Stick to Pharmacy or no?

Started by tripleay
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tripleay

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I'm a pre-pharmacy student who has already been accepted to a pharmacy school and I have two more interviews in a few weeks. I really like chemistry and how drugs interact with the body but now I'm having second thoughts about starting pharmacy school in the fall. Like everyone else, I've heard that the future of pharmacy may or may not be steady and I'm afraid of how difficult it'll be to find a job with loads on debt on my shoulders. I have no problem relocating out of Florida, and I know I'll most likely have to. But if the career will be oversaturated and I won't be able to find a residency or job quickly, then I'd rather switch to something else. The problem is I don't know what to switch to. Clinical Pharmacists have advised me to change my major and go into something like Podiatry or Dentistry or Nursing but I don't know if I'd like those options since I prefer chemistry paths over biology paths. Any advice on alternative career options that are in high demand that I may like? Should I stick to pharmacy since it interests me? Also, are there any companies who still do tuition reimbursement? I'd like research and development to be an option in whatever I decide to do. I also have interests in BME.
 
u can go for pharmacology if u like research and development. job prospects should not be a problem.
 
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The healthcare profession has changed so much within the last 10 years.

It used to be difficult to get accepted but once you are in and you are licensed, you would be able to earn a living and to pay back your student loans. It used to offer stability and security. Not anymore.

With all of the schools, it is now easy to get accepted but very competitive to land a full-time job. Even when you are working, your job is not stable. You can agrue that's how it is with other professions too but with a mountain of student loans, you can't afford to work part-time or to lose your job.
 
The career will be oversaturared and you will have trouble finding a job quicky. If you like the idea of fighting hard to get to do something pretty cool, then it may still be a good choice for you.

Chem oriented fields that are hot include chemical engineering, biochemistry research, materials chemistry, and pharmaceutics research. Cant really go too wrong with getting your doctorate in any of those compared to pharmacy, although the job hours and demands might be more onerous (little opportunity for part time or laid back rural work).
 
If you're thinking about nursing, get a CNA certificate first. You can do it at a community college, and it's usually a 6- or 8-week program, and you will know IMMEDIATELY if you want to pursue that any further.

I have a friend on another website who was a podiatrist for a number of years, and gave it up even before she got her loans all paid off because she didn't want to spend the rest of her life treating noncompliant diabetics (and trust me, those are some of the worst patients in pharmacy, too).
 
type b pharmD said:
The career will be oversaturared and you will have trouble finding a job quicky. If you like the idea of fighting hard to get to do something pretty cool, then it may still be a good choice for you.

Chem oriented fields that are hot include chemical engineering, biochemistry research, materials chemistry, and pharmaceutics research. Cant really go too wrong with getting your doctorate in any of those compared to pharmacy, although the job hours and demands might be more onerous (little opportunity for part time or laid back rural work).
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For those of us who will be graduating in 2018, are there likely to be ANY regions of the country that won't be massively over saturated? For example, how are things looking in GA (outside of Atlanta)?
 
Best be frank rather than give out false promises. If you like chemistry and research then pharmaceutics research (aka drug design) may suit you well. Be aware that a research job may require a Ph.D, which is a significant time commitment with serious academic rigor that comes along with it.

It's tough finding a community (aka retail) job fresh out of pharmacy school. I've heard of interns who were let go on their forth year because the company knew they couldn't retain their interns and transition them all to full time pharmacists. Stores are switching from a 24 hour pharmacy to 8am - 10pm since there isn't enough business to justify employment of a night shift pharmacist.

Many hospital and gov't positions are asking for those who have done at least a year of residency. Without residency, you better hope you have worked as a hospital intern to have a chance against those who do have a residency. And even if you do have a residency, there has to be a open position, and you should expect stiff competition for that piece of pie.

You can choose to invest money and time for an uncertain future if that's your calling. The choice is yours.
 
Reirrac said:
Best be frank rather than give out false promises. If you like chemistry and research then pharmaceutics research (aka drug design) may suit you well. Be aware that a research job may require a Ph.D, which is a significant time commitment with serious academic rigor that comes along with it.

It's tough finding a community (aka retail) job fresh out of pharmacy school. I've heard of interns who were let go on their forth year because the company knew they couldn't retain their interns and transition them all to full time pharmacists. Stores are switching from a 24 hour pharmacy to 8am - 10pm since there isn't enough business to justify employment of a night shift pharmacist.

