What do pharmacy students do during the summer for work?

[pharmwannebe2]

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everyone here knows 6 years+ expensive college= money problems.

so if you have parents like me who are evil. they are like no you can't work during school days.

so how do you all find work during summer? do you all intern or work as a tech or do another job. im curious.

 

[patmcd]

Working as an intern is a good way to make money. It enables you get to experience in your field and it generally pays alright.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Working as an intern is a good way to make money. It enables you get to experience in your field and it generally pays alright.

i wish i would have done that this year.

 

[aboveliquidice]

Slightly off topic - can you do an internship the summer before your P1 year? If so, would your responsibilities be anymore than a regular Pharm Tech???

 

[rxlynn]

Slightly off topic - can you do an internship the summer before your P1 year? If so, would your responsibilities be anymore than a regular Pharm Tech???

Depends on your state board of pharmacy regs. In my state, you cannot be considered as an intern until you actually start pharmacy school. My general guess is that no, your responsibilities would not be anymore than a regular pharmacy tech, especially if you have no previous experience. A good tech with experience is going to be capable of more than an intern with no experience. However, in some states I think one difference is that the interns can take a new Rx over the phone, whereas the techs cannot.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

meh. does anyone know how to be a tech. i have been trying to be a tech just so i can get experience for pharmacy school but i can't get hired cause they said i need a degree.

is anyone else having this kinda trouble?

 

[i.<3.pharmacy]

I'm not sure about your state laws, but where I'm from you can be a pharmacy assistant (not a tech) once you obtain a licence. Here in WA the only thing you need to do is HIV training and fill out an application with the board of pharmacy to do background check in order to get the licence.

Around here, I found it pretty hard to find a job as an assistant since I had no prior pharmacy experience. I went to the hospital and asked if I could volunteer there and they were really excited to get some extra help... so that's how I'll be getting my pharmacy experience. (Like I said, I'm not sure about your state, but here in WA you need the licence even to volunteer; it is definitely something you'll need to look into before pursuing it.)

Downfall to volunteering is you don't get paid... but it DOES get your foot in the door for when a paid position becomes available. All of the assistants that are employed where I'm at have volunteered there at one point in time.

Volunteering is definitely something to consider though if you are in need of experience.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

I'm not sure about your state laws, but where I'm from you can be a pharmacy assistant (not a tech) once you obtain a licence. Here in WA the only thing you need to do is HIV training and fill out an application with the board of pharmacy to do background check in order to get the licence.

Around here, I found it pretty hard to find a job as an assistant since I had no prior pharmacy experience. I went to the hospital and asked if I could volunteer there and they were really excited to get some extra help... so that's how I'll be getting my pharmacy experience. (Like I said, I'm not sure about your state, but here in WA you need the licence even to volunteer; it is definitely something you'll need to look into before pursuing it.)

Downfall to volunteering is you don't get paid... but it DOES get your foot in the door for when a paid position becomes available. All of the assistants that are employed where I'm at have volunteered there at one point in time.

Volunteering is definitely something to consider though if you are in need of experience.

i am currently living in indiana but my family is going to move to pennsylvania.
in indiana. all the pharmacist have told me that it is the law to not allow anyone to work back there unless i have a degree or a licence..........

 

[pinkpnther86]

so if you have parents like me who are evil. they are like no you can't work during school days.

this is grad school, if your parents are still telling you what you can and can't do, then let them worry abt the tab 😉

 

[pharmwannebe2]

this is grad school, if your parents are still telling you what you can and can't do, then let them worry abt the tab 😉

hahaha


yeah but i have asian parents so you know how that is.

they are paying me though school but i have to pay them back. hah.

 

[JMH5145]

i am currently living in indiana but my family is going to move to pennsylvania.
in indiana. all the pharmacist have told me that it is the law to not allow anyone to work back there unless i have a degree or a licence..........

