I am a pharmacist... it is a great career but the debt, decreasing salary, and lack of jobs are making it not worthwhile. The schools got greedy and expanded too fast, now they are lowering their standards to keep enrollment up
I am a pharmacist as well. Pharmacists can always move to the pharmaceutical industry from retail. There are lots of jobs and the pay is really good. Pharmacy school is totally worth it. The caller should go ahead with his plans.
@@katy1282 don't need to go to pharmacy school to work in the pharmaceutical industry, vast majority people working in it are not pharmacists. He should just skip pharmacy school and go into the workforce or pursue a different career.
My wife is a pharmacist. She graduated with 220K in loans. For the first 5 years after she graduated, she was on an income based repayment plan. She paid 1k a month and paid almost 50K in just interest alone without touching a dollar in principal! I married her and inherited her loans. Since we’ve been married, we have been paying anywhere from 2-5k per month over the last 5 years to pay off her loans. Her min loan monthly payment is 1,500. It’s been 10 years now since she graduated. After 5 years of paying 2-5k a month to her loans, her loans total is now 78K. Pharmacy is just not worth it. She makes roughly 150k a year before taxes but long hours, high risk of errors, and really horrible people in retail settings. Also, she works with pharmacy techs and clerks that make a little over min wage and most of them didn’t go to college, and quit frequently. Luckily, I make over 250k with no student loans in the tech field. We direct most of her salary to her school loans and we live off my salary. We live modestly in a small house, both drive used cars, and take luxury vacations each year. We could of paid off her loans more each month but I’m not living on rice and beans according to Ramsey’s method. It hurts to see 4K-5k a month going to her school loans but hey, I married her. Any future spouses of Pharmacists, make sure you understand their school debt before marrying and their income.
At the end of the day, you and your wife have to live with the debt. If you want to pay it off more power to you, but I don't think the issue you have is her having loans from pharmacy school.
After listening to this episode, I went and told my Wife, Dave Ramsey says I need to have a bunch of options. I woke up this morning with a Form FL100 sitting in my front seat of my car. Thanks Dave
I recently went to my grocery store to get my monthly prescriptions. When I opened the sealed bag, I found the lid on one of them was off and pills were spilled all over the bottom of the bag. When I asked what happened, the Pharmacist told me that the monthly prescriptions are actually filled by machines at a distribution center several hundred miles away, not by humans, and occasionally a problem can happen. Machines are less expensive and part of the cause of lowering wages in that field.
@@texan903 well im afraid from my judgment its not that much school and not that much expertise. Its really too easy to get into PharmD school these days, you dont even need a bachelor's degree. I was a bio chemist and saw the writing on the wall. Looked into Medschool but my health gave out. Now Im a fully employed electrical engineer making the same amount of money.
Just because you go to pharmacy, Law, or medical school doesn’t mean you need to practice as a pharmacist in this specific case. A lot of ppl don’t take into account the industry they go into. Being a pharmacist doesn’t mean you will be stuck at CVS or Rite Aide for half your life. Pharmacists can go into medical affairs, regulatory affairs, clinical research, publications, or medical info & services. I was unaware of these options as well when graduating but there are def options that ppl are unaware of.
@@dvil51 Paying $300k for a doctorate in pharmacy to make $150k(likely at a Wal-Mart or CVS) is not smart. Pharmaceutical sales pays $150k to $200k with a bachelors.
I am a retail pharmacist and steer away many young people from the profession. I have 31 years of retail experience and in the early years it was a good profession. Now you have a borderline unaffordable degree compared to your pay. Today's pharmacy school graduate is $300k in debt which will weigh on them for an average of 20 years! The stress in retail is out of control. Customers are getting ruder every day and we are always short staffed because techs don't make what they are worth. Do yourself a favor and go to PA or ARNP school!
My wife started in retail pharmacy but now works in a hospital after her residency. She enjoys it a lot more but it can be very stressful. Skipping lunches and breaks is a frequent occurrence alongside with being understaffed.
I emphasize with this young man. I practiced as a Doctor of Optometry for 32 years. The compensation for optometry and pharmacy is no longer worth the Blood, Swear & Tears. Pharmacists are over qualified and under qualified for what they do in retail pharmacy. Avoid optometry also.
Sorry but I think we need more EYE DOCTORS now then ever. Look at how many messed up eye problems we have NOW for having our eyes glued to screens all day.
@@kathurtado13 You are right, but for the young person entering a 8 year path leading to O.D. degree, it doesn't make economic sense. Obama care excluded the optometrists.
My wife has been a pharmacist for 38 years and early on it was a good job. Now it gets worse by the year and she would advise others to stay away from this field.
The CVS and Walgreens of the world have made it harder to make real money as a pharmacist. They also control the insurances which pay pharmacies and have made it harder and harder for independent pharmacies to make money when in the past, independent pharmacy was a great way to become a millionaire.
Unless he is shooting for a specialty. It is very competitive, but many of those fields are growing rather than declining. If he was planning on retail, then I would say not only is it miserable, but also just not worth it. I found my dream job in nuclear, knowing I hated retail before I even started college...but then I see my former classmates in retail, and their situation is so different
Yes, please do tell! I had an internship back in 1989 and found it fascinating then, but I ended up in independent pharmacy and then home IV infusion. I would love to hear more of your story!
Pharmacy has always sucked, and it has gotten worse year after year. With Covid, it got exponentially worse, and the trend keeps going. Run in the opposite direction. Get a commerce or business degree, ( so much easier) learn a couple of languages and you can find something better in life.
I'm an ICU h pharmacist. Pharmacy school is way too expensive now. Most nonretail pharmacy jobs require residency and/or board certification. That takes at least 1+ yr of post grad training +experience. That's years of loss salary and debt.
I also wanted to become a pharmacist/pharmacologist, but I heard the same story even a few year ago - it wasn't worth it and the people were miserable. I took a gap year (or two), then went back to grad school for chemistry. Most state grad schools will also have grants/scholarships that if you get in, your tuition is waived, and you may even get a stipend for being an RA or TA. Was wayyyyyy better to get my Masters and am now working in the medical device industry and basically get paid to study, rather than do pharmacy with loads of debt after.
My wife is a pharmacist and has actively steered people away from the field due to the hours, the lack of pay compared to the pay and little opportunities for advancements.
@@kuryanthomas1438, they used to now they make a little less, but when you consider that it's a doctorate degree and will cost you north of $160k at a state school the ROI isn't great.
I was going to be a pharmacist when I started college. I ended up graduating with a degree in cybersecurity and making the same salary as a pharmacist without the crazy debt.
But a cyber security specialist in the US can be easier replaced by some random Indian overseas than a pharmacist in a Walgreens. A pharmacist is general a stable position. But I got your point, the debt is a deal breaker. For that reason I would never opt for med school (even if I had the academic capacity, which I don't, admittedly)
Video was done two years ago but it’s still true. Too much money invested in a PhD to become a pharmacist and not enough jobs out there to cover the cost
My best friend from college is a pharmacist and said he doesn't recommend it unless there's a salary increase. It's sad that the price of college and the salary is deterring millions of americans from saving lives.
@@venombrand3157 use to be $60 starting off right out school back in 2005. Now new grads are getting offered between $35-$50 starting but take into consideration $250k student loans.
@@venombrand3157 yes and that also includes living expenses because you can't really work full time to support yourself when you are in pharmacy school.
I’m a pharmacist in UK 10+ years service and I hate it. Staff cuts everywhere and barely any pay increase. More services are added for us to do and that’s on top of all the normal work load with no extra help or pay. I was convinced by my parents to do pharmacy but I actually wanted to be a vet which is one of my biggest regrets
I got degree in biology. And now working as a quality control tech in tobacco industry. You never know where you will end up with your degree. But be mindful of those loans. They will give you a lot of headaches.
is that based off the bio degree? i also have one but was thinking of pharm, med, etc but felt like the loans and the length of schooling wasn't worth it
@@MrLuffy9131 an internship and volunteer experience got me where I am now. I also went to community college first which ended up saving me a lot of money so yeah it wasn't so bad for me.
Student debt is what has made careers like pharmacist, veterinarian, dentist, and lawyer no longer worth it. Once you get into that kind of debt, you are basically stuck for life even if you hate the job.
@@jimroscovius Problem is that most student loans are negatively amortizing (unlike home mortgages). The loan just grows and grows and is never paid off. Plus you have no consumer protections (bankruptcy, fair debt collections) if you run into hard times. Bad ROI for most!
Not true. Most lawyers have never made a lot of money. The vast majority end up pursuing accidents and traffic ticket cases. Or being public defenders making 35k a year. The prestige, overshadowed the average lawyers
I am a pharmacist. Made a pivot going into managed care pharmacy.. Couple of my school mates went into the pharmaceutical industry doing pharmacist medical science liaison work My friends and I are enjoying our jobs with good work life balance. There are good options out there for pharmacists. And overall, being a pharmacist is still a good profession .