Many hospital and gov't positions are asking for those who have done at least a year of residency. Without residency, you better hope you have worked as a hospital intern to have a chance against those who do have a residency. And even if you do have a residency, there has to be a open position, and you should expect stiff competition for that piece of pie.

You can choose to invest money and time for an uncertain future if that's your calling. The choice is yours.
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Can you please tell me what company or what geographical area is doing this? Wow, this is a real threat to all the night shifts employees.
 
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asian pharm said:
Can you please tell me what company or what geographical area is doing this? Wow, this is a real threat to all the night shifts employees.
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I don't want to reveal too much identifying information, but I can say its one of the metro cities in Ohio.
 
PharmacyHopeful4life said:
I really wish you would get off the boards, you are a disgrace to pharmacy, yourself, and your family. No one appreciates your constant negative comments!!! Blah Blah the world is going to end Blah Blah
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BMBiology said:
I didn't know stating a fact can bring out such a strong emotion. Anyways, this explains it:

PharmacyHopeful4life said:
I really wanted to apply to this pharmacy school, but I have a pcat of 31 and a GPA of 2.71. Based on the previous posts I think I stand a great chance at this school. ShockingPurple, do you think I have a chance?
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So I talked to the dean today and had a very deep conversation on the state of pharmacy saturation. Basically, the accreditation board does not have the power to stop schools from opening up. If it meets criteria, it must evaluate the school. To get around this in the future, the board will have to change their by-laws that will allow the board to limit pharmacy schools. Who knows if that will ever happen. So the current plan is to let the market work itself out. Simply put, with the limited number of residences available (and the budget for increasing residencies has not changed for about 15 years), unfortunately some for-profit universities and pharmacy students will crash and burn. This means not being able to find jobs and will end up with loans they cant pay off and is not protected in from bankruptcy. Pharmacy schools will be forced to close down (GOOD!) Every field has had a saturation cycle. Pharmacy has been through it before, nursing has had it worse and is still worse, according to the dean. Others factors have also contributed to this: Chains lobbying for more pharmacy schools back in 2009. Two years later, the made changes to systems that required less pharmacists. And here we are today, grumbling about chains cutting hours. They were the ones demanding more pharmacist, thus more schools in the first place.
 
rxgolfer said:
So I talked to the dean today and had a very deep conversation on the state of pharmacy saturation. Basically, the accreditation board does not have the power to stop schools from opening up. If it meets criteria, it must evaluate the school. To get around this in the future, the board will have to change their by-laws that will allow the board to limit pharmacy schools. Who knows if that will ever happen. So the current plan is to let the market work itself out. Simply put, with the limited number of residences available (and the budget for increasing residencies has not changed for about 15 years), unfortunately some for-profit universities and pharmacy students will crash and burn. This means not being able to find jobs and will end up with loans they cant pay off and is not protected in from bankruptcy. Pharmacy schools will be forced to close down (GOOD!) Every field has had a saturation cycle. Pharmacy has been through it before, nursing has had it worse and is still worse, according to the dean. Others factors have also contributed to this: Chains lobbying for more pharmacy schools back in 2009. Two years later, the made changes to systems that required less pharmacists. And here we are today, grumbling about chains cutting hours. They were the ones demanding more pharmacist, thus more schools in the first place.
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Regarding for-profit pharmacy schools - and this is a serious question - is LECOM considered to be one? Would it actually be a legitimately "bad' idea to attend a program such as theirs?
 
If you honestly have to ask now, before you've even started pharmacy school, then no, pharmacy is not for you. The people who are going to succeed going through pharmacy nowadays are the ones who are passionate about the profession, and if you're not passionate enough now, when everyone is stars in their eyes and APhA tells us how great we are, then you're better off not wasting 100,000 dollars in loan repayments.
 
