Yet, another DON'T GO TO PHARMACY SCHOOL post!

[PharmerIsMe]

Pharmacy student here year 2.


I have this HUGE test on Tuesday but I have to vent...


Please pre-pharmer...LISTEN, READ or HEAR! do not go to PHARMACY SCHOOL anytime soon. PERIOD...


I am stuck in this wagon, and I want to jump out of it, and probably will, but still I will try to keep it strong...why? because I already owe 64,000 in school loans.


Know many people from fraternities, supposedly they are hooked after they finish school, YEA RIGHT, many of them are unemployed, MANY of them are in the middle of nowhere trying to get a job in a crappy pharmacy. All I see is their facebook statues, always complaining, why did I do it?



I call them, and it is even worse. Super smart people, way better than I will ever be. Seeing them in that situation? Nice...


Have two pharmacists in my family, one of them was replaced by a newer graduate because the newer graduate said that he would do the job for 30% less the paycheck (walls have ears). 10 years of Experience went kaput! Money talks. YES A BIG CHAIN PHARMACY, those things are nasty monsters, like slavery camps...they just need you there because the law says so, otherwise, they see you as a cashier 2.0.


Yea, get involved in school, get an MBA while in pharmacy school. Guess what? Crazy workload, you fail classes, you get kicked out, school administration gives a damn...


School administration and faculty are awesome? Yea right, the majority of them are PharmDs, BUT most of them do not work in the pharmacy, they have Ph.D, or higher degrees. So they can teach, and run away from the pharmacy, AND the horrible job market. They preach to the 4 wings, how awesome is pharmacy school, they push students to get involved in the community and everything else, but they DO a minimum at stopping the outflux of graduates, and the influx of new schools. NICE!



Oh but everything will be better? YEA RIGHT...Went to this fair, ALL the big chain companies there, independents and all...Wrote my name in a list, so they could call me for an internship position later on, when I looked in all those LISTS, more than HALF, like 300 people who signed there were P H A R MA C I S T...all graduated PharmDs...I could not believe it. HIT ME HARD! Doctors of Pharmacy signing paper lists (like an attendance list in a class) just to see if they get an email or a call from those representatives.


Got like 10 numbers from those pharmacists, and I called them to know what happened. Guess what? NOTHING! few of them have children, and need the money ASAP.



Please...Don't go, don't not fall in the trap like I did. I am 30 years old, I have had life experiences, and I have been through worse. But that does not mean that people should have to deal with all of these because they just feel like everything will be better, when the truth of it. IT WILL NOT!


Sorry...back to study :'(

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PharmLife4Me]

Have two pharmacists in my family, one of them was replaced by a newer graduate because the newer graduate said that he would do the job for 30% less the paycheck (walls have ears). 10 years of Experience went kaput! Money talks. YES A BIG CHAIN PHARMACY, those things are nasty monsters, like slavery camps...they just need you there because the law says so, otherwise, they see you as a cashier 2.0.



.... I'll be a cashier for $100,000+ salary a year any time..

 

[68quebec]

:'( I'm sorry to hear that

 

[cubpanda]

Can I ask what school you go to? o.o

 

[NejixRockS]

Yes things are bad, but things are bad for everyone. . . What else can you become that still has a "HIGH" demand?

 

[Corpseman]

Yes things are bad, but things are bad for everyone. . . What else can you become that still has a "HIGH" demand?

And how long will that "high" demand last for those unicorn careers?

 

[88888888]

I'll just answer for you because PharmerIsMe isn't going to respond to this thread obviously, just like he didn't respond to his other thread with his PharmerRPH account.

PharmerIsMe goes to University of Charleston Class of 2017.

See PharmerRPH thread below.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...in-about-going-to-to-pharmacy-school.1039894/

Lastly, PharmerIsMe and PharmerRPH is likely the same person as PharmLife4Me (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/members/pharmlife4me.536749/).

