Tell me about Pharmacy...

[coolshannie]

Well I am looking into career options and this is one that I was kind of thinking about. My real aspiration is to become a teacher and then an administrator, but I don't want to narrow my options. I know these are completely different fields, a teacher and a pharmacist, but I'm just looking for a range of ideas. So what I am curious about is ( I know this probably depends on where you work but...) how many hours a week do you work? Do you believe all of the schooling you went through was worth it? Do you enjoy the job, what do you enjoy about it? And anything else that you would have to offer would be lovely

Both of my parents were teachers and my father is a principal of a high school now, so I know that back round well. I know I'd love doing the job, but I know there are other jobs out there that seem interesting as well.

 

[antmaril]

My son is considering Pharmacy, (he will graduate in May with a BS in Biology) so I'll be interested in seeing any responses you receive.

 

[EdiePA]

The joy of pharmacy for me is that it can be so many different jobs. Most people just think of a retail pharmacist, but there are pharmacists in hospitals, mental health, chemotherapy, public health, and on and on. When I burned out in retail pharmacy (too many hours on the phone with the insurance companies), I was able to start working in a mental hospital and I love it. My job includes order entry, order preparation, IV preparation, patient counseling and teaching, quality control, etc.

If you're good in math and sciences, you should do well. People skills are a plus, too.

I work 40 hours a week, and only every tenth weekend. Keep in mind that as health care professionals, we do have to work holidays, nights and weekends.

It's six years of school now (only 5 when I went) and I love my job. When my son was looking into professions, he felt that going six years for the salary that pharmacists make wasn't worth it. He's now in dental school and I truly think that it's a much better fit for him.

HTH, and feel free to ask any other questions,

Edie

 

[clarabelle]

Edie isn't there a huge shortage of Pharmacists?

 

[Monte Cristo]

Wife is a pharmacist, not me, but I can help a little. Like PP said it's 6 years now, at least at URI, and that is a PharmD. It is a tough program, but if you like the sciences, you should do well with hard work.

Also like PP said, there's many professions not just retail. My wife happens to work retail and doesn't like it all that much. It's a high stress environment, you have a high Pharm Tech turn over rate so you're always dealing with new employees, and you are dealing with the public, and a sick public at that, so they are not always the most friendly folks...that being said, it's also a high paying job. My wife is the pharmacy manager, works 34 hours per week, gets paid well, yearly bonus, stock options, and stock purchase discounts.

She works in a 24 hour pharmacy and never has to work past 8pm. Non 24 hour stores can go as late as 10 or 11 pm. She works two 12 hour weekend shifts per month.

If you are a people person or someone who likes working with the public, that definitely helps.

She has friends from college that are Pharmacists in a warehouse/mail order pharmacy and love it.

 

[coolshannie]

Thanks for all of this information It is very helpful to hear from other people who chose this profession. I'd love to hear more if anybody has more input to offer.

 

[merekc]

I don't know how Pharmacy pay compares to dentistry, but in our area it is a great paying position. One nice thing about being a pharmacist is if you think you might want to eventually work part time or stay home with kids. You can work one or two days a week and bring home $20-40,000 a year. Not shabby for part time.

As previously mentioned, there are a lot of different jobs you can do with this degree. But realize it is tough to get into a program, you need to talk to the school you would be interested in applying to and start getting on track. You have to be accepted into the program. You can't just decide to do it.

You should not do it just for the money though. Unless you have a real interest in science than I would look at something else. Maybe try to get a job as a pharmacy tech to see if you enjoy it.

 

[dejr_8]

All Pharmacy programs are now PharmD degrees - that is 6 year programs.

Upside: you get a good salary right out of school
Downside: there really is no chance for advancement or significant increases in pay (that is for retail pharmacies)

Upside: if you need more money you can float to another store and work overtime.
Downside: smaller stores will require longer (sometimes 10 to 14 hr) shifts. You have to work weekends and nights.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

DH is a pharmacist, as is his father. We own our own retail pharmacy... five employees with four of them family.

It has it's ups and downs of course, but this is DH's dream job. 8:30-5:00 five days a week..... 8:30-12:00 on Saturday. With the occasional night call. DH is free to ref, coach, etc. when the work day is over. It allowed me to stay home with our kids and homeschool some when we felt it was academically necessary. The kids just came to work with us.

Now we have friends that work retail in chain pharmacies, and hate it with a passion. The main reason being that their department is being run by someone that has no experience or education in the profession. They just chase the almighty dollar.

