Why pharmacy?

[PharmtoCS]

What is your reason for going into pharmacy?

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[Pharmacy is a Scam]

Truthfully, I rode the gravy train because I wanted to “help people.” If there’s one thing I could have done over in college it would be to think through what my life goals were.

 

[DagS132]

lol, i voted "help people" by default just to get this poll going

 

[BC_89]

I’d say “Other” but I went with practice anywhere in the country.

By this I mean BFE regions in the country no one wants. On top of that (secondary) any VA setting that’d put me as top priority for an interview as a disabled veteran in any state (top priority not meaning a guaranteed job of course). At least that’d take care of taking multiple MPJEs when with a fed job.

I have VA paying for my school and housing + books so no student loans. With that a 2k monthly pension hits my account so opportunities to invest in hobbies if I end up doing part time in the future is in the making (renting hunting lodges is the plan!)

 

[King2440]

Lol at job security...ok!

1. 95% of you will be in retail. You “may” help others but must people value you as much as a McDonalds worker.

2. Flexible hours? Ok sort of. But with so many new grads, so many companies making budget cuts, 12-14 hour solo shifts will become the new norm.

3. Again, you don’t have to know jack about chemistry. If you are in the 95% that apply/work for retail and you say this on the interview, you’re probably aren’t gonna get hired.

4. This use to be true about a decade ago. Now all those jobs in the not so popular areas of the US are all being filled due to saturation.

5. Saturation = lower sales. New motto? PharmD = 80g’s? (not 100 anymore)

Anyways..if you have the chance..do yourself a favor and pick a new field.

 

[BC_89]

Lol at job security...ok!

1. 95% of you will be in retail. You “may” help others but must people value you as much as a McDonalds worker.

2. Flexible hours? Ok sort of. But with so many new grads, so many companies making budget cuts, 12-14 hour solo shifts will become the new norm.

3. Again, you don’t have to know jack about chemistry. If you are in the 95% that apply/work for retail and you say this on the interview, you’re probably aren’t gonna get hired.

4. This use to be true about a decade ago. Now all those jobs in the not so popular areas of the US are all being filled due to saturation.

5. Saturation = lower sales. New motto? PharmD = 80g’s? (not 100 anymore)

Anyways..if you have the chance..do yourself a favor and pick a new field.

And.....Out of the woodwork!!

That didn’t take long. Let’s see how much longer this thread can go before being beaten to the ground of doom-n-gloom.

I actually want to hear pre-pharms’ responses before every other user shuts them down. So be patient and see what they have to say.

 

[King2440]

And.....Out of the woodwork!!

That didn’t take long. Let’s see how much longer this thread can go before being beaten to the ground of doom-n-gloom.

I actually want to hear pre-pharms’ responses before every other user shuts them down. So be patient and see what they have to say.

I read these forums daily. Just because I’m not a “moderator” or reply to every single post shouldn’t be a factor on my validity.

What does a pre-pharmer have vs an RPh who is currently in the field? Well besides hope..

BC_89 - have you worked retail?

 

[BC_89]

I read these forums daily. Just because I’m not a “moderator” or reply to every single post shouldn’t be a factor on my validity.

What does a pre-pharmer have vs an RPh who is currently in the field? Well besides hope..

BC_89 - have you worked retail?

I never questioned your validity nor contested the facts of saturation.

No one cares if you answer constantly or read in the shadows like thousands of others. What I’m saying is you need to listen first what the pre-pharms are presuming and see what background they have to better assist those that need tough-skin rather than labeling users and pushing them away from SDN.

To answer your questionaires:

1) what does a pre-pharm have vs an RPh?

They have Questions. Be direct and give examples of your pros and cons as a licensed professional instead of blasting the same thing in 500 shades of doom-n-gloom with intent to inflame.

2) Have I worked retail?

Yes. For a number of years. I also worked inpatient before joining the military and working with the DOD in multiple different pharmacy settings. Is this field for everyone? Not at all. Now let’s hear what other pre-pharms have to say.

 

[capri1722]

I never questioned your validity nor contested the facts of saturation.

No one cares if you answer constantly or read in the shadows like thousands of others. What I’m saying is you need to listen first what the pre-pharms are presuming and see what background they have to better assist those that need tough-skin rather than labeling users and pushing them away from SDN.

To answer your questionaires:

1) what does a pre-pharm have vs an RPh?

They have Questions. Be direct and give examples of your pros and cons as a licensed professional instead of blasting the same thing in 500 shades of doom-n-gloom with intent to inflame.

2) Have I worked retail?