If you can see the 2 post above. PharmerIsMe and PharmLife4Me. The sentence structures are pretty exact...Capitalizations, All Caps..etc... Lol..

PharmLife4Me bumped his PharmerRPH pharmacist job market saturated think again about going to pharmacy school thread with a "." (2nd post)...

If you're going to post, just post with your regular account...

 

[CHOPKINSCaFe]

So, I had to read this to see if there were grounds to these warnings - but it seems like this person is just down in the dumps Anyway my mother-in-law and one of my best friends are both pharmacists and don't really talk about work that much and never complain about it. On a side note if you come out of pharmacy school school $130,000 in debt expect to pay around $1,500 a month back in student loans for 10 years.

 

[honurasp]

A chain pharmacy is like a slavery camp?? Are you serious lol.

 

[UoCfin]

Whenever I read these kinds of threads...I get the immediate feeling of a guy cooking up a way to keep others out of something.

 

[358265]

A chain pharmacy is like a slavery camp?? Are you serious lol.

Work in one. You'll see. It's tough.

 

[poobidis]

But not as tough as a "slavery camp". How do I know? Several family members are pharmacists working in retail and clinical and I am a pharmacy technician working for a big retail chain. Granted the pharmacy staff is often overburdened with prescriptions, insurance problems, and yelled at by unreasonable individuals -other members of the healthcare team as well as customers-, but I'm sure every job has its up and downs... So don't tell me pharmacy is a "slavery camp". Any pessimistic person could make that comparison no matter what job they occupied.

No job is perfect. Employment is not readily available for most professions in this economy. The grass is not greener on the other side.

 

[grumps]

A chain pharmacy is like a slavery camp?? Are you serious lol.

You obviously haven't worked for a chain yet.

 

[type b pharmD]

I'll just answer for you because PharmerIsMe isn't going to respond to this thread obviously, just like he didn't respond to his other thread with his PharmerRPH account.

PharmerIsMe goes to University of Charleston Class of 2017.

See PharmerRPH thread below.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...in-about-going-to-to-pharmacy-school.1039894/

Lastly, PharmerIsMe and PharmerRPH is likely the same person as PharmLife4Me (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/members/pharmlife4me.536749/).

If you can see the 2 post above. PharmerIsMe and PharmLife4Me. The sentence structures are pretty exact...Capitalizations, All Caps..etc... Lol..

PharmLife4Me bumped his PharmerRPH pharmacist job market saturated think again about going to pharmacy school thread with a "." (2nd post)...

If you're going to post, just post with your regular account...

Rofl I love it. Massive props, dude

Personally these threads are starting to move from hilarious to annoying.

I read all this exact same advice 4 years ago and went in with eyes open and ended up fine. I am by no means alone and I'm by no means an outstanding student.

They say successful people are ones who never turned down an opportunity, and tried hard to create their own. Pharmacy is a great opportunity for success, but it can also be a big trap.. the same is true for most fields.

Prepharmers need to go in informed and have a good game plan. This wasn't true in the past .. at all.. now the stark difference of real competition is scaring thr pants off of the more conservative and fearful in the profession.

Pharmacy is a perilous path to tread right now. The opportunities for great reward exist right alongside the risks of intense failure. Some people thrive in that type of environment ( think lawyers, small business owners, finance experts, etc) .. it is just that these are not the type of people who traditionally become pharmacists.

If you want security, pharmacy is no longer the path for you. But also keep in mind, opportunity in the broadest sense rarely comes without risk..

As someone who followed their dream and succeeded in accomplishing what he set out to do . I would advise prepharmers to keep your eyes open and have a plan.. it is not easy out there.. but the doom and gloomers on here make it seem VASTLY worse than it actually is

 

[68quebec]

A chain pharmacy is like a slavery camp?? Are you serious lol.

I really don't wayt to admit this, but yes..

