Podiatry or Pharmacy

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stargyalny

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I got into podiatry school as well as pharmacy school. I am very interested in both professions but I'm also considering job opportunities. Anyone care to share their thought about which one they would chose and why?

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stargyalny said:
I got into podiatry school as well as pharmacy school. I am very interested in both professions but I'm also considering job opportunities. Anyone care to share their thought about which one they would chose and why?

I think that most people here are going to say Podiatry because, well, this is a podiatry forum. Personally for me, I wouldnt be able to handle standing behind a counter and filling perscriptions all day. That is not something that I am interested in at all. Salary isnt bad, I think starting average is around 60K and the average caps at about 90K. I may be wrong but thats what I heard. My father was a CFO of a large grocery chain in Arizona and thats how much they paid pharmacists at their locations. If you dont mind the job and you dont want to spend a lot of time and money on education, then pharmacy isnt a bad way to go. However, I think that podiatry has much more potential for income and job opportunities are just as good.
 
But there are also other perks with pharmacy. You typically get a signing bonus of anywhere from 15k to 30k (at least in California). From what I've heard from pharmacists around here is that their salary will typically be around 100k, but the contract will only be for about 3 years. Then you sign another contract, another bonus, etc.

As to which I would choose, I'd definately go podiatry. I find surgery more interesting than filling prescriptions.
 
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well pharmacy tends to be about 30k less than dpm/dds (dentist) salaries on AVERAGE and about the same as optometrists. take that as you will.

You could do a lot of different things though, depending on what you want to do.
1) work for a pharamceutical company

2) work at hospital (less salary AND less talking with patients...BUT pharms in this setting tend to actually make patient rounds, adjust the medication, etc etc...people like this field say that they enjoy how much they get to use all their education)

3) work at retail (more salary...more conversing/suggestions to patients.
 
Pharmacy is a good field because you still can mantain a outside life. The pay is good but when a doctor writes a prescription and if you can't read it, sometimes the doctor will yell and you and insult when you call the doctor and ask for clarification. Many times, those doctors have absolutely bad handwriting too.
 
stargyalny said:
I got into podiatry school as well as pharmacy school. I am very interested in both professions but I'm also considering job opportunities. Anyone care to share their thought about which one they would chose and why?


Really depends what you want. I mean pharmacy is nice and easy, particularly when you get good at it. But there is nothing really exciting perse about it. Doing surgery would defiently be more exciting. I think it depends on personality too. I mean as a pharmacist you will have a very flexible time schedule, you will definitly be less busy than a DMP, unless you want to do overtime (which is quite common, b/c of the shortage and b/c it pays quite well). Pay is actually greater than 60 grand, that's pretty low actually. It's more like 80+, with plus being common. Bonuses are also very prevalent. I wouldn't say they are that high outside of Cali maybe up to 5 grand, but nonetheless. I think it really depends upon your personality to tell you the truth.
 
Thanks everyone for their opinions!
 
It's obvious that other than Dr. Andersen, no one else that replied to you has experience in either field. Your best bet is to talk to both practicing PharmDs and DPMs and possibly shadow both on different days. Your schooling will be about the same for both professions (on average, 8 years). Many pharmacists have clinical residencies and fellowships. I work with two PharmDs at my hospital and they earn a very decent salary, have clinical privileges, and do a lot of patient and physician counseling/advising.

Podiatry is more clinical "hands on" work with direct patient care. However, you will be limited to diseases and conditions of the foot. You have malpractice insurance to consider. You'll have noncompliant and whiney patients. You'll have pressure to see as many patients as you can.

Pharmacy (clinical) is usually a 9-5 job, with different shifts (sometimes weekends, evenings, and even holidays, but not usually) and you'll be part of a comprehensive medical staff in a hospital or clinic. You'll earn good money, but not great money. You will have some direct patient contact, but you won't have to carry malpractice insurance, touch blood or tissues, and you'll be respected by health professionals and patients. Retail pharmacy has less respect and you'll be doing...well, retail work to some degree, which can be demeaning for someone with 7-8 years of schooling. You'll make more money, but may have to work holidays, weekends, and evenings.

Both have their positives and negatives. The operative question is: what do you want to do: practice clinical medicine or clinical pharmacy? Also, why are you limiting yourself to podiatry? Why not dentistry/optometry/vet med/osteopathy/medicine?
 
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