confusedprepharm
New Member
I will be starting pharmacy school this fall, but I am considering backing out. I don't think pharmacy is for me and I am scared because of saturation. I have a biology degree and was wondering what I can do with it?
-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
Should I back out?
Started by confusedprepharm
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
I can't tell you whether to back out or not.. That is up to you. Only you know if your heart is in it or not.
If it is not, here are a couple of links on what you can do with a Bio degree to give you an idea.
You're cutting it close on making a decision if you wish to start school this fall. You need to evaluate how badly you do/did want to be a pharmacist, and whether or not you really wish to change or not. I know others will tell you to just run for the hills, but it also comes down to what career path you see yourself on in 5, 10, 15 years from now. If the answer is Pharmacist, go for it! If it isn't or you're still unsure, look into other options until you are sure of the new path.
If it is not, here are a couple of links on what you can do with a Bio degree to give you an idea.
- http://www.onedayonejob.com/majors/biology/
- What You Can Do With a Biology Degree
- Biology Major Jobs, Employment | Indeed.com - enter your city
You're cutting it close on making a decision if you wish to start school this fall. You need to evaluate how badly you do/did want to be a pharmacist, and whether or not you really wish to change or not. I know others will tell you to just run for the hills, but it also comes down to what career path you see yourself on in 5, 10, 15 years from now. If the answer is Pharmacist, go for it! If it isn't or you're still unsure, look into other options until you are sure of the new path.
Last edited:
Back out now if you're not passionate. Work for a few years. The pharmacy job market is super saturated and it's only going to get worse. I didn't believe it when I went into pharmacy school fall 2015. Now here I am with 6 figures in loans and wondering if I'll even get a position when I'm out in a year. I have a friend that realized they hate pharmacy during their 3rd year of pharmacy school and now 200k in debt they have no clue what to do. WORK in pharmacy before deciding but keep in mind that the job market is really going to limit your opportunities.
You just answered your own question.
As for your current Bio degree: very limited jobs without higher education (PA, MD/DO, certificates such as RRT, etc.). You could take a teaching cert. and teach middle / high school science and work toward a pension + 401k match + paid summers and weekends off.
OR (may sound crazy) do a job that your passionate about and/or a job that can easily invest toward your hobbies / happiness. I do applaud you for thinking long-term despite an acceptance.
Okay first the bad news. Yes your degree is near worthless. Good news is you recognized what a bad choice pharmacy school was before you committed to it.
Here are your options:
Medical School
DO school
Nursing / NP / CRNA
PA school
Optometrist school
Podiatrist school
Computer science boot camp (such as app academy ect)
Back out while you still can.
The saturation is bad, and I mean REAL bad. Think about it. Do you want to be $200,000 in debt with no way to repay it?
Pharmacy is not a viable career option right now. If you’re hearing it from all of us, it’s because it’s true.
Pharmacy is not a viable career option right now. If you’re hearing it from all of us, it’s because it’s true.
Well as someone who left pharmacy school for a year and saw the effect of the saturation on actual graduating students and post grad interns I can tell you if you aren't committed or your "dream job" has another alternative to get there that is not pharmacy just recind your admission and go into another field before you sign a student loan. As an option that not many people think about is working in Clinical Trials. It is a field worth looking into if you want to stay in healthcare but don't want to commit to a specific degree program. Also just apply to anything you might be remotely interesting to you and if you get an interview and the job go from there, you might be surprised.
If you're feeling anxious about the decision to go to pharmacy, there is no shame in taking a year off to figure out whether you really want to do this or not. One year doesn't make a difference in the long run.
To answer the question about what you can do with a biology degree: you can probably find some work as a lab assistant (and this will be easier to get if you have some kind of research experience). If not, most students use a biology degree as a stepping stone to other careers.
Other things you can consider: CNA (1-2 month course that can help you get into a hospital and gives you hands-on experience if you choose to change your plans to become a nurse OR PA), Health IT (there are courses you can take that are about 2-3 months where you can be certified and typically a lot of the programs I've seen show that 90+% of their course graduates get a full-time position), Pharmacy Tech (if you aren't already one...this will definitely help you decide whether you even like this field...). Just some things to consider. Hope you are able to come to a decision you are happy with.
Also, if you do consider doing nursing, keep in mind that there are accelerated nursing programs out there that are about 16-18 months as long as you have your Bachelor's degree. These are pretty rigorous and competitive but definitely worth it!
postcolor
Full Member
I think it’s easy to get scared about saturation when you’re reading public opinion on forums. Pharmacy saturation is different depending on your geographical location and the work you’re willing to put in. I’ve felt confident about pharmacy for YEARS (nearly 5 and counting) but have been feeling more and more nervous about it this last week because I joined this forum. From my hesitation I went and spoke with several pharmacists in my area who have their PharmD and are NOT working in retail. There are still many options with this career path as long as you love it and are willing to work hard to get what you want.