Yes. For a number of years. I also worked inpatient before joining the military and working with the DOD in multiple different pharmacy settings. Is this field for everyone? Not at all. Now let’s hear what other pre-pharms have to say.

QFT.

I'll be honest, I joined SDN initially as a pre-pharm and I would have left the site immediately after getting my acceptance because I hated how toxic it seemed sometimes. As a P1, I'm still here, but I spend about 95% of my time here in the Lounge (which is chill by design) and Pre-Vet (for the WW games, mostly, but I've also made friends there).

Tbh I'm kind of jealous of the vet side of SDN because, unlike the pharm side, they are able to discuss the problems within their field in a professional manner without painting with a broad, cynical, this-is-literally-the-apocalypse brush. That's my impression anyway.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Job security, help people, love chemistry, versatility, flexible hours, etc. So many good answers to choose from.

 

[mentos]

Not gonna lie, money was the biggest factor. My previous office job was more stress, more difficult and half the pay. Now my Rph job is easy and I make a good living. That's why I think pharmacists are vastly overpaid and that's why I'm riding the gravy train as long as possible. It's also nice to leave work on time. I don't miss staying late at the office and not getting paid.

Anyone who says otherwise is lying IMHO. If pharmacists were paid $20/hr, suddenly no one would be "passionate" about the profession or want to "help people".

Anyone who even thinks about starting pharmacy now is setting themselves up for financial failure though.

 

[sozetone]

hey man, i started this thread and never discussed the job market. I asked a simple question to pre-pharm students. Why are you pursuing this career field? which as per usual they cant or dont want to answer. You should not have moved it. that was wrong. We never discussed saturation, or salaries...none of this....so whats up?

 

[Saisri_PharmStdnt]

I chose Other: Career Progression

I'm already working in the industry almost 16 years. I work with our pharmacists daily in many capacities already. In order to do more, and to be able progress in a way of my choosing, I need my PharmD. It is a natural progression for me and the kind of work that I do. Within my roles and my Vote of Other are the options of Helping People, Versatility, and the option down the road of being able to work anywhere in the country.

 

[mentos]

I chose Other: Career Progression

I'm already working in the industry almost 16 years. I work with our pharmacists daily in many capacities already. In order to do more, and to be able progress in a way of my choosing, I need my PharmD. It is a natural progression for me and the kind of work that I do. Within my roles and my Vote of Other are the options of Helping People, Versatility, and the option down the road of being able to work anywhere in the country.

What is your role that allows versatility and the ability to work anywhere in the country? A pharmD doesn't provide either of those things.

 

[BC_89]

hey man, i started this thread and never discussed the job market. I asked a simple question to pre-pharm students. Why are you pursuing this career field? which as per usual they cant or dont want to answer. You should not have moved it. that was wrong. We never discussed saturation, or salaries...none of this....so whats up?

I saw your thread and fixed your first comment and moved it back to pre-pharm so you can get simple answers (or not...again). When you make your 300th why post, learn from this one and keep it simple.

No need to keep repeating yourself.

 

[Saisri_PharmStdnt]

What is your role that allows versatility and the ability to work anywhere in the country? A pharmD doesn't provide either of those things.

The versatility comes from being able to move up into new roles. I am currently limited without my PharmD.

The ability to work anywhere comes from the fact that I could not only WFH for some roles, but that I could (if I wanted) move closer to my family, or move to one of our many other locations to work. I personally don't plan on moving around anytime soon, but the potential is there.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

What is your role that allows versatility and the ability to work anywhere in the country? A pharmD doesn't provide either of those things.

He is a pharm tech at a PBM in Arizona.

 

[mentos]

The versatility comes from being able to move up into new roles. I am currently limited without my PharmD.

The ability to work anywhere comes from the fact that I could not only WFH for some roles, but that I could (if I wanted) move closer to my family, or move to one of our many other locations to work. I personally don't plan on moving around anytime soon, but the potential is there.

Not to be a jerk but this is nonsense. A pharm tech is more versatile than a PharmD. PharmDs are not in demand, but pharm techs are. As a tech, you have many more job opportunities in any sector of pharmacy - retail, hospital, LTC, whatever. You cannot "work from anywhere" with a PharmD, you can only work where there are jobs and that is most likely BFE. There might be a few WFH jobs for Rphs in the country but they are unicorn jobs and <1% are able to get those.

 

[projektreverb]

No offense but the days of the PharmD being versatile are long gone. The barrier to switching sectors are way higher than they used to be.

