Future Pharm Student

[Jktm]

This probably doesn't go here and should probably go in Education & Careers (which rarely gets looked at even when compared to how much this forum gets looked at lmao), but I thought I might give it a try here as this is the most likely forum to get trekked by current/former pharm students.

I'm just currently working on my pre-reqs to get into pharmacy school (namely UT at the moment), and was wondering if there was anyone that might have any advice to give so as to prepare for it (i.e. anything that I should really pay attention to in certain classes or anything I could study/read on the side to prepare for it).

Kinda nervous about it as it's a 4-year program which will probably be expensive enough to put one in debt for a decade even when getting paid 50 bucks an hour to put pills into a bottle and tell old ladies to not eat grapefruit with their medications lol.

Anything constructive would be appreciated, but I expect this thread will get closed or moved before it gets answered lol...

 

[ebola?]

I'll leave it open since we have regulars who made it through the PhD but who don't regularly browse Education and Careers.

ebola

 

[Jktm]

Thanks...and I'm going for a PharmD...I'm not sure if I want to get the PhD yet...not completely sure what I want to do once I complete my education...leaning towards pharmacist now, but considering becoming a pharmaceutical engineer or going into clinical studies...

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

My degree is in pharmacology from another canadian university and I'd have to say that pharmacy is a great career. My undergrad gears me towards research and if you're worried about debt, then I'd aim towards
a more industry oriented career. Also, in western Canada at least I can refer you to a few programs that cover your tuition in pharmacy so long as you agree to work 5 years in a rural area.

Pm me if you have any questions
EA

 

[Jktm]

Goddamn...I wish the US would cover my tuition in exchange for me working 5 years in a rural area lmao...I live in TX-and in a shitstain of a town at that lol-so that would be perfect (not to mention the fact that my parents make just enough money so that I can't receive any government grants or even subsidized loans, but don't make enough to pay for my college lol...I hate how the govt. actually EXPECTS certain individual's parents to pay for their school, just because they're in the Fourth Quintile of tax-brackets...what if my parents hated me? lmfao)...albeit...I'd have to move to a city for school just to move back lol...

Thanks for the advice...

 

[alkap555]

Really PharmD programs aren't essentially free like PhD programs? I know I don't pay anything for my PhD program (neuropharmacology/medicinal chemistry) and we get a stipend of like $15,000 per year.

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

I'm talking BSc pharmacy btw, but I've heard of pharmD working with the program as well

 

[Sturnam]

Kinda nervous about it as it's a 4-year program which will probably be expensive enough to put one in debt for a decade even when getting paid 50 bucks an hour to put pills into a bottle and tell old ladies to not eat grapefruit with their medications lol.

Is this what you want to do as your job? Does this sound rewarding? Personally, I feel like this would be disappointing, as you go through so much training and realistically, you use so little. Pharmacology is much more expansive, and can range from clinical work to molecular, and industry to academic.

However, from a friend who is going to pharmacy school soon, he said that a lot of it is drug metabolism. So maybe a book on drug metabolism?

Working in a research lab might also help your chances of getting into pharmacy school. There should be something at your school, especially if it's a decently sized public university. Find a professor and email them. Best of luck.

 

[Jktm]

lol...I go to a junior college for now...getting what I can get done before hand for cheap...bout to wrap up my A.S. while I knock out pre-requisites...would pharmacology be a different program than pharmacy school? I know that the school I want to go to has a program in their pharmacy school where you can earn a Pharm.D. along with a Ph.D....would the Ph.D. not be one in pharmacology? If one were wanting to go into the development of drugs, would one need to go to a different school? sorry for all the questions, I know y'all aren't guidance counselors, so I apologize for that, but the ones at my current college don't know up from down lmfao...

 

[endotropic]

lol...I go to a junior college for now...getting what I can get done before hand for cheap...bout to wrap up my A.S. while I knock out pre-requisites...would pharmacology be a different program than pharmacy school? I know that the school I want to go to has a program in their pharmacy school where you can earn a Pharm.D. along with a Ph.D....would the Ph.D. not be one in pharmacology? If one were wanting to go into the development of drugs, would one need to go to a different school? sorry for all the questions, I know y'all aren't guidance counselors, so I apologize for that, but the ones at my current college don't know up from down lmfao...

I went to a major US university and the career center their had no clue what the difference between Pharmacy and Pharmacology degrees were either, so I'd say this is a pretty good place to ask. I'm not sure about the joint Pharm.D/Ph.D program you're talking about, but in general Pharmacology and Pharmacy degrees are completely different. If you want to work in a Pharmacy, then a Pharm.D is absolutely what you want. Unless you get into some special program like EA is talking about you can expect to pay your own tuition in a Pharm.D program.

