Anyone here a pharmacist?

[SQL4Life 10+ year member]

So what did you switch to? Anyway, I'm kinda confused about the school. I have been reading about it a bit, and here's my take on it, please tell me if I'm wrong.

You get your 4year, then you apply at a PharmD school, and go there for 2 years? 1 of which is working?

you have to meet the school requirements which are different for each school. It is termed "prepharm" which is usually 2 years worth of school. During those 2 years you must take a test called the pcat. Then u get accepted into pharmacy school which is 4 years, the 4th year being out in the field.

So minimum is 6, but many get a bachlors degree in chemistry or something therefore being 7-8 years.

 

[Spooby 10+ year member]

So what did you switch to? Anyway, I'm kinda confused about the school. I have been reading about it a bit, and here's my take on it, please tell me if I'm wrong.

You get your 4year, then you apply at a PharmD school, and go there for 2 years? 1 of which is working?

I joined the Air Force actually LOL. There was an opportunity for me to do something I really wanted to do so I took it (translator with a clearance). I didn't need a bachelor's to get into TSU's pharmacy school, and you don't need one for UofH either...but as SQL4Life mentioned you probably need one now to make yourself competitive. They do look for the all around student, and there are tons of applicants each year. I just happened to meet the bare minimum and applied to both schools since they are right next to each other (literally). UH denied me but TSU took me.

There are programs that you can apply to right out of highschool for pharmacy. You get accepted into their program, and follow their class schedules all the way through the end of your Pharm D. I want to say its Butler University...but I could be completely wrong about it.

Also the notion that only the elite get into UofH pharm isn't true. That is something that they want you to believe, but trust me and anyone else in the field...there are plenty of dumb ***** at every school. You've got certain requirements that you have to fill as a school administrator and sometimes those slots are filled with some of the worse candidates known to man. Its a great program, but once you get out of ANY pharmacy program noone gives a shit as long as you can do your job.

 

[Spooby 10+ year member]

Im a pharmacy tech right now working in a pharmacy and i enjoy because i enjoy helping people and just interacting with people. Im getting a bachelors degree in biochemistry right now because it is just very hard to get into pharmacy school nowadays. Example- Out of about 2200 applications for 2006, only like 146 got accepted, and schools only receive a class once a year.
its just so interesting to me the drugs and how it interacts with the body and whatnot

When I first started I was lucky and just got a pharmacy tech job as just another "job". I enjoy helping others, but you don't do that in any of the major pharmacy retail chains. Smaller places like at grocery stores, or custom compounding pharmacies would be a better place for that. That was one of the things that turned me off from the field.

The drug interactions was another reason why I got interested in pharmacy, but I soon discovered that I pretty much wanted to know how EVERYTHING worked. Not just drugs, but mechanics, linguistics, and politics. Once I figured that out about myself the interest I had in studying pharmacy wasn't there anymore. My experience was pretty sour, but not everyone in the field is like that. The only thing I REALLY hated was that your salary potential was pretty much capped out at $120k/year regardless of your educational background. To get past that point you'd have to be in management, and I wasn't willing to even consider that. In the end its still a business, and a pharmacist in a retail chain is nothing more than another employee.

 

[RedlineAccord 10+ year member]

I'm in my first professional year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program (yes, its a doctorate, "PharmD") at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. A lot of people go into the program thinking, "YEAH I want to make a ton of cash!", and thats their only motivation to get through it. I'll tell ya right now that it doesn't work like that. If you don't have a solid interest in all forms of chemistry and biology then don't do it. Right now I'm in my 3rd hardest semester of the program, taking Immunology, Biochemistry, Biostatistics, and Physiology (plus other BS courses).

If you have any questions about the schooling let me know. Unfortunately I've only been interning for a few months, but I have the basic idea of what is done and how the pharmacy is run.

 

[Spooby 10+ year member]

Here's a quick list of schools around the country: http://www.uspharmd.com/school/

The only thing I regret was not finishing my pharmacy training while I was in. I would have came into the Air Force as a pharmacist (and an Officer), and life would have been cake. The environment here is much easier, and the pay is definitely not bad. I'm glad I did what I did though. Once I'm done in 2010 I'll be able to do things that aren't even offered at any college campus. If you like pharmacy go for it...but get as much information on both the educational side and the career side of things.

 

[Spooby 10+ year member]

A lot of people go into the program thinking, "YEAH I want to make a ton of cash!", and thats their only motivation to get through it. I'll tell ya right now that it doesn't work like that. If you don't have a solid interest in all forms of chemistry and biology then don't do it.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

 

[PollyCranopolis 10+ year member]

70K salary would buy you a GOOD life around here. 250k house and a nice car and truck in the garage. A girl I graduated from school with became a doctor of pharmacy.

