Quitting pharmacy school with 70k of debt to pursue psych?

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I'm 1.5 years into pharmacy school and I hate it. I never wanted to go, but I didn't have a plan after college and my parents talked me into it. I've always been interested in psychology but didn't have the courage to pursue it during college due to a combo of discouragement from my family and not asking the right questions when I was searching for a career. I don't think I'd want to be a full time counselor, and I have no interest in teaching. My dream job would be working on cases and interviewing people (but having tasks other than counseling) and also working on the development of some sort of educational program.

I was wondering if the type of job I'd want is too specific and it'd be hard to find a job? Furthermore, is it feasible to try to pay back my loans whilst starting a completely new program that's going to drain me of more money? I thought about finishing pharmacy school first and working part time as a pharmacist while trying to get my degree in psychology, but I'm not sure I'd go through with it. Maybe I'd be too comfortable and I'd just convince myself to stay in a job I don't like since it already provides a steady source of income. I'm sure I'd still want to work on volunteer projects on the side but I just don't think it'd be the same. I don't want to be naive but I don't want to end up regretting such a huge decision.

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[erg923]

My dream job would be working on cases and interviewing people (but having tasks other than counseling)

This sounds like journalism.

and also working on the development of some sort of educational program...

This sounds like education

 

[Wendi22]

I think some additional info is needed to help. What is it about pharmacy that you dislike? I agree that your dream job does not necessarily sound like psychology. You also said you do not want to do counseling full-time. Assessment is one area in which you interview people, do testing, and write reports and make recommendations about a case. I did that with a masters for a brief period and it did not pay well. I made 12 dollars an hour. What degree in psychology are you considering (I.e. PHD, MS clinical psychology, MS experimental?)


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[eremitestar]

Furthermore, is it feasible to try to pay back my loans whilst starting a completely new program that's going to drain me of more money?

Working to pay back existing loans while in school is probably not feasible. Grad school in psychology is a full-time job. I worked all through grad school (everything from part-time retail positions to teaching as an adjunct), but I really only made enough to help out with cost-of-living expenses. I put some toward student loans when I could, but I didn't make regular monthly payments and it was really only to keep the interest from getting out of control (compound interest is terrifying). If you need to go back and take some psych pre-reqs before enrolling in a grad program, then that's even more debt before you even get started. You could easily owe in excess of $100,000 just from the interest accruing on what you owe now by the time you graduate, not even factoring in any additional loans you take out to cover grad school. Also, your salary upon graduation (even if you go the PhD route and get a good job as a psychologist) will be much less than what you could make as a pharmacist. I'm not saying that you should stay in a field you hate, but if you do change tracks, you should know what you're getting into financially. I went into grad school with zero debt, went to a mostly funded program, and paid what I could along the way. It's still daunting for me to think about how long it's going to take me to pay everything back (I've got my fingers crossed that the public service loan forgiveness program survives the next 9 years, but I'm not holding my breath).

 

[smalltownpsych]

I'm 1.5 years into pharmacy school and I hate it. I never wanted to go, but I didn't have a plan after college and my parents talked me into it. I've always been interested in psychology but didn't have the courage to pursue it during college due to a combo of discouragement from my family and not asking the right questions when I was searching for a career. I don't think I'd want to be a full time counselor, and I have no interest in teaching. My dream job would be working on cases and interviewing people (but having tasks other than counseling) and also working on the development of some sort of educational program.

I was wondering if the type of job I'd want is too specific and it'd be hard to find a job? Furthermore, is it feasible to try to pay back my loans whilst starting a completely new program that's going to drain me of more money? I thought about finishing pharmacy school first and working part time as a pharmacist while trying to get my degree in psychology, but I'm not sure I'd go through with it. Maybe I'd be too comfortable and I'd just convince myself to stay in a job I don't like since it already provides a steady source of income. I'm sure I'd still want to work on volunteer projects on the side but I just don't think it'd be the same. I don't want to be naive but I don't want to end up regretting such a huge decision.

What do you mean by working on cases? That sounds like a detective. When you say you want to be a psychologist, what exactly do you mean. Almost everyone finds aspects of psychology interesting which is why it is the most popular major in undergrad, but taking it to the next level of a career is something very few wants do in actuality.

 

[deleted106747]

No, do not become a psychologist with $70K in previous debt. It is not worth it. Look into something else within the same field (psychiatry?) that pays better. From a financial perspective, becoming a psychologist is not a good plan and it's not like the work is so glorious that it makes up for having no money.

