Switching into another field from pharmacy... advice?

[idkwhatimdoingwithmylife]

Hi guys,

I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now and i was just wondering if any of you guys can give me some advice ;( i've been a pre-pharmacy student my whole undergrad.. im a junior now and i know that pharmacy is basically a "dead" profession now. also i'm not even sure why i was doing pre-pharmacy because it doesn't interest me at all and i realize that now. i was wondering what fields do you think have the most job stability as of now in the health care field. i know that i want to be in the health care field but i'm not really sure what job and i really dont want to spend a lot of money on school to not be guaranteed a job at the end because im not doing well financiall... i've been leaning over to dentistry because i like doing hand work and also for some reason ive just become so interested in it recently. also i have a lot of pharmacy related experience like pharmacy technician, so do u think dental schools will not like that im indecisive?

are anyone other pre-pharmacy students switching over into another field and can give me some advice?

thank you! hope you're all doing well

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[TigerLily223]

I switched over my Junior year to medicine. I'm about to be a senior and about to take my MCAT soooo we'll see how it goes. Im also about to turn in my application either tonight or tomorrow morning. I feel so relieved and happy. I am also a pharmacy tech lol for some reason I thought this was me

 

[idkwhatimdoingwithmylife]

okay yay im glad that i'm not the only one who switched last minute lol! can i ask why you are interested in doing medicine and what specialty you're thinking of doing? i've just been thinking about medical or dental school and would really appreciate any advice!

 

[TigerLily223]

okay yay im glad that i'm not the only one who switched last minute lol! can i ask why you are interested in doing medicine and what specialty you're thinking of doing? i've just been thinking about medical or dental school and would really appreciate any advice!

I was always interested in medicine I just thought I wasn't good enough for it being how scary everyone made it sound when I was a senior in high school so I decided to do pharmacy. I really want to be a pediatrician but of course whatever happens happens. I've heard dentistry is really good too! I suck at calculus and you need to be able to be good at that for the exam.

 

[deleted562805]

okay yay im glad that i'm not the only one who switched last minute lol! can i ask why you are interested in doing medicine and what specialty you're thinking of doing? i've just been thinking about medical or dental school and would really appreciate any advice!

I would recommend medicine. Medical school is cheaper than Dental school. Dental school is easily 300k in debt or more. Medical school is 200 k in debt. Dental school is by far they most expensive of health care programs. Each tuition year is equivalent to a pharmacist salary.

General dentistry is saturated in big cities and suburban areas. It is slowly becoming like pharmacy where independents are closing down and corporate like Smiles Direct, who is now owned by CVS is taking over general dentistry practice. If you want to independently practice, you might have to go rural. If you are going Dentistry, Oral Surgeon or becoming a specialist is probably going to help you get a job in the city or suburban area.

For Medicine, it is cheaper than dental school. And you have more specialities to choose from. You can work for a hospital or private practice group. Do research on the speciality you want to go in. Research if the speciality is being impacted by COVID-19 in terms how many hours new practicing doctors are getting and what there is salary is like during this COVID-19 pandemic. You can do your research on the physician forum and I can tell you hours are getting cut for docs that work in the ER due to some hospitals hiring midlevels. But don’t take my word completely as each hospital is different. Do your research, ask physicians in the SDN forum. Shadowing highly required. Clinical experience required. Other than that, it is better than pharmacy with Medicine, you will not be unemployed and you will have a job.

Overall, both these professions are better than pharmacy. In both dental and medicine, you will find a job. I would never pick pharmacy ever. Job market is saturated in both retail and hospital. New grads are unemployed with 200k in debt. Massive layoffs from retail chains.
Hospital pharmacy: credential competition. Too many residents unemployed after slaving away just as much as medical residents, but only getting part time jobs or becoming unemployed after all that hard work. Do not do pharmacy at all. Run away from pharmacy recruiters and school ambassadors. They are not telling you the truth. Also pharmacists, mainly clinical pharmacists do not provide value, cannot prescribe and cannot bill for their service like a dentist or physician can.