Hi! I recently got into pharmacy school. I keep reading a lot of negative things about the profession. I’m worried to go to the school now. Can you give me some advice?
@@Srinidhi.S1122 Hi. Don't be worried. When you are in school, there will be clubs for different non traditional options. I suggest you join those clubs that will help you explore different career options in pharmacy.
@@gng500bs thank you so much. It’s just there’s so much negativity about pharmacists on Reddit and many websites people are just fighting among each other. Some say pharmacists can make 400k and some are just laughing at that comment of pharmacists can never make that much. I feel like pharmacists in general are making very negative statements on these posts. It’s sad. Me as the coming student in pharmacy school it’s not giving me any positive vibes from reading these posts. I would like to make money because I’m going to be in a lot of debt cause I’m going to a private school. I really thought being a pharmacist can pay of the debt but there’s so many people commenting that pharmacists are similar to nurses and all. Idk at this point. What do you suggest I should do?
@@Srinidhi.S1122 Welcome. Yeah a lot of pharmacy students and pharmacists are not really aware of other options. For example, working in managed care pharmacy is not a typical area where a pharmacist would work in. That's understandable. Now in terms of your future debt, I understand that you are worried about it. Since it looks like you will be taking out a large amount of student loans, I would suggest working out a plan between you and your financial aid officer or your parents or both to pay down your loans while you are in school. For example, one of my classmates worked out a plan with her financial aid advisor to make small monthly payments. My classmate would work as a pharmacy intern at a hospital and she would use part of her paycheck to make small payments on her loans. Another classmate of mine would have her parents make minimum payments while she was in school. After she graduated then she would take over the payments. These are examples that would help minimize your student loans debt. Just start with this first. While you're in school, you can start looking at what career options that can pay u more. And FYI, I do know a couple of classmates who are making a base of greater than $220k a year in pharma. And they are just staff pharmacists. Also, take a look at the scholly scholarship website. They have a database of scholarships that might help you out
I’m a pharmacist. If I had a crystal ball, I would never have gone into the field. At 58 I’m going to go back to school and get a CS degree. I’m talking retail pharmacy. The clinical/hospital path might be OK. The problem with retail is PBMs control it. Some plans the average profit per script is 82 cents. As an owner it’s ridiculous. It affects the chains too. They have to increase their volume and lower their labor. So you’re filling more scripts with less help. A perfect recipe for many medication error disasters.
One time I went to pick up mom's thyroid medication. When I got out to the car and looked in the bag it was fentanyl patches 😝 I think the pharmacist was kind of embarrassed when I went back in. I would imagine someone got an ass chewing.
I was originally a pre-pharm major. Hated the field after working years as a tech. The debt to income ratio just isn't worth most of these doctorates anymore. I switched my major and graduated with a bachelor's in dental hygiene. It's a good field, work with my hands and patients, relatively minimal student loan debt (30k). I considered going back to get my DMD, but half a million in debt with less return than ever just isn't worth it at my age.
@@athens31415 take a look around you. OBESITY Iis everywhere in all professions. Home every day truck drivers that make deliveries in the city they reside in get plenty of exercise compared to someone sitting at a desk all day. A Truck driver do not drive over the road everywhere. There is local home everyday truck drivers that average 80k per year that are healthy .
I’m a hospital clinical pharmacist - the retail gig isn’t really desirable anymore considering hospital jobs pay more and give much better quality of life. Graduated with 140k total in debt for my first year out of residency salary being $140k. I enjoy my job and am challenged daily. There are also great perks like them paying for you to go back to school if interested in a MHA/MBA - it can still be a good career path!
Thank you. Finally someone with some positive feedback. I’m about to graduate pharmacy school and only 60k in debt. There’s a lot of exaggerations on this comment section. If you’re interested in pharmacy it’s a great career path don’t listen to this junk.
yep--had numerous pharmD roomies and it's tough for them getting work, even retail work is hard to get--algorithm will be AI's mini tin god for all things not just medical--follow the money and the algorithms@@MM71017
I am a current pharmacist. The debt to income ratio isn’t worth it like It use to be unfortunately. Wages of stagnated and the job has become so corporatized with lots of pressure to meet metrics. In a community pharmacy setting pharmacists have to multitask and move very fast. Which is big risk for a misfit accident. If you can get residency I’d say maybe go for it. But, be aware residency is very tough to land these days. Very competitive! And clinical pharmacists make just as much as community. But, just like dentistry the debt to income ratio is enormous. You will have to take out living expenses loans if you don’t have the ability to live at home and have family help also. I’d say go shadow a community pharmacist then go shadow a pharmacist in a hospital setting first. 80% of what you learn as a Pharmd is put to the way side in community especially working for big chains.
He also needs to get some other information than just one guy. There is so much BS in the healthcare industry and rumors. I have been a RN 17 years. When I was getting my BSN there were people telling me there were "too many" nurses. Yeah ok. in 2021 I made 127K and get job offers daily.
RN is the premier demand occupation in the Country and that's not changing. Of course the RN care now sucks compared to 15-20 years ago andthey're pumping out incompetent nurses for money these days. High paid pill passers, I wouldn't trust my family's care with a many of the younger ones.
Pharmacy, veterinary, optometry, chiropractic…all among those occupations with low ROI. If you have rich parents who will foot the bill and you you don’t have lofty earning expectations then go for it. Otherwise stay far away!
@@paulbrungardt9823 I personally didn't experience any of that, maybe location driven... Also I am a mental health pharmacist, which may be more in demand but I had several options for employment once I finished my residency. I work at the VA and all the physicians are great!
Yes I’m a pact pharmd as well and I love my job. However, if I had to work retail I would likely hate my life. We have it good working for the VA but these jobs are VERY tough to get as you likely know. I personally would not recommend the field of pharmacy to a new ugrad given the opportunities out there. If healthcare is the direction you want to head I would explore dentistry/mid levels/optometry/physician. Just my thoughts
I am a pharmacist working full time for 5 years now, if i go back in time i wouldn’t choose this career. Its very much controlled by few players the wages are not going up… my only advice if you must do this pharmacy always have a second plan if it doesn’t work out the way you hope to.
My niece has student loans of 160k to become a teacher and makes $17 an hour and my 19 yr old daughter makes 16 an hour at walmart .. I couldn't imagine being in debt like that
Have you worked in a pharmacy? Might want to be a pharmacy technician for a summer and see what it is like. I come from a family of pharmacists and they too would not recommend newcomers because of the lack of jobs, reduced salary, the number of hours it takes to become one, and the difficulty in getting a pharmacy license in a new state (should you ever want to move). However, if that's truly what you want to do, then go for it. But I would really want to know if that's something you truly want to do.
Currently in my first of four years of pharmacy school. I currently work as a pharmacy extern in a hospital and I really enjoy it. It’s more back-end work (i.e. not interacting with patients, which I like), but it’s not super difficult and is sometimes stressful, but not overwhelming. I enjoy the material I’m learning and like the curriculum and hope to work as a night shift pharmacist at the hospital I’m currently at until I pay back my loans as a minimum. From what I’ve been told by other pharmacists, it’s a field that can be great, but has slowly deteriorated over the years.
I almost went down the doctor path with my undergrad in chemistry. I realized early on, if the doctor path didn’t pan out the best I could do with a chemistry degree was being a lab tech earning $20 an hour. I switched to chemical engineering and it was the best thing I did. An engineering degree opens many doors.
Defer for a year to do your research and work on backup plan. I did this with Med school and actually decided not to go after being accepted could not deal with the debt. I found another passion and happy with my decision. Following your dreams should not bankrupt you or stress you sick.
Job field is not saturated, we are understaffed and pharmacies are desperate to hire. Pay has no gone down in my area (California). Not saying pharmacy school is worth it as it's a tough job, but there are opportunities for people that can handle it.
Perhaps the young man can get a job at a pharmacy as an assistant and he can see "from the inside" if he would like to go into the pharmacy profession. Taking a year to work never hurt anyone before going back to school....especially if they already have a degree.
He needs a mentor who is a pharmacist. He needs to meet with and talk to pharmacists. And he needs to shadow a few pharmacists before committing his life to this.
@@bezagebremedhine5102 Doubt it. Aging population and the fact it's much cheaper to train a dozen nurses instead of a few doctors. Future looks bright in this route.
@@consensualcode9750 NP's are already saturated in desirable places, and will quickly be filling up in the undesirable places. NP schools have proliferated, and anybody and their brother are all going to NP school. There are now BSN/NP schools so people don't even have to actually work a day as a nurse before becoming a NP.
I am fortunate to be a debt free pharmacist thanks to the Indian Health Service scholarship. In all honesty, the decision to go to pharmacy school would have been harder if I were faced with loans.
Walgreens is paying $50/hr. Not worth it if you are taking out. 200k in student loans. A decent paying job pay $25-30/hr without going to all that debt.
