work discourages pharmacy

[PrePharm1980]

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[fenixtnlfan]

Is pharmacy what you want to do as a career? Ask yourself that question and you have your answer. Other people can't decide what is right for you. Yeah pharmacy has cons, but so does every other profession. Try asking that pharmacist why he doesn't like pharmacy. Then ask yourself if the things he hates would really start making you hate it too.

 

[Klemmentine]

You have to go into pharmacy for your own personal reasons. You can't let what others say have too much of an influence. If you like the profession and can see yourself being a pharmacist, then go for it. If you're having your own doubts (besides what other people have said), then look into something else that interests you.

I think it also depends on where you work. Both of the pharmacists I work with love their jobs and they rarely complain. They are both very supportive of my goal to become a pharmacist. There is actually one tech that I work with who has been with the company for 10-15 years and is going back to school to try to become a pharmacist. (So she must not hate her job too much.)

I've probably worked with two dozen different pharmacists in a retail setting and only two or three seemed like they didn't like their jobs. But, they seemed like unhappy people in general and they didn't really have positive personalities.

I'm assuming you're working in a community pharmacy? If you're having bad luck there, try volunteering or working at a hospital pharmacy. It's a completely different setting and you may run into pharmacists who are actually positive about their jobs.

 

[persianprincess]

OKay, let me tell you something about work.

DO NOT take your co-workers advice... especially if their working full time. Of course theyll discourage u if theyre working full time getting paid mb 9 bucks an hour when the pharmacist does the same and makes like 90-120 k... And plus when u ask a pharmacist if u could do anything over again theyll say oh yea id become a medical doctor. And then u ask a dentist and theyd be like yea instead of general dentistry id do surger. u ask a dental surgeon and theyd say oh yea id become a medical doctor. Ask the medical doctor theyll say yea id become a surgeon.. etc

Do you get what im saying? Ultimitaley nobody is EVER TRULY satisfied. But dont listen to them, do what you want to do. Dont work in a pharmacy w/ pessimistic people. Apply different places, get all kinds of experience.

"First time he applied to pharmacy school they accepted him"

Okay medical school and pharmacy school are completely different things. Its like comparing a hair stylist and a somebody who does nails... its just different. Pharmacy is learnign about drugs and medical school is about learning about how the body works... SO maybe that person had better grades in courses that alow him to succeed more in pharmacy school.

And oh yea ask your co-worker to give u his friends number, why dont u give him a call and get his stats? By the way it sounds ur pharmacy is pretty pessimistic...

 

[Ethyl Methyl]

Don't let those people discourage you. Maybe the techs just envy you for trying to better yourself and maybe the pharmacist just hates his boss and his work. What they say should not matter to you if you really want to do pharmacy. I've worked with more pharmacists than I can count and I believe less than 3 of them are probably dissatisfied with their job. Most of the techs I work with are supportive but there are some naysayers too. If this is something you really want you know better than to listen to them. If you are unsure then maybe talking to other people who can give you a different insight about pharmacy will help.
Since they only try to discourage you from achieving your goals stop talking to them about it coz it will wear you down even if you don't want it to.

 

[Sea Pharm]

I hear you, the outpatient hospital pharmacy I volunteer at is a scary place. The manager is stupid and overworks her employees, I could go on, but I won't. For I while I was re-thinking applying too. But then I realized I was being taught something:

I believe I was put in that un-attractive retail setting so I would realize that retail pharmacy is NOT for me, kind of like a sign if you will. I have probably not received a real world picture of retail pharmacy, but volunteering there has helped me decide where I want to take my career and has given me some direction.

The cool thing about getting a PharmD is that you can shape your career to fit your personality--you don't have to work retail! You can teach, do research, specialize and work clinically, work for the government studying drug outcomes and compliance, etc. I sometimes get frusterated b/c when I tell people I am applying to pharmacy school they look at me like I am crazy b/c I want to sit behind a counter, count pills and fight with insurance all day. I have to explain to them that that is not what I want to do, and that the PharmD can be a broad degree, if you let it.

I think the key is looking for the jobs/opportunities that let you use your skills, interest and passion. The opportunities are out there, but you have to explore and look for them, and it might require a little extra work, like more schooling or a residency. I encourage you to look at the diverse jobs available to those who hold a PharmD. And then, if you still don't like those options, consider a different degree.