 

[deleted562805]

I was always interested in medicine I just thought I wasn't good enough for it being how scary everyone made it sound when I was a senior in high school so I decided to do pharmacy. I really want to be a pediatrician but of course whatever happens happens. I've heard dentistry is really good too! I suck at calculus and you need to be able to be good at that for the exam.

High school does not count. They don’t know the job of a physician. Definitely shadow doctors and get some clinical experience either by becoming a medical scribe or EMT.

 

[TigerLily223]

High school does not count. They don’t know the job of a physician. Definitely shadow doctors and get some clinical experience either by becoming a medical scribe or EMT.

I already did lmao I shadowed and have a lot of volunteer hours

 

[deleted735879]

I switched over from prepharm at the end of my sophomore year to predent. As a 3rd year dental student I have no regrets.

There are also great things out there outside of grad school.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

again grass is greener on the other side.. do what you have passion to do... Pharmacy is a good field, clean field and you can make money. I am not saying it does not have its issues, every field does.
If you are going to medicine because you wanna make money- its a wrong field to get into, med school debt is around 350,000-500,000 and many years of your life of slogging as a med student and a resident, multiple board exams.. Going into this field is like you wanna be a surgeon for the money and you dont like to deal with blood.

 

[deleted562805]

again grass is greener on the other side.. do what you have passion to do... Pharmacy is a good field, clean field and you can make money. I am not saying it does not have its issues, every field does.
If you are going to medicine because you wanna make money- its a wrong field to get into, med school debt is around 350,000-500,000 and many years of your life of slogging as a med student and a resident, multiple board exams.. Going into this field is like you wanna be a surgeon for the money and you dont like to deal with blood.

False the average medical school debt is 200,000 K+ after four years. Do not listen to this troll. Pharmacy is saturated and there are no jobs. You will unemployed with 200,000 in debt from pharmacy school. If you find a job at the lowest of the low Walgreens or CVS, you will be making 60,000 dollars paying off loans in 20+years and not to mention hours are getting cut every year in retail. Also, in pharmacy school plus two years of pharmacy residency, you will also be slogging during school and residency and make only 60,000 dollars if you are lucky to get a job. There is now a saturation of residency programs and now there are many pharmacy residents unemployed . And if you want to work hospital and not work retail, you have to have a residency of two years. You will be slogging as much as a medical student, but with a poor ROI and a useless doctorate degree.

Where as in medicine, you will break even regardless of speciality and pay off your debt in 2 to 3 years if you are a surgeon or 5 years if you are other specialities. And you will be employed despite the slogging during residency and school.

 

[deleted562805]

Please listen to this podcast from Tony PharmD, a resident trained pharmacist who now works for a community college telling new pharmacy residents to go work for a bank before applying for a clinical pharmacist job. How many medical residents after finishing medical residency work for bank before practicing medicine? None.

 

[deleted562805]

Pharmacy school is too easy to get in. Low standards and many schools do not require PCAT anymore. Pursue something that is more competitive than pharmacy. Listen to Paul Tran regarding acceptance into pharmacy school.

 

[deleted562805]

Please listen to Dr. Shaw, previous Walgreens pharmacist on how Walgreens the number two employer of pharmacist is saying Walgreens is laying off pharmacists on a massive scale and reducing salary to $41/hr. Is this what you want to sign up for after slogging through pharmacy school with 200,000 dollars in debt. Look at how poor of a ROI pharmacy is. And for those of you who want to do clinical, remember 80% of the jobs are still retail and 20% of the jobs are in non retail pharmacy.Walgreens is one of the main employer of pharmacists, along with CVS.




Also check out this article on BLS. Gov. Job growth for pharmacy in the next ten years is 0%. Medicine is 7% in ten years, better than pharmacy but just make sure you pursue the right speciality.