CynicalIntern said:
If you honestly have to ask now, before you've even started pharmacy school, then no, pharmacy is not for you.
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I second this to a degree. If you haven't started learning pharmacy you haven't begun to see what it has to offer or how you can make a difference through it. On the other hand, if you have done a lot of shadowing and question your prospective path, perhaps this is the prime opportunity to look elsewhere before, like this poster said, you go running up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Podiatry and dentistry are pretty specific (feet, teeth); if you like the whole body and want to go provider route, consider medicine. If you don't want to deal with the human body on a first hand basis (no touchy), but still like medicine, then perhaps pharmacy is for you. But really evaluate how opposed you are to blood and touching people. My reasoning for avoiding medicine was the blood and touching, but I really don't care now and have my own issues of career path to deal with...
 
tripleay said:
I'm a pre-pharmacy student who has already been accepted to a pharmacy school and I have two more interviews in a few weeks. I really like chemistry and how drugs interact with the body
but now I'm having second thoughts about starting pharmacy school in the fall.
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Congratulations !!! You have good foundation, especially with interest in chemistry.


tripleay said:
Like everyone else, I've heard that the future of pharmacy may or may not be steady and I'm afraid of how difficult it'll be to find a job with loads on debt on my shoulders.
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If you are willing to work any shift at any city, you will have a pharmacist job. Not the best pharmacist job but still a pharmacist job with pharmacist income.

Debt? You will have.
Income? You will have.
Is pharmacy still worth it? Depends on what you sacrifice and how you value the sacrifice to earn pharmacist income.

I encourage you to find job as soon as possible and be willing to accept any job at any city for any shift. With that willingness in finding job, if you still can not find a job, your student loan payment is still under control for these facts:

First payment for student loan is due after 6 months after graduation date.

If you have less than full time job, you can apply for deferment, meaning: you do not have to make payment and collector will not harass you. (Interest still add up and you will have to pay such interest plus principal later.)

If you have no job, same solution, (meaning: you can apply for deferment, meaning: you do not have to make payment and collector will not harass you. (Interest still add up and you will have to pay such interest plus principal later.))

You have around 4 deferments at 6 months each, totaling about 2 years worth of not being forced to make payment.
You have 1 time of forbearance which lasts 12 months (automatically granted, you ask for it, you will get 12 months of not paying yet (Interest still add up and you will have to pay such interest plus principal later.)).

Deferments and Forbearance add up to give you help of 36 months to find job.
Of course, please do not exercise such help unless you really truly need them. Just know the help is there if your situation is not as you desired.

Tough time to find job? Yes.
If you are willing to take any pharmacist job at any city at any shift, can you find a job? Yes.

Allow me to remind you about the beauty of pharmacist license: within the state that you have license, you can go to any pharmacy and ask for job. You earn around 60 dollars per hour with check (meaning: job with W2 and pay tax) (or if you work for small pharmacy that pays cash, you can expect to earn around 30 dollars per hour.))

The point is: if you have to pay for bills of your sick parents and you need extra money, any other career gives you that flexibility to earn extra income in your spare time?

To most of us, we have to pay bills, so let's see from the angle of income:

At this point after earning admission into pharmacy school, compared to your friend,
after subtracting cost of pharmacy school,
after subtracting lost income because of pharmacy school,
after subtracting tax of 20%,
you net around 1.4 millions (over the friend who stops going to pharmacy school even after earning admission to pharmacy school.)

Since your tax rate is different, allow me to share another angle:
At this point after earning admission to pharmacy school, compared to your friend,
after subtracting cost of pharmacy school,
after subtracting lost income because of pharmacy school,
before subtracting tax,
you net around 1.8 millions (over the friend who stops going to pharmacy school even after earning admission to pharmacy school.)

Please see my attached pdf file for calculation for your case, (Excel file is included so you can adjust to your own situation.)

tripleay said:
I have no problem relocating out of Florida, and I know I'll most likely have to. But if the career will be oversaturated and I won't be able to find a residency or job quickly
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Your willingness to relocate and learn is good attitude that will land you a pharmacist job, quickly.
I can only relate to my situation so hear me out please....
If I am in your shoe now and continue through pharmacy school and work anywhere as long as I have a pharmacist job, I will net 1.4 millions dollars extra (over the other career if I choose not to go to pharmacy school now). I will work hard for 40 hours a week and go home and still have time to balance my life and do good deeds for others....I think my blood donation is due now...

Congratulations on getting this far in the journey...You already have good attitude and good start...See you out there helping sick patients...
 

