Should i go into pharmacy school now

[brianphu]

Hi everyone, i am accepted to USC school of pharmacy and I am wondering if I just move on and complete the degree or should I drop out and choose another career path like statistician( I have passion in both math and chemistry) Should I pursue dual degree while in pharmacy school to get a job right after graduation? Is USC a well established school that every student get a job after graduation?

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[Ladyg228]

Based on the amount of debt and BLS the 0% job outlook, HIGHLY NOT recommend. Choose another career path and never look back unless you are truly passionate about patient care AND want to risk the possibility of no job with 250k-350k+ debt.

 

[PharmtoCS]

The best time to drop out of pharmacy school is always before starting pharmacy school.

 

[samven582]

Hi everyone, i am accepted to USC school of pharmacy and I am wondering if I just move on and complete the degree or should I drop out and choose another career path like statistician( I have passion in both math and chemistry) Should I pursue dual degree while in pharmacy school to get a job right after graduation? Is USC a well established school that every student get a job after graduation?

Do you have a passion for pharmacy? If not the answer is no.

 

[JustFillIt]

Do you have a passion for pharmacy? If not the answer is no.

Let’s be honest - there is no such thing as a “passion for pharmacy”

 

[ValeRx]

No. The answer is no.

 

[Pharmakon480]

It is not worth it anymore. I'm sure you have heard by now but no potential for any growth over the next few years. Decreasing salaries, increased impossible tasks demanded by corporate, no hospital jobs, so no, not worth it. Plus, there is no such thing as patient care in retail if you work for corporate. Corporate cares more about metrics than patient care and patients don't want your help when counseling and don't value you or your work. The only ones that really want your help are the ones who want free advice because they can't call their doctor but they come to the window and demand free immediate advice and if you are on the phone, the same patients who want free advice are not willing to wait a few minutes for you to finish your phone call and walk away in a few seconds. Unfortunately that is the reality of retail pharmacy.

 

[Marzapan]

Hi everyone, i am accepted to USC school of pharmacy and I am wondering if I just move on and complete the degree or should I drop out and choose another career path like statistician( I have passion in both math and chemistry) Should I pursue dual degree while in pharmacy school to get a job right after graduation? Is USC a well established school that every student get a job after graduation?

Here are a few pharmacy related news articles and studies worth reading (credit: Televancin on Reddit for putting this together):

• ⁠BLS projects 0% growth in pharmacist jobs over the next decade (actually negative) while similar occupations will all grow at a faster than average pace Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• ⁠Becker's Hospital Review "'We're training our kids for jobs that won't exist" 'We're training our kids for jobs that won't exist': Community Health Systems director of pharmacy on the industry's changing landscape. Terry Baughman, regional director of pharmacy for Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, has 45 years of experience in the pharmacy industry. Starting his career at a pharmacy management company, he went on to spend 10 years teaching pharmacists how to become directors of pharmacy.

• ⁠Drug Topic: There are too many colleges of pharmacy Opinion: There are Too Many Colleges of Pharmacy

• ⁠AJPE data analysis on oversupply of pharmacists and slow and minimal change in practice: https://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe7051

• ⁠"Although I feel bad for those students facing job placement difficulties, ACPE is unable to change its review process" ACPE's response Opinion: PharmD Quality vs Quantity

• ⁠APhA admits there is a surplus of pharmacists and expanded roles are growing more slowly than expected https://www.pharmacist.com/press-re...atorium-accreditation-new-pharmd-institutions

• ⁠A Looming Joblessness Crisis for New Pharmacy Graduates A Looming Joblessness Crisis for New Pharmacy Graduates and the Implications It Holds for the Academy

• ⁠Trends in the Pharmacist Workforce and Pharmacy education https://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe7051

• ⁠HRSA Allied Health Workforce Projections, 2016-2030: Pharmacists. Oversupply projected https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/pharmacists-2016-2030.pdf

• ⁠Getting into Pharmacy School is Now Dangerously Easy Why Getting into Pharmacy School is Now Dangerously Easy | Student Loan Planner

• ⁠UAMS 2018 survey: only 55% of class accepted a position and 24% believed opportunities were good https://pharmcollege.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/UAMS-Salary-Survey-2018.pdf compared to 89% accepting a position and 63% believing opportunities were good 2 years ago https://pharmcollege.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/UAMS-Salary-Survey-2018.pdf

