PHD vs. PHARMD vs. BOTH, is it worth it?

[ashleyryderr]

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Hello all!

I am interested in pharmacy and just got accepted into UF for undergrad. I am a high school student who will be graduating with my A.A. degree. I was thinking dentistry for awhile, but I don't know what to do with my life anymore haha!

UF has a joint PharmD/PhD program that is 8 years long. I would go to UF for undergrad just to finish up a few pre-reqs then would take PCAT.

Is it worth it? I want to do research and also do clinical on the side. Any tips, past experiences, or whatever will be greatly appreciated.

 

[PharmHopefulLonghorn2015]

I don't think it's really worth taking 8 years to do both degrees where both markets are kind of saturated. (Pharmacy is saturated in most of Texas, I am not sure about you guys at UF, and the major complaints from PHD's is that it's been monopolized by super gunner international students struggling to get permanent citizenship!) Either pick one and save your time or explore practical interests. Of course, English and literature majors are not really high yield, neither is philosophy or music so keep those as your hobbies if you could!

 

[happychemguy]

http://physics.wustl.edu/katz/scientist.html

Think long and hard about getting a PhD. Whatever complaints people have about the outlook of Pharmacy, they sound like spoiled children compared to the situation with academia. On the plus side, you're not going to go into debt from getting a PhD.

I don't know how you can properly make the decision for getting a PhD when you're still in high school. Have you had the chance to do any research in a lab yet? If you're only considering it because you think a PhD will make your resume look better, do not bother.

 

[Kavina]

Hello all!

I am interested in pharmacy and just got accepted into UF for undergrad. I am a high school student who will be graduating with my A.A. degree. I was thinking dentistry for awhile, but I don't know what to do with my life anymore haha!

UF has a joint PharmD/PhD program that is 8 years long. I would go to UF for undergrad just to finish up a few pre-reqs then would take PCAT.

Is it worth it? I want to do research and also do clinical on the side. Any tips, past experiences, or whatever will be greatly appreciated.

During my pharmacy school interviews I talked with a number of students who had been interested in a duel degree program going into pharmacy school, but almost all of them decided to forgo the PhD (and these were at fairly research-heavy schools: UCSF, UT Austin...) While the PharmD is more geared towards the clinical side of pharmacy, it is possible to be involved with research. Research isn't just limited towards traditional bench research, and as a pharmacist the research you would most likely be involved with would be clinical and patient-oriented.

As others have echoed, make sure you get some experience working in a lab as an undergraduate (many universities are opening up research opportunities to undergrad students now), and decide if it is something you are actually interested in.

 

[RxStudentatUB]

I would not do the PhD these days. Especially in biology and pharmaceuticals. It is becoming more about politics than researching science. Their market might be worse than pharmacists! I think you get a very good return on investment with Math or Physics PhD since they are not glutted but of course those are much x 10 harder than bio.

I saw it before on here, medicine is the only field that has a monopoly and control on their domestic graduates and residents. I think someone also said dental schools are an expensive investment, so capitalist ventures don't go after them as much as they do with pharmacy...

 

[SClENCE]

PhD is not worth it if you are getting a PharmD anyways. Same goes for the joint PharmD MBA programs... just get the PharmD.

Now a PhD on its own is something that I really don't know much about as far as jobs.