Home : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is the government's premier source of career guidance featuring hundreds of occupations—such as carpenters, teachers, and veterinarians. Revised annually, the latest version contains employment projections for the 2021-31 decade.

www.bls.gov

 

[casprph]

Pharmacy school is too easy to get in. Low standards and many schools do not require PCAT anymore. Pursue something that is more competitive than pharmacy. Listen to Paul Tran regarding acceptance into pharmacy school.

Paul Tran for president haha!

 

[mentos]

again grass is greener on the other side.. do what you have passion to do... Pharmacy is a good field, clean field and you can make money.

Stop lying, that was true fifteen years ago but that ship has sailed. This is exactly how pharmacy schools lie to prospective students in order to get their money.

OP congratulations on switching out of pharmacy. Trust me, you do not want to waste 4 years and $200,000 for nothing.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

False the average medical school debt is 200,000 K+ after four years. Do not listen to this troll. Pharmacy is saturated and there are no jobs. You will unemployed with 200,000 in debt from pharmacy school. If you find a job at the lowest of the low Walgreens or CVS, you will be making 60,000 dollars paying off loans in 20+years and not to mention hours are getting cut every year in retail. Also, in pharmacy school plus two years of pharmacy residency, you will also be slogging during school and residency and make only 60,000 dollars if you are lucky to get a job. There is now a saturation of residency programs and now there are many pharmacy residents unemployed . And if you want to work hospital and not work retail, you have to have a residency of two years. You will be slogging as much as a medical student, but with a poor ROI and a useless doctorate degree.

Where as in medicine, you will break even regardless of speciality and pay off your debt in 2 to 3 years if you are a surgeon or 5 years if you are other specialities. And you will be employed despite the slogging during residency and school.

Possibly some have 200 K in loans... lets do math here, think about it 50-60 k a year for tuition and add living expenses for 4 years.... thats 200k-240k$ just in tuition.... students do not eat grass while they are in med school- students do not just live under a bridge?? there are other expenses that far exceed just tuition.

Maybe if you are semi rich kid or your spouse is working and supporting you, all you need is 200k for the tuition, but med school expense is not just tuition.. Pharmacist make 100k-120k a year for 32 hours of work... Do more work you get paid more... Its clean- no blood, no body fluids...

 

[TateThePharmacist]

again grass is greener on the other side.. do what you have passion to do... Pharmacy is a good field, clean field and you can make money. I am not saying it does not have its issues, every field does.
If you are going to medicine because you wanna make money- its a wrong field to get into, med school debt is around 350,000-500,000 and many years of your life of slogging as a med student and a resident, multiple board exams.. Going into this field is like you wanna be a surgeon for the money and you dont like to deal with blood.

I agree with the majority of what you said. I have no idea why everyone is tearing into you about med students graduating with more than 200k in loans. I'm fairly certain that the cheapest med schools in the US are in that range (and the cheapest pharmacy schools in the US are like 50-70k for the entire program). Which means there's plenty of schools that are way more expensive than that. Plus most medical residents defer on their loans for 3-8 years during residency (because you know, they make garbage pay during that time) which all that interest accrued during deferment is added back to the principle. So I could see when a doctor starts working as an attending them easily owing 350-500k.

But really the take away is that the grass is always greener. Hop on over to the dental side of this forum and you'll see plenty of complaints about their profession. The one that sticks out the most to me was a dentist I talked to who had to retire early due to severe arthritis from pulling wisdom teeth their entire career. On that same note I have no idea how some of these old timers are still pharmacists standing on their feet at 70+ years old for 8-12 hours per day. OP needs to pursue something that they're passionate about that they can see themselves doing for the next 30-40 years of their live. (that means researching beyond if you think you'll be happy in that career, but that that'll even still be a good career in that time frame)

 

[deleted562805]

Possibly some have 200 K in loans... lets do math here, think about it 50-60 k a year for tuition and add living expenses for 4 years.... thats 200k-240k$ just in tuition.... students do not eat grass while they are in med school- students do not just live under a bridge?? there are other expenses that far exceed just tuition.

