Planning to apply for a PharmD program after almost 10 years of getting Masters degree in Chemistry. Is it worth it ??

[janu162]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can help me. I have Bachelors degree in Pharmacy and Masters in Chemistry (in 2012). I am working for a healthcare company now but I have always been interested in Pharmaceutical field. I am planning to pursue an online PharmD program. Can someone please let me know if its really worth it to do PharmD? I have seeing that its hard to get into Residencies after PharmD and the other option would be to work in a retail pharmacy. Does anyone know if PharmD would help with Scientist jobs in Pharmaceutical companies? Also if someone could share some prospects for PharmD, that would be great.

Thank you

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[JustFillIt]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can help me. I have Bachelors degree in Pharmacy and Masters in Chemistry (in 2012). I am working for a healthcare company now but I have always been interested in Pharmaceutical field. I am planning to pursue an online PharmD program. Can someone please let me know if its really worth it to do PharmD? I have seeing that its hard to get into Residencies after PharmD and the other option would be to work in a retail pharmacy. Does anyone know if PharmD would help with Scientist jobs in Pharmaceutical companies? Also if someone could share some prospects for PharmD, that would be great.

Thank you

If what you really want in life is to develop early onset heart disease and overlapping depression - then yes! You found your calling!

If you get really lucky you may even develop psychosis with a touch of delirium! Good luck!

 

[sfachine]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can help me. I have Bachelors degree in Pharmacy and Masters in Chemistry (in 2012). I am working for a healthcare company now but I have always been interested in Pharmaceutical field. I am planning to pursue an online PharmD program. Can someone please let me know if its really worth it to do PharmD? I have seeing that its hard to get into Residencies after PharmD and the other option would be to work in a retail pharmacy. Does anyone know if PharmD would help with Scientist jobs in Pharmaceutical companies? Also if someone could share some prospects for PharmD, that would be great.

Thank you

Stay put

 

[rxkrafted]

Sure, if you don't mind taking out 6-figure loans and waste 4 years of your life only to end up desperately hunting for a job in this saturated market.

 

[Hels2007]

Does anyone know if PharmD would help with Scientist jobs in Pharmaceutical companies?

No.

It's not what a PharmD is designed to do. Sure, you can go for it - but if you fail to get one of only a handful of fellowships that are science-based, you can forget about it. If your goal is to be a scientist, go for a PhD or just go apply for the jobs they already have posted that don't require a PhD. The only reason to pursue a PharmD is if you want to be a practicing pharmacist in a retail or hospital pharmacy. For every other career track, there are more efficient and cost-effective options.

 

[iamapharmacist]

Unless that online program is free, I would just keep doing what you're doing.

By the time you're out of school, there is going to be more pharmacists than there are jobs. It's a dead profession as far as job market goes. You will never get a job that's remotely close to what you would idealize. Instead, you're gonna just stare at a computer monitor ALL fcking day just comparing one side of the screen to the other side of the screen making sure that all the colors match. There is about 90% of chance that this is what you'll be doing as a pharmacist. It is the most useless doctorate degree you can get. With salary going down faster than GME, it's about to get worse.

Bottom line: don't even think about it.

 

[TLA12]

It seems that a PhD is what you need.

A PharmD would generously be called fool's gold in your situation. I get it, it's the easier degree to obtain

 

[lord999]

And you would be a nontraditional graduate student for the PhD for the basic sciences. What that means is whether you are viewed as an eternal postdoc.

Word on the street is that industry and consulting are heading for another 1998 level purge. I'm not advising my own to do industry without a backup plan.

 

[BidingMyTime]

No, I would not get a PharmD, unless you want to work at big chain retail store. Even then, you would probably be better off working your way into management on the store side. If you are interested in research, then you should get a Ph.D., although that may be difficult to do without quitting your current job. Your best bet would be to keep your current job, and if you really want something different, look into moving in to management at your current job or at a similar competitor.

 

[StockPharmD2020]

Do anything else

 

[VA77]

If you want to be a "scientist", then you need to do a PhD in pharmacology and there are plenty of reputable programs that are online but I hope you got some networking connections when it comes to a job.

 

[Hels2007]

Word on the street is that industry and consulting are heading for another 1998 level purge.

Layoffs in industry are just a way of life. Always have been, always will be.

 

[lord999]

Layoffs in industry are just a way of life. Always have been, always will be.

In our era, yes, although why layoff when you don't hire them in the first place? Although I believe we are in late cycle and will start to purge, I expect that the idea of PhRMA outsourcing risk to startups will continue and workers have to gamble on working for the next startup rather than even the more "stable" employment within the big companies.

 

[Hels2007]

In our era, yes, although why layoff when you don't hire them in the first place? Although I believe we are in late cycle and will start to purge, I expect that the idea of PhRMA outsourcing risk to startups will continue and workers have to gamble on working for the next startup rather than even the more "stable" employment within the big companies.

Hiring and firing are need-based, and I haven't seen an irrational layoff yet... at least at the companies I have personally worked for (and I have seen 7-8 or so). If you want to minimize your risk of being laid off, do your due diligence. Though sometimes it can still be worth it to join even a soon-to-lose exclusivity franchise just for experience.

As far as purge... we will see. A lot of external drivers are still unclear. I can paint any number of scenarios... as the saying goes, a valid forecast is not one that comes true, it's one built on valid assumptions.

What that means is whether you are viewed as an eternal postdoc.

My best friend's husband is a research physicist... and basically 45 is the expiration date. If you haven't got your own lab by 45, that's it, you are no longer a 'promising' scientist, but a peon journeyman, going from contract to contract and working on what you are told. He is 44 and just coming to accept the fact that since he hasn't got tenure-track position by now, he never will. Not sure if the age is quite as big a factor in industry as it is in academia. For career growth - probably, for just getting a job - probably not...

 

[mentos]

Don't do it.

 

[DOC:HOLIDAY]

Sure, if you don't mind taking out 6-figure loans and waste 4 years of your life only to end up desperately hunting for a job in this saturated market.

the “student loan mill pharmacy schools” are making a fortune in profits from the six figure loans students have to take out — and misinform you about the job market after you graduate — so they can make a six figure income off of you ——

 

[rxkrafted]

the “student loan mill pharmacy schools” are making a fortune in profits from the six figure loans students have to take out — and misinform you about the job market after you graduate — so they can make a six figure income off of you ——

they also use outdated BLS job growth statistics to convince naive prepharm kids that pharmacists are in demand

 

[rph3664]

NO. DON'T DO IT.

Why, yes, I'm shouting, why do you ask?

 

[Dred Pirate]

nope

 

[Startingover123]

Why do people still make these threads? Pretty common knowledge now that job market for pharmacy is absolute garbage.

 

[CocoMelon0531]

Have a better idea for you. Use that loan money and go 100% in BTC.