Working condition pharmacist vs engineer: like and don't like

[loveyoursmile]

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Hi All,

Can you guys share your perspective regarding working condition/environment between pharmacist and engineer? I notice in some other thread people say they don't like the work environment as engineer, too much politics. But, i am wondering what about pharmacy profession? what do you like and don't like about this profession? please share your point of view or experience.

Thanks
-lys

 

[bigpharmD]

Hi All,

Can you guys share your perspective regarding working condition/environment between pharmacist and engineer? I notice in some other thread people say they don't like the work environment as engineer, too much politics. But, i am wondering what about pharmacy profession? what do you like and don't like about this profession? please share your point of view or experience.

Thanks
-lys

well since I am not an engineer I really have no clue. I do have a couple of engineer friends and their jobs seem more boring than any pharmacy job.

 

[loveyoursmile]

Guys,

Please share your opinion. I am a career changer and i like to hear from the people who are currently in the profession so i can make an informed decision.

Thanks
-lys

 

[Transformer]

Hi lys,

I'm not a pharmacist, but I've been around the pharmacy as a pharmacy volunteer, clerk, and tech. for the last 5 years. (I know, not a very long time)

Like most professions, I think work environments will vary between different pharmacy employers, locations, the staff, and the particular pharmacy businesses. I suggest making a final/informed decision after you've volunteered or worked as a member of the pharmacy staff.

I strongly believe you need to be put into a certain work environment/condition to know if this line of work is for you.

good luck!🙂

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

There is some amount of politics in any profession, with that said, the pharmacy profession has a very repetitive nature, and in certain settings, will often require you to stand up for long periods of time.

There are few jobs outside of industry in pharmacy where work environment is like an "office job".

Secondly, what kind of engineer are you? I assume with all the infrastructure projects planned that civil engineering would once again be a good field to get into.

And you have to ask yourself, why the career change? Are you aware that you will be investing upwards of 100k into your pharmacy education that may or may not reap the benefits in this day and age?

 

[kerokero]

I understand your dilemna, but the question you pose is a difficult one to answer. EE is such a generic title but what you do is completely different from the next EE. For example, working at a startup company is totally different from working at a large company; working in manufacturing is totally different from working in development; working in software is totally different than working in hardware. Now, I've noticed from a previous post that you haven't been working as a design engineer for very long. Usually the newbies don't get the cool projects and get the mundane tasks because they don't have the foundation yet or your manager needs to see what you can do first. Are you aware that the semiconductor industry is a cyclical industry? I have a colleague that has come to me and questioned his choice as an engineer. I will reiterate what I told/asked him. Do you like the work? What don't you like about it? The quality of your manager makes a large impact on how much you enjoy your job. Now, I can only make assumptions on what you do in your job since your details are very sketchy. When you say you don't like the work then can you clarify? Maybe you don't like software or sitting in your office/cube and running simulations all day. Have you looked at hardware? Do you hate the documentation and the endless meetings? I'm not trying to talk you out of pharmacy but you need to first identify whether you don't like your job.work environment or you don't like engineering. There is a big difference.

As for pharmacy, this too is a very generic title but what you do can be completely different from the next pharmacist. The work environment of a retail pharmacist is different from a hospital pharmacist. Some pharmacists told me they like retail because it's fast past and you interact with people and they don't like working in a "dungeon". Some say that they like hospital pharmacy (I'm only talking about a dispensing role and not the specialties) because they don't have to interact with people. Why did you choose pharmacy as a possible profession? If you say that it's because of the politics, well, you can't completely get away from that. I have heard from some hospital pharmacists that they don't like how the nurses and doctors treat them while others have said that they are treated with well.

Sorry if I didn't give the answer you wanted. You need to think about why you're really doing this and gain exposure to pharmacy. Talk/shadow a pharmacist in different settings. In the meantime you can always take the prereq courses while you think about this that way you don't lose any time. From an HR perspective, pharmacy is completely different from engineering: salary vs hourly, benefit packages are different interms of stock options, ESPP, etc, your variable start/end time vs shifts, etc. As you do more research in pharmacy and talk to other pharmacists then you'll find out more.

If you want to talk about this further and do not want to provide specific situational information on the forum in order to maintain your anonymity, then you can always PM me. It's hard for me to go into specifics since I don't know what your job is like and you haven't specified what you would like to do in pharmacy.