It really isn't my wife works at Walgreens and they were lowballing entry level pharmacist at $47 an hour if they can get away with it, another girl just started there also and she's making 65 starting. @@toyarj37
This pop up on my list, and I am a pharmacist, and you guess it right, for years working in Pharmacy, I still have so much debt, and the field is indeed very saturated, I work with one of the biggest retail chain, other position outside of retail, has become very competitive due to residency program. Of course you can try to work for industries as well. But they also have a internship program and it does not mean you can get it. I got an on site interview after interviewed with 7 drug companies and was the final 2 candidates to compete for one position out of 450 candidates. Ended up failed the last interviews. Now working at retail, and they are a very stressful place, please do as much research as you can, before you commit to it. I don’t do pharmacy because of money, I did it, because I wanted to help people, but retail life has killed my passions, killed my compassion for patient, and ruined my physical health, and mental health. And with 250k student loan. Please think twice. Many pharmaceutical company offer job for science major undergrad. You don’t need a doctor degree for that.
The thing is , Pharmacy is school is super expensive and really hard. If your going to put in that much expense and hard work you could just go to PA or Medical school. Then youde be the one writing the prescriptions for people so its sort of like being a pharmacist anyway, except with likely better future pay.
@@DollyDomDom @ependysi is spot on the money. As a PA is less loans and comparable pay. As a physician it will be more loans but much greater earning potential. Just make sure you get into the right specialty because you can really end up hating your life. When I left Rx school in 2015, retail was offering 56. Walgreens since tried (and failed miserably) to drag down the average starting pay. That's not to say it won't happen again. The traditional pathways in pharmacy plateau at about 150k and that is VERY generous. Today, I can theoretically bring in north of 190k but that's with me working like a mad man and having zero time. From what I understand that's not even the bottom of the barrel for the least paying physician jobs.
If you go to Pharmacy school, work hard to prepare yourself and train for a career outside of retail: hospital, longterm care, consulting, home infusion, specialty fields such as oncology, cardiology, etc.. There are many other options. Retail is a nightmare and I would not recommend it.
The trades are labour starved, and CDL drivers have been in constant demand for years and still are. But yea there have been a lot of professions I've heard that about too. So it really depends what it is. And sometimes where you live
This is a very loaded question. I believe "Pharmacy" is too broad a term to really answer that question. There are circumstances that make it worth it, and some that make it a financial nightmare. There are Pharmacist in certain sectors that do extremely well.
I am a hospital pharmacist and do retail pharmacy as a side hustle. I make north oh 175k a year in combined income. Hospital pharmacy is a far better quality of life and I tolerate retail pharmacy on the side. Financially it has been VERY rewarding, but I have to say doing retail pharmacy as a career would not have been a good choice.
Pharmacists are now working as sales reps in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry making much more money than they did filling prescriptions. There are opportunities but not on the traditional career path.
Why would you get a doctorate degree to work in sales? My aunt was a college cheerleader who nearly flunked out of university and works in biotech sales.
@@aahsimovieprojects Most of the pharmacists do sales as a developmental step and get promoted to advanced positions where their degree will be utilized. As for your aunt, good for her. I've been in the industry since '98 and I've never met anyone who didn't have a college degree.
@@elitetrader5468 I appreciate the compliment. There are plenty of smart PAs and NPs out there who chose their career over MD/DO because they prefer work-life balance over prestige and money.
My suggestion would be to work as a pharmacy technician for 1-2 years. This would put him up close to what really takes place and hive Jim first hand knowledge of the industry before putting a dime into pharmacy school . Once he sees into the industry he may decide it is or isn't for him based in what he learns
He would not be an intern. He would be a technician. They do take a course but also some companies hire them and then train them. They ARE NOT pharmacy students. They act as cashiers, handle medicine somewhat but do not fill prescriptions.
We actually wont need that many pharmacists in the future. Even the federal bureau of labor predicts a decline in the total number of pharmacists employed as early as 2030.
@@thedude5040 But we do need more family care physicians in the future and the price to go for med school is staggering. I am beyond comprehension WHY this country is making going to college so expensive, especially for jobs that are relevant for a healthy society.
From someone who wanted to go to pharmacy school: no, not if you can get a free ride for school somehow. There is no point in getting yourself into an absurd amount of student loan debt to go to school.
It isn't that it isn't worth going into a lot of debt. For example, if you could go into debt 100k and get a job that pays 150k, that's a good investment. It's that the jobs and pay for pharmacy right now just aren't there. But there definitely is a point in going into debt for some school, just not pharmacy school right now.
@@kingartem the folks who call Dave with student loan debt didn’t follow his plan either, until they did. Just get the doctorate degree, then baby step your way out of debt. If everybody followed the baby steps their entire life, you wouldn’t have any doctors. Just live humbly like a resident and debt snowball your way out of the loans. I have a friend who turned down medical school to go into nursing because of his fear of debt. He gave up $200K/yr as a result of this.
I’m graduating from pharmacy school this May and I have a retail job lined up but the thing that terrifies me is that I feel like I will wind up hating my job. I wish I had set myself up better in pharmacy school to do a residency and become a clinical pharmacist, but I felt that my grades weren’t good enough and no residency program would want to interview me.
The switch to the PharmD program only has generated dollars (majority of the tuition years are graduate level credits - much higher cost) for the Universities. Since this happened (mid 1990s) the number of pharmacy schools has roughly doubled. Post baccalaureate, it'd be way smarter to pursue a career in medicine where you can find ways (eg military service) to pay for that education. Something that's not available to pharmacy folks.
I'm not a pharmacist But my gf graduated this year her and most of her classmates got very good jobs before even graduating. Mid 100k and large sign on bonuses. She works for a retail pharmacy with a pretty good work life balance. It seems pharmacy's are short handed. If you do it right you wont end up with a ton of debt either. She got many scholarships and qualified for may different programs. Her pharmacy school was virtually free. Search out there for schools what different payment options, grants and scholarships are out there. Even if this way the case their are other options out there for pharmacists other then retail. Good luck to all!
Do not do it. If you are smart enough to do Pharmacy School you will be greatly disappointed when your trucker friends are making more. Your lawyer friends who all did one less year of school will make two to five fold if they make partner or put the same effort forth. If you went the Medical Route you would have almost no competition in almost any specialty as their are residency barriers to entry to keep competition down, yet again in the long run pay is higher, but also more stress. Tech would be more interesting but there is the concerns of automation. Tech sales are booming however. This is a very bad career choice financially. You will be stressed out, understaffed and unappreciated. If the technicians call out you will have to work the entire store by yourself jumping between 3 different stations. Turnover is worse than McDonalds.
It's definitely worth it. The pay is increasing, there is a drought of pharmacist today and everything's going up. I know my pharmacy manager makes 230K a year after bonuses. You'll make a lot doing it. Now that pharmacist role is being expanding towards provider status and with the expanding role I'm sure the salaries will increase further. Also, as another side that a lot of people don't think about is that you'll be 1 year short of a masters of business and get a lot of knowledge of upcoming drugs and a lot of students make a lot in stocks. It's 1000% worth it.
@user-lu6yg3vk9z in a world where there's currently a pharmacist shortage and provider status approving in many states and increasing the role. Salaries are increasing and are offering large bonuses in my area. Provide some evidence to why it's bad instead of making a dad joke lol.
Great advice. And no, pharmacy is not worth it. Quality of life isn't great. High stress, too much debt for the wages. The retail environment is a nightmare.
DO NOT DO PHARMACY FULL TIME!! Get a teaching degree in chem or bio and become a relief pharmacist. Better hours, better schedule,you will be happier, and a lot less B.S.
Many medical fields are getting tougher in terms of pay and competition etc…put in your due deligence in terms of learning and comparing pros and cons of the field.. What is the real reason you want to do it and what are your expectations??? Also, speak to people that are currently doing it…Goodluck to all 🧠👌
seems like every pharmacy is understaffed and there are so many customers. i pick up meds for my grandma and regularly wait 40+ minutes. the staff seems stressed any pharmacy i go to
I think if you're interested in something, go for it. It's NOT much $$ you make/year, it's HOW you make it. As long as you begin your career focused on investing for cash flow in real assets to replace your active/earned income then your career choice shouldn't matter.
@@ignaciodominguez3214 look into PA or Nurse or NP. These profession are better then Pharmacists. Stay away from being a Physicians. physicians are being replaced with mid-level providers. P.S. Keep an eye the cost of everything and the job prospects of each professions
The money n retail pharmacy has been shrinking for almost a decade but there are plenty of other things that a pharmacist can do, I have to I work with in Caid. I had several in the hospital doing clinic and teaching and in the clinic. He needs to talk to more that one guy.
CVS and Walgreen's pharmacies don't do any compounding. Go to pharmacy school and find a traditional pharmacy to work for that is owned by someone who lives in the same state.
I am a layperson. Selling drugs that were manufactured by a supplier doesn’t seem to require an advanced pharmacy degree. It does require a very smart person and a high degree of responsibility to dispense only according to prescription. However, I think pharmacists catch mistakes made by doctors, incompatibility between drugs, and make suggestions patients can ask of their doctors for a more suitable treatment.
