Pharmacy: yea or nay?

[p@nd@be@r]

Hello, everyone!

Last night for my microeconomics class, I had to look up BLS data on pharmacy. I couldn't believe how oblivious I was for not noticing the absolute saturation and decrease in demand for the field until last night.

I really need some input on what other fields I can do with a pre-pharmacy background. I'm a Biochemistry major, but I haven't taken my upper-level courses, like Analytical Chemistry and Advanced Biochemistry, nor have I completed my pre-pharmacy prerequisites. I can still make the switch to a general Biology or Cell Biology and Biotechnology concentration if needed.

I already did some extensive research and these career fields peaked my interest:

• Optometrist ($103,900 per year, projected growth rate of 27% - However, based on other forums it seems that the field is in low demand as well.)
• Physician Assistant (PA) ($98,180 per year, projected growth rate of 30%)
• Medical and Health Services Manager ($94,500 per year, projected growth rate of 17% - I would ultimately make the switch to a general Biology concentration with a BA minor if I did this route.)
• Physical Therapist ($84,020 per year, projected growth rate of 34%)

I feel like I shouldn't drop my path to Pharmacy just because of statistical data, but I also noticed from reading the forums and other online discussions that it has become an unfavorable field to go into. There's the declining "respect" of pharmacists, huge liability issues with your pharmacy technicians and drug administration, job security, graduate school admissions & curriculum, and student debt. I am aware that any profession in healthcare will always have similar risks and downsides, but from all the things I've seen - it doesn't sound like pharmacy is a good career to go into at this time.

I have not had any specific experience in a pharmacy, but I have colleagues and family members who are currently working as pharmacists or technicians, so I have some knowledge and awareness of the field. I do, however, have experience as a lab assistant and hospital volunteer. I can say for sure that my passion for healthcare and science is definitely there, but I can't say for sure about pharmacy.

I guess what I really need is a push in the right direction. I have some idea of what I can do, but it's not enough to solidify my decisions. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions, or any advice on other careers. I greatly appreciate your time!

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[quickpic007]

depending on where you live id go RN-> PA/NP/other. Rx is still great but only regionally. In some cities/regions it is like financial suicide. But in my area it pencils out quite well. Keep in mind most bio degrees are not very useful

 

[Nguyen]

your typical thread of reiterating the exact same points about saturation then proceed to ask random ppl on forums to give insight on what profession to go into while most of us have never experienced it first hand. you do realize there is an OD, PA, etc forums where you can post these questions right?


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[PharmtoCS]

Computer science would provide you the best return on investment for your education. The average salary is around $100k, and that is for only 4 years of undergrad and $100-250k less debt compared to most health professions. Many CS graduates can even start with $100k straight out of college or even a coding bootcamp. Job prospects are also much better for CS grads, as many of them get calls and messages from recruiters all the time.

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[AsuPharm]

California has something like 4 schools that haven't even graduated a class yet, UCSF has switched to a 3 year program meaning in 2020 they will literally be graduating 2 classes. Schools keep opening, kids keep going into this profession. Go into something else.

 

[Nguyen2017]

Almost everyone can study Biology but just a few can study programming.
I've studied both and that's what I've seen.
I gave up programming.

 

[farm_assist]

I was a pharmacist for 10 years, and I'm currently in medical school. I'll tell you several reasons why I switched careers. Yes the job market sucks. I would never recommend for anyone to get into pharmacy now. It was great when I started (2005). Salaries were on the rise and demand was high. I had 5 job offers, started at around 80k per year and was well over 100k within 2 years. And then around 2008-2009 along with the rest of the economy, it all came to a screeching halt. I was already established so I was ok, but new pharmacists were getting shafted on salary. The supply was getting to be much greater than the demand. My boss accidentally leaked via email what he was offering to a new grad, and it was about 30k/year less than what I was making at the time.

The other part is that our role as pharmacists is shrinking. For a while it looked like it would be expanding. Rounding with physicians, more clinical etc. That all died with the economy. My hospital no longer wanted to pay 4 pharmacists to round with doctors every morning and do clinical tasks, plus 2 more to dispense medications. Instead, they laid a couple of us off. Decided there would be no more rounding with docs. 1 pharmacist can handle all the clinical stuff and 2 more to dispense meds. It as all about the bottom line, saving money. And like that, our prospects for growth were gone. Instead of pharmacists writing TPN formulas (IV nutritional feeding), they gave this task to dietitians, who are also trained in this but command a much lower salary. Instead of pharmacists entering orders written by doctors, doctors now enter the orders directly in the computer. We just kinda checked behind them to make sure everything was ok.