 

[loveyoursmile]

Thanks everyone for sharing your opinion. it appears that you guys can better help me if i can give a little more information about me and reason of career change to pharmacy. So, here they are.

I came to US in my early 20s and i am now in my late 20s. I attended university back in my country and have strong background in math/science (esp chem). I thought about pharmacy when i started over my education at CC. However, family reason did not allow me to attend 8 years college to pursue pharm D.

I hold a BS degree in EECS from a top engineering school and is working as chip designer in a big established company in the bay area. Yes, i do get good pay and can financially support my family which basically i can achieve what i want for studying engineer.

Why career change?
I don't think i can work as an engineer for the rest of my life. Why? The nature of my work require running various design flow to make sure my piece of the chip work and meet all the specification. It involve an intensive debugging skills to get the job done. I like this. However, i realize that getting the job done is not just what you need in a big cooperation with many levels of manger. Plus, by the time i get older, i definitely wont be able to compete with younger kids just out of college and the company will eventually kick me out. Saying so, they can also kick me out anytime when economy is running down. My job search will then be limited by high tech companies in the bay area or a few other locations all over the country. And i have some personal reasons that i might not live in this area in the future
So why pharmacy?
It is a rewarding career. Job security. No one can deny that you get good pay in pharmacy profession. However, you get good pay for making someone happy and making their life better. And it is also a life long learning career. this is different from my current profession in which you work crazy to design new product for the company and the reward only go to the person who are at the top or play politic well. I agree that i get some reward, but it is no way to compare to what i've contributed. And the odd is that, they will kick you out when they don't need you anymore
i know that there will be always some degree of politic at any profession. What i am hoping for is that pharmacy profession will has much a lesser degree of politics compare to my current profession. The bottom line is, i do my job, i get pay for what i contribute, hopefully feel happy and work in the profession for the rest of my life.

Thanks
-lys

 

[powertoold]

However, i realize that getting the job done is not just what you need in a big cooperation with many levels of manger. Plus, by the time i get older, i definitely wont be able to compete with younger kids just out of college and the company will eventually kick me out. Saying so, they can also kick me out anytime when economy is running down. My job search will then be limited by high tech companies in the bay area or a few other locations all over the country. And i have some personal reasons that i might not live in this area in the future

I'm not sure these are good enough reasons to change careers. Although you may not be as fast as the younger kids, you may be able to get a managerial position in the company or another company.

Also, the economy has been down for a while now, and you haven't lost your job yet, so that says something about your own job security. The unemployment rate in California is approaching 11%, but I think it's holding steady for now.

Job security for retail pharmacists is not looking bright for the future, especially with the incoming wave of pharmacists and pharmacy schools. If you still decide pharmacy is right for you, then I would recommend trying to get into a good clinical program like UCSF. That way, you can be more competitive for hospital pharmacy.

The problem with hospital pharmacy is that unless you're doing rounds, you're not really helping patients, you're mostly helping doctors, nurses, and other pharmacists. There is almost no direct patient contact in community hospitals. In the 3 years I've been in the community hospital pharmacy, I have yet to see any pharmacist-patient interaction (except maybe someone knocks on the door and asks "is this the pharmacy?").

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

Job security for retail pharmacists is not looking bright for the future, especially with the incoming wave of pharmacists and pharmacy schools.

I will somewhat agree with this.

If you still decide pharmacy is right for you, then I would recommend trying to get into a good clinical program like UCSF. That way, you can be more competitive for hospital pharmacy.

What do you consider a good clinical program? What other schools would you consider a "good" clinical program? Every pharmacist is clinical and more important than the school is the intern experience as a student in a clinical setting. I can't vouch for new diploma mill pharmd programs. But going to a good clinical program pharmacy school isn't the key factor in landing a hospital job.

The problem with hospital pharmacy is that unless you're doing rounds, you're not really helping patients, you're mostly helping doctors, nurses, and other pharmacists.

What are you talking about? Hospital pharmacists regardless of what they're doing are helping patients directly or indirectly. "Rounding" by a pharmacist is overrated. Pharmacists aren't there to physically assess patients rather tools and information available through information system at a hospital allow pharmacists to gather enough information to make recommendations or change therapy per protocol in turn help patients.