 

[RedlineAccord 10+ year member]

Believe it or not, in my area (Jersey), the retail pharmacists are starting at 110-125k a year, with a 10k signing bonus. It is going up 6-8% each year as well on average. I'll be looking at at least 130k when I'm out of school in 2011. The need for pharmacists is always increasing as we have more and more people living to be older, and more and more pharmaceutical companies making a ton of new drugs.

As for the classes... like I said, hardcore chemistry and biology. Organic Chemistry, along with Biochemistry and Physiology are all the anti-christ. Anatomy, Physio, and Immunology are all very interesting courses to me though. It is really crazy how intricate the body is.

 

[Rmsanger 10+ year member]

I can guarantee as the public looks to make the healthcare industry more efficient there will be a general downward pressure on wages and upward pressure on requirement to work...

Pharmacists will be impacted signifcantly and will see their wages slashed and hours increased. The provide very little value to the industry so just be careful.

 

[RedlineAccord 10+ year member]

I can guarantee as the public looks to make the healthcare industry more efficient there will be a general downward pressure on wages and upward pressure on requirement to work...
Pharmacists will be impacted signifcantly and will see their wages slashed and hours increased. The provide very little value to the industry so just be careful.

You are very misinformed my friend. Ever hear of patient counseling? Pharmacists are used in many more settings than you think. There is a lot more to having a PharmD than just being a retail pharmacist. The new thing is that patients and clients meet with a pharmacist who goes over their medication history and forms of therapy. You'd be surprised how little some of these doctors know about the medications they prescribe besides what they do. Pharmacists are much more informed on the reactions the medications can have within a patients body or with other medications the person is currently taking.

Also, as I said, as the population grows, and people grow to older ages, there will be a greater need for pharmacists due to the amount of medications prescribed. We all know the crazy amounts of new medications being produced by pharmaceutical companies each year too. With the amount of schooling required, the specific knowledge needed, and constantly rising need I don't see the wages being slashed at all.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedlineAccord View Post

A lot of people go into the program thinking, "YEAH I want to make a ton of cash!", and thats their only motivation to get through it. I'll tell ya right now that it doesn't work like that. If you don't have a solid interest in all forms of chemistry and biology then don't do it.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Thats the thing with me... I have no strong interest in anything. I have somewhat of an interest the sciences, thats my main focus next year.

I really have no interests... So when people tell me "do what you want" I say "I don't know what I want, I just want a job with a six figure income."

 

[howdogg 10+ year member]

What you really should do is shadow for a day at as many different pharmacy settings as you can. Spend a day at a Rite Aid or Walgreens, a day at a local hospital or a long term care pharmacy and see for yourself what goes on and if you like it.

Dont jump into a profession blindly just because of the prospects of a big paycheck. Retail pharmacy does pay very well, but it can be absolutely horrific to work. The local Walmart pharmacy here fills 600 prescriptions on an average monday. That's the equivalent of filling 1 prescription every 1 minute and 12 seconds for 12 consecutive hours nonstop (they are open from 9am to 9pm). They do have 2 pharmacists working during the busiest hours, but the workload is still so high that you dont even have time for a pee break.

Pharmacy can be both lucrative and rewarding, but it definately isnt for everyone. Find out for sure if it is for you or you might end up wasting a year or more of your time and tuition money.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me, I've been doing the pharmacist thing for 6 years now.

Good luck!

 

[RedlineAccord 10+ year member]

Thats the thing with me... I have no strong interest in anything. I have somewhat of an interest the sciences, thats my main focus next year. I really have no interests... So when people tell me "do what you want" I say "I don't know what I want, I just want a job with a six figure income."

Well, to be dead honest, I was in your same position. hah

I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do when I was in highschool. I was always in the higher level courses, and took all of the sciences and did fairly well in them. I was interested, but it wasn't something I dreamed of every night. I've found that as I've gotten into the heavy stuff like Anatomy and Physiology that I really do have an interest in this, especially in how the body functions. This all came from me just being told "hey, pharmacy is a good career, you make a lot of money and don't completely bust your *** minus the schooling".

 

[DownSouth954 10+ year member]

I'm a senior tech at Walgreens and will be attending pharm school later this year. Retail is a blast //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[WillyG4444 10+ year member]

Didn't read all of the posts, however, my older cousin graduated from UTI about 10 years back and got accept to the Mercedes Elite training program for mechanics, and he's now making just about 6 figures. He's hoping to be the shop foreman within the next few years. You can make plenty money being a mechanic, you just need to get into the top dealerships