What is Pharmacy School Like?

[JamesR]

Not sure if this is the proper forum or not, but, I am a Senior in High-School about to be graduating this January--one semester sooner than my peers due to extra-credit. Anyhow, I've been looking into careers and I think I want to go into pharmacy, but I'm not quite sure. I am very curious about what the schooling is like and was wondering if anyone here could give me some firsthand knowledge.

A little bit of background on myself, I live in NorCal, I'm a straight A student, I always complete my work early. In fact, most of High-School for me consisted of doing all the book work within a couple weeks and then just spending my school time listening to the teachers lecture us in class. Eventually I smartened up and switched to independent study since it went along better with my study habits. Now I'm graduating this January.

I'll be perfectly honest with you guys--pharmacy doesn't interest me AT ALL. I am only going into this because after years of research, it seems like the only white-collar career I am confident that I can attain. I would definitely be out of my comfort zone studying pharmacy. I'm more of an English and writing type of guy. I do tons of writing, correct grammar, ghostwrite documents for friends and family occasionally. But alas, there are not many career choices for folks like me.

So I figured I was just going to "rough" it, step out of my comfort zone, and take pharmacy. That being said, what is the journey like to become a pharmacist? How difficult is the schooling and why is it difficult? I don't want to get in over my head. I'm trying to imagine the worst possible scenario ever so that I will be prepared for whatever I face down this journey. I'm telling myself that I'll be waking up at 4:00AM every morning and spending 12 hours at school and then another 10 hours studying and/or doing homework, and that I'll have no social life whatsoever (which doesn't bother me because I'm an introvert).

From the information I've gathered asking pharmacists and pharmacy students in the past, the general consensus seems very mixed. I have had some people tell me that it was an absolute breeze, really no more difficult than undergrad--which I will be starting soon since I'm graduating HS--and then I've had people tell me that it was an absolute killer and perhaps the worst experience of their life. So I really got no idea what to expect.

The one common thing I've found among all these testimonies though is that EVERYONE says time-management is the key solution. They don't go into details, and when they do, the reasons why seem to vary, but this is perhaps the one thing they all agree on: learn to manage your time properly.

So, can anyone clear up any of these questions for me? What is perhaps the most challenging part of this journey? Is it the homework? Is it the classwork? (a combination of both and/or an excessive amount of one or the other?) Is it the money? If I go along with this, I'll be the first person in my Mexican family to go to college and achieve a white-collar career, so I am pretty motivated.

Sincerely,
An aspiring young pharmacist

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[68quebec]

I'll be perfectly honest with you guys--pharmacy doesn't interest me AT ALL. I am only going into this because after years of research, it seems like the only white-collar career I am confident that I can attain. I would definitely be out of my comfort zone studying pharmacy. I'm more of an English and writing type of guy. I do tons of writing, correct grammar, ghostwrite documents for friends and family occasionally. But alas, there are not many career choices for folks like me.

sorry but regardless of questions you are asking, I have to point this part out first. If you don't have any absolute interest on pharmacy at all but with your assumption of white-collar career, you need to take some common pre-doc classes (such as bio, chem, org chem, A & P, etc..) + have experience to see if you really like it. Don't choose career by its income or outlook. Choose what you really like to do. You may have less stable income in that case, but at least your life will be lovely (and you won't regret later)

 

[WhiteSnows]

The only thing I can compare what pharmacy is like by looking at barrow Alaska. It is a dead place with birds and wild beasts.

 

[68quebec]

The only thing I can compare what pharmacy is like by looking at barrow Alaska. It is a dead place with birds and wild beasts.

hey I actually did a lot of research about this place..barrow, and bethel (another super rural end of world area in AK). once again, you will have great time there for one year.

 

[owlegrad]

It is like undergrad except more time consuming and with much less variety of classmates (meaning you have the same classmates for the whole time). It goes quickly.

 

[ewax]

It sucks. Don't do it.

 

[PharmtoCS]

The job market absolutely sucks. Don't do it.

Made it a bit more specific.

 

[88888888]

It's like undergrad

 

[BeLikeBueller]

First of all, you need to shadow a pharmacist or try to find a job as a pharmacy technician. If you still have no interest, you will hate pharmacy and by association pharmacy school. Which means that no matter what the difficulty level of the program you enter, you will be miserable for four years and possibly for the rest of your life if your interest doesn't turn around.

Secondly, if you hope to maintain good grades, pharmacy school is much more difficult than undergrad. Yes, you can probably pass your classes if you put in an undergrad-level of work, but just keep in mind that this would mean (for most pharmacy students) going from predominantly A's & B's to predominantly C's.

Thirdly, if you're only interested in the money or "white collar" nature of the job, there are a lot of other options out there that make just as much, if not more money than pharmacists do. Maybe you should consider something like actuarial science or computer programming - both of which can make up to 6 figures with just a B.S. degree.

If you're doing pharmacy school "just because," you're going to hate it and you probably won't be a great pharmacist either, which is bad for you and bad for your future patients too.

At the very least, see how your first few semesters in undergrad go, but explore other options as well, because it's never a good idea to make a life-long commitment to a job you don't like.

 

[BeLikeBueller]

Also, I'll second all of the above, "the job market sucks," comments.

 

[ortomhuli]

i agree with you, I'll second all of the above, "the job market sucks," comments.

 

[rxlea]

It's like high school, only more annoying.

 

[Sugoi Travis]

It's like high school all over again. You know virtually everyone and everyone knows you (on average).

Academics on the other hand, is like undergrad but with a higher volume of material to go through.

 

[88888888]

it's like high school all over again. You know virtually everyone and everyone knows you (on average).

Academics on the other hand, is like undergrad but with a higher volume of material to go through.

+1

 

[Charcoales]

Also, I'll second all of the above, "the job market sucks," comments.

Agreed. And if you look at computer science and actuary forums they complain just as much as us. Heh. Must be confusing for pre-pharms as everyone complains like crazy.

Looks like everyone's profession is the worst and everyone else's is better (grass is greener it seems). It's finding the one you'll hate the least.

Bureau of Labor Stats Occupational handbook (****ty source I know but at least decent numbers to get an idea) really lines up with Actuaries and Software developers making almost 100k with only bachelors (so way less debt than pharmacist). Pharmacist 4 years more for 120k (only 20k more a year for 100k+ more debt).

 

[radio frequency]

It's like high school, only more annoying.

It's like high school, but they expect that you'll never sleep, basically. Too much information, never enough time. Nothing's that difficult, much of it is just terminally boring and there's just too much of it. Bad lecturers abound, too (far worse than high school in that category), but there are a few gems here and there.

 

[MSSimpson12]

It's like high school, but they expect that you'll never sleep, basically. Too much information, never enough time. Nothing's that difficult, much of it is just terminally boring and there's just too much of it. Bad lecturers abound, too (far worse than high school in that category), but there are a few gems here and there.

This 100% it's not so bad but there's never enough time to absorb it all. Best advice is to study often and early but in the end you'll always have cram sessions before the tests.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Pharmacy school is extremely difficult if you are trying to achieve high grades. On the other hand, it is fairly easy if you are just trying to get a passing grade.