There is almost no direct patient contact in community hospitals. In the 3 years I've been in the community hospital pharmacy, I have yet to see any pharmacist-patient interaction (except maybe someone knocks on the door and asks "is this the pharmacy?").

That's by design and choice of those pharmacists. Community hospital pharmacist can have as much contract with patients if they want to and if their workflow is designed to promote it.

 

[bigpharmD]

I'm not sure these are good enough reasons to change careers. Although you may not be as fast as the younger kids, you may be able to get a managerial position in the company or another company.

Also, the economy has been down for a while now, and you haven't lost your job yet, so that says something about your own job security. The unemployment rate in California is approaching 11%, but I think it's holding steady for now.

Job security for retail pharmacists is not looking bright for the future, especially with the incoming wave of pharmacists and pharmacy schools. If you still decide pharmacy is right for you, then I would recommend trying to get into a good clinical program like UCSF. That way, you can be more competitive for hospital pharmacy.

The problem with hospital pharmacy is that unless you're doing rounds, you're not really helping patients, you're mostly helping doctors, nurses, and other pharmacists. There is almost no direct patient contact in community hospitals. In the 3 years I've been in the community hospital pharmacy, I have yet to see any pharmacist-patient interaction (except maybe someone knocks on the door and asks "is this the pharmacy?").

what a minute...your a prepharmer....wtf do you really know?

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

Why career change?
I don't think i can work as an engineer for the rest of my life. Why? The nature of my work require running various design flow to make sure my piece of the chip work and meet all the specification. It involve an intensive debugging skills to get the job done. I like this. However, i realize that getting the job done is not just what you need in a big cooperation with many levels of manger. Plus, by the time i get older, i definitely wont be able to compete with younger kids just out of college and the company will eventually kick me out. Saying so, they can also kick me out anytime when economy is running down. My job search will then be limited by high tech companies in the bay area or a few other locations all over the country. And i have some personal reasons that i might not live in this area in the future

The grass is always greener on the other side. but keep this in mind: choosing pharmacy will take away at least a good 6 years of earning potential for you if you have a solid career already (4 years of school plus 2 years of paying back tuition loans at the minimum)

you can use that 4+ years to work your way up the ladder.... so if you are getting paid decently i'd say it is a lateral move.

 

[loveyoursmile]

The grass is always greener on the other side. but keep this in mind: choosing pharmacy will take away at least a good 6 years of earning potential for you if you have a solid career already (4 years of school plus 2 years of paying back tuition loans at the minimum)

you can use that 4+ years to work your way up the ladder.... so if you are getting paid decently i'd say it is a lateral move.

There is a personal life changing event that also make me consider a career change. I can do what i am doing for a living, however i won't be happy and can not survive for long term. If i can make a living and be happy in pharmacy profession for rest of my life, i don't think it is a lateral move.

 

[kerokero]

lys,

I disagree with some of what you said. However, I won't debate the points since you're not asking us to change your mind. It sounds like you're pretty much set on getting out of engineering and into pharmacy because you want job security.

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I highly encourage you to shadow a pharmacist. There will be crazy days in a pharmacy with demanding, unreasonable patients. There will be days when the patient is wrong in their expectations but you have to suck it up and try to handle them politely without losing their business (in retail). Working with the public takes a certain personality and patience and I admire those who can handle it. If you work in a hospital, be prepared to work either nights, weekends, or holidays. This varies with hospitals/positions but you may not be able to pick and choose what you want. These examples are just a couple that I can think of that are very different from design engineering. Do a search on this forum and you'll see the complaints of people who have worked in different pharmaceutical sessions. Personally, when I considered pharmacy, I decided to look at the "ugly" side of it in order to put everything in perspective. If I could handle it and still enjoy it then I knew this profession was for me.

Also, if you go to pharmacy, it will be a paycut. I say that it's a paycut because you're missing at least 4 years of income and you're accruing debt. Furthermore, you're missing your annual raises, yearly bonuses, 401K company matching, etc.

Pharmacy school will be expensive and time consuming. However, if you're willing to accept these risks then go for it. In the end, I strongly believe that you should enjoy what you do since you spend the majority of your day at work.

 

[solzont]

Hello Lys,

As a former engineer at a big semiconductor company I can really relate to your concerns. I can only speak to my experiences and that of my wife who is a career pharmacist while I'm starting out on the road to my PharmD this fall.