 

[PharmerIsMe]

It seems like studentdoctor forum is becoming restrictive to FREE thinking, if you don't think the way everyone else thinks, then you are not allowed to post. I did post extensive answers for each of the replies I got in this post, and ALL of them were erased by administrators. Great professionalism! specially when people rely on this forum for "good" information about the profession. Probably, the administrators of this forum, are the administrators getting money from accepting students to pharmacy school. Sad...If you erase this message administrator, get a life, and let people be helped by others.

 

[Sugoi Travis]

It seems like studentdoctor forum is becoming restrictive to FREE thinking, if you don't think the way everyone else thinks, then you are not allowed to post. I did post extensive answers for each of the replies I got in this post, and ALL of them were erased by administrators. Great professionalism! specially when people rely on this forum for "good" information about the profession. Probably, the administrators of this forum, are the administrators getting money from accepting students to pharmacy school. Sad...If you erase this message administrator, get a life, and let people be helped by others.

You do realize that you're bringing nothing new to the table and that if you did a simple search, that you'd find multiple threads that say the same exact thing, right?

And here you're bashing on the administrators' professionalism when you, yourself, aren't even living up to a decent level of professionalism. Simply put, you're not helping anyone; you're just being annoying.

 

[PhunwithPharm]

So many Debbie Downers on this forum! Look, no matter what career you are going into, you need to do research about its future and jobs. The economy is stagnant in general, so pharmacy jobs are not the only ones that are affected by it. However, there are MANY places that are still in need to pharmacists (look for states that have a high population of elderly folks such as Arizona).
When I worked as a pharm tech in the hospital, there were two types of pharmacists. The first group was excited for me knowing that I was trying to pursue pharmacy. The second group was not excited for me and tried to tell me to go into any other field. The second group of pharmacists were also the most negative, arrogant, and crappiest pharmacists to work with in general. From reading your post, it seems that you will be in the second group.

 

[rxlea]

So many Debbie Downers on this forum! Look, no matter what career you are going into, you need to do research about its future and jobs. The economy is stagnant in general, so pharmacy jobs are not the only ones that are affected by it. However, there are MANY places that are still in need to pharmacists (look for states that have a high population of elderly folks such as Arizona).
When I worked as a pharm tech in the hospital, there were two types of pharmacists. The first group was excited for me knowing that I was trying to pursue pharmacy. The second group was not excited for me and tried to tell me to go into any other field. The second group of pharmacists were also the most negative, arrogant, and crappiest pharmacists to work with in general. From reading your post, it seems that you will be in the second group.

A lot of those elderly in AZ are snowbirds. Just sayin'....job market isn't fantastic here either unless you go rural or live far out in the burbs.

 

[PhunwithPharm]

A lot of those elderly in AZ are snowbirds. Just sayin'....job market isn't fantastic here either unless you go rural or live far out in the burbs.

I personally know many Midwestern graduates from May 2013 that easily got jobs all over AZ and they work in the retail sector. The starting pay for many of them were 128k+ annually. And the jobs were in the cities (Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert areas)

 

[dosepak]

A chain pharmacy is like a slavery camp?

Yes, it is. Especially at CVS! You get customers walking to your window, calling you every second of the day. You get customers asking you why their co-pay is higher than last month's. Doctors send hundreds of electronic scripts and PA's and nurses continue to phone in many many prescriptions to add to an already busy day. On top of that, with the addition of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, there are more rejections to deal with which means more time spent on the phone with insurance companies. My pharmacy manager, who has been a pharmacist for nearly 30 years says it's not a good time to be a pharmacist. A newly minted pharmacist I worked with last week said the same thing; he barely gets 20 hours a week. I totally agree with you OP.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[rxlea]

I personally know many Midwestern graduates from May 2013 that easily got jobs all over AZ and they work in the retail sector. The starting pay for many of them were 128k+ annually. And the jobs were in the cities (Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert areas)

Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert = burbs.

 

[KanTuck22]

.

 

[PhunwithPharm]

Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert = burbs.