It's a great profession - if you are good at what you do you will have no trouble finding a job. You have to love working with the public, though.... or you will be burned out in a hurry. Relief work pays very well, but it's tough as you are learning new computer systems and different organization systems all the time. Not to mention dealing with unfamiliar patients.

Good luck with your decision.... DH just had four wisdom teeth out.... but I am sure he would be willing to answer any questions you might have in a day or so.....

 

[lovetoscrap]

My sister and her husband are both drug dealers, oops, I mean pharmacists. they have both worked retail and hospital. Sis loves her hospital job--she works 7 days on and 7 days off and loves having a whole week off. She has plenty of money and it makes travel easy for her. She does work nights and weekends and holidays but can switch with coworkers if she really needs to. Her husband is currently in retail, he was in a hospital but wanted a change. His hours are more variable but

There is a huge pharmacist shortage as far as I know. She and her husband were traveling several hours away on their days off to pick up additional hours as "free lance"--they were paid for milage, hotel stay and meals in addition to a huge hourly pay, greater than they get at their ft jobs.

Getting their Pharm D was lots of hard work and took 6 years and quite a few college loans, but they have them paid them off now, and worked as Pharm Techs while in school which helped quite a bit with their expenses.

 

[PatsGirl]

My sister and her husband are both drug dealers, oops, I mean pharmacists.

Thanks for the laugh.

 

[mominwestlake]

My dd is only a freshman in high school but this is one career she is looking at. She has also thought about being a teacher but we know too many unemployed teachers in our area. I didn't realize that their isn't a lot of pay advancement for pharmacists. I do know kids who are recruited out of college and are paid signing bonuses.

Any schools known for pharmacy?

 

[merekc]

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk, KU!!

In our area, we have the University of Kansas and UMKC (University of Missouri, Kansas City). When my DH was in school, the UMKC program was longer (for him) and more expensive.

There are other schools around the country depending on where you are at.

 

[EdiePA]

Depending on where you live, there is a shortage of pharmacists. Because we have two schools of pharmacy here (Univ. of Pittsburgh and Duquesne), jobs are harder to find. When I moved here, I received a signing bonus and relocation expenses, plus some vacation time upfront, but I'm highly specialized in what I do. Salaries, according to Pharmacy Times magazine, average at $107,000 (not true here, though. Even with 20+ years of experience, I haven't cracked the six figure barrier.) Because it's a health care profession, benefits are usually good, too.

As a PP said, admission to pharmacy schools can be pretty competitive, especially at established programs. (I'd be wary of some of the new programs -- we haven't exactly been excited at the level of education that we see in their students.)

Edie

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

In our area DH would recommend Creighton (Omaha, NE) and Drake (Des Moines, IA). He would NOT recommend Iowa, but that is just his opinion.

 

[CPT Tripss]

PharmD is a minimum of six years . . . could be eight if one enters the program with a four year degree (4 plus the 4 professional years) and perhaps more if one's science background isn't top notch. Some schools only take people with four year degrees, while others are set up on a six year schedule. It's a rigorous program almost all science and math in the first two (of six) years. The four professional years are three of classroom/lab plus a full calendar year of clinical rotations.

DD has a shirt - on the front, "I sell drugs..." - on the back, "...and my parents are proud." It also has various pharmacy symbols.

New grads are making six figures in retail - less in institutional, and in a lot of cases the institution will want a post-doc internship (read low pay). A definate shortage in the Phila. metro area . . . jobs are readily available and companies hire students, and pay them well, for summer and part-time work to get loyalty.

 

[dolphindan1]

My wife works in the Pharmacy at wal-mart and she loves the interaction with people and the fast paced environment that wal-mart provides but she cannot stand working for Wal-mart. She works 40 hrs a week and 1 weekend a month. She doesnt work too bad shifts..M-F till usually 7 or 8..Seldom does she have to close. We are in a small area and if she was to go to another Pharmacy she would have to go 24 hour shifts, or to the hospitals which are about 1 hr away. SO I guess she will stay where she is at. Anytime I call her she is on the phone with insurance so i know its a big part of her job. I know she is on her feet all day. I know she is stressed more often than not but she is great with people and has a kind caring personality. She has been cussed a few times and has had management called a couple times because they had trouble somehow with the prescription or a controlled drug....

I know that may have not been much help but its about all I get out of her. We dont discuss work too much. When we are together its not about complaining about work....sorry