To become a tech in Virginia, you have 9 months from date of hire to get on the job training (assuming you work in retail...I don't know about hospital) and take your state tech test or the PTCB national test. Passing either allows you to apply for your Tech license from the Board of Pharmacy. After 9 months, you have to have your tech license or you can't do anything but run the register. Are there other states that are like VA? I'm guessing that's what they have in IN too??

 

[JMH5145]

Slightly off topic - can you do an internship the summer before your P1 year? If so, would your responsibilities be anymore than a regular Pharm Tech???

We can't apply for our intern licenses in VA until we've finished a year of pharmacy school, but CVS has a 3rd year Intern classification for people in their P1 year. Evidently you're supposed to learn how to be a tech during that time (I've been working for CVS forever, so I've got that stuff covered). I just do the regular tech duties that I've done all along, but now I don't have to run register nearly as much!

Sometimes, under direct pharmacist supervision, they even let me reconstitue liquid antibiotics using the automated water dispenser thingy...😉..oh wait, I've always done that...but new CVS policy says only the Pharmacist or an Intern can. BTW...how are the new CVS policies about only Pharmacists being allowed to get things out of the fridge or reconstitute going for my fellow CVS employees?? I understand where they are coming from, but it's rather inconvenient for customers during busy hours when we don't have Pharmacist overlap, the Pharmacist is otherwise tied-up, and the customer is tying up the drive-through waiting for their kids liquid antibiotic.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

We can't apply for our intern licenses in VA until we've finished a year of pharmacy school, but CVS has a 3rd year Intern classification for people in their P1 year. Evidently you're supposed to learn how to be a tech during that time (I've been working for CVS forever, so I've got that stuff covered). I just do the regular tech duties that I've done all along, but now I don't have to run register nearly as much!

Sometimes, under direct pharmacist supervision, they even let me reconstitue liquid antibiotics using the automated water dispenser thingy...😉..oh wait, I've always done that...but new CVS policy says only the Pharmacist or an Intern can. BTW...how are the new CVS policies about only Pharmacists being allowed to get things out of the fridge or reconstitute going for my fellow CVS employees?? I understand where they are coming from, but it's rather inconvenient for customers during busy hours when we don't have Pharmacist overlap, the Pharmacist is otherwise tied-up, and the customer is tying up the drive-through waiting for their kids liquid antibiotic.

gah yeah i understand the whole Pharmacist only being allowed to get stuff out of the fridge. the whole liability falling towards them deal. its kinda like the whole internship/ tech deal. i get why the state is doing that. but it an inconvience to all the pharmacy students who are busy at school and trying to become a tech at the same time.

i don't know but during orientation this summer they were talking about how we could participate in a pharmacy job/ intern fair. they could have mean in like 3 years. i don't know i was pretty tired that morning.

i like how you call it the automated water dispenser thingy.

 

[Poland]

Yea I totally wish my parents would prohibit me from working during school semesters. I hear so many people saying they are going to concentrate only on pharmacy school and hold no job until the summer. If I do that I will have no home of my own and definetly no gas money to get to school. Not to mention, my car would be hauled back to the dealer because it takes all I make now just to swing the payment and the insurance. I can imagine it will be rough.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Yea I totally wish my parents would prohibit me from working during school semesters. I hear so many people saying they are going to concentrate only on pharmacy school and hold no job until the summer. If I do that I will have no home of my own and definetly no gas money to get to school. Not to mention, my car would be hauled back to the dealer because it takes all I make now just to swing the payment and the insurance. I can imagine it will be rough.

jeez that is rough. i do agree with my parents about not working during school but they had the same rule in high school. however i finally convinced them after i got into college. but they were still pretty pissed about me working 13 hours a week. i really don't see the point in high school though cause i barely studied and a slept a lot....and still did alright. but college, i think, it should be a law that kids should just be allowed to not go to school if they don't want to.

