[asian010]

so im thinking about going into pharmacy for college. what did you do to get your degree. pre-pharm program? went to some college to take courses and bachelor required for pharmD and transfer to school for pharmD program? i just want to know how you got to your point now. and please also state how many years it took.

[Tondtar]

Originally Posted by asian010

so im thinking about going into pharmacy for college. what did you do to get your degree. pre-pharm program? went to some college to take courses and bachelor required for pharmD and transfer to school for pharmD program? i just want to know how you got to your point now. and please also state how many years it took.

What did they do to get their degree?

I think a deep interest in taking drugs and some hard studying ...No?

[itaos]

I did 2 yrs pre-pharmacy, with 4 more after that. Admission rates are low at many schools (~10%), so a bachelors couldnt hurt. Try to find a school where admission to pharmacy school is guaranteed as long as you maintain a certain GPA for pre-pharm. Good luck.

[OC Guy]

think my sister did bio @ uci then went to ucsf.

[strykr]

As a current p2 pharmacy school student, I would suggest another field.

[hawkeye-se]

Originally Posted by strykr

As a current p2 pharmacy school student, I would suggest another field.

As a current pharmacist. I concur.

[c0nstant]

Originally Posted by strykr

As a current p2 pharmacy school student, I would suggest another field.

Originally Posted by hawkeye-se

As a current pharmacist. I concur.

please elaborate

[firstkill]

i would rank

nurse > pharmacy > dentist > doctor in terms of amount of school and training for income.


fk

[asian010]

Originally Posted by hawkeye-se

As a current pharmacist. I concur.

Originally Posted by strykr

As a current p2 pharmacy school student, I would suggest another field.

please explain.

[BMWdmk]

unless you have a real strong passion of becoming a pharmacist
this field isn't for you...

[nardoM4]

during my undergrad @ uci i wanted to go to pharmacy school after i graduated, however, after working at a pharmacy to gain some experience i agree with the 2 above...unless you love pharmacy...do not get into it. Work at a pharmacy first and see how you like it.

[Alpine]

Although I agree with the above suggestions, the choice is ultimately yours.

To answer your original question, a bunch of my buddies just went off to pharm school, so I know a lot about the classes they took, etc.

They all majored in chemistry. Everything chemistry related, they took. They only minored in biology, which was essentially required for pharm school. They took every chem class all the way through P Chem, so I hope you like chemistry. In Tennessee, we have a 3+1 program where you only do 3 years of undergrad and then get accepted into Pharm school and finish out your "4th" year in your first year of pharm school.

But like everyone else said, work in a pharmacy. If you can stand it, then maybe it's for you. Otherwise, look into something else. As a current medical school applicant, I don't want to do anything else besides becoming a doctor- even amidst the worst economic times possible for doctors.

[schnell325]

Yup, work in a pharmacy first before deciding. Sure the money I make is great ($100K a year), but the shit I have to deal with, both from Doctors and especially patients does not seem worth it more often than not. I seem to only be happy every second Friday when I get paid.

The lying and the BS I have to put up with is very taxing. It's obviously not a physically challenging job, but the mental aspect is very very stressful.

Would I have made a different choice looking back? Hard to say, but then I probably would not have my M3 and my house paid off...


Your choice, make it a smart one.

[c0nstant]

for the current pharmacists - what is the biggest 'turn off' of the job? is it the monotony and the people you interact with? why exactly do you suggest looking into other careers? im curious because im looking to switch majors (i sure as shit do not want to be a CS major at all) and going into medicine. pharmacy is what im looking into, however, these suggestions are making me a bit uncertain. thanks in advance

[Rick Hunter]

The "shit" pharmacists deal & complain about is mainly focused around dealing with the lay public. Not only are Pharmacists unappreciated with society's "fast-food" mentality ($4 prescription charges, drive-thru stations, etc.), their knowledge base is underutilized which make them feel like they're not really practicing in a health care environment. "What aisle's the milk located" and "Where's the restrooms" are not what they are really are expecting from a medical-related job. To top things off, Pharmacists (like nurses) will never be at the top of the food chain, regardless of how many unique services they implement. They will always bow down to the lions in the field... namely Doctors.

But the career is what you make of it. The only saving grace is that retail is not the only avenue (the avenue which I suspect most of the above posters work in) to practice. Interview a Hospital Pharmacist, Research Pharmacist, Military Pharmacist or Gov't / Regulatory Pharmacist and you'll get different answers.

As far as retail goes, though... for a lick-stick-count-n-pour job, the money you make is ridiculously high. Would any of you trade it in for menial labor? I doubt it. Ya just gotta suck it up and enjoy the ride home at the end of the day. I do.

[c0nstant]

Originally Posted by Rick Hunter

The "shit" pharmacists deal & complain about is mainly focused around dealing with the lay public. Not only are Pharmacists unappreciated with society's "fast-food" mentality ($4 prescription charges, drive-thru stations, etc.), their knowledge base is underutilized which make them feel like they're not really practicing in a health care environment. "What aisle's the milk located" and "Where's the restrooms" are not what they are really are expecting from a medical-related job. To top things off, Pharmacists (like nurses) will never be at the top of the food chain, regardless of how many unique services they implement. They will always bow down to the lions in the field... namely Doctors.

But the career is what you make of it. The only saving grace is that retail is not the only avenue (the avenue which I suspect most of the above posters work in) to practice. Interview a Hospital Pharmacist, Research Pharmacist, Military Pharmacist or Gov't / Regulatory Pharmacist and you'll get different answers.

As far as retail goes, though... for a lick-stick-count-n-pour job, the money you make is ridiculously high. Would any of you trade it in for menial labor? I doubt it. Ya just gotta suck it up and enjoy the ride home at the end of the day. I do.

well said, thanks for responding!

[Rick Hunter]

Hey... it's the only white collar job in healthcare where you don't have to touch your patients.

[zot09]

"What do you mean, "you people"?"

Hahaha sorry, I had to...

Go work in a pharmacy, and see if it's for you. Not only will you get real life experience, but you will be able to communicate with a pharmacist on a one-to-one basis and get information from him/her.

I worked at CVS for a few months, and I abso-freakin'-lutely HATED it. It was so damn monotonous, and working with ungrateful people all day was just not for me. I realized I could never become a pharmacist, and it only fortified my decision to become a doctor. I still wonder why I got my pharmacy technician license even after I quit...

GL

[firstkill]

just like any field theres more to pharmacy than just retail.

at the hospital they do a MUCH different role. Is unfair to just say work at a pharmacy to see if you like it or not.

you gotta figure out how much money u want to make and how much school and training you want to do to obtain it.

and compared to non healthcare related fields... im sure theres GREAT job security

fk

[asian010]

wow. thats some great info guys. its making me rethink my major.

[The_Blob]

One person who used to live in my neighbourhood was a pharmacist. He lives in Canada and commutes to the U.S. to work. They must make a lot of money because after a few years, he mortgaged a house worth over half a million dollars.

[SpecC]

apply to university of pacific

they have a pharm program that'll get you done when you're like 23. i'm sure it's hell though