And it’s much easier to move around with an engineering degree, or a computer science degree, or hell even a medical degree. A lot of my immediate family have a degree in one of those fields, and guess who has the hardest time moving around? Guess who has the least career options? (Points finger at self)

 

[projektreverb]

Think about this: residency was an afterthought for hospital pharmacy 10-15 years ago. An industry fellowship was an afterthought 10-15 years ago. Both are requirements to have a job and job flexibility nowadays. And that barrier isn’t getting any lower. And once your siloed into one sector, it’s harder to go to another one.

 

[mentos]

I'd like to know what people mean when they say "want to help others"? Walk into any pharmacy and the pharmacist is the last person who will come help you. They are as far behind the counter as possible, the last to pickup the phone, and there will always be a wait for a consult. There is simply no time for them to help you other than a few seconds of a state required consult.

If a pharmacist truly wanted to help others, they would encourage an old lady to bring her bag of 20+ meds into the pharmacy and happily do an MTM for her for free. But if you did this in real life, the Rph would give you a stink eye and want to charge you for it because it's the last thing they'd want to do. They'd rather no customers come in and play on their phone.

 

[PharmtoCS]

And it's ironic how pre-pharms say they want to "help people" yet so many of them want to work in the pharmaceutical industry that is vilfied by the general public and where they get to hide in an office, or otherwise they gun for the jobs which they DON'T have to deal with people.

 

[projektreverb]

But helping people bro!

 

[DagS132]

I'd like to know what people mean when they say "want to help others"?

Its just the right answer to give when asked that question during an interview even though its the wrong answer since its not insightful nor original.

 

[King2440]

Its just the right answer to give when asked that question during an interview even though its the wrong answer since its not insightful nor original.

Could say something like:

“With PBM’s owning the pharmacy field, I feel as a potential pharmacist I can impact patients and educate them on the importance of taking their medication on time. Not only will this benefit the patients, it will help pharmacists stay relevant.”

 

[projektreverb]

Could say something like:

“With PBM’s owning the pharmacy field, I feel as a potential pharmacist I can impact patients and educate them on the importance of taking their medication on time. Not only will this benefit the patients, it will help pharmacists stay relevant.”

But here’s 25% pay reduction. Because you know, relevance.

 

[sozetone]

Not gonna lie, money was the biggest factor. My previous office job was more stress, more difficult and half the pay. Now my Rph job is easy and I make a good living. That's why I think pharmacists are vastly overpaid and that's why I'm riding the gravy train as long as possible. It's also nice to leave work on time. I don't miss staying late at the office and not getting paid.

Anyone who says otherwise is lying IMHO. If pharmacists were paid $20/hr, suddenly no one would be "passionate" about the profession or want to "help people".

Anyone who even thinks about starting pharmacy now is setting themselves up for financial failure though.

Yeah i agree, money is a huge factor, I was a tech since 97' and decided i should get paid what a pharmacist makes since our jobs are NEARLY identical. If they could find a way to legally run a pharmacy without a warm body that has a Rph. license on the wall, they would, and probably will.

 

[vet_doc92]

Money is a help, Its one of the reasons because like others said, if the salary was more than Tech but by small margin..most folks wouldn't try. It's the allure for most folks in the influx..."easy" 3 years+ clinicals for 100k+ and everyone jumped on it.

I like BC_89 another veteran here with experience everywhere and I loved helping people where it made a difference. Most of my experience is inpatient/hospital/clinical now so I'm going to try and float that way. DoD is changing big time with Defense Health Agency takeover so it'll be good for lots of CIV jobs, and those like BC_89 and I with DV preference will get a scoot to the front of the line. I also chose pharmacy because of its versatility in most anywhere in the country you can work, but my wife's business is not... so it works well for our dynamic that I can be flexible and she can be choosy.

I truly am in it to help folks, the increase in money is nice, but if I could do anything without money bounds I'd be a pro climber/mountaineer/photographer lol

 

[Xenophylia]

I voted "other". There was no option that said "insanity".

 

[nafcillin]

I graduated over 10 years ago and went into it because it’s interesting, i could help people and there used to be job security. Alas, no more

 

[pharmgal89]

I am a 30 year vet. I remember the good old days when we were pursued while at work for other job opportunities. Now we are treated horribly because they know we can easily be replaced-by a younger and quicker model. And one who will take less money too. I don't see any reason someone would pick this profession now. I believe it's run it's course. In fact, it's getting worse. Techs are able to more and more every time I read something.

 

[PharmtoCS]

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You chose "Other" as your reason for going into pharmacy. Could you elaborate?