 

[a504n]

I've been working since I was sixteen. But in high school, I was only allowed to work on the weekends. My freshmen year in college I got a job as a waitress, and I worked between 14-28 hours per week. It varied each semester, because I worked on the days I didn't have class. I just recently quit my job last week, because my parents don't want me to work while I'm in Pharmacy school. My mom told me she will give me money, although I have a lot of my own money saved up but with tuition and all, that money will soon be gone.
During the summer, I plan on going back to my job as a full time waitress. It pays pretty decent money. I average between $15-20 an hour in tips alone.

 

[Poland]

That's great you guys, take it as a blessing. How about the people who aren't getting any help from parents for pharmacy school? I know I'm not the only one by far. Who has to work during pharmacy school?

 

[rxprincess]

That's great you guys, take it as a blessing. How about the people who aren't getting any help from parents for pharmacy school? I know I'm not the only one by far. Who has to work during pharmacy school?

Yep, you're definitely not alone! My parents paid for my undergraduate tuition, so for pharmacy school I am completely on my own financially. Like most people, I will have to take out loans to cover my living expenses and I will be working to have extra spending money for gas, food, etc. I have friends in pharmacy school now, and they work about 10-16 hours a week and they said it's pretty manageable. Good luck to everyone in the fall!

 

[Rxbound]

I'll be working 18-30 hours a week during pharmacy school. We'll see how it goes.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

I'll be working 18-30 hours a week during pharmacy school. We'll see how it goes.

id pray for you. but i don't believe in god.

 

[pinkpnther86]

I'll be working 18-30 hours a week during pharmacy school. We'll see how it goes.

ditto...trying to fit in as many hours as humanly possible

 

[Corradoracer]

pharmacy intern in the morning and valet dude at night....yes, i have no life

 

[senzabee]

Yep, you're definitely not alone! My parents paid for my undergraduate tuition, so for pharmacy school I am completely on my own financially. Like most people, I will have to take out loans to cover my living expenses and I will be working to have extra spending money for gas, food, etc. I have friends in pharmacy school now, and they work about 10-16 hours a week and they said it's pretty manageable. Good luck to everyone in the fall!

Same here! We'll survive, right?!

 

[starsweet]

I was wondering if it is easy to get a part time job as a hospital tech (intern?) while I'm a P1 during the school year? I'd like to work every other weekend and possibly some evenings during the week.

 

[pharmdarling]

I'm starting my first year of a 6-year program in August...I work about 45 hours a week at Walgreens, but I work in the store. I only work in the pharmacy when they need extra help. Supposedly I'm going to be trained as a pharmacy tech in August before I leave for school so I can transfer into a Walgreens near my school. I know different states have different laws and such, but I thought it was interesting because they let me do everything that the techs could when I was 17 and before I graduated from high school. Also they let us do work that I guess in other places is only supposed to be done by the pharmacist/intern. I worked almost full time through my entire senior year in high school, but I don't think I'll be able to do that again when I'm in school.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

I'm starting my first year of a 6-year program in August...I work about 45 hours a week at Walgreens, but I work in the store. I only work in the pharmacy when they need extra help. Supposedly I'm going to be trained as a pharmacy tech in August before I leave for school so I can transfer into a Walgreens near my school. I know different states have different laws and such, but I thought it was interesting because they let me do everything that the techs could when I was 17 and before I graduated from high school. Also they let us do work that I guess in other places is only supposed to be done by the pharmacist/intern. I worked almost full time through my entire senior year in high school, but I don't think I'll be able to do that again when I'm in school.

what state are you from?

 

[pharmdarling]

what state are you from?

I live in Minnesota. I'm going to college in Iowa, though, and I have no idea how different the regulations are there for working in the pharmacy. 😕

 

[pharmwannebe2]

I live in Minnesota. I'm going to college in Iowa, though, and I have no idea how different the regulations are there for working in the pharmacy. 😕

i know there should be a website for each state....

anyone know of any!

hah.

 

[Genuine]

I was wondering if it is easy to get a part time job as a hospital tech (intern?) while I'm a P1 during the school year? I'd like to work every other weekend and possibly some evenings during the week.

