Pharmacy Admission

[mentos]

The truth is the people going into pharmacy school right now have no better options. That or dangerously extreme ignorance are the only explanation for spending 6-10 years in school to make less than a nurse in 2025.

I can think of hundreds of better options than wasting $200,000 and 4-6 years for a job with no prospects. You already named one of them.

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[rxkrafted]

The truth is the people going into pharmacy school right now have no better options. That or dangerously extreme ignorance are the only explanation for spending 6-10 years in school to make less than a nurse in 2025.

they always have better options... it may require a little more effort but they want to take the easy route with the NO PCAT REQUIRED and LOW GPA option and want to gamble with their future later.

 

[PharmD 2021]

Mmhm totally

Let's not worry about what other people say about pharmacy. Are you starting school in Fall 2021? Do you know if your school will do orientation in person or online?

 

[angelnico1e]

Let's not worry about what other people say about pharmacy. Are you starting school in Fall 2021? Do you know if your school will do orientation in person or online?

Yes I’m starting in fall 2021. As of right now I don’t know anything as far as that because right now it’s very far away.

 

[mentos]

Let's not worry about what other people say about pharmacy. Are you starting school in Fall 2021? Do you know if your school will do orientation in person or online?

Great plan. Don't worry about what veteran working pharmacists say about the profession! Ignorance is bliss right?

 

[Xenophylia]

Must be winter, 'cuz the snowflakes have appeared. Remember this, kiddies- "one man's passion is another man's mental illness". Just because you have a passion for beating your head into a wall doesn't make it wise or healthy. Just sayin'....

 

[Marzapan]

Must be winter, 'cuz the snowflakes have appeared. Remember this, kiddies- "one man's passion is another man's mental illness". Just because you have a passion for beating your head into a wall doesn't make it wise or healthy. Just sayin'....

But the pre-pharms' excuse is that they have the passion and we have the mental illness...

 

[PharmtoCS]

Those who don't take covid seriously are deemed "covidiots."

What should we call those who don't take pharmacy saturation seriously?

 

[Xenophylia]

A**HOLES? But really...I guess when you've never been allowed to experience failure...when you've been told that reality is whatever your precious little unicorn heart imagines it to be...then it must be really hard to listen to any negativity. I can't say that I can relate, being from a generation that actually was left to sink or swim. But I suppose I can offer my sympathy for their lack of coping skills.... Your helicopter parents really did you no favors in sheltering you from harsh reality. But you will learn.

 

[Marzapan]

I mean there are plenty of people who think covid is a hoax... it probably is if you compare it to the flu... so these pre-pharms probably think pharmacy saturation is a hoax... but the problem is it isn't...

 

[angelnico1e]

A**HOLES? But really...I guess when you've never been allowed to experience failure...when you've been told that reality is whatever your precious little unicorn heart imagines it to be...then it must be really hard to listen to any negativity. I can't say that I can relate, being from a generation that actually was left to sink or swim. But I suppose I can offer my sympathy for their lack of coping skills.... Your helicopter parents really did you no favors in sheltering you from harsh reality. But you will learn.

That’s real mature resorting to name calling lol.

 

[DagS132]

Im sitting watching the pre-pharmers deny reality and watching the "pharmacists" act like grade school children on a internet forum

 

[Marzapan]

Im sitting watching the pre-pharmers deny reality and watching the "pharmacists" act like grade school children on a internet forum

Pharmacists are the ones who sit at the kid's table in the healthcare team so food fights and temper tantrums are to be expected...

 

[Xenophylia]

Wow. Being called immature by someone who posts with the wisdom of a three year old is surely the definition of irony. Now I can honestly say I've seen everything at this circus.... oh...and "lol" to you as well....

 

[angelnico1e]

Wow. Being called immature by someone who posts with the wisdom of a three year old is surely the definition of irony. Now I can honestly say I've seen everything at this circus.... oh...and "lol" to you as well....

I was just saying. Resorting to name calling is what you do when you have nothing left to contribute to the argument. Have I called anybody a name? No. Because that’s not how you have a debate/argument.