Compounding is not a windfall. It takes a lot longer to make the compound, and ingredients may not get all used for the cost. Reimbursement doesn't really make up the time to do.
@@thelogicaldanger *some* Walgreens locations so still do some compounding or you may have to go to an independent pharmacy to get all of your compounding needs meet.
What about a PHD in pharmaceutical science and work for big pharma? That way he can for sure get a PHD for free and still work in the pharmacy industry.
@@edhcb9359 It's nice that you have such a rosy view of it. As an RN, I think pharmaceutical companies are some of the most evil on the planet. They are interested in profits, not in saving lives. Nutrition is how to truly help people.
@@M2Abi Well I’m certainly glad that you work for free in the healthcare industry. That’s very benevolent of you. I’m sure you are not part of a greedy or evil nurse’s labor union are you? Seriously though I agree that nutrition is important and would solve a lot of problems but unfortunately America is not interested in that.
My sister worked in Walgreens pharmacy while pursuing her "pharmacist degree"( unsure of the actual degree), making $27 an hour. (98-2000s) Once she graduated with her Masters, She moved to Orlando and got a pharmacist job making $60 plus an hour. Some numbers of years later.... she went back to school to become a pediatrician. (2014) Moral of the story: Pharmacists make great money!!
@@edhcb9359 student loans range from $150k-250k. They are also decreasing the starting wages for pharmacists at big retailers... you see around 45$-50. It's pathetic.
Dear Caller, I'd recommend checking out Shane Hummus' channel here on TH-cam. Shane has a Pharmacist degree but now he's a professional TH-camr who does videos about various majors and college degrees. Sounds like it may be time for a future career pivot for you. I believe Shane could point you in the correct direction IMPO. BTW, I'm a Doctor of Chiropractic who's been utilizing my D.C. degree for 28 years now. I'm self employed and business in booming!
Shane was actually my classmate in Pharmacy school! 😄 he definitely does have an entrepreneurial mind even back before. But yea, I graduated with him back in 2018 and I’m now just almost about to finish paying off my loans which was almost 195k. Though granted, we went to a private institution with a 3 year program so it was almost about 60k a year.
Hey, y'all. I've been a pharmacist for a few years. This video highlights valid points; however, becoming a pharmacist can still be a GREAT path. I'd recommend *experiencing* the field before committing to student loans. Research the dozens of different specialties and areas pharmacist work (too many to list). The pharmacy field is forever evolving, and there are countless "practice" areas pharmacists prosper without the woes typically attributed to traditional retail pharmacy. The field continuously becomes more competitive, but plenty of great paying jobs still exist and there is still room for entrepreneurship. If you're in it because you believe it's an easier and faster way to +100k/yr compared to an MD, DDS, PA, etc., I can assure you that you will be disappointed. The work to position yourself as the perfect candidate for your desired gig should start years before applying to pharmacy school.
I thought there was a shortage and at the same time a surplus. It just looks like they are cutting hours in retail so I was wondering if more people move out from retail there would be a saturation again
My husband works in a pharmacy. Don’t do retail if you do go to pharmacy school. It’s not worth it for that, no. But if you open your own pharmacy then it might be worth it.
You shold do a PhD program in pharmaceutical science or drug discover etc then go into the industry and can even become a MSL etc......and more likely no debt due to TA or GA position. Your welcome
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I am a pharmacist... it is a great career but the debt, decreasing salary, and lack of jobs are making it not worthwhile. The schools got greedy and expanded too fast, now they are lowering their standards to keep enrollment up
I am a pharmacist as well. Pharmacists can always move to the pharmaceutical industry from retail. There are lots of jobs and the pay is really good. Pharmacy school is totally worth it. The caller should go ahead with his plans.
Then it sounds like it’s not a “great career”…
I could see why in 2019. Today I thought it may have been somewhat a little more viable since thousands quit during the pandemic but is it still bad?
@@katy1282 are there lots of other jobs that you can get with a pharmd other than a pharmacist? Maybe you can work for dea or something?
@@katy1282 don't need to go to pharmacy school to work in the pharmaceutical industry, vast majority people working in it are not pharmacists. He should just skip pharmacy school and go into the workforce or pursue a different career.
My wife is a pharmacist. She graduated with 220K in loans. For the first 5 years after she graduated, she was on an income based repayment plan. She paid 1k a month and paid almost 50K in just interest alone without touching a dollar in principal!
I married her and inherited her loans. Since we’ve been married, we have been paying anywhere from 2-5k per month over the last 5 years to pay off her loans. Her min loan monthly payment is 1,500. It’s been 10 years now since she graduated. After 5 years of paying 2-5k a month to her loans, her loans total is now 78K.
Pharmacy is just not worth it. She makes roughly 150k a year before taxes but long hours, high risk of errors, and really horrible people in retail settings. Also, she works with pharmacy techs and clerks that make a little over min wage and most of them didn’t go to college, and quit frequently.
Luckily, I make over 250k with no student loans in the tech field. We direct most of her salary to her school loans and we live off my salary. We live modestly in a small house, both drive used cars, and take luxury vacations each year. We could of paid off her loans more each month but I’m not living on rice and beans according to Ramsey’s method. It hurts to see 4K-5k a month going to her school loans but hey, I married her.
Any future spouses of Pharmacists, make sure you understand their school debt before marrying and their income.
Let’s be a bit more specific about this tech field position.
right! 😂 we need more information.
At the end of the day, you and your wife have to live with the debt. If you want to pay it off more power to you, but I don't think the issue you have is her having loans from pharmacy school.
Why did she take out so much debt? 😮
She must be hot. Good for you.
This guy is wise to talk to someone in a field he’s thinking of going into before he starts school
After listening to this episode, I went and told my Wife, Dave Ramsey says I need to have a bunch of options. I woke up this morning with a Form FL100 sitting in my front seat of my car. Thanks Dave
🤣
You had all your options and made your decision buddy
I recently went to my grocery store to get my monthly prescriptions. When I opened the sealed bag, I found the lid on one of them was off and pills were spilled all over the bottom of the bag. When I asked what happened, the Pharmacist told me that the monthly prescriptions are actually filled by machines at a distribution center several hundred miles away, not by humans, and occasionally a problem can happen. Machines are less expensive and part of the cause of lowering wages in that field.
Wages need to come down. Wages are only high in america. Im not sure other countries like germany even have retail pharmacists
@@thedude5040 With the level of schooling, training and expertise required to work in the field, compensation needs to match that.
@@texan903 well im afraid from my judgment its not that much school and not that much expertise. Its really too easy to get into PharmD school these days, you dont even need a bachelor's degree. I was a bio chemist and saw the writing on the wall. Looked into Medschool but my health gave out. Now Im a fully employed electrical engineer making the same amount of money.
@@thedude5040 there is also less of everything
@@thedude5040 98% of pharmacists in Europe work in retail. pharmacy is professional blind alley.
I'm in nursing school and totally agree with this video! more options are better for decision making.
Just because you go to pharmacy, Law, or medical school doesn’t mean you need to practice as a pharmacist in this specific case. A lot of ppl don’t take into account the industry they go into. Being a pharmacist doesn’t mean you will be stuck at CVS or Rite Aide for half your life. Pharmacists can go into medical affairs, regulatory affairs, clinical research, publications, or medical info & services. I was unaware of these options as well when graduating but there are def options that ppl are unaware of.
The ROI for pharmacy school is still weak.
@@edhcb9359 if $150k-$200k+ is not a good ROI then what is?
True of myself. I have a finance degree and work in HR 😁
@@dvil51 Paying $300k for a doctorate in pharmacy to make $150k(likely at a Wal-Mart or CVS) is not smart. Pharmaceutical sales pays $150k to $200k with a bachelors.
@@saulgoodman2018 LOL! OK I’ll bite. Where is pharmacy school $20k?
I am a retail pharmacist and steer away many young people from the profession. I have 31 years of retail experience and in the early years it was a good profession. Now you have a borderline unaffordable degree compared to your pay. Today's pharmacy school graduate is $300k in debt which will weigh on them for an average of 20 years! The stress in retail is out of control. Customers are getting ruder every day and we are always short staffed because techs don't make what they are worth. Do yourself a favor and go to PA or ARNP school!
No one respects mid level providers. Be an MD if you don't want to go into pharmacy.
My wife started in retail pharmacy but now works in a hospital after her residency. She enjoys it a lot more but it can be very stressful. Skipping lunches and breaks is a frequent occurrence alongside with being understaffed.
The only staff that get regular breaks in the hospital are cleaning staff.
My husband is a retail pharmacist and he rarely takes lunch.
She should be happy she is not a doctor
there’s a job shortage and places are understaffed?
