PharmD or pharmacology?

[011lxu]

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I'm currently a high school senior trying to make the very tough decision of what school to attend next year.
I got into a 6-year PharmD program at UPitt where I would pay approximately 157k total. Afterwards I would like to go into research.
My other option is a BS in chemistry at Carnegie Mellon where I would pay about 152k total. If I were to go this route, I think I would get a masters in pharmacology afterwards since I am interested in a career in pharmacokinetics.

I don't want to go into either field solely for the money, and I think that I could be happy and succeed doing either job.

Any advice on choosing 😕? What would the major differences be in schooling, job description, and job outlook?

 

[crazybob]

I'm currently a high school senior trying to make the very tough decision of what school to attend next year.
I got into a 6-year PharmD program at UPitt where I would pay approximately 157k total. Afterwards I would like to go into research.
My other option is a BS in chemistry at Carnegie Mellon where I would pay about 152k total. If I were to go this route, I think I would get a masters in pharmacology afterwards since I am interested in a career in pharmacokinetics.

I don't want to go into either field solely for the money, and I think that I could be happy and succeed doing either job.

Any advice on choosing 😕? What would the major differences be in schooling, job description, and job outlook?

Schooling would depend on how much time you spend on your pharmacology route. The PharmD would be 6 years and then if you want to do a residency, that would be couple more years.

Job description you can look up on google since it's usually dependent on the specific position.

Job outlook, no one knows.

I'd recommend keeping many options open and narrowing down your choices.

 

[EmuPro]

Go with the PharmD, you're still young and chances are you haven't even had any research experience. I did my undergrad considering the research route, but after three years of it, I'm spent. You can still do research with the PharmD, especially if your school offers a dual PharmD/PHD program. As you get older, you might not see yourself doing research, you may want to work with patients. That's what happened to me.

In addition, the cost of a B.S. and PharmD in your case is almost identical, throw in another minimum 50k for you masters, your finishing with greater debt if you go the pharmacology route, and potentially a riskier path to paying it all off. Cost of school may not seem a big concern right now, but ask anyone who graduates today, you'll be glad you chose the route with the least debt.