News stories

• ⁠Rural pharmacies closing https://health.usnews.com/health-ca...es-are-closing-where-does-that-leave-patients

• ⁠185 Fred's pharmacies close Walgreens to Purchase Pharmacy Files of 185 Fred's Pharmacies

• ⁠600 Rite Aids close Walgreens to close 600 Rite Aid stores

• ⁠Shopko bankruptcy – 145 pharmacies close: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucej...ay-for-cvs-walgreens-and-kroger/#77c0172772ba

• ⁠Walmart layoff 40% of its pharmacists: Walmart Layoffs: Retailer To Eliminate Up To 40 Percent Of Its Pharmacists

• ⁠Walgreens closes 200 stores Walgreens to close 200 stores in US

• ⁠CVS to close 22 more stores after closing 46 earlier this year https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...e-closings-22-stores-shutter-2020/4175916002/

• ⁠CVS closes 46 locations: https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/cvs...ing-including-3-in-alabama-complete-list.html

• ⁠42 Shopko pharmacies close https://www.jsonline.com/story/mone...r-buying-shopko-pharmacy-business/2265296002/

• ⁠Healthmart closes 30 pharmacies, putting 300 employees out of a job HealthPartners to close 30 retail pharmacies

• ⁠The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters

• ⁠"some pharmacists who went into residency […] are not able to find jobs and they've been looking since July" HealthPartners decision illustrates a trend for pharmacies: Fewer of them

• ⁠How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk

 

[Momus]

Op got the motherlode of pharmacy job situation. Let's see if op has half a brain.

 

[Mambo#5]

Op got the motherlode of pharmacy job situation. Let's see if op has half a brain.

Lmfao. I doubt it.

 

[PromisedNeverland]

Hi everyone, i am accepted to USC school of pharmacy and I am wondering if I just move on and complete the degree or should I drop out and choose another career path like statistician( I have passion in both math and chemistry) Should I pursue dual degree while in pharmacy school to get a job right after graduation? Is USC a well established school that every student get a job after graduation?

my answer will always be the same. There has never been a better time :troll: :troll:

 

[PromisedNeverland]

Let’s be honest - there is no such thing as a “passion for pharmacy”

True there is only The Passion of the Christ

 

[JustFillIt]

True there is only The Passion of the Christ

Exactly................

 

[JustFillIt]

Here are a few pharmacy related news articles and studies worth reading (credit: Televancin on Reddit for putting this together):

• ⁠BLS projects 0% growth in pharmacist jobs over the next decade (actually negative) while similar occupations will all grow at a faster than average pace Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• ⁠Becker's Hospital Review "'We're training our kids for jobs that won't exist" 'We're training our kids for jobs that won't exist': Community Health Systems director of pharmacy on the industry's changing landscape. Terry Baughman, regional director of pharmacy for Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, has 45 years of experience in the pharmacy industry. Starting his career at a pharmacy management company, he went on to spend 10 years teaching pharmacists how to become directors of pharmacy.

• ⁠Drug Topic: There are too many colleges of pharmacy Opinion: There are Too Many Colleges of Pharmacy

• ⁠AJPE data analysis on oversupply of pharmacists and slow and minimal change in practice: https://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe7051

• ⁠"Although I feel bad for those students facing job placement difficulties, ACPE is unable to change its review process" ACPE's response Opinion: PharmD Quality vs Quantity

• ⁠APhA admits there is a surplus of pharmacists and expanded roles are growing more slowly than expected https://www.pharmacist.com/press-re...atorium-accreditation-new-pharmd-institutions

• ⁠A Looming Joblessness Crisis for New Pharmacy Graduates A Looming Joblessness Crisis for New Pharmacy Graduates and the Implications It Holds for the Academy

• ⁠Trends in the Pharmacist Workforce and Pharmacy education https://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe7051

• ⁠HRSA Allied Health Workforce Projections, 2016-2030: Pharmacists. Oversupply projected https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/pharmacists-2016-2030.pdf

• ⁠Getting into Pharmacy School is Now Dangerously Easy Why Getting into Pharmacy School is Now Dangerously Easy | Student Loan Planner