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tripleay said:
I'm a pre-pharmacy student who has already been accepted to a pharmacy school and I have two more interviews in a few weeks. I really like chemistry and how drugs interact with the body but now I'm having second thoughts about starting pharmacy school in the fall. Like everyone else, I've heard that the future of pharmacy may or may not be steady and I'm afraid of how difficult it'll be to find a job with loads on debt on my shoulders. I have no problem relocating out of Florida, and I know I'll most likely have to. But if the career will be oversaturated and I won't be able to find a residency or job quickly, then I'd rather switch to something else. The problem is I don't know what to switch to. Clinical Pharmacists have advised me to change my major and go into something like Podiatry or Dentistry or Nursing but I don't know if I'd like those options since I prefer chemistry paths over biology paths. Any advice on alternative career options that are in high demand that I may like? Should I stick to pharmacy since it interests me? Also, are there any companies who still do tuition reimbursement? I'd like research and development to be an option in whatever I decide to do. I also have interests in BME.
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Hmm... Have you taken the time to shadow a doctor yet? Have you considered Toxicology, Nephrology, etc... Have you spoken to a PhD Chemist to get an idea of what their lifestyle is like?

You're at a magnificent time in your life, and you can take this time to plot out the course for your future. Don't throw your eggs all in one basket without first considering your options. Have you spoken to an independent pharmacy owner? Maybe you could find one who would let you shadow them for a day to see what their life is like.

If you're concerned about racking up debt, have you considered attending Pharmacy or Medical school overseas? It's harder to get into specialties, but it can be a rewarding experience. If you're interested in family practice or pediatrics it can be a winning option.

Have you considered working overseas the rest of your life? Europe can be quite nice! Why not find a country you like the politics and culture of, and do medical training there?

The world is your oyster.
 
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The job market is not that bad even in California. Most of my classmates found jobs already including those who didn't do any intern in school. You should know what you really like. For me, after rounding with doctors, working on the floors, I am really glad that I didn't go to nurse school or even med school. I just can't work with some of the patients.
 
babyapple said:
The job market is not that bad even in California. Most of my classmates found jobs already including those who didn't do any intern in school. You should know what you really like. For me, after rounding with doctors, working on the floors, I am really glad that I didn't go to nurse school or even med school. I just can't work with some of the patients.
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you gotta be kidding right? I live right in So California area and there is no job here. I am curious what school did you go to and which area that you live at? Just wonder so I can tell my friends to apply there.
 
lisinopril said:
you gotta be kidding right? I live right in So California area and there is no job here. I am curious what school did you go to and which area that you live at? Just wonder so I can tell my friends to apply there.
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You are right: Southern California has very limited job.... That is correct with few exceptionally good pharmacists got the job: the super cheerful, dedicated, experienced, energetic, devoted....

Bakersfield, Victorville, Fresno...Hard to staff areas still have jobs if you are willing to take any shift at any location.
 
rxgolfer said:
So I talked to the dean today and had a very deep conversation on the state of pharmacy saturation. Basically, the accreditation board does not have the power to stop schools from opening up. If it meets criteria, it must evaluate the school. To get around this in the future, the board will have to change their by-laws that will allow the board to limit pharmacy schools. Who knows if that will ever happen. So the current plan is to let the market work itself out. Simply put, with the limited number of residences available (and the budget for increasing residencies has not changed for about 15 years), unfortunately some for-profit universities and pharmacy students will crash and burn. This means not being able to find jobs and will end up with loans they cant pay off and is not protected in from bankruptcy. Pharmacy schools will be forced to close down (GOOD!) Every field has had a saturation cycle. Pharmacy has been through it before, nursing has had it worse and is still worse, according to the dean. Others factors have also contributed to this: Chains lobbying for more pharmacy schools back in 2009. Two years later, the made changes to systems that required less pharmacists. And here we are today, grumbling about chains cutting hours. They were the ones demanding more pharmacist, thus more schools in the first place.
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The powers that be in pharmacy do not see themselves as pharmacists, and from what I can tell, are very young and do not have an interest in it. Weak organizations, like the AOA (optometry) also use the excuse of the Sherman Trust Act (used to break up commercial monopolies, lol) so they can keep collecting school fees and make deanships for themselves by constant school expansion.
Strong organizations, like medicine and dentistry, protect the integrity of their professions. For instance, medicine has residency caps and stringent guidelines for schools; dentistry has very high expenses for opening a school, including a large clinic requirement. Pharmacy charges 2000 for the application fee to open up a new school...
There is no market here. Like law schools, pharmacy is already cooking the books. I notice that their student job rates are inflated by including residency, extra school and internships. It will only get worse. Kids are naive and/or desperate in this economy.
 
