As a U of T pharmacy student in my 4th year, I want to warn you all about the current state of pharmacy in Canada. I’m sure you’ve all heard of pharmacy being **** in the US, well pharmacy is slightly better in Canada but not by much.
I have classmates that did a NDPC rotation with the faculty focusing on how to increase the number of applicants to pharmacy school because they’re not getting enough students to apply. They’ve dropped a bunch of requirements as you know not “because of Covid” but because they’ve been struggling to get qualified applicants for at least the past two years. I’ve had classmates doing their community rotations outside of GTA having pharmacists bring in their resume looking for jobs. My own Shoppers associate told me that I will likely not find a full time job after graduating for at least a few years. When I was in first year I’ve had an associate tell me 35 an hour is the norm for new grad now (could be lower by now) I know 2t3s regretting pharmacy school already and even though I warned them about pharmacy, they didn’t think it was that bad and I was exaggerating. Now that they’re in the field themselves they finally understand that the field is super saturated. I also personally know Waterloo 2020 grads struggling to land jobs as well so going to Waterloo isn't a wiser choice either. A few of my own friends are jumping ship already and planning on pursuing second degree after pharmacy or doing something completely different.
Point is, To all the prepharmers out there considering pharmacy, DONT! Don't apply to pharmacy because you already did all the prereqs and worked at a pharmacy and has experience that will go to waste. 4 years + $80k debt is a bigger waste than whatever work you put in trying to apply for pharmacy.
I have classmates that did a NDPC rotation with the faculty focusing on how to increase the number of applicants to pharmacy school because they’re not getting enough students to apply. They’ve dropped a bunch of requirements as you know not “because of Covid” but because they’ve been struggling to get qualified applicants for at least the past two years. I’ve had classmates doing their community rotations outside of GTA having pharmacists bring in their resume looking for jobs. My own Shoppers associate told me that I will likely not find a full time job after graduating for at least a few years. When I was in first year I’ve had an associate tell me 35 an hour is the norm for new grad now (could be lower by now) I know 2t3s regretting pharmacy school already and even though I warned them about pharmacy, they didn’t think it was that bad and I was exaggerating. Now that they’re in the field themselves they finally understand that the field is super saturated. I also personally know Waterloo 2020 grads struggling to land jobs as well so going to Waterloo isn't a wiser choice either. A few of my own friends are jumping ship already and planning on pursuing second degree after pharmacy or doing something completely different.
Point is, To all the prepharmers out there considering pharmacy, DONT! Don't apply to pharmacy because you already did all the prereqs and worked at a pharmacy and has experience that will go to waste. 4 years + $80k debt is a bigger waste than whatever work you put in trying to apply for pharmacy.