I emphasize with this young man. I practiced as a Doctor of Optometry for 32 years. The compensation for optometry and pharmacy is no longer worth the Blood, Swear & Tears. Pharmacists are over qualified and under qualified for what they do in retail pharmacy. Avoid optometry also.
I meant to say:...' Under compensated fro what they do".
*empathize
Sorry but I think we need more EYE DOCTORS now then ever.
Look at how many messed up eye problems we have NOW for having our eyes glued to screens all day.
@@kathurtado13 You are right, but for the young person entering a 8 year path leading to O.D. degree, it doesn't make economic sense. Obama care excluded the optometrists.
@@paulbrungardt9823 What???!!!
My wife has been a pharmacist for 38 years and early on it was a good job. Now it gets worse by the year and she would advise others to stay away from this field.
Mind to explain? Maybe after 38 years she is ready to retire. What do you think teachers feel like after 38 years of teaching high school?
@@mathisnotforthefaintofheart it's not a lie, it's a joke of a field
The CVS and Walgreens of the world have made it harder to make real money as a pharmacist. They also control the insurances which pay pharmacies and have made it harder and harder for independent pharmacies to make money when in the past, independent pharmacy was a great way to become a millionaire.
Alex if you're reading this DON'T DO IT!!! Pharmacy has gone downhill and it's only getting worse. Literally do anything else.
Unless he is shooting for a specialty. It is very competitive, but many of those fields are growing rather than declining. If he was planning on retail, then I would say not only is it miserable, but also just not worth it. I found my dream job in nuclear, knowing I hated retail before I even started college...but then I see my former classmates in retail, and their situation is so different
@@llallogen7380how you liking nuclear pharmacy? What’s your day to day like?
Yes, please do tell! I had an internship back in 1989 and found it fascinating then, but I ended up in independent pharmacy and then home IV infusion. I would love to hear more of your story!
Pharmacy has always sucked, and it has gotten worse year after year. With Covid, it got exponentially worse, and the trend keeps going. Run in the opposite direction. Get a commerce or business degree, ( so much easier) learn a couple of languages and you can find something better in life.
I'm an ICU h pharmacist. Pharmacy school is way too expensive now. Most nonretail pharmacy jobs require residency and/or board certification. That takes at least 1+ yr of post grad training +experience. That's years of loss salary and debt.
Pharmacy students don't know s$it when out of school, so yeah I want them getting residencies if they are going to work at my hospital.
I also wanted to become a pharmacist/pharmacologist, but I heard the same story even a few year ago - it wasn't worth it and the people were miserable. I took a gap year (or two), then went back to grad school for chemistry. Most state grad schools will also have grants/scholarships that if you get in, your tuition is waived, and you may even get a stipend for being an RA or TA. Was wayyyyyy better to get my Masters and am now working in the medical device industry and basically get paid to study, rather than do pharmacy with loads of debt after.
DON'T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is an infinitely better career path than retail pharmacy. No contest. Congratulations!
Industrial hygiene. Check that out.
My wife is a pharmacist and has actively steered people away from the field due to the hours, the lack of pay compared to the pay and little opportunities for advancements.
I have told people the same thing. I retired early. No regrets about that.
@@arielacosta9504 Long hours...
@@saulgoodman2018, lol. Haters gonna hate
thats interesting, dont pharmacists start out at 120k no matter where they graduate from?
@@kuryanthomas1438, they used to now they make a little less, but when you consider that it's a doctorate degree and will cost you north of $160k at a state school the ROI isn't great.
I was going to be a pharmacist when I started college. I ended up graduating with a degree in cybersecurity and making the same salary as a pharmacist without the crazy debt.
That’s a great field right now
Is it a computer science degree or how many years does it take for cybersecurity?
But a cyber security specialist in the US can be easier replaced by some random Indian overseas than a pharmacist in a Walgreens. A pharmacist is general a stable position. But I got your point, the debt is a deal breaker. For that reason I would never opt for med school (even if I had the academic capacity, which I don't, admittedly)
Cyber security is uninspiring and they don’t get paid as well if you look at literally any metric.
What's the path? Can i take a crash course?
Video was done two years ago but it’s still true. Too much money invested in a PhD to become a pharmacist and not enough jobs out there to cover the cost
PhD is not the degree pharmacists get unless they intend to pursue academia/research. Stop talking like you have knowledge.
My best friend from college is a pharmacist and said he doesn't recommend it unless there's a salary increase. It's sad that the price of college and the salary is deterring millions of americans from saving lives.
how much of a salary decrease
@@venombrand3157 use to be $60 starting off right out school back in 2005. Now new grads are getting offered between $35-$50 starting but take into consideration $250k student loans.
@@user-lu6yg3vk9z sorry 250k of what? the tuition costs?
@@venombrand3157 yes and that also includes living expenses because you can't really work full time to support yourself when you are in pharmacy school.
@@venombrand3157 yes debt
I’m a pharmacist in UK 10+ years service and I hate it. Staff cuts everywhere and barely any pay increase. More services are added for us to do and that’s on top of all the normal work load with no extra help or pay. I was convinced by my parents to do pharmacy but I actually wanted to be a vet which is one of my biggest regrets
Would you ever go back to vet school?
I got degree in biology. And now working as a quality control tech in tobacco industry. You never know where you will end up with your degree. But be mindful of those loans. They will give you a lot of headaches.
is that based off the bio degree? i also have one but was thinking of pharm, med, etc but felt like the loans and the length of schooling wasn't worth it
@@MrLuffy9131 an internship and volunteer experience got me where I am now. I also went to community college first which ended up saving me a lot of money so yeah it wasn't so bad for me.
Student debt is what has made careers like pharmacist, veterinarian, dentist, and lawyer no longer worth it. Once you get into that kind of debt, you are basically stuck for life even if you hate the job.
I want to be a vet always wanted to but I refuse to me that deep in debt
First of all, get all of the scholarships you can. Secondly, live like a broke student until it's paid off.
@@jimroscovius Problem is that most student loans are negatively amortizing (unlike home mortgages). The loan just grows and grows and is never paid off. Plus you have no consumer protections (bankruptcy, fair debt collections) if you run into hard times. Bad ROI for most!
Not true. Most lawyers have never made a lot of money. The vast majority end up pursuing accidents and traffic ticket cases. Or being public defenders making 35k a year. The prestige, overshadowed the average lawyers
@@elreytriton Lazy attorneys are broke. A go getter that will work 40/50 hours a week can make bank. A corporate/state attorney is low pay.
I am a pharmacist. Made a pivot going into managed care pharmacy.. Couple of my school mates went into the pharmaceutical industry doing pharmacist medical science liaison work My friends and I are enjoying our jobs with good work life balance. There are good options out there for pharmacists. And overall, being a pharmacist is still a good profession .
Hi! I recently got into pharmacy school. I keep reading a lot of negative things about the profession. I’m worried to go to the school now. Can you give me some advice?
@@Srinidhi.S1122 Hi. Don't be worried. When you are in school, there will be clubs for different non traditional options. I suggest you join those clubs that will help you explore different career options in pharmacy.
@@gng500bs thank you so much. It’s just there’s so much negativity about pharmacists on Reddit and many websites people are just fighting among each other. Some say pharmacists can make 400k and some are just laughing at that comment of pharmacists can never make that much. I feel like pharmacists in general are making very negative statements on these posts. It’s sad. Me as the coming student in pharmacy school it’s not giving me any positive vibes from reading these posts. I would like to make money because I’m going to be in a lot of debt cause I’m going to a private school. I really thought being a pharmacist can pay of the debt but there’s so many people commenting that pharmacists are similar to nurses and all. Idk at this point. What do you suggest I should do?
@@Srinidhi.S1122 Welcome. Yeah a lot of pharmacy students and pharmacists are not really aware of other options. For example, working in managed care pharmacy is not a typical area where a pharmacist would work in. That's understandable. Now in terms of your future debt, I understand that you are worried about it. Since it looks like you will be taking out a large amount of student loans, I would suggest working out a plan between you and your financial aid officer or your parents or both to pay down your loans while you are in school. For example, one of my classmates worked out a plan with her financial aid advisor to make small monthly payments. My classmate would work as a pharmacy intern at a hospital and she would use part of her paycheck to make small payments on her loans. Another classmate of mine would have her parents make minimum payments while she was in school. After she graduated then she would take over the payments. These are examples that would help minimize your student loans debt. Just start with this first. While you're in school, you can start looking at what career options that can pay u more. And FYI, I do know a couple of classmates who are making a base of greater than $220k a year in pharma. And they are just staff pharmacists. Also, take a look at the scholly scholarship website. They have a database of scholarships that might help you out
@@Srinidhi.S1122I am in same boat like you.
I’m a pharmacist. If I had a crystal ball, I would never have gone into the field. At 58 I’m going to go back to school and get a CS degree. I’m talking retail pharmacy. The clinical/hospital path might be OK. The problem with retail is PBMs control it. Some plans the average profit per script is 82 cents. As an owner it’s ridiculous. It affects the chains too. They have to increase their volume and lower their labor. So you’re filling more scripts with less help. A perfect recipe for many medication error disasters.