I found myself asking, "What is my role here?". I didn't like that feeling, plus if I was every laid off I would probably be forced to take a much lower salary at a new job. I didn't like where pharmacy is heading so I jumped ship. Considering the fields you listed, if I were in your shoes I would go with PA. In med school we are constantly talking about the severe shortage of primary care physicians. PAs are helping to fill that gap. I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon, unless primary care physicians get a huge bump in salary to drive more people to the field. I think that is unlikely.

The need for qualified PAs will be high for some time to come. They may overcompensate for it like pharmacy did, and start producing too many eventually, but thats a long time for now in my humble opinion. Also the majority of the pharmacy market is retail-driven (CVS, Walgreens), which is closely tied to the economy. When Walgreens shifted from 3 pharmacists working 8 hour shifts, to 2 pharmacists working 12 hour shifts to save money, it hurts the market. I feel pharmacy is hit harder in times of economic crisis, which helped drive the over saturation. I don't know if PAs would be affected by this sort of thing or not, but it seems to be a better career option to me.

 

[NewRPh2006]

Agree with farm_assist. PA school would be a smart move right now.

 

[PharmLifeWoot]

All health care fields are saturated. I just graduated last year and got a job as a pharmacist on my first application and a starting salary of $140,000/year in a big city area that has medium-high saturation. Look up pharmacist jobs on Google - there are thousands of pages of listings for pharmacist. Don't expect to have your cake and eat it too though.

 

[Bella-Haz]

All health care fields are saturated. I just graduated last year and got a job as a pharmacist on my first application and a starting salary of $140,000/year in a big city area that has medium-high saturation. Look up pharmacist jobs on Google - there are thousands of pages of listings for pharmacist. Don't expect to have your cake and eat it too though.

Do you mind sharing some more info about where you got your job? How were your friends/ classmates doing with finding jobs if you know? We need some optimisms around here..

 

[Michael_Scott]

Hell to the nay.
I have no idea why students take on 200k+ loans to go into pharmacy. Not only is it getting saturated but pharmacists are getting low-ball salaries from idiotic corporations.
Unless of course, you are aiming to work in a rural area, stay away from pharmacy!

 

[Abby Atwood]

I'm an optimist about pharmacy because I'm a pharmacist and I love it. There is room for people who love pharmacy and want to be a pharmacist, but it's not a guaranteed easy path. I wouldn't recommend it for someone with no particular interest in pharmacy. It's generally a good idea to try to keep student loans to less than or equal to your anticipated yearly salary. A lot of pharmacists don't/can't do that. Also, you will probably need to make sacrifices when it comes to first job offers (location, salary, position, hours, or some combination). There are schools with bad reputations. You should research carefully and, if possible, talk to preceptors in the area. My job is a great position with good hours, but the pay is a bit lower and the location is arguably a downside.

 

[BC_89]

Hello, everyone!

Last night for my microeconomics class, I had to look up BLS data on pharmacy. I couldn't believe how oblivious I was for not noticing the absolute saturation and decrease in demand for the field until last night.

I really need some input on what other fields I can do with a pre-pharmacy background. I'm a Biochemistry major, but I haven't taken my upper-level courses, like Analytical Chemistry and Advanced Biochemistry, nor have I completed my pre-pharmacy prerequisites. I can still make the switch to a general Biology or Cell Biology and Biotechnology concentration if needed.

I already did some extensive research and these career fields peaked my interest:

• Optometrist ($103,900 per year, projected growth rate of 27% - However, based on other forums it seems that the field is in low demand as well.)
• Physician Assistant (PA) ($98,180 per year, projected growth rate of 30%)
• Medical and Health Services Manager ($94,500 per year, projected growth rate of 17% - I would ultimately make the switch to a general Biology concentration with a BA minor if I did this route.)
• Physical Therapist ($84,020 per year, projected growth rate of 34%)

I feel like I shouldn't drop my path to Pharmacy just because of statistical data, but I also noticed from reading the forums and other online discussions that it has become an unfavorable field to go into. There's the declining "respect" of pharmacists, huge liability issues with your pharmacy technicians and drug administration, job security, graduate school admissions & curriculum, and student debt. I am aware that any profession in healthcare will always have similar risks and downsides, but from all the things I've seen - it doesn't sound like pharmacy is a good career to go into at this time.

I have not had any specific experience in a pharmacy, but I have colleagues and family members who are currently working as pharmacists or technicians, so I have some knowledge and awareness of the field. I do, however, have experience as a lab assistant and hospital volunteer. I can say for sure that my passion for healthcare and science is definitely there, but I can't say for sure about pharmacy.

I guess what I really need is a push in the right direction. I have some idea of what I can do, but it's not enough to solidify my decisions. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions, or any advice on other careers. I greatly appreciate your time!