Without hitting you with a "wall of text," I'd just like to clarify that members of this community can really only help you with very general aspects of your decision. Things like myths, misunderstandings, and facts about pharmacy. I'm going to echo the "lateral" move quote from a financial and maybe...but only maybe, a career advancement perspective. The personal aspects of the decision are clearly all you. I'd also like to throw my hat in with the volunteer/shadow as many pharms in different practice settings you can ring. For a whole lot more thought and reflection you can read my response to another poster in the "computer engineer vs. pharmacy" thread.

You seem to be asking for insight, yet my hunch is you've already made up your mind =)

cheers,

 

[smileyangel11]

Hi All,

Can you guys share your perspective regarding working condition/environment between pharmacist and engineer? I notice in some other thread people say they don't like the work environment as engineer, too much politics. But, i am wondering what about pharmacy profession? what do you like and don't like about this profession? please share your point of view or experience.

Thanks
-lys

Hi Lys,
I think you can very well relate to my background.

I graduated w/a B.S. in Computer Science in 2002. Worked 2 years as a software engineer for a big corp before pharmacy school. After 5 years (4 years + 1 year residency), I work now as a hospital pharmacist. So my comparison would only be based as pharmacist in the hospital realm.

As far for workflow, my engineering days were very project based. No body cared if I came in at 8 or 11 am (granted I attend meetings), as long as my project timeline is on track. I sit in a cube majority of time and socialized primarily with people on my team. Everybody on the team is focused on their own projects, so if you are stuck with a problem w/o solution, good luck figuring it out yourself. I remember spending hours at home on nights and wkend identifying what the problem is and solving it. Of course, all without paid, because engineers are salary based.

As a pharmacist, my work flow is very time based. The day is busy because deadlines come in counts of hours or minutes. Example, you need to have finished reviewing X number of patients before rounding begins at time Y. You need to have kinetics/anticoagulation calculations done before dose due at time Y. Meanwhile, you can be answering phones, verifying meds, finding answers to drug info questions, and signing off technician work all at the same time. However, the work is very "black and white", means you can go home and absolutely quit working after the shift.

As far as pay goes..so yes...it is more rewarding than being a engineer because pharmacist get paid in 15 minutes intervals. I make twice as what I did back in 2002. However, I now have a $120,000 student loan debt that I didn't have before. Not to mention the years of engineering salary I lost while going to pharmacy school. So compared to my engineering school classmates, I'm considered to be "high income" but "relatively poor". It will take a least another 5 - 10 years before I equilibrate with them. So in the end, in the long run, it makes reasonable sense to make this career change as long as (a) you are young (b) you plan to work full time for minumum 10-20 years

Hope it helps and Good Luck!

 

[smileyangel11]

Hi All,

Can you guys share your perspective regarding working condition/environment between pharmacist and engineer? I notice in some other thread people say they don't like the work environment as engineer, too much politics. But, i am wondering what about pharmacy profession? what do you like and don't like about this profession? please share your point of view or experience.

Thanks
-lys

Hi Lys,
I think you can very well relate to my background.

I graduated w/a B.S. in Computer Science in 2002. Worked 2 years as a software engineer for a big corp before pharmacy school. After 5 years (4 years + 1 year residency), I work now as a hospital pharmacist. So my comparison would only be based as pharmacist in the hospital realm.

As far for workflow, my engineering days were very project based. No body cared if I came in at 8 or 11 am (granted I attend meetings), as long as my project timeline is on track. I sit in a cube majority of time and socialized primarily with people on my team. Everybody on the team is focused on their own projects, so if you are stuck with a problem w/o solution, good luck figuring it out yourself. I remember spending hours at home on nights and wkend identifying what the problem is and solving it. Of course, all without paid, because engineers are salary based.

As a pharmacist, my work flow is very time based. The day is busy because deadlines come in counts of hours or minutes. Example, you need to have finished reviewing X number of patients before rounding begins at time Y. You need to have kinetics/anticoagulation calculations done before dose due at time Y. Meanwhile, you can be answering phones, verifying meds, finding answers to drug info questions, and signing off technician work all at the same time. However, the work is very "black and white", means you can go home and absolutely quit working after the shift.