And it’s the pharmacist who takes all the blame
One time I went to pick up mom's thyroid medication. When I got out to the car and looked in the bag it was fentanyl patches 😝 I think the pharmacist was kind of embarrassed when I went back in. I would imagine someone got an ass chewing.
Hospital., even being board certified is no any better.
I was originally a pre-pharm major. Hated the field after working years as a tech. The debt to income ratio just isn't worth most of these doctorates anymore. I switched my major and graduated with a bachelor's in dental hygiene. It's a good field, work with my hands and patients, relatively minimal student loan debt (30k). I considered going back to get my DMD, but half a million in debt with less return than ever just isn't worth it at my age.
Average pay for a home every day Class A trucker is $80 to 85k per year. Expected to work 50 hours per week.
@@RD-nc8xt Truckers pay for it in their health, not income. Higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
@@athens31415 take a look around you. OBESITY Iis everywhere in all professions. Home every day truck drivers that make deliveries in the city they reside in get plenty of exercise compared to someone sitting at a desk all day. A Truck driver do not drive over the road everywhere. There is local home everyday truck drivers that average 80k per year that are healthy .
I’m a hospital clinical pharmacist - the retail gig isn’t really desirable anymore considering hospital jobs pay more and give much better quality of life. Graduated with 140k total in debt for my first year out of residency salary being $140k. I enjoy my job and am challenged daily. There are also great perks like them paying for you to go back to school if interested in a MHA/MBA - it can still be a good career path!
When did you graduate?
Thank you. Finally someone with some positive feedback. I’m about to graduate pharmacy school and only 60k in debt. There’s a lot of exaggerations on this comment section. If you’re interested in pharmacy it’s a great career path don’t listen to this junk.
I’m a nurse, I’m told the same this at work, and pharmacy is a racket-totally saturated-do engineering-STEM, robotics, AI will be the best for a 24 yo
Hello sorry what did u say? AI will replace pharmacians or what exactly you said
yep--had numerous pharmD roomies and it's tough for them getting work, even retail work is hard to get--algorithm will be AI's mini tin god for all things not just medical--follow the money and the algorithms@@MM71017
PA school, Medical school, anesthesiology assistant
I am a current pharmacist. The debt to income ratio isn’t worth it like It use to be unfortunately. Wages of stagnated and the job has become so corporatized with lots of pressure to meet metrics. In a community pharmacy setting pharmacists have to multitask and move very fast. Which is big risk for a misfit accident. If you can get residency I’d say maybe go for it. But, be aware residency is very tough to land these days. Very competitive! And clinical pharmacists make just as much as community. But, just like dentistry the debt to income ratio is enormous. You will have to take out living expenses loans if you don’t have the ability to live at home and have family help also. I’d say go shadow a community pharmacist then go shadow a pharmacist in a hospital setting first. 80% of what you learn as a Pharmd is put to the way side in community especially working for big chains.
What wage/wage range are you or most people currently at?
@@imanihenderson I am at 60$ pay rate
I started at 45
@@zachwalters8001 thanks for the reply! How many years experience for you to reach that pay level?
He also needs to get some other information than just one guy. There is so much BS in the healthcare industry and rumors. I have been a RN 17 years. When I was getting my BSN there were people telling me there were "too many" nurses. Yeah ok. in 2021 I made 127K and get job offers daily.
His friend is right. New pharmacy grads are having to take part time jobs with no benefits. It's pretty grim.
RN is the premier demand occupation in the Country and that's not changing. Of course the RN care now sucks compared to 15-20 years ago andthey're pumping out incompetent nurses for money these days. High paid pill passers, I wouldn't trust my family's care with a many of the younger ones.
Daniel you are 100% correct!
Thank you for your service! 😊
You must travel
Pharmacy, veterinary, optometry, chiropractic…all among those occupations with low ROI. If you have rich parents who will foot the bill and you you don’t have lofty earning expectations then go for it. Otherwise stay far away!
Better that your parents give you the money they would have wasted on graduate degree.
I just finished pharmacy school and a 2 year residency... I will say as long as you are willing to do clinical pharmacy and not retail, it is worth it
Yes, but limited clinical positions...lots of competition for limited openings...very political and have to be treated poorly by physicians.
@@paulbrungardt9823 I personally didn't experience any of that, maybe location driven... Also I am a mental health pharmacist, which may be more in demand but I had several options for employment once I finished my residency. I work at the VA and all the physicians are great!
Yes I’m a pact pharmd as well and I love my job. However, if I had to work retail I would likely hate my life. We have it good working for the VA but these jobs are VERY tough to get as you likely know. I personally would not recommend the field of pharmacy to a new ugrad given the opportunities out there. If healthcare is the direction you want to head I would explore dentistry/mid levels/optometry/physician. Just my thoughts
But you are taking a gamble that you will ever be able to get a residency.
@@philipbahn6863 If you have even a modest work ethic you will get a residency, may not be your first choice, but you will get a spot
I am a pharmacist working full time for 5 years now, if i go back in time i wouldn’t choose this career. Its very much controlled by few players the wages are not going up… my only advice if you must do this pharmacy always have a second plan if it doesn’t work out the way you hope to.
U work in retail sir?
@@MM71017 yes i work in retail
My niece has student loans of 160k to become a teacher and makes $17 an hour and my 19 yr old daughter makes 16 an hour at walmart .. I couldn't imagine being in debt like that
Holy cow. I get paid 17/hr doing housekeeping with no degree and they are paying for my college degree while I work.
There is definitely a war on teachers and education... esp. public school.
Have you worked in a pharmacy? Might want to be a pharmacy technician for a summer and see what it is like.
I come from a family of pharmacists and they too would not recommend newcomers because of the lack of jobs, reduced salary, the number of hours it takes to become one, and the difficulty in getting a pharmacy license in a new state (should you ever want to move).
However, if that's truly what you want to do, then go for it. But I would really want to know if that's something you truly want to do.
Currently in my first of four years of pharmacy school. I currently work as a pharmacy extern in a hospital and I really enjoy it. It’s more back-end work (i.e. not interacting with patients, which I like), but it’s not super difficult and is sometimes stressful, but not overwhelming. I enjoy the material I’m learning and like the curriculum and hope to work as a night shift pharmacist at the hospital I’m currently at until I pay back my loans as a minimum. From what I’ve been told by other pharmacists, it’s a field that can be great, but has slowly deteriorated over the years.
Please drop out before it's too late. You will regret this.
@@aahsimovieprojectsAlready $23k into it, can’t back out now 😂
hey i’d like to ask you some questions about your experience so far
@@Gravel22Gaming U should be good
@@dayanamilian2480 Absolutely! Feel free to ask away!
I almost went down the doctor path with my undergrad in chemistry.
I realized early on, if the doctor path didn’t pan out the best I could do with a chemistry degree was being a lab tech earning $20 an hour. I switched to chemical engineering and it was the best thing I did.
An engineering degree opens many doors.
Defer for a year to do your research and work on backup plan. I did this with Med school and actually decided not to go after being accepted could not deal with the debt. I found another passion and happy with my decision. Following your dreams should not bankrupt you or stress you sick.
What did u do instead? Thank u
Job field is not saturated, we are understaffed and pharmacies are desperate to hire. Pay has no gone down in my area (California). Not saying pharmacy school is worth it as it's a tough job, but there are opportunities for people that can handle it.
Perhaps the young man can get a job at a pharmacy as an assistant and he can see "from the inside" if he would like to go into the pharmacy profession. Taking a year to work never hurt anyone before going back to school....especially if they already have a degree.
I wonder if having OCD would help when your counting all those pills 😁
This is what I did and now I want nothing to with pharmacy. I see what pharmacists of today go through, it aint worth it!!!
Research doesn't pay unless you are the primary investigator with a PhD
They meant he needs to research his options.
It doesn't pay period. Only in house research with a big pharma company pays. Academic researchers make squat.
Don't do it. Trust me. Too many negatives!
He needs a mentor who is a pharmacist. He needs to meet with and talk to pharmacists. And he needs to shadow a few pharmacists before committing his life to this.
I know a guy who went to pharmacy school who is a car salesman.
lol🤣
omg!! this literally made me laugh out loud! Are you joking?!?!?!
@@onetallgirl1369 no I’m not kidding. He got caught writing prescriptions for friends a few months into his job and lost his license permanently.
@@Guitarlvr01 omg! That's crazy!
Don’t do it, Alex. I graduated pharmacy school 10 years ago and the career is not worth it any more.
Yes, Dido for those thinking about optometry.
Nurse practitioner is a great field
@@anarose623 no. It will saturate soon . Don’t do it
@@bezagebremedhine5102 Doubt it. Aging population and the fact it's much cheaper to train a dozen nurses instead of a few doctors. Future looks bright in this route.
