Woking a non-pharm job while in school?

[sunineyes]

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Hey all,

I'm a new P1 student this year, and have been working in biotech for the past 2.5+ years since graduating from undergrad.. I'm staying with my old job on a part-time basis for now, since it pays more than any pharmacy job I can get, and there are not many openings around here whatsoever.

Do you think this is bad? My advisor is telling me that I'm better off with a pharmacy job... of course, I think it would be beneficial, but I also have bills to pay, so taking a pay cut (assuming I could even find a pharmacy job) is pretty unappealing.

What say you? any of you have a similar experience?

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Hey all,
What say you? any of you have a similar experience?

yep.. still staying in nursing. I need to at least cover the cost of living and want tuition reimbursement.
I know my limit. I can't add a few extra shifts of pharmacy on top of this. At least, not for now.
But with private school tuition, I can't afford not working.

 

[CYP3A4]

I had a microbiology degree before pharmacy school. Workign as a technician would have been a 50% pay cut so I decided to keep my microbiology job. I have now graduated and I will tell you this much......if you plan on working in retail when you finish school you will have a hard time getting job unless the company is super desperate or you have some sort of connection. If you plan on doing a residency and going that route then you are extremely wise to stay with your current job.

 

[bananaface]

If I were in your place I'd use the job you have now as a placeholder while you look for an internship. If pharmacy jobs are hard to get in your town, you should actively look and take one when it comes along. You don't want to be a P3 with no pharmacy experience lookign for an internship to complete required hours and not being able to find one because you didn't get your foot int he door soon enough.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

I'm kind of curious... if you're willing to work in your current job while in pharm school, why go to pharm school?

I just finished a PhD program, and I couldn't wait to get out of it and into a pharmacy internship fast enough. Granted, I figured out that my intern job pays just slightly more than my grad school stipend. But there is definitely a reason I'm putting off having a real job for four more years and am willing to put up with exams and all the stuff that comes with being a student (and once again being near the bottom of the totem pole). I really like the pharmacy profession and am willing to work hard to be the best one that I can be.

Being someone who's changing careers into pharmacy, I'm rather curious how others made that decision...