Maybe if you are semi rich kid or your spouse is working and supporting you, all you need is 200k for the tuition, but med school expense is not just tuition.. Pharmacist make 100k-120k a year for 32 hours of work... Do more work you get paid more... Its clean- no blood, no body fluids...

Pharmacists are not making 100k to 120k with 32 hrs of work. Flat out lie. That salary is pharmacy manager pay. Not floater pay which is the starting job of new grads. Floater pay is 70,000k for 32 hrs. And pharmacy residents after residency do-not make 100,000 to 120,000k, more like 80,000k to 90,000k. Pre Pharms have already made up their mind on choosing medicine over pharmacy. Whatever you say will be deaf ears to them. They made the right choice to switch now rather than later.

Fine, 200,000k+ in loans depending on speciality , but you break even. Pharmacy: 200,000k plus loans and unemployed.

It is ironic and funny how when pre Pharms choose pharmacy it is due to the passion, but when pre Pharms switch to medicine, it is about the fat pay check. I think they pursuing medicine because they like medicine and realize the job market for pharmacy sucks.

 

[idkwhatimdoingwithmylife]

Please listen to this podcast from Tony PharmD, a resident trained pharmacist who now works for a community college telling new pharmacy residents to go work for a bank before applying for a clinical pharmacist job. How many medical residents after finishing medical residency work for bank before practicing medicine? None.

Thanks for sharing this video! i was initially going to pursue a residency if i was going to pharmacy school, and i always thought that when people said pharmacy is saturated they meant retail pharmacy but i see now that even clinical pharmacy is becoming saturated. Thank you for giving us this insight and helping pre-pharmacy students out there who are conflicted about whether they want to go into pharmacy!

 

[mentos]

Pharmacist make 100k-120k a year for 32 hours of work... Do more work you get paid more... Its clean- no blood, no body fluids...

Reported for spreading lies. Pharmacists do not make close to that anymore.

 

[deleted562805]

Thanks for sharing this video! i was initially going to pursue a residency if i was going to pharmacy school, and i always thought that when people said pharmacy is saturated they meant retail pharmacy but i see now that even clinical pharmacy is becoming saturated. Thank you for giving us this insight and helping pre-pharmacy students out there who are conflicted about whether they want to go into pharmacy!

You are very welcome! Glad to help.

 

[esob]

Actually, according to BLS they do. The median wage is about $62 per hr times 32 hrs times 50 weeks per year (b/c to be fair if you are working 32 hrs per week, 2 weeks vacay should be sufficient, lol) = ~ 99k. I imagine if you have some benefits or bonuses or overtime during a busy week it wouldn't be hard to hit $100K.

Source: Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

[DH1987]

Actually, according to BLS they do. The median wage is about $62 per hr times 32 hrs times 50 weeks per year (b/c to be fair if you are working 32 hrs per week, 2 weeks vacay should be sufficient, lol) = ~ 99k. I imagine if you have some benefits or bonuses or overtime during a busy week it wouldn't be hard to hit $100K.

Source: Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep in mind these are national statistics, cost of living and wages vary according to location. Also consider that the average and median includes people who have been working for years and have acquired their wages over time from raises.

I myself have been working since 2016 and have never received a raise at my company, and neither have my coworkers. And at this rate, I don't think we can expect a raise anytime soon.

 

[El-Rami]

If you go to medical school, everyone will basically automatically respect you, and you will more or less be on a track to earn a good income and have a job with excellent job security. Physicians aren't really affected that much by recessions because they ARE essential employees and there will always be a shortage of them because they refuse to open more schools (MD anyway). There has been an increase in the number of DO schools in recent years, but it is nowhere near enough to cause any problems in the job market, yet it is highly controversial.

People might state that physician jobs can be stressful, which is true, but there are many specialties out there that are very laid back. Internal medicine physicians basically just sit at a computer, read the chart, then spend a few minutes rounding on a patient before going back to sit in front of a computer for the next 15-20 minutes. Schedules are pretty flexible, and hospitals give you free food. If you do something like internal medicine you can go literally anywhere you want for a job and easily get hired. Radiologists literally spend a lot of time online doing absolutely nothing and get paid bank to do that.