• ⁠UAMS 2018 survey: only 55% of class accepted a position and 24% believed opportunities were good https://pharmcollege.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/UAMS-Salary-Survey-2018.pdf compared to 89% accepting a position and 63% believing opportunities were good 2 years ago https://pharmcollege.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/UAMS-Salary-Survey-2018.pdf

News stories

• ⁠Rural pharmacies closing https://health.usnews.com/health-ca...es-are-closing-where-does-that-leave-patients

• ⁠185 Fred's pharmacies close Walgreens to Purchase Pharmacy Files of 185 Fred's Pharmacies

• ⁠600 Rite Aids close Walgreens to close 600 Rite Aid stores

• ⁠Shopko bankruptcy – 145 pharmacies close: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucej...ay-for-cvs-walgreens-and-kroger/#77c0172772ba

• ⁠Walmart layoff 40% of its pharmacists: Walmart Layoffs: Retailer To Eliminate Up To 40 Percent Of Its Pharmacists

• ⁠Walgreens closes 200 stores Walgreens to close 200 stores in US

• ⁠CVS to close 22 more stores after closing 46 earlier this year https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...e-closings-22-stores-shutter-2020/4175916002/

• ⁠CVS closes 46 locations: https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/cvs...ing-including-3-in-alabama-complete-list.html

• ⁠42 Shopko pharmacies close https://www.jsonline.com/story/mone...r-buying-shopko-pharmacy-business/2265296002/

• ⁠Healthmart closes 30 pharmacies, putting 300 employees out of a job HealthPartners to close 30 retail pharmacies

• ⁠The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters

• ⁠"some pharmacists who went into residency […] are not able to find jobs and they've been looking since July" HealthPartners decision illustrates a trend for pharmacies: Fewer of them

• ⁠How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk

Wow - well done.. If I am ever in need of instant depression and anxiety I know where to go. I will bookmark this thread just for that purpose

 

[dmd20000]

There are jobs now but you have to live far from the big cities and away from your family and you will be paid a lot less like 80-90k/year which is not bad if you don't spend much like a lot of pharmacists.

 

[projektreverb]

 

[APN-59 rph]

Hi everyone, i am accepted to USC school of pharmacy and I am wondering if I just move on and complete the degree or should I drop out and choose another career path like statistician( I have passion in both math and chemistry) Should I pursue dual degree while in pharmacy school to get a job right after graduation? Is USC a well established school that every student get a job after graduation?

If you have a passion for math..look at the numbers...do the percents...flog the stats....Now that I think of it..counting by five's is math...sort of...bankruptcy is math oriented.....

 

[Marzapan]

If you have a passion for math..look at the numbers...do the percents...flog the stats....Now that I think of it..counting by five's is math...sort of...bankruptcy is math oriented.....

He's trolling. If he were passionate in math then it doesn't take much to figure out that $300k in student loans + compound interest that results in a $15/hr salary driving uber after graduation = equation that makes no financial sense.

 

[BaSsHeAd]

but guys, what if OP tries their hardest to stand out in pharmacy school and join organizations?

 

[mentos]

USC is one of the most expensive schools out there LMAO.

 

[TerryTerry]

but guys, what if OP tries their hardest to stand out in pharmacy school and join organizations?

Employers don`t give a **** unless they have more personal relationship

 

[PromisedNeverland]

Employers don`t give a **** unless they have more personal relationship

I think he's being sarcastic

 

[projektreverb]

Employers don`t give a **** unless they have more personal relationship

You missed the sarcasm LOL

 

[Amicable Angora]

It is not worth it anymore. I'm sure you have heard by now but no potential for any growth over the next few years. Decreasing salaries, increased impossible tasks demanded by corporate, no hospital jobs, so no, not worth it. Plus, there is no such thing as patient care in retail if you work for corporate. Corporate cares more about metrics than patient care and patients don't want your help when counseling and don't value you or your work. The only ones that really want your help are the ones who want free advice because they can't call their doctor but they come to the window and demand free immediate advice and if you are on the phone, the same patients who want free advice are not willing to wait a few minutes for you to finish your phone call and walk away in a few seconds. Unfortunately that is the reality of retail pharmacy.

