Is Pharmacy School Still Worth It?

good advice and i'm a pharmacist

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!

IMO, pharmacists will be among the first to be replaced by AI. I worked as a pharmacy tech for a short time (certified). That experience was an eye-opener. The whole thing is like fast-food with a lot of rules. Techs did most of the burger-flipping. The pharmacist would briefly review things, and speak to the customer if they needed clarification. There was nothing a pharmacist did that couldn't be done by AI (or remotely, serving multiple pharmacies nationwide). They would say that drug interactions are complex, requiring a human to spot them. But, that's nonsense. If they could learn it, so could a machine. If a machine can learn to drive, it can organize a finite set of data and its interdependencies.

They've tried to protect themselves through state boards of licensing requiring pharmacies to have a live pharmacist present. But, that's just arbitrary. Eventually the day will come when "why" is asked.

The main purpose they serve is accountability for inventory, and especially sched 2 product. But, they trust some hourly courier to deliver totes of product (including sched 2). They can figure out a way to have accountability with less education & cost. Pharmacists are rediculously overpaid for what they do (especially compared to techs, and what they do). It's justified as "they spend alot for school." But, that's largely the byproduct of state boards of licensing staffed with pharmacists setting standards higher than they need to be, protecting their interests. It's essentially a monopoly when seen this way.

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 🧠👌

I would not recommend going into pharmacy school it is no longer worth it under value based care and being paid for outcomes instead of being paid for dispensing (from pill centered to patient centered). They are training the registered nurses and clinical nurse specialist to do the same job as pharmacist and clinical pharmacist specialist. All healthcare workers are going to be paid based on outcomes, patient satisfaction, and value. I am licensed as both a nurse and pharmacist and have been in healthcare over 20 years and it is nothing like what it was. My manager at the hospital keeps saying that I will likely not have a job at all in the near future and to have to have a chance I will have to seek a board certification to be competitive. Pharmacist and nurses cannot bill for services so have to bill under "incident to billing". We have new pharmacist graduates who completed residency and are "as needed" desperate for full time work with 180 thousand to 200 thousand in student loans. We are moving toward a Patient Centered Medical Home model and Accountable care organizations which want increased access (see more people) but do it cheaper with more lower educated staff such as LPN, medical assistants, nurse aides, pharmacy technicians, physical therapy assistants. Do your research before you make any decision.

Not sure how I feel about this advice from Ramsey… 😐. He doesn’t know everything, but he is very insightful. I’d recommend for people to seek God before seeking Ramsey.

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.

I am a pharmacist, been in the dietary supplement/integrative health industry for 20+ years. Writing books, educating, articles, etc... I love it, worked from home for 20 years . !!

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.

Don’t do it don’t you can gamble I. Roulette at least you have a chance in that. Pharmacy as a career is Sinking ship sooner or later it will sink. 10 years of experience and I have 3 degrees so trust me.

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.

sTUDY IN INDIA ITS CHEAP

I people make 150,000 as head pharmacist!!!

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!

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.

I regret becoming a pharmacist every single day!

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.

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 think the manufacturers better flip the script and start looking into stress

Jesus Christ it's like there are no good options left. Good job destroying the middle class boomers, I hope you have to wait a very long time to get your meds.

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.

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

No, don't do it. Do anything else

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.

TLDR: no

They are having a pretty bad shortage of pharmacies right now.

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 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!

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.

EX-RETAIL Pharmacist here...IT IS NOT WORTH IT! Do you want to count pills, get yelled at by your bosses, the customers and everyone else while working like a fast food counter? Go into pharmacy.

I’m a pharm D and I love my job

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.

I disagree with everybody that’s says no. I am a young individual and I live in the New England area and during the pandemic they have so many opportunities now! They even have travel pharmacy tech where you can travel gain experience and get a good money every week!! They have many online programs that are cheaper where you can gain your certification. If the money isn’t enough double another pharmacy job and put that on your resume and keep going !!!💯💯💯

Retail pharmacy certainly sucks. I'm thrilled that it never interested me, and I'm also glad that I found my professional love in PET nuclear. However, very little of what I learned while pursuing my PharmD applies aside from basic chemistry and sterile compounding.

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.

Don't quit on your dreams! There is soo much to pharmacy than retail and hospital.

Don't do it

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

If you live in a state with instate tuition I would go into dentistry but I know out of state is super expensive but you can make a lot

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.

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 .

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

George the joke finally got to speak for five seconds at the end

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

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

Get the Pharmacy degree enter the Military as an officer working as a Pharmacist. Retired in 20 years of service.

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 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

The best thing would be to become a pharmacy tech and seeing if he really wants to become a pharmacist. He actually lives in Texas where T A&M has a pharm school and pretty cheap tuition. If he remains working as a tech while in school, then he can become an intern, then he will most likely get a job. But that goes back into if he really wants to do this, so that's why he should become a tech first. Alex you can try different areas like retail, hospital, iv fusion.

I know a guy who went to pharmacy school who is a car salesman.