Even if you go $500k into student loans for med school, it is still worth it IMO because you can do PSLF or just chunk $100k every year at your loans to pay them down quickly.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

If you go to medical school, everyone will basically automatically respect you, and you will more or less be on a track to earn a good income and have a job with excellent job security. Physicians aren't really affected that much by recessions because they ARE essential employees and there will always be a shortage of them because they refuse to open more schools (MD anyway). There has been an increase in the number of DO schools in recent years, but it is nowhere near enough to cause any problems in the job market, yet it is highly controversial.

People might state that physician jobs can be stressful, which is true, but there are many specialties out there that are very laid back. Internal medicine physicians basically just sit at a computer, read the chart, then spend a few minutes rounding on a patient before going back to sit in front of a computer for the next 15-20 minutes. Schedules are pretty flexible, and hospitals give you free food. If you do something like internal medicine you can go literally anywhere you want for a job and easily get hired. Radiologists literally spend a lot of time online doing absolutely nothing and get paid bank to do that.

Even if you go $500k into student loans for med school, it is still worth it IMO because you can do PSLF or just chunk $100k every year at your loans to pay them down quickly.

This is exactly what i mean by grass being green on the other side... just a wonderful job where you dont have to do anything and they will pay you so much money and respect. Radiologist do nothing????? and get paid bank??? As a physician you just have to swing by a patient and sit at a computer for 20 minutes and the patient becomes all better....?? Hope you are being sarcastic..

 

[mentos]

Actually, according to BLS they do. The median wage is about $62 per hr times 32 hrs times 50 weeks per year (b/c to be fair if you are working 32 hrs per week, 2 weeks vacay should be sufficient, lol) = ~ 99k. I imagine if you have some benefits or bonuses or overtime during a busy week it wouldn't be hard to hit $100K.

Source: Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Really?

CURRENT pharmacists who got hired before 2020 may make that much now but that is irrelevant to the OP. OP is a pre-pharm who asked for advice about switching careers. Sleepingdoc advised him that you can make 100-120k working 32 hours per week as a pharmacist. That is not true for 99.9% of pharmacists hired in 2020 and certainly not true for anyone graduating in 2024 or beyond. That is spreading lies.

Many new grads are reporting $43, $45, $50/hr wages. $62/hr is an outlier now. I can't believe I have to explain this. No wonder pre-pharms think they will make 6 figures in 4 years.

 

[El-Rami]

This is exactly what i mean by grass being green on the other side... just a wonderful job where you dont have to do anything and they will pay you so much money and respect. Radiologist do nothing????? and get paid bank??? As a physician you just have to swing by a patient and sit at a computer for 20 minutes and the patient becomes all better....?? Hope you are being sarcastic..

I actually studied medicine and spent years shadowing IM docs to see a realistic picture of their day-to-day lives. It's all true.

The only thing I may be talking out of my ass about would be the daily lives of radiologists. However, there have been many radiologists on SDN who just post on the forums all day while they are at work. Radiology is indeed a very laidback career that pays a lot of money. Hence why it's so popular (read: competitive) to get into. All ROAD (radiology, opthalmology, anesthesia, dermatology) specialties are.

Sometimes the grass really IS greener on the other side. Everything that pharmacists complain about with their jobs is opposite to what a job as a physician is like. You have good pay, respect, excellent job security, and it's easy to find a job in any city that you want to work in (unless you are extremely specialized). Pharmacists have none of the above.

 

[mentos]

I actually studied medicine and spent years shadowing IM docs to see a realistic picture of their day-to-day lives. It's all true.

The only thing I may be talking out of my ass about would be the daily lives of radiologists. However, there have been many radiologists on SDN who just post on the forums all day while they are at work. Radiology is indeed a very laidback career that pays a lot of money. Hence why it's so popular (read: competitive) to get into. All ROAD (radiology, opthalmology, anesthesia, dermatology) specialties are.

Sometimes the grass really IS greener on the other side.