@@consensualcode9750 NP's are already saturated in desirable places, and will quickly be filling up in the undesirable places. NP schools have proliferated, and anybody and their brother are all going to NP school. There are now BSN/NP schools so people don't even have to actually work a day as a nurse before becoming a NP.
I am fortunate to be a debt free pharmacist thanks to the Indian Health Service scholarship. In all honesty, the decision to go to pharmacy school would have been harder if I were faced with loans.
Would you say that it was worth it with no loans?
Walgreens is paying $50/hr. Not worth it if you are taking out. 200k in student loans. A decent paying job pay $25-30/hr without going to all that debt.
Don’t tell me this is how much a Pharmacist makes? Nurses make more then this in my state, this is ridiculously low for a lot of dept
That can’t be real. I’m a hospital pharmacist and I make way over that
It really isn't my wife works at Walgreens and they were lowballing entry level pharmacist at $47 an hour if they can get away with it, another girl just started there also and she's making 65 starting. @@toyarj37
@@toyarj37that is real.$50/hr is the average.
I was in pre-pharmacy school. It wasn't for me. There are so many career paths to choose from. I chose IT (web developer).
Way better!
You made the right choice.
Very good choice!
How long does it take?
Could you give a little more insight on becoming an IT worker
This pop up on my list, and I am a pharmacist, and you guess it right, for years working in Pharmacy, I still have so much debt, and the field is indeed very saturated, I work with one of the biggest retail chain, other position outside of retail, has become very competitive due to residency program. Of course you can try to work for industries as well. But they also have a internship program and it does not mean you can get it. I got an on site interview after interviewed with 7 drug companies and was the final 2 candidates to compete for one position out of 450 candidates. Ended up failed the last interviews. Now working at retail, and they are a very stressful place, please do as much research as you can, before you commit to it.
I don’t do pharmacy because of money, I did it, because I wanted to help people, but retail life has killed my passions, killed my compassion for patient, and ruined my physical health, and mental health. And with 250k student loan. Please think twice.
Many pharmaceutical company offer job for science major undergrad. You don’t need a doctor degree for that.
What solution did u find? Still in retail sir?
Good luck
This is not helping people! It starts with young kids, take care of yourself. You have more power of your health than you think!
if you are smart enough, YES, complete your PrarmD...always worth it...don't forget pharm for Veterinary needs...
Don't quit on your dreams! There is soo much to pharmacy than retail and hospital.
What do you think about exactly please?
The thing is , Pharmacy is school is super expensive and really hard. If your going to put in that much expense and hard work you could just go to PA or Medical school. Then youde be the one writing the prescriptions for people so its sort of like being a pharmacist anyway, except with likely better future pay.
@@DollyDomDom I'm a doctor.
@@DollyDomDom @ependysi is spot on the money. As a PA is less loans and comparable pay. As a physician it will be more loans but much greater earning potential. Just make sure you get into the right specialty because you can really end up hating your life. When I left Rx school in 2015, retail was offering 56. Walgreens since tried (and failed miserably) to drag down the average starting pay. That's not to say it won't happen again.
The traditional pathways in pharmacy plateau at about 150k and that is VERY generous. Today, I can theoretically bring in north of 190k but that's with me working like a mad man and having zero time. From what I understand that's not even the bottom of the barrel for the least paying physician jobs.
Are you still in retail?
If you go to Pharmacy school, work hard to prepare yourself and train for a career outside of retail: hospital, longterm care, consulting, home infusion, specialty fields such as oncology, cardiology, etc.. There are many other options. Retail is a nightmare and I would not recommend it.
I feel like every industry the workers say, "it's oversaturated" "it's not what it used to be". Gotta take a shot at something.
Not IT.
The trades are labour starved, and CDL drivers have been in constant demand for years and still are. But yea there have been a lot of professions I've heard that about too. So it really depends what it is. And sometimes where you live
@@trancemonger4764 I was thinking of trades but which would you recommend
This is a very loaded question. I believe "Pharmacy" is too broad a term to really answer that question. There are circumstances that make it worth it, and some that make it a financial nightmare. There are Pharmacist in certain sectors that do extremely well.
42 years and finally out of this idiotic profession!
I am a hospital pharmacist and do retail pharmacy as a side hustle. I make north oh 175k a year in combined income. Hospital pharmacy is a far better quality of life and I tolerate retail pharmacy on the side. Financially it has been VERY rewarding, but I have to say doing retail pharmacy as a career would not have been a good choice.
The answer for him is no. He's in it for the (not enough) money. If you were passionate about it you would do it, regardless of any obstacles.
Pharmacists are now working as sales reps in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry making much more money than they did filling prescriptions. There are opportunities but not on the traditional career path.
Why would you get a doctorate degree to work in sales? My aunt was a college cheerleader who nearly flunked out of university and works in biotech sales.
@@aahsimovieprojects Most of the pharmacists do sales as a developmental step and get promoted to advanced positions where their degree will be utilized. As for your aunt, good for her. I've been in the industry since '98 and I've never met anyone who didn't have a college degree.
He should consider PA school. It’s a great career with great pay and he’d be competitive with that major and GPA
I've never met a smart PA. You might be the first though.
@@elitetrader5468 I appreciate the compliment. There are plenty of smart PAs and NPs out there who chose their career over MD/DO because they prefer work-life balance over prestige and money.
My suggestion would be to work as a pharmacy technician for 1-2 years. This would put him up close to what really takes place and hive Jim first hand knowledge of the industry before putting a dime into pharmacy school . Once he sees into the industry he may decide it is or isn't for him based in what he learns
dont you have to be in pharmacy school to get an intership as technician?
He would not be an intern. He would be a technician. They do take a course but also some companies hire them and then train them.
They ARE NOT pharmacy students. They act as cashiers, handle medicine somewhat but do not fill prescriptions.
@@jillgott6567 Gotchu, is it possible for an undergrad to gain this experience over the summer or anything similar? thank you
We will always need pharmacists and Doctors. The question is finding a way to pay for schooling and compensation after education.
We actually wont need that many pharmacists in the future. Even the federal bureau of labor predicts a decline in the total number of pharmacists employed as early as 2030.
@@thedude5040 But we do need more family care physicians in the future and the price to go for med school is staggering. I am beyond comprehension WHY this country is making going to college so expensive, especially for jobs that are relevant for a healthy society.
I mean, there are jobs out there for new-grad pharmacists, just not the one you WANT, or the position that you're QUALIFIED for.
Don’t do it !! The profession is trash. And retail is the worst totally .
From someone who wanted to go to pharmacy school: no, not if you can get a free ride for school somehow. There is no point in getting yourself into an absurd amount of student loan debt to go to school.
It isn't that it isn't worth going into a lot of debt. For example, if you could go into debt 100k and get a job that pays 150k, that's a good investment. It's that the jobs and pay for pharmacy right now just aren't there. But there definitely is a point in going into debt for some school, just not pharmacy school right now.
@@gil5111 Then you aren’t following Dave’s principles- when did he ever mentioned: take out a student loan?
@@kingartem the folks who call Dave with student loan debt didn’t follow his plan either, until they did. Just get the doctorate degree, then baby step your way out of debt. If everybody followed the baby steps their entire life, you wouldn’t have any doctors. Just live humbly like a resident and debt snowball your way out of the loans. I have a friend who turned down medical school to go into nursing because of his fear of debt. He gave up $200K/yr as a result of this.
@@kingartem The point is that if you can make a 200k investment to increase your earnings by millions and millions, it's a good idea.
hi, so i have a no tuition grant for undergrad. would this be enough to make the debt manageable?
Occupational Outlook Handbook, research different career and find a great one that uses your degree and is growing.
No, don't do it. Do anything else
I’m graduating from pharmacy school this May and I have a retail job lined up but the thing that terrifies me is that I feel like I will wind up hating my job. I wish I had set myself up better in pharmacy school to do a residency and become a clinical pharmacist, but I felt that my grades weren’t good enough and no residency program would want to interview me.
The switch to the PharmD program only has generated dollars (majority of the tuition years are graduate level credits - much higher cost) for the Universities. Since this happened (mid 1990s) the number of pharmacy schools has roughly doubled. Post baccalaureate, it'd be way smarter to pursue a career in medicine where you can find ways (eg military service) to pay for that education. Something that's not available to pharmacy folks.
I'm not a pharmacist But my gf graduated this year her and most of her classmates got very good jobs before even graduating. Mid 100k and large sign on bonuses. She works for a retail pharmacy with a pretty good work life balance. It seems pharmacy's are short handed. If you do it right you wont end up with a ton of debt either. She got many scholarships and qualified for may different programs. Her pharmacy school was virtually free. Search out there for schools what different payment options, grants and scholarships are out there. Even if this way the case their are other options out there for pharmacists other then retail. Good luck to all!
What pharmacy school is free?
