only smart but rich to apply(after 2yrs pre-reqs) and the admission processes are just time consuming and stressful, then go through a lot of financial aid issues, finally going to classes and realize it is going to be your life for another 4 years. After you get your pharmD you decided to go for a Law-School or medical degree or say phD...and went through all that Jazz again and another 3-5 or 7 years in school.. It will be at least 7 years for law and 10 years for MD, years after years for phD depend on your experiment before you can get "a" job and start making money to pay off the loans and say credit card bills that's assuming you get in a pharmacy school the first time you apply and passed all the classes with the GPA you call good.
So...in your situation I would say...engineering is better for first step..at least you can get a bs and more time to decide what you really want to do and maybe a little more personal relation or communication training. And if you want to go through all the above lovely experience and get a pharmD as your first step (which is less efficient), no one can stop you...well the admission committee might, but you are smart and rich, you know what to do.
.. If you really like to gain knowledge in the area, go for it no matter what, but for personal training on the sciences and math.(give me a break).you get the same material if you take the courses regardless your degree.(and please don't tell me knowledge is the only thing that matters to you)
PharmD requires more determination than just well functioned brain

 

[aubieRx]

lol that is one ugly troll.

 

[ZpackSux]

lol that is one ugly troll.

How dare you... he's adorable..

 

[Silverwater]

I KNOW pharm D is an advanced degree. Does that mean One can't get an MBA if One wants to work for business in pharmaceutical companies? In my area, there are No joint PharmD/MBA option. So why do you think its degrading to get an MBA, JD, or MD after a few years of working? Btw, are you legally able to be called "DOCTOR" with a pharm D? Because I've seen pharmacist put Rph. after their names but not the words "Dr."

Umm....you seem a bit confused here. 😱 Pharm D stands for Doctor of Pharmacy, just like an MD stands for Doctor of Medicine, DVM stands for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy, JD stands for Doctor of Jurisprudence. Here, we are referring to "doctor" as someone who has these advanced/professional degrees, not just a doctor who works in a hospital.

Okay then. Now that we have that settled, let me tell you a few things. I majored in architectural engineering, but decided I needed to switch out. I felt miserable in my classes b/c all the numbers and formulas didn't mean anything to me. I felt nothing human about the whole subject. That's personally why I switched to pharmacy (in addition to a whole load of other reasons) ; I wanted to have more contact with humans than with bending moment diagrams. (and architectural engineering was not what I expected it to be - it's all about construction ). I have several friends who are practicing engineers now and I know that not all of them are there because they really like engineering itself, but because they thought it was a good career path. I did finish my degree because it's a good practical degree and I was so far into it. By the way, there's many different types of engineering, so choose carefully if you want to go that path.

If you want to do something else in conjunction with pharmacy, I suggest you get a bachelors degree related to pharmacy, not the Pharm D degree. The pharm d is more for people who want to practice it, not so much for business-related or law-related work. Doing law related to pharmacy could be a good idea, but I doubt something as advanced as pharm d is necessary.

Looks like you've stirred up quite a riot here...

 

[goheel]

I don't think there's a bachelor degree of pharmacy.

 

[LVPharm]

The pharm d is more for people who want to practice it, not so much for business-related or law-related work. Doing law related to pharmacy could be a good idea, but I doubt something as advanced as pharm d is necessary.

I would think most (if not all) involved in pharmacy malpractice law tend to have a PharmD with a JD. I have liability insurance with Pharmacist Mutual...the lawyer on the business card is a PharmD/JD. I suppose the PharmD may not be absolutely necessary if one plans to practice patent law as it relates to the pharmaceutical industry...perhaps an undergraduate and/or advanced degree in pharmacology, chemical engineering, or chemistry would be a more ideally suited degree to pair with a JD in this instance. In this case, people who have an understanding of the nuts and bolts of pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacturing would have the "leg up" on people with a plain JD. Just looking at some of the attorney profiles from patent law firms specializing in biotech and pharmaceutical industry practice on the web seems to confirm this.