I wonder about the same thing... I would like to work part-time at a hospital... but dont know the best way for it and if its even possible! Some place that's really flexible with my school schedule. I'm really interested in doing clinical pharmacy --- and so dont have much interest in working at a retail place!

 

[josh6718]

everyone here knows 6 years+ expensive college= money problems.

so if you have parents like me who are evil. they are like no you can't work during school days.

Umm you should be greatfull your parents are paying for you college! I'm all on my own! 😡

 

[starsweet]

I wonder about the same thing... I would like to work part-time at a hospital... but dont know the best way for it and if its even possible! Some place that's really flexible with my school schedule. I'm really interested in doing clinical pharmacy --- and so dont have much interest in working at a retail place!

Me too!! I am really hoping to get a job at this hospital that is really close. It is within walking distance of my new apartment! I'm going to just ask them the next time I go up to Athens. And hey, I think that hospital techs get more pay than retail techs. 🙂 But that leads to another question, are we considered techs or interns since we'd be P1s?

 

[Corradoracer]

Me too!! I am really hoping to get a job at this hospital that is really close. It is within walking distance of my new apartment! I'm going to just ask them the next time I go up to Athens. And hey, I think that hospital techs get more pay than retail techs. 🙂 But that leads to another question, are we considered techs or interns since we'd be P1s?

i started working in a hospital after completing one semester of p1. JUST FILL AN APP. sorry about shouting 😀

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Umm you should be greatfull your parents are paying for you college! I'm all on my own! 😡

i have to pay them back after 6 years. i think it is with interest haha.

 

[gimpsd]

i have to pay them back after 6 years. i think it is with interest haha.

I'm not sure what your parents situation is but if they are anything like my parents then the way they're paying for your education is by dipping into thier retirement money. Yeah it sucks to pay them back but they're putting their future on the line so that you can have a good paying job and less stress in your life. By the way, whatever interest they might charge you is going to be substantially less then what they could have earned in a decent mutual fund or IRA account. My advice to you is to show some respect and take their offer at assistance and make the best of it. If you're still hell bent on working then you can wait a year. Take the first year of classes and if you find yourself with tons of time then you can easily find yourself a job doing something related to pharmacy (ie. chem. research, compounding pharmacy, tech. work, etc.). As for myself, I'm grateful for my parents support and will bend over backwards when I am done to make sure that they have absolutely no worries about money when they retire.

Good luck and sorry about being somewhat harsh in my language. Just upsets me when people don't appreciate what parents do for them.

 

[aamna929]

my husband manages two pharmacies full time during the summer.. he's gained a lot of valuable experience in doing this (been doing this for 5 years now also). Since he's got his pharmacy intern permit, he's also recently started interviewing for pharmacy intern positions in hospital settings.. and the pay is decent.. $16-18/ hrly.

 

[Requiem]

my husband manages two pharmacies full time during the summer.. he's gained a lot of valuable experience in doing this (been doing this for 5 years now also). Since he's got his pharmacy intern permit, he's also recently started interviewing for pharmacy intern positions in hospital settings.. and the pay is decent.. $16-18/ hrly.

How can you be a pharmacy manager without being a licensed pharmacist?

Some of your states have ridiculous laws, almost as good as students who have never even been inside a pharmacy classroom working as "interns" and suggesting ibuprofen to people, "Oh, you're on anaprox? That doesn't sound like ibuprofen! keep it going!"

 

[Genuine]

Me too!! I am really hoping to get a job at this hospital that is really close. It is within walking distance of my new apartment! I'm going to just ask them the next time I go up to Athens. And hey, I think that hospital techs get more pay than retail techs. 🙂 But that leads to another question, are we considered techs or interns since we'd be P1s?

Good idea... no harm in asking right? I still havent moved to my "new" city... So dont know where or if I will be able to work at all. I wonder if the first year would be the best time to work since the classes dont seem that hard... it would be nice to be able to work once a week for maybe like 5 hours...!

Good Luck!