Working in those areas is better than working in most areas of Phoenix. Most people usually prefer to work in Scottsdale and other places than ghetto downtown Phoenix (excluding ghetto Mesa).

 

[radio frequency]

I'll tell you what: I stressed about my decision to go to pharmacy school, HARD. Pharmacy school is a pretty unpleasant experience over all. If I had to do it over, I'm not sure I would, and I even go to a very well-respected school which is acknowledged to be one of the more pleasant pharmacy school experiences. I came in as a strong student with a PCAT over 90% and GPA over 3.7, and there's virtually no way I could have made Rho Chi here.

You may:
-Find yourself completely overbooked and stressed out
-Be bored (often) in class
-Wonder how professors could be so incompetent (from time to time)
-Doubt your decision to pursue pharmacy
-Worry endlessly about the job market
-Study incredibly hard and may occasionally fail tests

Last year, I would have told you I'd never do this again. I'm approaching rotations now though and I am changing my tune. I wouldn't do this again if I had to take on big loans. I can't get into it here, but I will be graduating with less than $60k in debt (in total, including undergrad), and there's a possibility it may be much lower. This makes me feel a lot more confident about my future in pharmacy. If I knew I'd graduate with $120k+ in debt, I'd be a nervous wreck right now. I think I can swing a low debt number though and come out ahead in the end.

Consider your personal situation before committing to pharmacy. If it's right for you, do it. If you're not sure how this will pan out, talk with others (including pharmacists) and make your decision. I'm glad I went now, as I think pharmacy will provide me a lifelong challenge and a decent living (plus I feel I can exit the profession if I need), but it's all due to my personal circumstances. It may or may not be the right decision for you.

 

[SanMateoRph]

im so sorry to hear about your news op. did you get better ? these type of things seem to be normal in pharmacy world now. i thought pharmacy is supposed to be risk averse profession but now i guess not

 

[EngineeringPharmerD]

Yet another person that's vents. Always make sure what your're getting into is worth it. I still plan on going to pharmacy school even after all of these depressing posts. I think every field has these people. Got to make sure you think before you decide

 

[PharmtoCS]

Yet another person that's vents. Always make sure what your're getting into is worth it. I still plan on going to pharmacy school even after all of these depressing posts. I think every field has these people. Got to make sure you think before you decide

Just curious...what made you switch from engineering to pharmacy? (I am assuming you are based on your ID)

 

[EngineeringPharmerD]

I've got several friends that work in Pharmacy. I was thinking I wanted to be an engineering but then changed my mind based off of what they told me. I plan on going to UMKC and will work at Walgreens as a pharmacy intern nights to pay for it (I've already got a job there and when you get your acceptance letter you get bumped to intern which is on corporate's payroll not the store's like pharm tech so it pays more with more raises). I believe I will be able to work through it working full time through the summers which I already have lined up. My main thing is acceptance into UMKC i've got my pre-pharmacy stuff covered on a full ride. I don't know if this is the best plan but I believe this is what I will do anyway cause I want to. With 100k plus no debt single thinking about going into nuclear pharmacy which is a specialized pharmacy field if I don't get into an independent pharmacy. I just want to help people but at the same deal with stuff that matters and be a medical chemist. Engineering you are just another guy on the team and it takes forever to get manage people and with pharmacy you manage pharmacy tech. What do you think?

 

[EngineeringPharmerD]

Woah that was epic long sorry

 

[PharmHopefulLonghorn2015]

Even though a lot of these posts are negative, the concerns are very legitimate. I have seen from more than one source that a 50% unemployment rate for pharmacists is very possible. How about the other 50%? Are they only full time or mixture of full time and part time?

 

[RxStudentatUB]

How do you all study and worry about the declining job market at the same time? It would be too distracting and worrisome for me. Is it like this for all professionals?

 

[UGAZ]

My first reply here in this forum....but I agree with most the original poster said.

 

[MatCauthon]

what is your escape plan?