I'm convinced this guy Sleepingdoc is a troll, telling pre-pharms they will make 100-120k working 32 hours per week as a pharmacist in 2024. GTFO. Some naive pre-pharm will hear that and be financially ruined for their whole life.

 

[El-Rami]

This is more addressed at the OP than anyone else:

Even if you aren't competitive for MD programs, I highly suggest pursuing a career in medicine. DO and DDS programs are options. Average GPAs can range 3.2-3.5 from what I've seen. If you aren't competitive for those two programs, podiatry (DPM) is an option as well. All of these offer decent/good pay and relative job security, especially the DO.

If you are a racial/ethnic minority, Meharry has an MD program specifically for minorities (it's part of their mission statement to make medicine accessible to URM, for the purpose of training physicians in order to care for under-served populations). Because minorities tend to be from lower SES, average MCAT and GPA is lower.

PA is another good option, but the pay isn't as good as the above, so it would be harder to pay your loans with a PA salary. You will need to work as a CNA (or EMT, phlebotomist, and some others) for about a year to qualify because they have something like 1000-2000 hours of paid healthcare experience as an admissions requirement. This kind of makes it less attractive than people make it out to be because you will have to put extra time to get that even if you have other pre-requisites fulfilled. In the end, there might not be much difference in terms of time commitment between doing PA school or medical school, especially with "PA residencies" being a thing. The ceiling for physician salaries (by this I also include DDS and DPM) is much higher than PA salaries. Podiatry would offer a smaller average income than MD, DO, and DDS, but even the floor for DPMs is higher than primary care PA salaries.

None of your pharmacy stuff would count for it either.

 

[PharmtoCS]

I would recommend software engineering / computer programming. There is a shortage of computer programmers right now. You can earn six figures straight out of undergrad with a computer science degree, or even a 4-month, $10k coding bootcamp. You get plenty of chances for raises. Pre-pandemic, companies would shower you with lavish perks. i.e. catered gourmet meals, on-site gym and laundry, daycares, employee shutles, etc. Now you have the privilege to work from home.

Compare that to the average pharmacist who doesn't even get a bathroom break and has to stand on their feet all day. You get yelled and verbally abused by patients all day who may expose you to COVID.

 

[esob]

Really?

CURRENT pharmacists who got hired before 2020 may make that much now but that is irrelevant to the OP. OP is a pre-pharm who asked for advice about switching careers. Sleepingdoc advised him that you can make 100-120k working 32 hours per week as a pharmacist. That is not true for 99.9% of pharmacists hired in 2020 and certainly not true for anyone graduating in 2024 or beyond. That is spreading lies.

Many new grads are reporting $43, $45, $50/hr wages. $62/hr is an outlier now. I can't believe I have to explain this. No wonder pre-pharms think they will make 6 figures in 4 years.

Do you have some data to back up your assertations? I'm all for keeping the community safe but unless you can provide something to back up your assertations that one of our members is intentionally trying to harm another member by deceiving them with regards to salary, then the point is a non-starter. Honestly, we don't typically moderate this type of content anyway (simply b/c there are outliers for salaries everywhere) but if someone is throwing around outrageous numbers with the intent to do harm I might consider it trolling.

 

[mentos]

Do you have some data to back up your assertations? I'm all for keeping the community safe but unless you can provide something to back up your assertations that one of our members is intentionally trying to harm another member by deceiving them with regards to salary, then the point is a non-starter. Honestly, we don't typically moderate this type of content anyway (simply b/c there are outliers for salaries everywhere) but if someone is throwing around outrageous numbers with the intent to do harm I might consider it trolling.

I have to prove that new pharmacists are getting offered $45-50/hr vs $60-72/hr (that's what 100-120k @ 32 hours per week equates to) that Sleepingdoc claims? Alrighty let me dig up some evidence, give me like a day or two.

By the time OP graduates in 2024 or beyond, pharmacists will most likely be getting $40/hr or less.