If you’re not interested in pharmacy, then you’re not interested and I would pursue something else.
If you’re interested in pharmacy, then look at the other things you can do with your degree. Retail does not run the world of pharmacy, so don’t take every opinion saying it does so seriously.
If you’re not interested in pharmacy, then you’re not interested and I would pursue something else.
If you’re interested in pharmacy, then look at the other things you can do with your degree. Retail does not run the world of pharmacy, so don’t take every opinion saying it does so seriously.
Retail is 70+% of pharmacy though. The "provider status" that was promised to us a decade ago never materialized and tbh at this point even if it did happen not much would change as NPs and PAs have devored that slice of the pie. I know several new grads that have applyed to 50+ jobs and not even gotten an interview. They are currently at their parents house employed but not by a job you need a pharmD for.
This is only the begining of saturation.
It.
Will.
Get.
Alot.
Worse.
RemindMe! 92,547 hours "Just try your best to help these kids"
I agree with that statement in part but not as a whole. Reality is there are various options in pharmacy but they will all depend on your location, interests and luck of getting that job that will pay enough. More than that, experience matters in those fields so getting internships in industry or pbms are crucial before even being ready to apply to those jobs Also, when you have six figure student loan debt, your options are more limited in terms of what pay cut can you take for that opportunity. For example, people mention industry as an option but starting out the pharma industry does not pay six figures at the beggining and it would take a while for you to rise to a comparable salary, while dealing with the student debt load.
Pharmacy is a great field for someone who is able to get through with little debt and a lot of flexibility of location. Also, correct me if I am wrong retail is one of the most common practice settings in pharmacy as a profession period.
Last edited:
Depending on how many math classes you've taken (past calculus I), and whether you took the physics sequence that was for science majors instead of the physics classes that use algebra, I recommend you maybe consider chemical engineering. I had gotten to the place where I was going to start pharmacy school, and literally EVERY pharmacist to whom I spoke told me that if they could go back and do things over, they would not have become pharmacists. I did not get my four-year degree, I was accepted to pharmacy school after two years, but I decided to challenge myself and take the "dual degree chemistry/chemical engineering" sequence that was offered at my school, and I squeezed the extra classes that I needed for pre-pharmacy into my schedule (I don't know how I did it). Unfortunately, my school doesn't offer any engineering degree, meaning I had to transfer – and give up the last two years of my full ride scholarship. Once I started engineering school, it felt like a better fit, there are lots of jobs in my area that literally put up billboards that beg for engineers, particularly women and minorities. I had an 86 mile one-way commute, but was able to get scholarships to almost cover my entire tuition at my new school. Unfortunately, about a month into the second semester of what would be my junior year, I had a near-fatal automobile accident while driving to school. I have finally finished getting my face rebuilt, and there isn't a school that offers a chemical engineering degree in my city (except for a private school that would force my husband and I to put a mortgage on our home!) so I'm going to finish my degree as a mechanical engineer, with a concentration in materials, plus I have a minor in math.
The pharmacists that I spoke with regarding how they felt about their respective careers mentioned the fact that they are considered "full-time" but they only work 32 hours per week. They say that the profession has changed a great deal, and most of them said that they'd have looked into becoming a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant, and several said that they regretted getting into the medical field in the first place! It's frustrating, because I'm one of those "non-traditional students" and now I'm likely going to have to retake some classes due to the amount of time that's passed since I started, but I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life when I can just finish my engineering degree and make less per hour, but I know that I'll have a full-time job if that's what I want.
I'm sorry this is so long, but some of the other commenters are right: a biology degree by itself really won't get you far. If you're having doubts, listen to that voice in your head because you'd be surprised how intelligent your own intuition is if only you'd listen to it. I know that is the case with me. I hope things work out for you, no matter what you decide to do. I'm sure you'll do well.
I was in the exact same situation you are/were!
I was all set to go to school this Fall, but started to feel weird about it in March. I thought about whether or not I wanted to go to pharmacy school and did a lot of research. Ultimately, it wasn’t what I wanted to do and it certainly wasn’t worth settling for (saturation, debt burden, automation, etc). Everyone was super supportive of my decision and many were relieved I didn’t take the plunge. Officially, I deferred, but I’m not turning back.
In my opinion, if you’re already doubting it, you know your answer!