 

[barryggg]

What do you mean by working on cases? That sounds like a detective. When you say you want to be a psychologist, what exactly do you mean. Almost everyone finds aspects of psychology interesting which is why it is the most popular major in undergrad, but taking it to the next level of a career is something very few wants do in actuality.

Forensic Psychology makes sense..but there is so much dodgy research in that area.

 

[st2205]

Have you considered psychiatric pharmacy? That would be two more years of residency after PharmD but would put you in a clinical realm. Their role is expanding within the VA as they are often seeing clinic patients. Academia is also a possibility. I just couldn't fathom that at this point in the game leaving that program unfinished to jump to another specialty that's going to take awhile to get in to and end up paying a lot less on average. Psychiatric pharmacy may actually be more in line with what you're talking about anyway.

 

[psych.meout]

Please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the faculty and students at doctoral grad programs would probably ask about your choice to leave pharmacy school and may not take it too positively. Unless you have a better explanation and narrative about it than that you "hated it" and your parents talked you into going, they may view it unfavorably, worrying that you might similarly decide you "hate" psychology and grad school a couple years in. I don't know that they would offer you one of the handful of spots they have at funded programs when there are literally hundreds of other applicants who don't have similar histories.

What exactly is it that you "hate" about pharmacy school? Is it just some aspect of the program itself or is it about the job after graduation?

 

[PsychPhDone]

Have you considered psychiatric pharmacy? That would be two more years of residency after PharmD but would put you in a clinical realm. Their role is expanding within the VA as they are often seeing clinic patients. Academia is also a possibility. I just couldn't fathom that at this point in the game leaving that program unfinished to jump to another specialty that's going to take awhile to get in to and end up paying a lot less on average. Psychiatric pharmacy may actually be more in line with what you're talking about anyway.

Interesting suggestion for OP! I really enjoy working with our pharmacists in VA.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

As another poster mentioned, much of what you want to do should be achievable with a pharmacy degree. Our pharmacists have developed their own fellowship, and their fellows now also participate in our interprofessional internship via shared case conferences and supervision. They also hold their own clinics for consultation on complex polypharmacy patients for certain conditions (e.g., diabetes), which I would imagine involves some degree of interviewing.

 

[PSYDNEUROGUY]

I'm 1.5 years into pharmacy school and I hate it. I never wanted to go, but I didn't have a plan after college and my parents talked me into it. I've always been interested in psychology but didn't have the courage to pursue it during college due to a combo of discouragement from my family and not asking the right questions when I was searching for a career. I don't think I'd want to be a full time counselor, and I have no interest in teaching. My dream job would be working on cases and interviewing people (but having tasks other than counseling) and also working on the development of some sort of educational program.

I was wondering if the type of job I'd want is too specific and it'd be hard to find a job? Furthermore, is it feasible to try to pay back my loans whilst starting a completely new program that's going to drain me of more money? I thought about finishing pharmacy school first and working part time as a pharmacist while trying to get my degree in psychology, but I'm not sure I'd go through with it. Maybe I'd be too comfortable and I'd just convince myself to stay in a job I don't like since it already provides a steady source of income. I'm sure I'd still want to work on volunteer projects on the side but I just don't think it'd be the same. I don't want to be naive but I don't want to end up regretting such a huge decision.

As another poster had mentioned, you should look into psychiatric pharmacy residency. My husband is finishing up his Pharm.D. at NSU and went into the program already knowing that he was going to do clinical pharmacy (he leans towards infectious diseases). The pay is good, the amount of time in residency is significantly less than professional psychology and you can work with the population(s) you wish to. Another thing to consider; at least 7 states allow pharmacists to prescribe, so if being able to utilize that method to treat and heal your clients is of interest to you, that is available. One of my husband's professors is a cardiac clinical pharmacists that works in a private practice. Rather than the physician hiring a mid-level practitioner such as a PA or nurse practitioner, they hired a pharmacist who does everything else BUT provide the diagnosis. The physician will diagnose then the pharmacist will plan the treatment (i.e., pharmacotherapy) and dispense in-house. This is Florida mind you, so this is an example of restricted practice, imagine what you could do in states that will allow you to prescribe or to act as the primary care professional. If the brain is of interest to you, I know that there are fellowships in neurocognitive pharmacy you could complete after your psychiatric pharmacy program.

I hope this helps.

DEA link: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/practioners/mlp_by_state.pdf