 

[El-Rami]

Yeah... Go Google that yourself.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

LOL, where has this discussion gone... yes really google it... what is the average pharmacist salary in your state , i am not saying that people make millions...
I am just saying that people who are trying to purposefully just steer people away from pharmacy- which is a good field.
Each field has its own issues..., you wont realize it until you go into the field....Its not roses and daisies like one of the poster above claims that they are and making a lot of money while doing nothing as a physician, and just sitting infront of a computer..., btw you may do "nothing" while you are "shadowing", physicians.
Just remember that every field you go into has its own issues, Good luck with your career decisions.

 

[mentos]

LOL, where has this discussion gone... yes really google it... what is the average pharmacist salary in your state , i am not saying that people make millions...
I am just saying that people who are trying to purposefully just steer people away from pharmacy- which is a good field.
Each field has its own issues..., you wont realize it until you go into the field....Its not roses and daisies like one of the poster above claims that they are and making a lot of money while doing nothing as a physician, and just sitting infront of a computer..., btw you may do "nothing" while you are "shadowing", physicians.
Just remember that every field you go into has its own issues, Good luck with your career decisions.

OP is asking for career advice for when he graduates 4 years from now. You are telling him to Google the average pharmacist salary in his state TODAY. That average is irrelevant to what pharmacist salaries will be for new grads in 2024. The averages are currently high because pharmacists hired between 2002-2018 made $120-150k but that is no longer the case. In the past two years alone, starting salary has dropped from $60/hr to $50/hr and now it's around $45/hr.

How many 2020 grads do you know make $100-120k working 32 hours per week? My guess is none.

I seriously don't understand why you can't comprehend this.

 

[happy_6523]

I switched from pharmacy to dentistry when I was in junior year.

 

[Xenophylia]

I'm convinced this guy Sleepingdoc is a troll, telling pre-pharms they will make 100-120k working 32 hours per week as a pharmacist in 2024. GTFO. Some naive pre-pharm will hear that and be financially ruined for their whole life.

Or a pharmacy dean in disguise here to spread misinformation.....

 

[idkwhatimdoingwithmylife]

I switched from pharmacy to dentistry when I was in junior year.

awesome!! how are you liking it so far?

 

[happy_6523]

awesome!! how are you liking it so far?

I haven't started dental school yet. While I still love pharmacy, I also enjoy working with my hands and providing direct treatments to improve patients' oral health.

If pharmacy isn't the only interest that you have, and you are interested in other fields (eg. medicine, dentistry, computer science, or engineering), don't choose pharmacy.

I have received hundreds of pharmacy school advertisements through email and Linkedlin. Pharmacy schools are very desperate in recruiting students.

 

[Hels2007]

A girl a year behind me in pharmacy school switched from dentistry to pharmacy. Both her parents are dentists so she went to dental school only to discover she sucked at all the practical stuff so she switched to pharmacy (that was back when pharmacy was a great field). So if you are going dental, make sure you have the fine motor skills and attention to detail to make it!

I would probably go for a combination of some kind of biotechnology/chemistry/biochemistry/bioengineering and business if I were in school today. But pre-pharmacy courses fulfill basic requirements for just about any natural sciences related major, so you can go for whatever you want for advanced courses. It's not like 'pre-pharmacy' is an actual major anyway, you would have to declare something to get your Bachelor's...

 

[LFA20]

Damn reading this thread is depressing. I was a pre-pharmacy student before and worked at CVS as a tech and hated it. Switched over to dental and went through it on a navy scholarship.

Definitely made the right decision

 

[idkwhatimdoingwithmylife]

Damn reading this thread is depressing. I was a pre-pharmacy student before and worked at CVS as a tech and hated it. Switched over to dental and went through it on a navy scholarship.

Definitely made the right decision

i also worked at CVS and it was awful ;( i guess working there is what really made me switch otherwise i would have still been pre-pharm because i didnt know retail was that bad.