BMBiology said:
I didn't know stating a fact can bring out such a strong emotion. Anyways, this explains it:
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rxgolfer said:
So I talked to the dean today and had a very deep conversation on the state of pharmacy saturation. Basically, the accreditation board does not have the power to stop schools from opening up. If it meets criteria, it must evaluate the school. To get around this in the future, the board will have to change their by-laws that will allow the board to limit pharmacy schools. Who knows if that will ever happen. So the current plan is to let the market work itself out. Simply put, with the limited number of residences available (and the budget for increasing residencies has not changed for about 15 years), unfortunately some for-profit universities and pharmacy students will crash and burn. This means not being able to find jobs and will end up with loans they cant pay off and is not protected in from bankruptcy. Pharmacy schools will be forced to close down (GOOD!) Every field has had a saturation cycle. Pharmacy has been through it before, nursing has had it worse and is still worse, according to the dean. Others factors have also contributed to this: Chains lobbying for more pharmacy schools back in 2009. Two years later, the made changes to systems that required less pharmacists. And here we are today, grumbling about chains cutting hours. They were the ones demanding more pharmacist, thus more schools in the first place.
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dog-eat-dog world for me !! :boom::scared::scared::barf::barf:+pissed++pissed+:help::help::diebanana::diebanana:
 
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tripleay said:
I'm a pre-pharmacy student who has already been accepted to a pharmacy school and I have two more interviews in a few weeks. I really like chemistry and how drugs interact with the body but now I'm having second thoughts about starting pharmacy school in the fall. Like everyone else, I've heard that the future of pharmacy may or may not be steady and I'm afraid of how difficult it'll be to find a job with loads on debt on my shoulders. I have no problem relocating out of Florida, and I know I'll most likely have to. But if the career will be oversaturated and I won't be able to find a residency or job quickly, then I'd rather switch to something else. The problem is I don't know what to switch to. Clinical Pharmacists have advised me to change my major and go into something like Podiatry or Dentistry or Nursing but I don't know if I'd like those options since I prefer chemistry paths over biology paths. Any advice on alternative career options that are in high demand that I may like? Should I stick to pharmacy since it interests me? Also, are there any companies who still do tuition reimbursement? I'd like research and development to be an option in whatever I decide to do. I also have interests in BME.
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I will echo some of the opinions I've heard here. Remember that the PharmD does not prepare you for a research position. Most jobs will be in retail. At this point, you should only take the plunge into pharmacy school if you can stand working at CVS/Walgreens for the rest of your life. I don't know if you have any experience in retail pharmacy, but I think it should be a pre-requisite just like Organic chemistry. If your passions truely lie in research, I would advise against the PharmD as a path.
 
RxMonkey said:
I will echo some of the opinions I've heard here. Remember that the PharmD does not prepare you for a research position. Most jobs will be in retail. At this point, you should only take the plunge into pharmacy school if you can stand working at CVS/Walgreens for the rest of your life. I don't know if you have any experience in retail pharmacy, but I think it should be a pre-requisite just like Organic chemistry. If your passions truely lie in research, I would advise against the PharmD as a path.
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^ this. If you're into research, you can aim for a Masters or PhD instead and not have to take out at least $150,000 in loans getting a PharmD.
 
PharmtoCS said:
^ this. If you're into research, you can aim for a Masters or PhD instead and not have to take out at least $150,000 in loans getting a PharmD.
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and you even can do that (master or PhD programs) on free tuition / scholarship + stipend 🙂
 
I don't know if we're incredibly special or not, but my last graduating class at our school at 30/33 resident applicants match. I would say we're either stellar, or it's not THAT doom and gloom.
 
If all else fails people with pharmaceutical knowledge can take non-traditional jobs. The Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA, etc, etc.... there are always positions for people with pharmaceutical and/or advanced chemistry knowledge in those agencies.
 
tripleay said:
I'm a pre-pharmacy student who has already been accepted to a pharmacy school and I have two more interviews in a few weeks. I really like chemistry and how drugs interact with the body but now I'm having second thoughts about starting pharmacy school in the fall. Like everyone else, I've heard that the future of pharmacy may or may not be steady and I'm afraid of how difficult it'll be to find a job with loads on debt on my shoulders. I have no problem relocating out of Florida, and I know I'll most likely have to. But if the career will be oversaturated and I won't be able to find a residency or job quickly, then I'd rather switch to something else. The problem is I don't know what to switch to. Clinical Pharmacists have advised me to change my major and go into something like Podiatry or Dentistry or Nursing but I don't know if I'd like those options since I prefer chemistry paths over biology paths. Any advice on alternative career options that are in high demand that I may like? Should I stick to pharmacy since it interests me? Also, are there any companies who still do tuition reimbursement? I'd like research and development to be an option in whatever I decide to do. I also have interests in BME.
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I wouldn't really compare pharmacy to chemistry. Two different fields.

