I have a pharmacist buddy who did 4 yr pharm school, two 1yr residencies and now works in a hospital 1.5 hour drive from the center of a major city (it’s a rural location essentially). Fortunately he had parents pay for school so has no debt. I am however...shocked when he told me his pay is $57/hr.
Meanwhile, I did 4 yr med school, 3 yr residency and have been in practice as a hospitalist. For fun I called up his exact hospital to inquire about moonlighting opportunity and they actually have a full time hospitalist opening that pays 200/hr (requires icu coverage though)...
what is up with the discrepancy? Is pharmacy school + work that much more chill vs becoming a physician, to justify the pay gap despite having similar training years? Does pharm school cost less?
i have a family friend entering undergrad and asking my opinion on MD vs pharmD. I can only give my n=1 perspective, anything I can know about the pharm side of things?