On the other hand if you want to work in drug development you have a couple things to consider. If you think you'd like to work in academia then I'd suggest a Ph.D in pharmacology. In these programs you can expect your tuition to be covered, and a stipend on top of it ranging from $12-30,000 a year depending on the caliber of school you get into. If you think you'd like to work in the pharmaceutical industry I'd shy you away from a Ph.D though, in my opinion a masters is usually sufficient and will get you into the work force 3-4 years sooner. With a masters program you'd be paying your own way again though.

And don't worry if you look at all these options now and think, wow I really don't know what I want to do. Any one of these can be a good lead in to the other if you decide you want to go a different direction in the end (I know multiple Ph.D's that have dropped out to go to Pharmacy school, Pharmacy students who have gone on to get their Ph.D, etc.). The key is to do some research, look around at different programs, and see what feels best for you.

 

[alkap555]

Yea my #1 recommendation is get into research as early as you can, assuming you go for your B.Sc. at a University. I did chem and neuro research all four years of undergrad, and that alone (and being published) basically allowed me to choose the PhD program I wanted.

 

[Jktm]

Goddamnit...I thought I knew what I wanted to do lmfao...and pharmacy/pharmacology, should be the same program lol...Clinical research seems like it would be fun, drug development would be cool-I wouldn't mind helping to develop the next oxycodone (and by that I mean an opioid with equal or greater efficacy in analgesia, a high oral BA, and it would be cool if it could have a really low protein binding percentage...I don't give a damn if it's as abusable as oxymorphone or as euphoric-less as fentanyl lol)...but I also sit and think about how it would be nice to have a job with relatively no necessitated thought process and I could rake in 6 figures a year doing so...I do walk with a cane though and have trouble walking long distances/standing for long periods of time, and I'm not exactly sure if I'll get to the point where those things wouldn't be an issue for me by the time I get done with school, so I'm at a loss lmao...

 

[alkap555]

If you think you'd like to work in the pharmaceutical industry I'd shy you away from a Ph.D though, in my opinion a masters is usually sufficient and will get you into the work force 3-4 years sooner

Really? I would like to go into the pharmaceutical industry at some point simply b/c the money sucks in academia. Isn't it worthwhile to get the PhD for the higher pay grade?

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

Really? I would like to go into the pharmaceutical industry at some point simply b/c the money sucks in academia. Isn't it worthwhile to get the PhD for the higher pay grade?

It really depends on the company to be honest, though in Canada at least it's a freaky economic process as foreign Ph.D's can be brought in at a whim and paid minuscule amounts without complaints. I was looking at the Ph.D route before but I'd rather not be in that job market.

I'm trying for medical school (emphasis on research and a extra few zeros on the paycheck) or law school more right now. I guess it comes down to what your passion is and how much risk you're willing to take on your future earnings.
I know that I can't take the economic risk.

 

[endotropic]

Really? I would like to go into the pharmaceutical industry at some point simply b/c the money sucks in academia. Isn't it worthwhile to get the PhD for the higher pay grade?

This is going to depend really on the person/situation. You're right if you come out with your Ph.D you will start at a higher pay grade, but if you're working towards your PhD for four years while someone with a masters is working their way up the company I'm not sure the difference will be worth those 4 lost years of pay. You also pigeon-hole yourself more the more education you have. You might be eligible for higher paying jobs, but you'll also be overqualified for a lot of the positions you could have had before.

That being said some of the most successful people I know in industry went all the way through their Ph.D's, I just feel like if you have no interest in academia it might not be worth the risk.

 

[alkap555]

Oh well. Too late now. I def see what you're saying though, especially with the pigeon-hole thing. Plus having letters behind my name would be a nice self-esteem boost and help me rationalize my recreational drug use...

Although, I think medicinal chemistry is a bit more generalizable. Organic synthesis is organic synthesis, and I have a fair bit of research experience in organometallic chem. Worst comes to worst I can always find a job as an entry level chemist and work my way up--luckily I have some good connections with Merk, I grew up with the son of one of the higher-level administrators there.

Actually a great fallback surprisingly enough is being a high school chem teacher. In my hometown area (eastern end of Long Island). My chem teacher from high school (awesome dude, the reason I got into science in the first place) has a PhD in Chem and nets 150K per year in a public high school. The high salary is a perk of living in the hamptons with all the obscenely rich "summer residents" (NYC tourist aholes) with their really high property values and tax revenue. So the local year round population is like 2,500 for my school district (only 400 kids in the high school), but we still get all the tax revenue from the $20 million+ mansions of the Wall Street summer folk. I wouldn't mind summer vacation that's for sure!

 

[Hiltoniano]

Hey just throwing a whatsup, I'm currently at UT as well, planning on going into the pharm school after I get my undergrad BS. Perhaps we could collaborate some time in the future.