 

[LeagueofLigTies]

I would recommend medicine. Medical school is cheaper than Dental school. Dental school is easily 300k in debt or more. Medical school is 200 k in debt. Dental school is by far they most expensive of health care programs. Each tuition year is equivalent to a pharmacist salary.

General dentistry is saturated in big cities and suburban areas. It is slowly becoming like pharmacy where independents are closing down and corporate like Smiles Direct, who is now owned by CVS is taking over general dentistry practice. If you want to independently practice, you might have to go rural. If you are going Dentistry, Oral Surgeon or becoming a specialist is probably going to help you get a job in the city or suburban area.

For Medicine, it is cheaper than dental school. And you have more specialities to choose from. You can work for a hospital or private practice group. Do research on the speciality you want to go in. Research if the speciality is being impacted by COVID-19 in terms how many hours new practicing doctors are getting and what there is salary is like during this COVID-19 pandemic. You can do your research on the physician forum and I can tell you hours are getting cut for docs that work in the ER due to some hospitals hiring midlevels. But don’t take my word completely as each hospital is different. Do your research, ask physicians in the SDN forum. Shadowing highly required. Clinical experience required. Other than that, it is better than pharmacy with Medicine, you will not be unemployed and you will have a job.

Overall, both these professions are better than pharmacy. In both dental and medicine, you will find a job. I would never pick pharmacy ever. Job market is saturated in both retail and hospital. New grads are unemployed with 200k in debt. Massive layoffs from retail chains.
Hospital pharmacy: credential competition. Too many residents unemployed after slaving away just as much as medical residents, but only getting part time jobs or becoming unemployed after all that hard work. Do not do pharmacy at all. Run away from pharmacy recruiters and school ambassadors. They are not telling you the truth. Also pharmacists, mainly clinical pharmacists do not provide value, cannot prescribe and cannot bill for their service like a dentist or physician can.

Not true about the cost between dentistry and medicine. My state dental school is the same price, if not cheaper, than the closest medical school... thank god because dentistry is awesome. If your only option is a private dental school like NYU or Roseman, then yes, medical school is cheaper.

 

[LeagueofLigTies]

Hi guys,

I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now and i was just wondering if any of you guys can give me some advice ;( i've been a pre-pharmacy student my whole undergrad.. im a junior now and i know that pharmacy is basically a "dead" profession now. also i'm not even sure why i was doing pre-pharmacy because it doesn't interest me at all and i realize that now. i was wondering what fields do you think have the most job stability as of now in the health care field. i know that i want to be in the health care field but i'm not really sure what job and i really dont want to spend a lot of money on school to not be guaranteed a job at the end because im not doing well financiall... i've been leaning over to dentistry because i like doing hand work and also for some reason ive just become so interested in it recently. also i have a lot of pharmacy related experience like pharmacy technician, so do u think dental schools will not like that im indecisive?

are anyone other pre-pharmacy students switching over into another field and can give me some advice?

thank you! hope you're all doing well

switched from medicine to dentistry, I’ve never been happier pm me if you want more info about dentistry

 

[DrRedstone]

False the average medical school debt is 200,000 K+ after four years.

He's not entirely wrong. Let's say all of your loans were direct unsubsidized at 6.5% and you took all $200k out at the same time (for simplicity sake). If you did a standard 10 year repayment, you would owe around $270k. Most people don't pay it all off that quickly, so the total debt from medical school can get to be well over $300k.

In reality, it depends on what school you go to, whether it's public or private, whether you are in-state, and the interest rate of the loans. I know my med school loans are going to suck. I wish all I owed when all was said and done was $200k.

 

[FoodstampPharmacist]

i also worked at CVS and it was awful ;( i guess working there is what really made me switch otherwise i would have still been pre-pharm because i didnt know retail was that bad.

Well there are awful aspects of dentistry and medicine as well. If you get paid a lot you will have to deal with stress no matter what. In medicine Steps 1,2 and 3 can be very stressful for some test takers. But at least you will have a job waiting for you in medicine and dentistry. Dentistry is a ridiculous amount of debt though.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Software engineering is high paying, low debt, and low stress.