Shoutout to the graphics person: the got to go transition in the title was smooth 😄
Do not do it. If you are smart enough to do Pharmacy School you will be greatly disappointed when your trucker friends are making more. Your lawyer friends who all did one less year of school will make two to five fold if they make partner or put the same effort forth. If you went the Medical Route you would have almost no competition in almost any specialty as their are residency barriers to entry to keep competition down, yet again in the long run pay is higher, but also more stress. Tech would be more interesting but there is the concerns of automation. Tech sales are booming however. This is a very bad career choice financially. You will be stressed out, understaffed and unappreciated. If the technicians call out you will have to work the entire store by yourself jumping between 3 different stations. Turnover is worse than McDonalds.
It's definitely worth it. The pay is increasing, there is a drought of pharmacist today and everything's going up. I know my pharmacy manager makes 230K a year after bonuses. You'll make a lot doing it. Now that pharmacist role is being expanding towards provider status and with the expanding role I'm sure the salaries will increase further. Also, as another side that a lot of people don't think about is that you'll be 1 year short of a masters of business and get a lot of knowledge of upcoming drugs and a lot of students make a lot in stocks. It's 1000% worth it.
Are u on drugs?? No pun intended. It definitely isn’t worth it.
@user-lu6yg3vk9z in a world where there's currently a pharmacist shortage and provider status approving in many states and increasing the role. Salaries are increasing and are offering large bonuses in my area. Provide some evidence to why it's bad instead of making a dad joke lol.
Great advice. And no, pharmacy is not worth it. Quality of life isn't great. High stress, too much debt for the wages. The retail environment is a nightmare.
My niece is a pharmacist. Expensive school, but she lived at home for three years and paid off school. She is able to make six figures/year.
DO NOT DO PHARMACY FULL TIME!! Get a teaching degree in chem or bio and become a relief pharmacist. Better hours, better schedule,you will be happier, and a lot less B.S.
Many medical fields are getting tougher in terms of pay and competition etc…put in your due deligence in terms of learning and comparing pros and cons of the field.. What is the real reason you want to do it and what are your expectations??? Also, speak to people that are currently doing it…Goodluck to all 🧠👌
A relative is a pharmacist. She says it's different than it use to be. However, she makes six figures.
Get the Pharmacy degree enter the Military as an officer working as a Pharmacist. Retired in 20 years of service.
Was it worth it? I want to know because I am in the army and in pharmacy school too
@@Ms_Bineywhat do you do now?
@@Man_in_a_Gucci_Suit I am still in the army and in the healthcare sector
@@Ms_Biney you gonna work in a hospital when you get out? Or continue education or?
@ I’m actually doing both, I’m in school on the civilian side while in the army. And yes, I’d work in a hospital
seems like every pharmacy is understaffed and there are so many customers. i pick up meds for my grandma and regularly wait 40+ minutes. the staff seems stressed any pharmacy i go to
Just go watch a pharmacist work. Who wants to do that!
I think if you're interested in something, go for it. It's NOT much $$ you make/year, it's HOW you make it.
As long as you begin your career focused on investing for cash flow in real assets to replace your active/earned income then your career choice shouldn't matter.
Do NOT go into pharmacy now. Terrible choice
So what should I do?
@@ignaciodominguez3214 pa school
@@ignaciodominguez3214 look into PA or Nurse or NP. These profession are better then Pharmacists. Stay away from being a Physicians. physicians are being replaced with mid-level providers.
P.S. Keep an eye the cost of everything and the job prospects of each professions
I regret becoming a pharmacist every single day!
Great job guys! Great info!
I would like to have known how
Much debt pharmacy school would leave him in.
$110,000+ without scholarships based on tuition for less expensive schools.
@@plathiasjenkins1011 you have a better chance of winning 100k from the lottery than getting a pharmacy scholarship.
...and by all means ignore your passion and think only of the money.
@@saulgoodman2018 For real, how many people become pharmacists out of the shear love of putting pills in a bottle?
I am a teacher.... Love it... Do it.
The money n retail pharmacy has been shrinking for almost a decade but there are plenty of other things that a pharmacist can do, I have to I work with in Caid. I had several in the hospital doing clinic and teaching and in the clinic. He needs to talk to more that one guy.
I think the manufacturers better flip the script and start looking into stress
CVS and Walgreen's pharmacies don't do any compounding. Go to pharmacy school and find a traditional pharmacy to work for that is owned by someone who lives in the same state.
I am a layperson. Selling drugs that were manufactured by a supplier doesn’t seem to require an advanced pharmacy degree. It does require a very smart person and a high degree of responsibility to dispense only according to prescription. However, I think pharmacists catch mistakes made by doctors, incompatibility between drugs, and make suggestions patients can ask of their doctors for a more suitable treatment.
Compounding is not a windfall. It takes a lot longer to make the compound, and ingredients may not get all used for the cost. Reimbursement doesn't really make up the time to do.
All pharmacies do a certain amount of compounding.
@@thelogicaldanger *some* Walgreens locations so still do some compounding or you may have to go to an independent pharmacy to get all of your compounding needs meet.
What about a PHD in pharmaceutical science and work for big pharma? That way he can for sure get a PHD for free and still work in the pharmacy industry.
Morals
@@DM-zw3dj Yeah it would be immoral to help discover and develop drugs that save or improve people’s lives. 😂
@@edhcb9359 It's nice that you have such a rosy view of it. As an RN, I think pharmaceutical companies are some of the most evil on the planet. They are interested in profits, not in saving lives. Nutrition is how to truly help people.
@@M2Abi Well I’m certainly glad that you work for free in the healthcare industry. That’s very benevolent of you. I’m sure you are not part of a greedy or evil nurse’s labor union are you? Seriously though I agree that nutrition is important and would solve a lot of problems but unfortunately America is not interested in that.
My sister worked in Walgreens pharmacy while pursuing her "pharmacist degree"( unsure of the actual degree), making $27 an hour. (98-2000s)
Once she graduated with her Masters, She moved to Orlando and got a pharmacist job making $60 plus an hour.
Some numbers of years later.... she went back to school to become a pediatrician. (2014)
Moral of the story:
Pharmacists make great money!!
Pharmacists now require a doctorate degree and the cost to get that degree has tripled since your sister went.
@@edhcb9359 student loans range from $150k-250k. They are also decreasing the starting wages for pharmacists at big retailers... you see around 45$-50. It's pathetic.
And they hate their jobs. Retail pharmacy is awful. Who cares how much ur paid if you hate your job and life?!
100K to 115K per year is just enough for the basic with the rate of inflation.
Only if you like working odd sifts, holidays and weekends. Gets very old.
George the joke finally got to speak for five seconds at the end
Dear Caller,
I'd recommend checking out Shane Hummus' channel here on TH-cam.
Shane has a Pharmacist degree but now he's a professional TH-camr who does videos about various majors and college degrees.
Sounds like it may be time for a future career pivot for you. I believe Shane could point you in the correct direction IMPO.
BTW, I'm a Doctor of Chiropractic who's been utilizing my D.C. degree for 28 years now. I'm self employed and business in booming!
Shane was actually my classmate in Pharmacy school! 😄 he definitely does have an entrepreneurial mind even back before. But yea, I graduated with him back in 2018 and I’m now just almost about to finish paying off my loans which was almost 195k. Though granted, we went to a private institution with a 3 year program so it was almost about 60k a year.
@@YourFriendlyBudgetarian
Cool! Great job! TY for sharing.
You're one of the few, chiropractic is going down the drain.
@@YourFriendlyBudgetarian UOP graduate?
@@lzkrishmom naaah, roseman graduate haha!
Got my pharmacy degree and PhD out of the US. Working for a pharmaceutical company 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑. Get your degree and work for a pharmaceutical company
How'd you go about finding these jobs and what are some good pharmaceutical companies to work for?
Don't do it
Hey, y'all. I've been a pharmacist for a few years. This video highlights valid points; however, becoming a pharmacist can still be a GREAT path. I'd recommend *experiencing* the field before committing to student loans. Research the dozens of different specialties and areas pharmacist work (too many to list). The pharmacy field is forever evolving, and there are countless "practice" areas pharmacists prosper without the woes typically attributed to traditional retail pharmacy. The field continuously becomes more competitive, but plenty of great paying jobs still exist and there is still room for entrepreneurship. If you're in it because you believe it's an easier and faster way to +100k/yr compared to an MD, DDS, PA, etc., I can assure you that you will be disappointed. The work to position yourself as the perfect candidate for your desired gig should start years before applying to pharmacy school.
I thought there was a shortage and at the same time a surplus. It just looks like they are cutting hours in retail so I was wondering if more people move out from retail there would be a saturation again
Don't do it. I'm a pharmacist. Not worth it. I graduated four years ago and can not get a permanent regular consistent job.
My husband works in a pharmacy. Don’t do retail if you do go to pharmacy school. It’s not worth it for that, no. But if you open your own pharmacy then it might be worth it.
You shold do a PhD program in pharmaceutical science or drug discover etc then go into the industry and can even become a MSL etc......and more likely no debt due to TA or GA position. Your welcome