 

[Xenophylia]

It's just a bit frustrating (to me) to see the sound advice of those who have been in the trenches of the sh#tshow that pharmacy has become just simply be ignored or argued against. What they've said is reality. There is no counter argument to reality. Pharmacy had a good run for a while. But now it's gone and it isn't coming back. There are so many ways you could better spend your time than buying into the nonsense that the school recruiters are spewing. I hate to see the academic machine be fed with more warm bodies. But ultimately it is your life and your choice.

 

[angelnico1e]

It's just a bit frustrating (to me) to see the sound advice of those who have been in the trenches of the sh#tshow that pharmacy has become just simply be ignored or argued against. What they've said is reality. There is no counter argument to reality. Pharmacy had a good run for a while. But now it's gone and it isn't coming back. There are so many ways you could better spend your time than buying into the nonsense that the school recruiters are spewing. I hate to see the academic machine be fed with more warm bodies. But ultimately it is your life and your choice.

Do you have any better option? Because I don’t want to have to wait any longer to start doing a program. I want to go ahead and get through with a degree so I can work and move into a house and marry my boyfriend and have a family and everything. Ik I sound silly but really I don’t know anything else to go into. I don’t really want to deal with the things doctors and nurses do.

 

[deleted820760]

I don’t get worked up when people choose to make bad decisions or ignore good advice. It just illustrates their lack of intelligence. They get what’s coming to them. They’re going to have to live with their decisions.

Go to pharmacy school if that’s what you want to do. Just don’t complain when reality hits you in 4 years. Good luck

It kind of reminds me of the people who stay in unhealthy relationships. All their friends and family plead with them to leave, but they get mad at them instead of their abusive partners. There’s not much anyone else can do in that situation. The person has to hit rock bottom, and get so tired of getting mistreated that they eventually decide to leave. Or not.

 

[Marzapan]

In other words:

 

[HopelessStudentD]

Ik I sound silly but really I don’t know anything else to go into. I don’t really want to deal with the things doctors and nurses do.

You don't like working with patients? Or the clinical aspect? I mean if you wanted to be a pharmacist just to fill and dispense medications. If you have Kaiser in your state, you could probably work a few years as a pharm tech in a retail and apply to a position in Kaiser. Here in SoCal, pharm assistant (people who just work the register, not even filling the meds) start around at 25/hr and pharm techs can make around 30-35/hr+

 

[angelnico1e]

You don't like working with patients? Or the clinical aspect? I mean if you wanted to be a pharmacist just to fill and dispense medications. If you have Kaiser in your state, you could probably work a few years as a pharm tech in a retail and apply to a position in Kaiser. Here in SoCal, pharm assistant (people who just work the register, not even filling the meds) start around at 25/hr and pharm techs can make around 30-35/hr+

It’s not that I don’t like working with patients. I don’t want to deal with body fluids or anything like that. I wish that pharmacy techs made that where I live. Pharmacy techs make about 10-11 dollars an hour around here.

 

[HopelessStudentD]

It’s not that I don’t like working with patients. I don’t want to deal with body fluids or anything like that.

Understandable. If you already have a bachelors and want to work in healthcare. I would definitely look into PA and NP programs. Both have specialties where they don't have to deal with bodily fluids. Both require only a masters and less debt. Pay is relatively the same as pharmacist and sometimes even better. However, they are still prone to saturation ( with high amount of programs in the US), but their job prospect is still definitely better than pharmacy. I would definitely do research the job market in the area you want to live/work. Just my two cents, whatever you decide, best of luck.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Do you have any better option? Because I don’t want to have to wait any longer to start doing a program. I want to go ahead and get through with a degree so I can work and move into a house and marry my boyfriend and have a family and everything. Ik I sound silly but really I don’t know anything else to go into. I don’t really want to deal with the things doctors and nurses do.

In other words, you're trying to take the easy way out.

Remember Pleasure Island in Pinocchio? Think of your current self as one of the bad boys, the Coachman as the pharmacy school dean, your future self as a donkey, and your buyer as CVS or Walgreens for whom you will slave for the rest of your life for little food, or will leave you to starve if they decide they have enough donkeys (which they do).

 

[Xenophylia]

Do you have any better option? Because I don’t want to have to wait any longer to start doing a program. I want to go ahead and get through with a degree so I can work and move into a house and marry my boyfriend and have a family and everything. Ik I sound silly but really I don’t know anything else to go into. I don’t really want to deal with the things doctors and nurses do.