 

[Jeddevil]

Anotsu Kagehisa is either a high school student or someone not smart enough to get a high school diploma based on the prior quote to not having a diploma yet. I am going to guess a high school student. So this kid just wants some good advice. Here you go:

I think that you have great plans and dreams ahead of you and can get on the right track with proper educational guidance. You came to the right place to ask! Therefore, I suggest you first get an engineering degree, then go to Pharm school (not a joint pharm/mba type), then go to business school, then go to law school, then top it off with a nice MD or DO program. Why stop there, throw in some dental school and maybe become a DVM (vet) on the side. You would be the most well-rounded educational person ever, and the worlds doors would automatically open to you. You would always be able to get another job once your current one goes bad. But, no matter how much you make, you would probably never get to the bottom of your dozen degree student debt. You would also probably be about 50 by the time you are done and be real anal. But you would be the most well rounded educational kid ever. I think you should go for it! Good luck! Glad I could help.

 

[Silverwater]

Anotsu Kagehisa is either a high school student or someone not smart enough to get a high school diploma based on the prior quote to not having a diploma yet. I am going to guess a high school student. So this kid just wants some good advice. Here you go:

I think that you have great plans and dreams ahead of you and can get on the right track with proper educational guidance. You came to the right place to ask! Therefore, I suggest you first get an engineering degree, then go to Pharm school (not a joint pharm/mba type), then go to business school, then go to law school, then top it off with a nice MD or DO program. Why stop there, throw in some dental school and maybe become a DVM (vet) on the side. You would be the most well-rounded educational person ever, and the worlds doors would automatically open to you. You would always be able to get another job once your current one goes bad. But, no matter how much you make, you would probably never get to the bottom of your dozen degree student debt. You would also probably be about 50 by the time you are done and be real anal. But you would be the most well rounded educational kid ever. I think you should go for it! Good luck! Glad I could help.

LOL...

 

[korndoctor]

pharmacists really make more money than engineers?
what are the starting salaries for each? what are their caps? i thought pharmacists are usually capped to 90K
someone explain please
also what can u do with pharmacy and engineering dual degree? any options there? or is it dead end where engineering degree will be useless
also will having engineering degree and then pharmd degree give u higher starting salary if u enter industry position?

 

[cdhoward]

pharmacists really make more money than engineers?
what are the starting salaries for each? what are their caps? i thought pharmacists are usually capped to 90K
someone explain please
also what can u do with pharmacy and engineering dual degree? any options there? or is it dead end where engineering degree will be useless
also will having engineering degree and then pharmd degree give u higher starting salary if u enter industry position?

You do know you have responded to a 3 year old post started by a troll?

 

[korndoctor]

i was just curious because i had just rescently made a decision to do pharmacy after engineering n found this thread when i searched the forums. I keep getting laid off and am having trouble finding a job. I love to work with people and love chemistry so i feel pharmacy is a good fit. I just want to figure out why people left engineering for pharmacy. what are your reasons. what are good reasons/bad reasons so that i make a wise decision. Also, what's the salary difference between engineers and pharmacists? altho we shouldnt do it for money, money is sorta important to me because i need to support my parents and child; ya hard to do that while being laid off with engineering

 

[pharmacistdoc]

To Everyone who posted their one-sided perspectives on this topic,

I think all this person wants to know is whether it will be a good idea to do a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (which is not Pharm.D/doctorate degree) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Just like many of us who are currently pursuing Pharm.D have obtained their Honours Bachelor of Science degrees in different subject areas, this person is interested in knowing how easy it is to obtain a good GPA if he choses to do a BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences (which is indeed a potential stepping stone if he wants to pursue medicine or pharmacy in future). On the other hand, he also wants to know if it will be good for him/her to pursue a BSc in Engineering so that he has the necessary technical knowledge or the grades that are required to get into top Graduate/Professional schools. I know everyone on this forum is passionate about the pharamcy profession; however, we have to spare a thought for someone who wants to enter the same profession we are in. I faced the same situation, when I graduated from high school because I was equally good at both Maths and Physics (foundation for engineering) as well as Biology and Chemistry (foundation for science). More interestingly, I got accepted into two very prestigious and renowned programs: Engineering Science program at the University of Toronto (St. George Campus) and Co-op Honours Bsc in Neuroscience Specialist program at the University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus). All in all, some people are beyond the ordinary aspects of profession such as pay packages, job security, reputation and all that, they only want the best knowledge to enrich their and other's lives.