Is pharmacy a good career?

Is Pharmacy a Good Career?

• My 25 year old son was just admitted to pharmacy school. He is ambivalent about accepting. He has worked as a pharmacy tech and says he doesn't feel passionate about counting pills for the rest of his life and has concerns about the drug companies pushing medications on people who may not need them. Some of the pharmacists tell him the job is boring. He does not feel "passionate" about another career path and does not know what else he could pursue. (He was in medical school for one year and decided it wasn't for him.) What careers are open to pharmacists besides retail? What are the benefits to becoming a pharmacist? Should a person pursue a career path and be encumbered by student loans if they don't feel strongly about it? Should they just "do it' and hope that it eventually leads them to a rewarding path?

• Answer:

  Greetings Bella_Aria: So your son is thinking of becoming a drug dealer, huh? ;) All kidding aside, I believe that pharmacy *is* a good career. There are stresses to the job and working in a retail atmosphere can be boring to some but it is a career that pays well and has many benefits. My oldest friend is a pharmacist and I often hear the pros and cons from her. Your son has also witnessed first-hand what the job entails so he's seen "the pharmacist in action." However, there are positive aspects to the job. Many retail businesses (grocery chains, discount stores, drug stores) offer pharmacists a 30-hour minimum work week with full benefits and *very* flexible schedules. Most also offer time and a half overtime which can add up very nicely. My friend makes about $75,000 a year. She travels often and wants for little. She also breeds cats and she's able to adjust her schedule to cat shows and vacations. When she wants to earn more, she works more. Were your son to get his degree, he'd probably be earning a nice wage by the time he was 30. He could put money in retirement and, if he planned his finances well, he could retire by the time he was 50. That's a interesting thing for him to consider. Also, he could probably pay off any student loans very quickly. As evidenced in another question I answered about pharmacists (http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=91383): "Regarding salaries, the site Allied Physicians (http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/pharmacy-salaries.htm) reports salaries as follows (the first figue in each is Average base and the second is Average Starting Base): Total (National Avg.) $68,000 $59,000 Chains $66,500 $57,000 Independents $58,000 $49,000 Supermarkets $66,000 $57,000 Merchandisers $67,000 $58,000 HMOs $73,000 $61,000 Hospitals $65,000 $49,500 There is a regional breakdown posted in the same article and they also report: "Salaries are most dependent on location, job description, training, and experience of each pharmacist. Studies show the need for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will continue to raise for a minimum of 5 years. "Studies indicate that hospital, independent, and chain store employment growth will occur slowly. However, admissions and graduates in pharmacy have been decreasing over recent years. It appears that long-term, ambulatory, and home care settings will show the greatest employment growth. New opportunities are also arising in managed care organizations and, for those employed in research, disease management." *********** Also, being a retail pharmacist is a great customer service occupation. Your son wouldn't necessarily be bored if he decided to get to know his customers and make them the primary focus of his job. My friend enjoys the interaction with customers and she says that's what makes her job so interesting. She does, however, bemoan the fact that being a pharmacist is more like being an insurance claims adjustor than anything. She doesn't enjoy that part of it. She sometimes gets weary just counting pills, too. But overall, she is happy she chose the career because her earnings have enabled her to travel and have her cat breeding business on the side with no financial hardships. Your son has probably seen the worst and the best of everyday life at a pharmacy and there are other fields he could choose with a pharmacy degree. Hospitals have pharmacists that don't interact with the general public, just with the hospital staff. If your son prefers a quieter job, he could take a position in a hospital. My friend says that headhunters call her all the time recruiting for hospitals. She says they offer excellent pay and benefits but she prefers working with the public. ************* So there's boredom and stress on one hand and great wage, benefits and flexibility on the other, at least with retail pharmacy. Working in a hospital, there's a quieter workplace (and the insurance work is done by another office) or your son could become a research pharmacist. There are also positions at assisted living centers, nursing homes, HMOs, aboard cruise ships, I'd wager, and it may be a career he can take abroad although there may be requalifying tests for other countries. I suggest he talk to many pharmacists and ask them for the pros and cons of their occupation. Only he will be able to make the final decision and I believe the more educated he becomes from the personal experiences of actual pharmacists, the better a decision he will make for himself. Pharmacy is a solid career and from the many ads I see in newspapers (and from what my friend tells me), it's an occupation very much in demand. Should you require clarification of any of the information I have provided, please request it and I will be happy to respond. SEARCH STRATEGY: pharmacist salary research pharmacist