What is better for your resume or in general to work throughout the school as intern/tech or have a decent GPA? For example during P1 some of my classmates were able to work and pass classes. I did not work and I don’t think I could handle it, my grades would go down for sure.
What is better work part time or have a good GPA?
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If you want a job: intern job
If you want a residency: good GPA + hospital intern job
If you want a residency: good GPA + hospital intern job
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I don't think they're mutually exclusive. A "good" GPA is not unreasonable with 8 hours of PT work. I would favor a balance even if both are penalized a little bit on efficiency grounds.
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Do you have a family? If you are single then you should work without exception. I had 4 children, worked 15-20 hrs a week, and I kept a good gpa.
Millennials...... just kidding
Millennials...... just kidding
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It can definitely be tough to find that balance. I'm working 25 hours a week at a non-pharmacy job that I have to keep to pay the bills but I know I need to add an intern gig too. Trying to find something with the least possible hours per week so I can also keep the gpa up. It is rough but we can do it! 🙂
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I found that working eliminated my time wasting, and made me grind harder when it came to studying. Highly recommend working during school... I was able to get ~15-20 hours a week typically. Just keep a 3.0+ average.
There's not much worse than giving an employer your CV/resume and having zero real work experience on it... APPE/IPPE does not count.
There's not much worse than giving an employer your CV/resume and having zero real work experience on it... APPE/IPPE does not count.
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Work 8-10 hours a week and aim for a >=3.7 gpa. Work can help reinforce/contextualize some of the stuff you learn in school, so it can really be synergistic rather than antagonistic if you do it right.
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You sound like you have never had a job. If you are planning on a residency, solely focusing on GPA is not going to work. I would really suggest working as an intern in a hospital. Everyone knows all those stupid club positions are just a load of BS.
owlegrad
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This really is a situation where you need both. Having a job but terrible grades will limit your residency options; having a great GPA will not help you land a job if you don't get a residency. You need to do both if you want to have any options at all after graduating.
Personally I would say having the job is more important than having the grades, but I won't argue with someone who wants to claim otherwise. Obviously you have to have at least passing grades, but if you can't work a little and pass pharmacy school...yikes!
Personally I would say having the job is more important than having the grades, but I won't argue with someone who wants to claim otherwise. Obviously you have to have at least passing grades, but if you can't work a little and pass pharmacy school...yikes!
The state I am in, most places require more like 12-16 hours or more commitment per week these days. The ones who have been working for long time were asked to put more than 8 hours else they will be removed from schedule.
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Coming from that state, 16 hours is fine too. Most states actually aren't that way, we're from a right to work state that specifically has law written for minimum hours is an acceptable job requirement. If you go to either school in the state, 16 hours is quite managable, most did more under worse conditions than today's cohort (at least, if they work around either of the three campuses within 10 miles).
I mean, for most, how much time does a spouse and family take? And you have to work 40 hours a week on top of that. Comparatively, school is a lot more lighthearted.
OMG
16 hours means 2 days each 8 hours. I have Saturday and Sunday. Weekdays is school. Otherwise I have to skip classes, or skip a homework.
Exactly!! May be if you were to in 4 year program it’s doable but not so much in 3 years..
You are an exception!
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Are you seriously in class more than 12 hours in a day? Because if not, you can find the time during the week if your weekends are that precious. That said, it really does help if you spent some time working as well. It doesn't have to be 16, but you should do something.
(Remarking to self: This is a really different training generation. I didn't realize that grades were that competitive nowadays.)
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To OP: stop being a snowflake. You really need to build up some courage and develop some discipline if you want to succeed in pharmacy (or life in general).
You act as if getting a job or maintaining a good GPA are somehow the only important measures that will define you. A lot of pharmacy schools in the west have gotten rid of GPAs altogether, while other pharmacy schools have experienced grade inflation. Having a "high" GPA is meaningless unless you can stand out from the crowd. And that means having job experience, social skills, strong work ethics, good references, etc...
If you don't commit to studying hard and working hard, then you're not going to impress anyone who matters.
I worked 20 hours each week during my P1 and P2 years. I sacrificed 16 hours of each weekend and 4 hours one weeknight in order to make money to pay my bills. And I still got Dean's List, Rho Chi, PLS, VALOR intern, etc. The extra hours I spent at work also helped me network with pharmacists and I basically get "job offers" for intern positions from other hospitals every few months because I have such a good work ethic (and a good network of pharmacists who will recommend me to their colleagues). I've even been able to negotiate my pay into the high 20's at my workplace because I can choose where I want to work.
Did I mention that I also swim 1 hour, bike 8 miles, and jog 3 miles each day!!! While my classmates ate adderall and chugged monster energy, I kept myself healthy and beat them in academics, job satisfaction, and physical health.
Sorry OP, but it sounds like you only want someone to validate your decision to be a subpar pharmacist-in-training.
