<p>Dear College Confidential Members,
Should I choose a career that involves subjects that I am more talented in or a career that I think I would like? Math has always been my best subject and physics seems fun, but judging from what I have read on forums and videos, the life of an engineer just does not seem as interesting to me as that of the pharmacist. I hear pharmacists have a boring job, but the flexible work hours and idea of meeting people and helping them directly really feels right to me. I like math and physics, as well as biology and chemistry. Would it be a bad idea to not pursue a math-oriented career like engineering and pursue further, more advanced math education? What major should I pick?</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t think anyone can answer this question…you are the only person who can decide what is the right choice for you.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you find out more about both jobs (Engineering and Pharmacy) before you decide which path would fit you better.</p>
<p>Having said that, as a pharmacist, I can share some insight regarding pharmacy as a career. </p>
<p>Pharmacists can work in various settings - including retail pharmacy (i.e. RiteAid), inpatient (hospital), ambulatory care (in clinics, seeing patients), and pharmaceutical companies (i.e. Pfizer), to name a few.</p>
<p>The type of work environment will vary greatly depending on the type of practice. As you said, it is not one of the most exciting jobs out there (I think you used the word boring…), but for most part, it is not too bad. I agree that pharmacists are in great position to help people directly because of the accessibility. In addition, most pharmacy jobs are very flexible - I know people who choose to work as much as 80 hrs/week and as little as work 3 days/month. </p>
<p>I would say the ave wage for pharmacist in CA is $40-65/hr, (ballpark figure based on people I know - don’t quote me on this.)</p>
<p>Please note:</p>
<p>1) Pharmacy degree requires 4 yrs of Pharmacy school. Ave. GPA of accepted students at most CA Pharmacy schools is about 3.5 to 3.6. You should check out school web site for admission requirements.
2) It is strongly recommended that you talk to people in the field so that you have good understanding of profession. It makes a HUGE difference during the interview!</p>
<p>You may want to check out www (dot) cshp (dot) org and contact some of the people there. Most pharmacist are very happy to talk to students who are interested in pharmacy!! :)</p>
<p>haven’t you seen the intel commercial with the guy who created the usb? Engineers make our life easier. They work together to create technology that improves society. The more technology we create the more it stops learning inequalities giving everyone equal access. And who can complain about the ipod?</p>
<p>Also, pharmacists get crap in their job too. go to studentdoctor.net and look under their forums. most people who go into the med field go for the money, (and that’s not wrong), but when they face the reality of having to please people and the demands, they find the field disheartening.</p>
<p>Also, a side note, if you want to do something helpful, be a pharmacist/phd, the ones who do research, not some retail salesman who provides drugs some other doctor told you to give to the patient.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to discourage you to not be a pharmacist or promote engineering, but you should do what you feel is right, and don’t think that everything is great with every job, there are downsides.</p>
<p>And with the last question:
I believe mathematicians and engineers do well in our society;</p>
<p>[The</a> Best and Worst Jobs in the U.S. - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123119236117055127.html]The”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123119236117055127.html)</p>
<p>
Off-topic, but I was bummed when I found out that the guy in a commercial is actually an actor.</p>
<p>But to the original poster, if you like solving problems, engineering is not a bad way to go. There are a lot of different fields you can get into beyond the ones typically associated with engineers.</p>
<p>i didn’t mean that point to be off-topic. I was trying to point out that engineers serve a major purpose in our society that people not might directly see. People give more respect to doctors, dentists, pharmacists, so I assumed the original poster didn’t realize that engineers contribute a lot.</p>
<p>narusakuu, if you’re a freshmen, you still have time. Take the classes and ask questions to figure out which you like best.</p>
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<p>Those kinds of jobs are few. Most engineers do do actual engineering like you would think. I was surprised to find out that there is a lot of paperwork and BS involved in some of the “engineering” jobs at my summer internship.</p>
<p>Chances are you’ll be updating or writing documents in an entry-level position.</p>
<p>
I meant that my response to your point was offtopic :)</p>