As far as pay goes..so yes...it is more rewarding than being a engineer because pharmacist get paid in 15 minutes intervals. I make twice as what I did back in 2002. However, I now have a $120,000 student loan debt that I didn't have before. Not to mention the years of engineering salary I lost while going to pharmacy school. So compared to my engineering school classmates, I'm considered to be "high income" but "relatively poor". It will take a least another 5 - 10 years before I equilibrate with them. So in the end, in the long run, it makes reasonable sense to make this career change as long as (a) you are young (b) you plan to work full time for minumum 10-20 years

Hope it helps and Good Luck!

 

[smileyangel11]

Hi All,

Can you guys share your perspective regarding working condition/environment between pharmacist and engineer? I notice in some other thread people say they don't like the work environment as engineer, too much politics. But, i am wondering what about pharmacy profession? what do you like and don't like about this profession? please share your point of view or experience.

Thanks
-lys

Hi Lys,
I think you can very well relate to my background.

I graduated w/a B.S. in Computer Science in 2002. Worked 2 years as a software engineer for a big corp before pharmacy school. After 5 years (4 years + 1 year residency), I work now as a hospital pharmacist. So my comparison would only be based as pharmacist in the hospital realm.

As far for workflow, my engineering days were very project based. No body cared if I came in at 8 or 11 am (granted I attend meetings), as long as my project timeline is on track. I sit in a cube majority of time and socialized primarily with people on my team. Everybody on the team is focused on their own projects, so if you are stuck with a problem w/o solution, good luck figuring it out yourself. I remember spending hours at home on nights and wkend identifying what the problem is and solving it. Of course, all without paid, because engineers are salary based.

As a pharmacist, my work flow is very time based. The day is busy because deadlines come in counts of hours or minutes. Example, you need to have finished reviewing X number of patients before rounding begins at time Y. You need to have kinetics/anticoagulation calculations done before dose due at time Y. Meanwhile, you can be answering phones, verifying meds, finding answers to drug info questions, and signing off technician work all at the same time. However, the work is very "black and white", means you can go home and absolutely quit working after the shift.

As far as pay goes..so yes...it is more rewarding than being a engineer because pharmacist get paid in 15 minutes intervals. I make twice as what I did back in 2002. However, I now have a $120,000 student loan debt that I didn't have before. Not to mention the years of engineering salary I lost while going to pharmacy school. So compared to my engineering school classmates, I'm considered to be "high income" but "relatively poor". It will take a least another 5 - 10 years before I equilibrate with them. So in the end, in the long run, it makes reasonable sense to make this career change as long as (a) you are young (b) you plan to work full time for minumum 10-20 years

Hope it helps and Good Luck!

 

[J ROD]

there's no drive thru window in engineering.....stay there!!

 

[AStudentDoctor]

My brothers have both secured 50k jobs right out of college with their electrical engineering degrees. They actually have really low stress jobs right now as their deadlines are reasonable and they still can enjoy 9-5 life. I'm pretty sure being a pharmacist requires longer hours (but less days), more pay, with more stress too.

But the way my brothers talk about their jobs-- THEY'RE SO BORED. I couldn't do it.

 

[MyTalon4U2NV]

im a p4 rx student and my brother has graduated engineering school a couple years ago...

hes a mechanical engineer and has never had a problem finding a job (he had to move twice, hence the job seeking) he gets paid mid 60s i believe but he has ABSOLUTE satisfaction!

 

[MyTalon4U2NV]

oh i forgot to say...

although im not a pharmacist yet... i think i may envy his job satisfaction that he always tells me about

 

[pharm B]

I was in the Nuclear Power field for 6 years before pursuing pharmacy studies and working in a pharmacy.

The biggest difference between the two fields I've noticed is the human element. In Pharmacy, you're helping people. Even in retail.

My engineering experience was long thankless hours. You could never do the job better than the person above you, so he made sure to correct your ideas and take the glory. It seemed like all projects moved slowly and "on schedule" in the beginning but ALWAYS ended up behind schedule at the end, requiring lots of overtime and frustration. You're not working with people so much as you're trying to make some THING work harder, better, faster, stronger.

The best thing I heard was from a project engineer regarding his pay:

"Sure, I clear 6 figures easy, but I never have time to spend it and I have no one to spend it on."

Of course, that's just one experience. As said previously, engineering is a wide field.