to tech or not to tech??

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hueydueyluey

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Hi Everyone,

As with all the "my situation" posts, I want to give a premise before asking if I'm "good enough."

I graduated UCLA with a bachelor's degree in English. My overall G.P.A is horrible. (without details, it's under 3.0). But that is because of my science classes. I probably would be around a B average had I not done so horrible in my science classes. But I will say that I never tried in my science classes. Some people can say that they did not understand the material or did not like the class or instructor but I really really never tried in my science classes. Subsequently I never really tried in my English degree classes either, but did average to above average in them, due to my passion for writing and, to be frank, as some people have aptitude in science, and or math, I found myself to be blessed to have aptitude in writing and effective communication. Call it laziness, call it distractions, call it no interest, but I am not going to make any excuses, I did not do well in those science classes, regret it immensly, and have to take my "licks" from my past mistakes. I will say that I do not regret my degree nor my experience in college, I truly would not be as "grown" (if you can call it that) had I not went to UCLA.

Now here's the anomaly of my story summed up in four words: I am a biochemist. I work as a biochemist for a biotech company essentially "conjugating" antibodies where I modify antibodies and then run reactions to attach flourochromes to the antibodies for detection and testing. While in UCLA I had a biochemistry lab tech job where I washed glassware. This job eventually turned into a research job where I did actual biochemistry research on protein transport mechanisms. The 4 to 5 years hands on lab experience with research, enabled me to get the job I have now.

I want to pursue a Pharm D. degree as my prior experience can only take me so far. Science types see my degree and shun and scoff at me. Furthermore I truly miss interacting with patients and people and am highly passionate about drug discovery. I am now going through and taking the prerequisite classes for pharmacy, and since I actually worked hard in my previous chemistry class, I did really well. I have to basically go through and take all the prereqs, which will be at least a years worth of work. While at UCLA I volunteered in the Emergency Room for over a year and am now starting to volunteer at the UCSD pharmacy. My dilemna is should I stop my work as a biochemist and go towards getting a pharmacy tech certification and job? I am considering this as I know when I take some of the tougher science classes, doing full time in both my career and my education may be unreasonable. Being a tech may allow me to work part time, gain crucial experience, and give me ample space to focus on my studies. However, I have been working here for about a year now and I am unsure if working as a biochemist will be better or having pharmacy tech experience better in terms of pharmacy school admissions. Plus my current job is great as they allowed me to start classes again and have flexibility in my full time work schedule to go to school!!

I already understand that I essentially have to demonstrate my "maturity" as a student and my ability to handle a full course load of tough science classes. And I am more than willing and ready to do this as I rather be seen as a hard worker than an intelligent person. I cannot necessarily go to get a masters in science because I don't have a science degree, so I must go through the process of repairing my GPA as well as complete the required courses. Will having pharmacy tech experience at a CVS or Walgreens make my experience more "acceptable??" I am grateful for any encouragement and advice offered and thank everyone in advance for reading and replying!!!

Best Regards and Respect

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Ask yourself what you want to do with your PharmD degree. Do you want to work in a retail/community pharmacy environment? If so, you might want to work towards building some experience in that area. From your bio though, it sounds like you also like research and drug discovery. If you want to focus on this when you graduate with your pharmD, then I think you should stay at your current position.

I think the important thing is to retake the science classes to "repair" your GPA. You will have to explain the path you have taken in your application, but you don't have to have a degree in a scientific discipline to be accepted to pharm school (as long you passed all the pre-reqs with a C or better). Not all pharmD's work in a pharmacy, just remember that. I think with some hard work, you'll still have a shot. Good luck!
 
Hi Everyone,

As with all the "my situation" posts, I want to give a premise before asking if I'm "good enough."