Chemistry as a whole is very theoretical and absolutely more academically rigorous (think Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics/Kinetics, etc). At the very BEST, PARTS of pharmacy may have some parts of pharmacology, i.e. cell biology and physiology. However, pharmacy itself is more focused on the "clinical" and "treatment" side of health care as opposed to the research, theoretical and scientific development side of industry. As such, you will be subject to voluminous material that can be mastered by rote-memorization in pharmacy school.

If academic rigor is your bread and butter, I'd pursue the MD/PhD route - it's free if you have the competitive stats for entrance. Some BME undergrads pursue this route and work on many interesting applications in medicine. Heck, go to a top 14 law school after a PhD in chemistry if you don't like medicine - a solid LSAT will get you a solid scholarship cutting down your expenses.

PharmD...? Still a novelty, no traction here. Pay 6 figures for an education that which in all likelihood ends you up in Walgreen's or CVS where you become a machine as opposed to a critical thinker. And that is short-term: what happens when automation starts becoming an epidemic at the local pharmacies...then there's really nothing left.
 
Why are old threads being bumped? If the OP is worried about "saturation", well nursing is just as saturated (actually more so) than pharmacy, dentist is also considered "saturated". Podiatry has a very limited number of schools, so the career is not saturated, but the competition to get in is very intense (ie the OP should have a back-up if he doesn't get into podiatry school.)
As for going into research/PhD, PhD's are FAR more likely to be unemployed/underemployed than pharmacists, nurses, or dentists.
And since pharmacy has like 4 years of chemistry, it is a good career for someone who likes chemistry.
 
BidingMyTime said:
Why are old threads being bumped? If the OP is worried about "saturation", well nursing is just as saturated (actually more so) than pharmacy, dentist is also considered "saturated". Podiatry has a very limited number of schools, so the career is not saturated, but the competition to get in is very intense (ie the OP should have a back-up if he doesn't get into podiatry school.)
As for going into research/PhD, PhD's are FAR more likely to be unemployed/underemployed than pharmacists, nurses, or dentists.
And since pharmacy has like 4 years of chemistry, it is a good career for someone who likes chemistry.
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Everything you said is correct except for pod school being competitive... It's not difficult to get into pod school... You just need a 3.2 c/sGPA and 20+ MCAT...
 
It's painfully clear that many of you are not Scientists and have NO clue about careers (or lack thereof) for PhDs.

OP if you really like research, go the PharmD/PhD route. I can assure you that NONE of them are either unemployed of underemployed and the market isn't saturated with them either. You may also be able to get it paid for too. And don't worry about stiff competition, the rate limiting step is getting the PhD, it's definitely NOT for academic lightweights or slackers.
 
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A few folks have already spoken on this in the pharm forum, see PharmD/PhD thread or PharmD/MD thread.
 
