Pharmacy in Canada direction these days

Started by Futbol99
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Futbol99

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I need some professional opinions from those who have better insight especially from Canadians who know what I am talking about. More specifically Ontario. I am trying to gain some insight into the future, some encouragement (or caution) so I can boldly make some decisions please! Any links of articles or stats are good as well!

I've been volunteering at my pharmacy for 2 years and I have many people within my community and family as pharmacists (good networking) and it's something I grew up wanting to do. However, in high school, I received some negativity about pharmacy and was convinced about joining the medicine route, worked in clinics, talked to doctors etc while still having pharmacy connections. A few years later and lots of maturing, I am at a road block. This is mostly because of my frustration at achieving a certain score on the MCATs, which has given me lots of time to reflect on what I REALLY want to commit the next couple of years to.

What I find in pharmacy is what I think really fits me, my personality, and my lifestyle. The ONLY thing right now stopping me from 100% commitment is I really fear job security and opportunity here in Canada and Ontario. I always hear negativity about saturation and job satisfaction, but its always mixed opinion. I feel I have good connections with pharmacists who are more than willing to start me off and have me work for them, so do I worry about saturation? I researched and saw pharmacists are starting to take on more roles in their job, and could be even better in the future. Is that good indication that this job will always be needed? I know there is always the business side to it, but that's not what I am asking about. Assuming that is taken care of, I really just want to be on the safe side and see/hear real opinions, and not get the wrong picture that could hinder me from working something I'd enjoy and live well off.

Thank you for your time. It could make all the difference in my life.
 
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Hello,

The western Canadian chain I work for has been steadily hiring pharmacists (ESPECIALLY new grads who worked for the chain as pharmacy assistants during their schooling, and foreign grads who worked there as assistants while studying for PEBCs) over the past few years. So, though I'm not in Ontario, I would say that yes, networking and previous experience play a huge role in whether you are immediately hired on graduation.

Anyway, I'm willing to be corrected, but all the rumours I've heard about saturation refer to full-time jobs in major cities. If you're willing to move to a small city or take part-time jobs at several pharmacies, getting work shouldn't be an issue for most people. I interned in a hospital in a small city in Alberta, and many of their full-time pharmacists were in their mid to late 20s.