I graduated UCLA with a bachelor's degree in English. My overall G.P.A is horrible. (without details, it's under 3.0). But that is because of my science classes. I probably would be around a B average had I not done so horrible in my science classes. But I will say that I never tried in my science classes. Some people can say that they did not understand the material or did not like the class or instructor but I really really never tried in my science classes. Subsequently I never really tried in my English degree classes either, but did average to above average in them, due to my passion for writing and, to be frank, as some people have aptitude in science, and or math, I found myself to be blessed to have aptitude in writing and effective communication. Call it laziness, call it distractions, call it no interest, but I am not going to make any excuses, I did not do well in those science classes, regret it immensly, and have to take my "licks" from my past mistakes. I will say that I do not regret my degree nor my experience in college, I truly would not be as "grown" (if you can call it that) had I not went to UCLA.

Now here's the anomaly of my story summed up in four words: I am a biochemist. I work as a biochemist for a biotech company essentially "conjugating" antibodies where I modify antibodies and then run reactions to attach flourochromes to the antibodies for detection and testing. While in UCLA I had a biochemistry lab tech job where I washed glassware. This job eventually turned into a research job where I did actual biochemistry research on protein transport mechanisms. The 4 to 5 years hands on lab experience with research, enabled me to get the job I have now.

I want to pursue a Pharm D. degree as my prior experience can only take me so far. Science types see my degree and shun and scoff at me. Furthermore I truly miss interacting with patients and people and am highly passionate about drug discovery. I am now going through and taking the prerequisite classes for pharmacy, and since I actually worked hard in my previous chemistry class, I did really well. I have to basically go through and take all the prereqs, which will be at least a years worth of work. While at UCLA I volunteered in the Emergency Room for over a year and am now starting to volunteer at the UCSD pharmacy. My dilemna is should I stop my work as a biochemist and go towards getting a pharmacy tech certification and job? I am considering this as I know when I take some of the tougher science classes, doing full time in both my career and my education may be unreasonable. Being a tech may allow me to work part time, gain crucial experience, and give me ample space to focus on my studies. However, I have been working here for about a year now and I am unsure if working as a biochemist will be better or having pharmacy tech experience better in terms of pharmacy school admissions. Plus my current job is great as they allowed me to start classes again and have flexibility in my full time work schedule to go to school!!

I already understand that I essentially have to demonstrate my "maturity" as a student and my ability to handle a full course load of tough science classes. And I am more than willing and ready to do this as I rather be seen as a hard worker than an intelligent person. I cannot necessarily go to get a masters in science because I don't have a science degree, so I must go through the process of repairing my GPA as well as complete the required courses. Will having pharmacy tech experience at a CVS or Walgreens make my experience more "acceptable??" I am grateful for any encouragement and advice offered and thank everyone in advance for reading and replying!!!

Best Regards and Respect

Well I think you have a solid foundation for a personal statement on why you want to do pharmacy. It sounds like your current job is excellent and flexible allowing you to volunteer and attend classes. Since you volunteer in a pharmacy already I think that would get you "checked off" in the pharmacy experience category. Only you can decide what courseload you'll be able to handle and work at the same time. Unless you're independently wealthy you probably depend on your biochemistry job for support. I would imagine that your biochemistry job pays more than a pharmacy technician job so if I was you I would work there until I get into pharmacy school. Perhaps you can express your concerns with your supervisor about it, ask them if you can go to part time if you need to. Best of luck to you!
 
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I admit going from english to science is a big leap but don't let people look down on that. Heck the majority of my biological knowledge comes from work experience not the classroom. I have met my share of college graduate Biologist that know very little about the life sciences. Your story is unique from what I have seen and a nice change from the average comments on here. the best of luck to you
 
Thank you all for the insight and encouragement. I'll keep all of you up to date on how things work out. I have four classes right now along with my full time work schedule. It's just God's blessing that nothing has conflicted thus far. Come summer time though, I will have to assess all the factors and again will probably ask for advice from all of you before I make my decisions. With perserverence and persistence, I know that I will be able to accomplish what I intend. Thank you all again as I am grateful for all your help!!!
 
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