Best of luck to you.

 

[omnione]

I can get paid more as a pharmacy intern than a tech who has been there for years. Just saying......

This is why getting pharmacy experience BEFORE applying to pharmacy school or even looking at it as a career is vital. It's too simplistic to liken it to medicine and the other health-care fields with the money and prestige but go on to find out that you hate the guts of the job.

Also, you should at least get more opinions and the opinions of non-retail pharmacists. Retail-chain pharmacists aren't the end-all of pharmacy as many people despise the "efficiency" demanded by the chains. It's like reading a review for the product: you want to read opinions in the entire range of criticism. Discern which reviews are P.O.S, which reviews have great points, and you can do this for both good and bad reviews.

 

[michelle_is_me]

hello PrePharm1980!

It's weird I worked in a pharmacy for 2.5yrs..... we have many many different relief pharmacists that comes in to work, so I've talked bout being a pharmacist with at least 20~30 different pharmacists. Not one person has said "if I could do it all over, I'd become a pharmacist"

has that scared me? hell ya! Especially since a pharmacy education is $$$$$$ and pursuing it means leaving behind my family, friends, bf.... etc etc. But I've thought about it long and hard and this is what *I* want to do and I am willing to sacrifice for it... b/c i like the business side of being a pharmacist.

u gotta think about what it is you like about being a pharmacist..how do you see yourself in 10..20...30 years. Would you get bored? Would you end up wasting your education and do sthing completely different? Only u noe those q's...


anyways... good luck! I believe in intuitions, so only your heart can tell you what's right and what isn't!

 

[andrewattheU]

In every career there is someone that does not like what they are doing even pharmacy or medicine, that is part of the reason schools want applicants to have pharmacy experience so that students know that pharmacy is what they really want to do in life. At the hospital I volunteer at some of the pharmacists wish they did something else, (but they don't want to give up their current lifestyle to go back to school), while others really love pharmacy and could not picture themselves doing anything else.

 

[Falokis]

OKay, let me tell you something about work.

DO NOT take your co-workers advice... especially if their working full time. Of course theyll discourage u if theyre working full time getting paid mb 9 bucks an hour when the pharmacist does the same and makes like 90-120 k... And plus when u ask a pharmacist if u could do anything over again theyll say oh yea id become a medical doctor. And then u ask a dentist and theyd be like yea instead of general dentistry id do surger. u ask a dental surgeon and theyd say oh yea id become a medical doctor. Ask the medical doctor theyll say yea id become a surgeon.. etc

Do you get what im saying? Ultimitaley nobody is EVER TRULY satisfied. But dont listen to them, do what you want to do. Dont work in a pharmacy w/ pessimistic people. Apply different places, get all kinds of experience.

This is pretty much right on. I have never worked any job pre or post college where people were happy. It's human nature to want more. I've got a good job and make pretty good money, but I want a I've taken all my likes and dislike from every job and it all points to pharmacy. Will pharmacy be the be-all-end-all job for me? I hope, but I doubt it. In the end, if a job was that great, they would have to pay you for doing it. It would be a hobby.

 

[CaliCPhT]

This is pretty much right on. I have never worked any job pre or post college where people were happy. It's human nature to want more. I've got a good job and make pretty good money, but I want a I've taken all my likes and dislike from every job and it all points to pharmacy. Will pharmacy be the be-all-end-all job for me? I hope, but I doubt it. In the end, if a job was that great, they would have to pay you for doing it. It would be a hobby.

I totally agree with this statement. I too have a good job and make good money. I also have taken my likes and dislikes and they have led me to a career in pharmacy. I would say that very few people actually wake up in the morning ready to go for another day at work (my husband being one of the few). But even my husband took some time figuring out what he wanted to do with his life. So PrePharm1980, listen to what other people say, but do your best not to let them influence you or talk you into (or out of) something you want to do.

 

[confettiflyer]

Go read the thread in pre-allo asking the MD's if they'd do it all over again...many answers are similar to those you are getting from your workplace.

My workplace is a MAJOR DISCOURAGEMENT for my entering the profession. But I didn't go in there seeking money (slave labor $9/hr) or a pat on the back, I went in there seeking experience, a LOR, and answers. So far, I have all three...and the answer I got was "NO, I do not want to work retail full time forever but YES, I can probably work it part time and do something else part time."