P.S. Before anyone rips my head off about the suffocating grind of 3-year programs. Yes, I've heard they can be overwhelming and time-consuming. I don't know why these schools choose to hinder their students by limiting their opportunities to practice in real-life pharmacy settings. I'm just glad I go to a 4-year public school with dirt-cheap tuition (and breathing room to thrive and rest).
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It isn't. Grades are actually less competitive these days as grade inflation and grade-elimination (pass/fail systems) have affected pharmacy schools. Higher grades are easier to come by in this day and age. However, the student quality has dropped significantly. Back when you were in school, it was not uncommon to hear people with stellar GPAs get rejected by the pharmacy schools. Now, pharmacy schools are loading their seats with trash-tier students. These are the students who are losing their mind over getting a high GPA.
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And if you added 100 sit-ups and push-ups daily until your hair fell off...
More seriously, working like that was the norm, because working mattered for the experience and the references. We didn't use residencies, we used references to get our jobs (the ones that were competitive, frankly most retail was noncompetitive). The differences between a three and a four year school is basically the vacations. No, three year schools do not overload on the hours any more than a classical fall-spring semester/quarter system. It's quite doable, and I still think it's a false choice between the two. Work helps study in ways that no amount of lecture is going to get through.
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It would be helpful to know your particular situation to give you advice specific to you. For example a solution could be to try to find a job at an independent that would allow you to work only one shift, to change your study habits to free up time for work (perhaps creating a notes rotation with your friends), or not to work at all. It's hard to know without more info.
I hear you...
I am a serous and disciplined person. I worked my entrie undergraduate and had a high GPA. I became difficult at the very end where I had to work, study, volunteer, take pcat and plan to move. I decided that when I start a pharmacy school I will treat it as a "full-time" job. It was hard at the beginning.. I don't know about other schools and people who are bragging in the other topic how they barely study and got a high gpa.. To me it was hard to get used to at the beginning of P1.
Then I was able to improve myself and somehow manage my time. After the 1st semester we lost few classmates, I definely know some of them were working. Who is still working I know barely passing classes. also, I can definetly say if I would be more distracted by part time job or other school activities I would not have such good grades. Sometimes classes were just a nightmare, many sleepless nights.
Finally after P1 is over, after rotation I wanted to work part time, but keep thinking that I really don't want to kill mysefl during second year.
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Both - i worked 20-25hrs/week, it’s not difficult, but I had a lot of opportunity to drop in with 4hr shifts to do random projects. If you have to work a full 8hrs and no other options, 16/week is more realistic
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By a show of hands: Who started working when they turned 16 and continue doing so in Pharmacy school? vs those who "focused on grades" and " sports" and still manage to excuse away in graduate school why something besides clocking in and out is more important?
If you don't want to get a job that's fine but don't ask highly opinionated people about it.
If you don't want to get a job that's fine but don't ask highly opinionated people about it.
Right.. I appreciate your advice also and apologize for wasting everyone’s time
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Work. Work ethic/experience is better than a 4.0 student who can't make an IV. Don't be the 4.0-er who folds like a deck of cards as soon as they are under pressure.
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Lots of good advice on these responses. Work will provide you with real skills and exposure to actual practice and networking so it could be invaluable but grades are important too. If I did it again I would have worked more and studied less. I graduated with honors but I would go back and aim for a B average and make many connections. This would land me most jobs and give me skills that I need to practice. I haven't needed to know the coagulation cascade even after working in anticoag successfully.
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It's not either/or guys... you don't work and give up GPA, you work AND make GPA.
Especially pharmacy. Working reinforces classroom lessons, and vice versa.
Like... there's a reason you're delivering Vanc/Zosyn to the ICU, but Rocephin/Azithro to the wards. Pay attention, you might learn something.
addendum:
Undergrad was different - when I worked in undergrad, it was clerical stuff (processing summer enrollments, etc...), so I get that working undergrad could dent your GPA...
but reality is... you're going to be facing people that work AND attain high GPA's for things like choice residency spots. if you can't perform at this level, then you should prioritize work experience for the future job prospect in a place that will prize that over GPA (I presume a retail chain/environment that is OK with a minimally passing GPA + work experience).
Especially pharmacy. Working reinforces classroom lessons, and vice versa.
Like... there's a reason you're delivering Vanc/Zosyn to the ICU, but Rocephin/Azithro to the wards. Pay attention, you might learn something.
addendum:
Undergrad was different - when I worked in undergrad, it was clerical stuff (processing summer enrollments, etc...), so I get that working undergrad could dent your GPA...
but reality is... you're going to be facing people that work AND attain high GPA's for things like choice residency spots. if you can't perform at this level, then you should prioritize work experience for the future job prospect in a place that will prize that over GPA (I presume a retail chain/environment that is OK with a minimally passing GPA + work experience).