Well...I was the same way. I always liked biology. Graduated with a BA in bio but the economy was bad at the time and there were simply no jobs you could do with an undergrad in bio. So I looked for something that I could use my previous education and add onto that. As such, I was able to skip the first 4 years of Pharm school and go directly to the professional stuff. I never started off with the "intention" of doing pharmacy. But at the time, you could write your own ticket as a pharmacy grad. I had recruiters calling me WAY before I ever graduated. Thinking back, pharmacy school would have been a TERRIBLE investment had there not been that kind of demand. I tell people today I really wouldn't know what to tell a person in your situation. For the guys, I would probably say go do programming, or avoid college all together and do HVAC, plumbing, electrical. Those guys make as much or more than pharmacists without the debt and needless time expenditure. For the gals, the same options exist. If you really want to do medical, becoming a VERY specialized PA or NP is still a good option. I know of a NP Anesthetist locally who is pulling in 400k plus a year, and put in less years than a pharmacy degree to obtain that. I get not wanting to be a physician or nurse though. I got sick of telling people "why didn't you just become a doctor", and I still do. That's simply not for everyone, even if you have the grades or aptitude.

The bottom line is...pharmacy is a dumpster fire. You will be treated terribly by whomever employs you. That is just the status quo. Your salary will be sub par vs your education. Your doctorate will mean nothing. There is no job stability. The clinical panacea that people speak of isn't happening. We will NEVER be providers. It is entirely possible that pharmacy WILL cease to exist as a profession. All of our employers would LOVE to be rid of us if the laws don't require us to be there. The whole thing with technicians taking over could really happen. The public doesn't know what we do and as such is not behind us. As far as they know, we are nothing more than the reasons they have to wait to pick up an RX. As a whole we have NO advocates for our continued existence. Our professional organizations are more likely to work against us that for us- constantly siding with whomever is paying them- usually the big retail chains. Is that a clear enough picture? Every pharmacist I work with wishes they had done something else, and I feel truly sorry for the younger ones. If I still had 30-40 years left in my career I'm not sure I could sleep nights. I'm truly grateful that is not the case. I can't blame myself for doing pharmacy- it was a good career when I entered it. Future grads will never know those kind of times.

If money/ a continued job/ professional respect isn't important, then by all means do pharmacy. Most people need an income from their career. You will not be guaranteed that by the time you graduate. I don't know your situation so I don't know if any of that matters to you. Maybe you've got rich parents or a rich boyfriend and money isn't an issue. Then you have a freedom few will enjoy. So do what you want. But if that isn't the case, don't build a future with any reliance on pharmacy to do anything good for you.

 

[Xenophylia]

It’s not that I don’t like working with patients. I don’t want to deal with body fluids or anything like that. I wish that pharmacy techs made that where I live. Pharmacy techs make about 10-11 dollars an hour around here.

Check with rates in hospitals. They pay MUCH better than the 10-11 dollars in retail. Hospitals here were paying $25+ years ago here when retail was paying 10 bucks an hour. Also many hospitals will pay for your certification. Pharmacy tech- unlike pharmacist- is still a viable option. And if techs take over- like some predict- you will be in on the ground floor of that....

 

[angelnico1e]

Well...I was the same way. I always liked biology. Graduated with a BA in bio but the economy was bad at the time and there were simply no jobs you could do with an undergrad in bio. So I looked for something that I could use my previous education and add onto that. As such, I was able to skip the first 4 years of Pharm school and go directly to the professional stuff. I never started off with the "intention" of doing pharmacy. But at the time, you could write your own ticket as a pharmacy grad. I had recruiters calling me WAY before I ever graduated. Thinking back, pharmacy school would have been a TERRIBLE investment had there not been that kind of demand. I tell people today I really wouldn't know what to tell a person in your situation. For the guys, I would probably say go do programming, or avoid college all together and do HVAC, plumbing, electrical. Those guys make as much or more than pharmacists without the debt and needless time expenditure. For the gals, the same options exist. If you really want to do medical, becoming a VERY specialized PA or NP is still a good option. I know of a NP Anesthetist locally who is pulling in 400k plus a year, and put in less years than a pharmacy degree to obtain that. I get not wanting to be a physician or nurse though. I got sick of telling people "why didn't you just become a doctor", and I still do. That's simply not for everyone, even if you have the grades or aptitude.