Hospital’s not a greener pasture either. That’s where you get some of the most egotistical ivory tower pharmacists that fight like starved mutts over the few scraps that the physicians are willing to toss them. Then there’s all the workplace politics and gossip that plagues hospital work.

Plus to even get in hospital these days you’re looking at the mandatory one year residency, preferred two. Who knows if they’ll be a third year by the time the OP graduates. So spending your day surrounded by idiots like that ain’t much better than retail either!

 

[projektreverb]

Hospital’s not a greener pasture either. That’s where you get some of the most egotistical ivory tower pharmacists that fight like starved mutts over the few scraps that the physicians are willing to toss them. Then there’s all the workplace politics and gossip that plagues hospital work.

Plus to even get in hospital these days you’re looking at the mandatory one year residency, preferred two. Who knows if they’ll be a third year by the time the OP graduates. So spending your day surrounded by idiots like that ain’t much better than retail either!

That was my turn off to hospital pharmacy. All the pettiness and politics. Not that retail is politics free, but it’s not as petty as hospital politics.

 

[TerryTerry]

You missed the sarcasm LOL

I knew. I just wanted prepharms to get some real points. haha

 

[Judgment Dragon]

Do not go to pharmacy school.

 

[Xenophylia]

That was my turn off to hospital pharmacy. All the pettiness and politics. Not that retail is politics free, but it’s not as petty as hospital politics.

Yeah my brief exposure to the hospital setting during my hospital and clinical rotations made me realize I didn't ever want to work in a hospital. I wound up managing an outpatient retail hospital pharmacy for a few years and even being physically removed from the place, the politics and interpersonal drama were almost unbearable. Just not my scene.

 

[Marzapan]

That was my turn off to hospital pharmacy. All the pettiness and politics. Not that retail is politics free, but it’s not as petty as hospital politics.

Hospital pharmacy = you work mostly with other pharmacists so you deal with egos (because pharmacists have big egos).

Retail pharmacy = you work mostly with techs (since there's minimal overlap) and techs don't have the same egos pharmacists do (vast majority of them just have high school GEDs, are not career driven, or are pre-pharms who are just happy to get experience).

That's the big difference between retail and hospital politics.

 

[mentos]

Hospital pharmacy = you work mostly with other pharmacists so you deal with egos (because pharmacists have big egos).

Retail pharmacy = you work mostly with techs (since there's minimal overlap) and techs don't have the same egos pharmacists do (vast majority of them just have high school GEDs, are not career driven, or are pre-pharms who are just happy to get experience).

That's the big difference between retail and hospital politics.

Don't forget nurses in the hospital. They are always right no matter what. I suppose they are better than dealing with angry patients in retail though... Maybe.

 

[mentos]

Hospital’s not a greener pasture either. That’s where you get some of the most egotistical ivory tower pharmacists that fight like starved mutts over the few scraps that the physicians are willing to toss them. Then there’s all the workplace politics and gossip that plagues hospital work.

Plus to even get in hospital these days you’re looking at the mandatory one year residency, preferred two. Who knows if they’ll be a third year by the time the OP graduates. So spending your day surrounded by idiots like that ain’t much better than retail either!

Don't forget the BCPS or whatever BS certificate too.

 

[steveysmith54]

I wouldn't do it. Walgreens offering 52 an hour for new grads in most of the SoCal. I graduated a decade or so ago, I was offered around 60 an hour. So yeah the salary is dropping. Imagine that.
You do the math, how do you pay off a 300K loan with that salary?

 

[Xenophylia]

Yeah- having worked retail AND now LTC, I've come to realize a "different" kind of ignorance and stupidity is STILL ultimately ignorance and stupidity. Being that of the public at large or nursing, it all shares the same "stupid" DNA.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

Hospitals attract a different breed of pharmacists whom I do not like to be acquainted with.

 

[DH1987]

Yeah, hospital pharmacy just sounds like another type of hell with lower pay, and some of my experiences there make me nauseous just thinking about it. Of my 3 hospital/clinical rotations, two of my preceptors for some reason really disliked me and did their best to make my life miserable. I did have some shortcomings, but I was trying my absolute best and they showed almost no respect to me. I did get along well with the other preceptor, though, and I got along great with all of my retail preceptors. Overall, I prefer people in the retail sector - the coworkers, anyway.