Facts are just that....Facts. With no actual experience as a tech or shadowing, take your undergrad years and study a well-bound science degree that covers a broad range of pre-reqs (PA,MD,pharmD, etc). Shadow! Pay a $85 background/fingerprint check and mail it off for a state tech certificate and wrk retail...observe your co-workers and the pharmacist(s). While working active duty for army healthcare I get to wrk with physicians,NP's,PA's, shoot even those in optometry! This alone opens my eyes and what I feel my critical factors should be in a career.

Fact: pharmacy is saturated. With heavy loans and put in a higher tax bracket you must understand you will not see a salary you may be thinking of (healthcare cost, loans, mortgage with PMI / rent with ins., auto loans, etc). This is the same for the other professions yet realize passion needs to play some level in your career. Why pharmacy? If you know the answer then ask how much debt to earn it?

Tl;dr : shadow top healthcare professions and protect your GPA with broad pre-reqs. If you feel safe with the loans and your own observance of job outlook, then make your move.

 

[GrapePropel]

Almost everyone can study Biology but just a few can study programming.
I've studied both and that's what I've seen.
I gave up programming.

programming is for intelligent people. Pharmacy is for greedy low IQ individuals. Trust me, i'm the later!

 

[GrapePropel]

Hello, everyone!

Last night for my microeconomics class, I had to look up BLS data on pharmacy. I couldn't believe how oblivious I was for not noticing the absolute saturation and decrease in demand for the field until last night.

I really need some input on what other fields I can do with a pre-pharmacy background. I'm a Biochemistry major, but I haven't taken my upper-level courses, like Analytical Chemistry and Advanced Biochemistry, nor have I completed my pre-pharmacy prerequisites. I can still make the switch to a general Biology or Cell Biology and Biotechnology concentration if needed.

I already did some extensive research and these career fields peaked my interest:

• Optometrist ($103,900 per year, projected growth rate of 27% - However, based on other forums it seems that the field is in low demand as well.)
• Physician Assistant (PA) ($98,180 per year, projected growth rate of 30%)
• Medical and Health Services Manager ($94,500 per year, projected growth rate of 17% - I would ultimately make the switch to a general Biology concentration with a BA minor if I did this route.)
• Physical Therapist ($84,020 per year, projected growth rate of 34%)

I feel like I shouldn't drop my path to Pharmacy just because of statistical data, but I also noticed from reading the forums and other online discussions that it has become an unfavorable field to go into. There's the declining "respect" of pharmacists, huge liability issues with your pharmacy technicians and drug administration, job security, graduate school admissions & curriculum, and student debt. I am aware that any profession in healthcare will always have similar risks and downsides, but from all the things I've seen - it doesn't sound like pharmacy is a good career to go into at this time.

I have not had any specific experience in a pharmacy, but I have colleagues and family members who are currently working as pharmacists or technicians, so I have some knowledge and awareness of the field. I do, however, have experience as a lab assistant and hospital volunteer. I can say for sure that my passion for healthcare and science is definitely there, but I can't say for sure about pharmacy.

I guess what I really need is a push in the right direction. I have some idea of what I can do, but it's not enough to solidify my decisions. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions, or any advice on other careers. I greatly appreciate your time!

Pharmacy is a dying field. When I open up my independent i'm going to have 6 phram Techs and one other pharmacist who I will pay 40 bucks an hour. The BLS data for the next release is already looking to be 0% growth. This field is ****ed. 0 job security. Pay is falling fast from the massive influx of new students. I know many unemployed pharmacists living at home in default. How many doctors do i know living at home? 0.

 

[PharmLifeWoot]

Pharmacy is a dying field. When I open up my independent i'm going to have 6 phram Techs and one other pharmacist who I will pay 40 bucks an hour. The BLS data for the next release is already looking to be 0% growth. This field is ****ed. 0 job security. Pay is falling fast from the massive influx of new students. I know many unemployed pharmacists living at home in default. How many doctors do i know living at home? 0.

Someone sounds a little salty on new Pharm.D. grads.

 

[GrapePropel]

Someone sounds a little salty on new Pharm.D. grads.

I'm being realistic. Check here Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. the growth rate is 3% (slower than average) down from 16% 2 years ago. The number of pharmacy jobs is static or going down slightly. The number of new grads is exploding. Supply of new pharmacists with same demand means higher unemployment and reduced wages. Just know what you are getting into. Are you aware that Walgreens just froze all wages for all pharmacists 2 months ago and is currently closing stores and reducing hours for all it's stores?

I would consider PA (Physician Assistants : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 30%+ growth rate), NP or being a programmer if you want to be employed. I actually welcome the new grads bc i think pharmacist get paid way too much. We should be getting around 35/hour or 70,000 USD a year and thankfully the market is moving that way.