The bottom line is...pharmacy is a dumpster fire. You will be treated terribly by whomever employs you. That is just the status quo. Your salary will be sub par vs your education. Your doctorate will mean nothing. There is no job stability. The clinical panacea that people speak of isn't happening. We will NEVER be providers. It is entirely possible that pharmacy WILL cease to exist as a profession. All of our employers would LOVE to be rid of us if the laws don't require us to be there. The whole thing with technicians taking over could really happen. The public doesn't know what we do and as such is not behind us. As far as they know, we are nothing more than the reasons they have to wait to pick up an RX. As a whole we have NO advocates for our continued existence. Our professional organizations are more likely to work against us that for us- constantly siding with whomever is paying them- usually the big retail chains. Is that a clear enough picture? Every pharmacist I work with wishes they had done something else, and I feel truly sorry for the younger ones. If I still had 30-40 years left in my career I'm not sure I could sleep nights. I'm truly grateful that is not the case. I can't blame myself for doing pharmacy- it was a good career when I entered it. Future grads will never know those kind of times.

If money/ a continued job/ professional respect isn't important, then by all means do pharmacy. Most people need an income from their career. You will not be guaranteed that by the time you graduate. I don't know your situation so I don't know if any of that matters to you. Maybe you've got rich parents or a rich boyfriend and money isn't an issue. Then you have a freedom few will enjoy. So do what you want. But if that isn't the case, don't build a future with any reliance on pharmacy to do anything good for you.

Man I wish I had rich parents or a rich boyfriend lol. My boyfriend stuck at a $10 an hour job. Trying to tell him to get a better paying job is like y’all trying to tell me not to do pharmacy lol. I’ve actually been thinking of doing a medical sonography degree and becoming an ultrasound tech. That’s what I was going to do if I didn’t get into pharmacy school.

 

[rxkrafted]

Man I wish I had rich parents or a rich boyfriend lol. My boyfriend stuck at a $10 an hour job. Trying to tell him to get a better paying job is like y’all trying to tell me not to do pharmacy lol. I’ve actually been thinking of doing a medical sonography degree and becoming an ultrasound tech. That’s what I was going to do if I didn’t get into pharmacy school.

Medical sonography is a much better route than pharmacy. It takes about 2 years of schooling, averages starting salary > $70K , total tuition cost varies but in-state cost for one in FL is ~$9K, and the BLS predicts job outlook will increase by 12% (Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians, Including Vascular Technologists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) over the next 10 years.
I'm not a mathematician but I think 12% growth rate vs -3% rate is better and you wouldn't spend years paying down your student loan debt.

 

[deleted820760]

Medical sonography is a much better route than pharmacy. It takes about 2 years of schooling, averages starting salary > $70K , total tuition cost varies but in-state cost for one in FL is ~$9K, and the BLS predicts job outlook will increase by 12% (Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians, Including Vascular Technologists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) over the next 10 years.
I'm not a mathematician but I think 12% growth rate vs -3% rate is better and you wouldn't spend years paying down your student loan debt.

On Reddit, people are saying they can’t find jobs right out of school. Some have been unemployed for years. They said employers want years of experience, but it’s hard to get experience if no one will hire them. They also said working conditions are not good. Not sure how true all of this is.

 

[rxkrafted]

On Reddit, people are saying they can’t find jobs right out of school. Some have been unemployed for years. They said employers want years of experience, but it’s hard to get experience if no one will hire them. They also said working conditions are not good. Not sure how true all of this is.

Do you have a link?

 

[deleted820760]

Do you have a link?

I don’t save links for websites I visit. I just googled it about a month ago because I was looking into it for myself. I was discouraged by the things I read. It’s hard to know what’s accurate online.

You can google it and see what you find. BLS is a good starting point, but like I said, it can be inaccurate like it was with pharmacy. It also doesn’t take into consideration how hard it is for new grads to find jobs, the working conditions, where the jobs are located, full time or part time...