 

[18pharmgrad]

Graduated in 2018 and have 3 licenses from 3 different states. For the past 2 years I had 2 interviews. 1 in Laredo, Tx with Walmart. 2nd in Lake Havasu, Az with Albertsons. If you look at the map, these places in a freaking out of nowhere desert and I did not get an offer.

 

[casprph]

Graduated in 2018 and have 3 licenses from 3 different states. For the past 2 years I had 2 interviews. 1 in Laredo, Tx with Walmart. 2nd in Lake Havasu, Az with Albertsons. If you look at the map, these places in a freaking out of nowhere desert and I did not get an offer.

why not?

 

[PharmtoCS]

Yeah, hospital pharmacy just sounds like another type of hell with lower pay, and some of my experiences there make me nauseous just thinking about it. Of my 3 hospital/clinical rotations, two of my preceptors for some reason really disliked me and did their best to make my life miserable. I did have some shortcomings, but I was trying my absolute best and they showed almost no respect to me. I did get along well with the other preceptor, though, and I got along great with all of my retail preceptors. Overall, I prefer people in the retail sector - the coworkers, anyway.

People always need a bogeyman to blame for their problems and misery.

In retail, it’s the patients. In hospital where you don’t deal with the general public, you turn your coworkers into the enemy.

 

[mentos]

why not?

Supply and demand. There's more applicants than jobs available.

 

[Sine Cura]

Graduated in 2018 and have 3 licenses from 3 different states. For the past 2 years I had 2 interviews. 1 in Laredo, Tx with Walmart. 2nd in Lake Havasu, Az with Albertsons. If you look at the map, these places in a freaking out of nowhere desert and I did not get an offer.

Those who hire can afford to be pickier.

 

[Marzapan]

Those who hire can afford to be pickier.

But my pharmacy school faculty/entrenched hospital pharmacists all told me that I can find a job so long as I am willing to move???

 

[Hedgehog32]

Graduated in 2018 and have 3 licenses from 3 different states. For the past 2 years I had 2 interviews. 1 in Laredo, Tx with Walmart. 2nd in Lake Havasu, Az with Albertsons. If you look at the map, these places in a freaking out of nowhere desert and I did not get an offer.

What did you end up doing instead of pharmacy? Did you decide to go back to school?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Hospital’s not a greener pasture either. That’s where you get some of the most egotistical ivory tower pharmacists that fight like starved mutts over the few scraps that the physicians are willing to toss them. Then there’s all the workplace politics and gossip that plagues hospital work.

Plus to even get in hospital these days you’re looking at the mandatory one year residency, preferred two. Who knows if they’ll be a third year by the time the OP graduates. So spending your day surrounded by idiots like that ain’t much better than retail either!

This was my experience in hospital pharmacy.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

That was my turn off to hospital pharmacy. All the pettiness and politics. Not that retail is politics free, but it’s not as petty as hospital politics.

Humans need conflict.

In retail, it's insurance companies, corporate, and the general public. You generally have each other's backs because you are in a trench getting bombarded.

In hospital pharmacy, conflict is found between each other. And the nurses. But they are a impenetrable unionized brick wall that you cannot win against, ever. So even more conflict is internalized in the department. You generally stab each other's backs.

 

[owlegrad]

It’s my law of conservation of drama. There will always be a set amount of drama in the workplace, only the source of that drama will change.

 

[Sine Cura]

Maybe basic bitches need conflict. Unfortunately that **** isn't kept in check society-wide

 

[Dred Pirate]

I can't say it enough - just don't

 

[casprph]

Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy doesn’t seem to require a PCAT based on this ad that ironically showed up on my SDN feed. I’ll leave this here in case you’re interested

 

[TerryTerry]

Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy doesn’t seem to require a PCAT based on this ad that ironically showed up on my SDN feed. I’ll leave this here in case you’re interested
View attachment 316379

what is that?
2 faculties looking at a sucker?

 

[rxkrafted]

Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy doesn’t seem to require a PCAT based on this ad that ironically showed up on my SDN feed. I’ll leave this here in case you’re interested
View attachment 316379

Looks like 3 brand new P1s judging by their smiles after getting accepted with no PCAT score. You can tell what year they're in based on the degree of their smile. Once its upside down, that's when they figured out the job market saturation and their new student loan balance.