I think pharmacy is def a decent career for somebody who wants to apply chemistry knowledge in a clinical setting; comparative to physicians applying biological knowledge in a setting. You won't be doing what you learned in chemistry class at all, but if you have the basic interest in chemistry, you'll be able to utilize that interest through learning the pharmacology and pharmacokinetics (far more than other health professionals) and convert that knowledge into clinical decisions. With that being said, you have to consider several things: pharmacy unfortunately isn't what it used to be in terms of job availability. If you can get a tech job now, that would be the ideal place to start with your career decision. Get comfortable in retail because that's where most of the jobs are. Apply to hospital tech jobs too if you're interested. Several students in my class had both hospital and retail tech jobs, which I think is the way to go if you can get both. Getting a tech job NOW (meaning pre-pharmacy) and converting it to your intern license (if you decide to go to pharmacy school) is much easier to do then getting into pharmacy school and waiting to get your intern license to apply directly for intern jobs. Also, it depends on your location, but from my understanding if you're comfortable living in the Midwest, that would also be a plus for better chances to find a job after graduation.
If you absolutely can't see yourself doing retail, or you don't like working as a tech at a retail pharmacy, then you might want to reconsider this field. Even though there are clinical opportunities, which is the ideal setting for many pharm students, there just aren't that many jobs compared to # of graduates each year. You have to be realistic that you may not ever get that kind of a job (although nothing is impossible but realistically it's tough). Also, it is useful to have a variety of skills (management, tech, research, etc.) that can overall make you a versatile candidate able to participate in different roles.
I realize in a lot of these posts I probably sound like I greatly regret picking pharmacy, but in retrospect i do think it's a good field. Clinical practice is surely an interesting application of pharmacy practice. Even retail (depending on where you work) can be a great setting to apply your knowledge and enjoy If you have relatively nice customers (my Target IPPE was like this when I interned in 2010, the pharmacists were all nice and helpful, the customers were good, and nobody seemed incredibly stressed out although this seemed to be a different story when I did my APPE in 2013 where it seemed to have gotten far more stressful-not sure why). But I may have been much happier with my decision had I graduated even 5 years ago and not when the saturation really picked up. I faced a lot of disappointments as a student trying to look for internships even though I was doing everything other people years before had done, and ultimately that cost me a lot post-grad. Had I applied as a tech before starting pharm school, maybe I would have had better luck. But idk. I know few people who had experience and are going through similar situation as me
 
anewmanx said:
If all else fails people with pharmaceutical knowledge can take non-traditional jobs. The Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA, etc, etc.... there are always positions for people with pharmaceutical and/or advanced chemistry knowledge in those agencies.
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Are there enough positions to fulfill the hundreds of applicants competing for these jobs? I love the optimism here, but getting a respectable non-traditional pharmacist job through the CIA and other highly sought after government agencies as an "all-else fails" out seems a little bit far fetched. If one were to apply for such a position, I'm sure this would have to a top priority for the applicant as opposed to a last resort.

I'm sure the pre-requisite to get one of these positions is a PhD (or PhD combo with a clinical doctorate). But to say that there are always positions out there for an "all-else fails?" One can look at the PhD's from Mathematics or Computer Science applying for a position for the NSA. These applicants have gone through the rigorous training to be considered qualified - but does more qualified applicants lead to the NSA opening up more jobs to accommodate these brilliant minds? I'm not sure it works that way, but if someone can prove me wrong with data, I'm sure there will be a lot of happy and thankful people!
 
PharmDCandidate2014 said:
Are there enough positions to fulfill the hundreds of applicants competing for these jobs? I love the optimism here, but getting a respectable non-traditional pharmacist job through the CIA and other highly sought after government agencies as an "all-else fails" out seems a little bit far fetched. If one were to apply for such a position, I'm sure this would have to a top priority for the applicant as opposed to a last resort.

I'm sure the pre-requisite to get one of these positions is a PhD (or PhD combo with a clinical doctorate). But to say that there are always positions out there for an "all-else fails?" One can look at the PhD's from Mathematics or Computer Science applying for a position for the NSA. These applicants have gone through the rigorous training to be considered qualified - but does more qualified applicants lead to the NSA opening up more jobs to accommodate these brilliant minds? I'm not sure it works that way, but if someone can prove me wrong with data, I'm sure there will be a lot of happy and thankful people!
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Rofl . Well put
 
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Dr.Tao said:
It's painfully clear that many of you are not Scientists and have NO clue about careers (or lack thereof) for PhDs.
OP if you really like research, go the PharmD/PhD route. I can assure you that NONE of them are either unemployed of underemployed and the market isn't saturated with them either. You may also be able to get it paid for too. And don't worry about stiff competition, the rate limiting step is getting the PhD, it's definitely NOT for academic lightweights or slackers.
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Getting a professional degree/PhD is quite a bit different than just getting a PhD. The thread seemed to be the OP debating whether to get a PharmD or a PhD not about getting them both, so my comment about unemployed/underemployed PhD referred to single degree holding PhD....and yes, they are highly unemployed/underemployed. Now if the OP wants to get a professional degree AND a PhD, I agree that is a different situation and there will be many more opportunities for jobs with these dual degrees (especially given the great number of pharmacy schools opening up!)
 
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