I'm almost 40, with a BS pharmacy degree, working a 40 hours/week pharmacist job. $60/hour, no weekends, relatively low stress. This job is probably secure for one or two years, longer than that hard to say. Quite a few of my co-workers (with PharmD) became clinical pharmacists in the same company. Not a lot of pay raise, but better security and more room for growth vs. what I'm doing right now is very repetitive and replaceable. Considering taking an distant PharmD degree and possibly residency. Takes 3.5 years, tuition $60K. We saved enough but still that's a lot of money, does it justify financially?
Should I get a PharmD?
- Thread starter firework
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Right now is not the time to go to school, we're about to hit some tougher financial times and a recession is not out of the question. Hold onto your job for right now, get rid of debt circumstances and build a warchest for a possible involuntary employment stint. There's also some ageism that is starting to show in pharmacy too, so hanging onto a job (even if you get eventually laid off) is actually more important for you than others. (Also, government benefits are better if you get laid off than resign.)
The ROI though is questionable considering that besides clinical jobs, you probably have the same credentials as the rest of us for baseline work.
The ROI though is questionable considering that besides clinical jobs, you probably have the same credentials as the rest of us for baseline work.
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I didn't say clearly, it's a distant program, I will not resign from anything, I'll use my spare time to finish everything. Will it justify then?
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I vote no. You’re almost 40...assuming you took the traditional route into pharmacy, you’ve likely been licensed 15ish years now. You’re experience is more valuable than a slightly more advanced degree.
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Why do you feel in 1-2 years your job wouldn't be secure? Don't you think having some work experience can help you get any retail job? What are you mainly looking for with the PharmD degree? Do you have anything specific you want to do with a residency program?
I had a professor in the past who went back to school just to get that PharmD and do a residency afterwards. His goal was to do academia. He had a secure job and many years of experience as PIC in one of the big retail companies but he hated working as a retail pharmacist. It might be justified for him to go through this but again he wasn't fully satisfied with the academia job as he has expected. I personally don't think it is worth that $60K and the time and effort you'll put into it. There are also no guarantees that you'll end up having more job security.
I had a professor in the past who went back to school just to get that PharmD and do a residency afterwards. His goal was to do academia. He had a secure job and many years of experience as PIC in one of the big retail companies but he hated working as a retail pharmacist. It might be justified for him to go through this but again he wasn't fully satisfied with the academia job as he has expected. I personally don't think it is worth that $60K and the time and effort you'll put into it. There are also no guarantees that you'll end up having more job security.
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I agree with Rouelle for all of his/her reasons, but I still would counsel against the value proposition here UNLESS you really, really want to practice clinical pharmacy. If it's just a job in pharmacy that you want to work, then I would probably start inching toward something in management first before I would consider getting a distance PharmD. That's just my take, but if it is solely on job preservation, no degree right now is going to be safe, not even PharmD's. You have a good job right now that unless you give off signs of being a problem, inertia is good enough to keep you. Don't ever forget the power of inertia and inaction, unless you work for the Big 2 or 3, then it's questionable if anyone's career longevity is anything but uncertain now.
Hell, Rouelle and I both have advanced degrees and actually professionally relevant in a pigeonhole, and if we worked retail or basic hospital, our jobs would be precarious!
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Do not do anything that's not scalable. You are only trading your time for money. There is a cap for that. The most you'll ever make with pharmacist degree is 80-90/hr max. Start a side hussle that you can scale up. Start leveraging your time to work smart, not hard.
I am about the youngest pharmacist without PharmD in the whole country. If you don’t have PharmD, they just shut the door in your face. This job I am working now is about the furthest I can go without PharmD. I don’t know if I should just be content with what I have.
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Even people with a PharmD are facing similar problems and is more reflective of the marketplace than your credentials IMO (and possible stigma against retail pharmacists if venturing into other fields)
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Retail pharmacists don't know how to pull up dosing on Lexi Comp like a clinical pharmacist? Lol
I would not do this if I were in your position. If I were you, I would continue searching for new job opportunities whether it involves using your degree or not. Not sure why you think you think your job is only secured for 1-2 years only... If you have good relationships with your boss and coworkers and you are good at what you do, why would they replace you? I would not encourage you to waste 3.5 years and 60K with the possibility of being in the same situation and not being able to find work elsewhere either.
My job depends a lot on the wellness of the company‘s business. Right now we are expending, that’s why I said I should be okay for a couple years. But business is hard to predict as we all know so well, once our prescription volume drops, the job is gone.
Yes business is hard to predict but you should communicate with your boss and think of ways to maintain/increase prescription volume then... He/she will see you as a valuable asset and you would be one of the last ones to go. Like I said, I would definitely not consider blowing 60K and 3.5 years to go back and do the same work. Why make life more complicated for yourself. Make the best of what you got and create good connections while you are still employed.
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He has probably been reading all the horror stories on here about older pharmacists getting fired, so they can be placed with a much cheaper, more desperate new grad. Why would anyone feel secure in their job if they regularly read the doom and gloom posts here?
Honestly I'd just invest the money and keep the job unless you are absolutely miserable. Even then you could just start casually throwing out applications. Outpatient pharmacy, meds to beds pharmacist, pharmacy in a college campus health clinic, independent, LTC/mail-order, things like this are all low stress jobs with no barriers to entry
You could also try to move within your company without getting a PharmD, have you considered that as a possibility?
You could also try to move within your company without getting a PharmD, have you considered that as a possibility?
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Haha, I have never heard it called that before, just "beside delivery." Meds to Beds make me think of rohypnol or something.
