Ugh I’ve been changing what I want to do as a career for some time now but it’s always between nursing and pharmacy. Now I really don’t want to be a nurse. I’m thinking I’d just get my masters and become a nurse informatician (and I’d love to be a nurse informatician) but I’d need some years of experience at the bedside to qualify for a job. This is what really turns me off. But my dad says nursing is a very stable job market and I understand that but I know this isn’t the job for me. I don’t want to spend my 20s hating my life until I get my experience and masters.
But I’m willing to do go through this if pharmacy is really as not in demand as my dad says it is. I’m terrified I’ll become a burden to my parents. Pharmacy definitely is the best of both worlds- I like the subjects AND I wouldn’t have to deal with crazy patients (but I would have to deal with crazy doctors). Ugh then I’m thinking it’ll be too hard… IDK.
I guess my question is- Are pharmacists in demand? Will I get a job straight out of college? If so, how do I convince my dad? Is it better to just get my masters in nursing while getting experience @ bedside? These are the questions that haunt me ;_;
I mean if I get into Macaulay Honors, I’d at least get free tuition and board. I’m so scared. The last thing I want is to go for pharmacy and either stop in the middle 'cause it’s too hard and have my dad say “I told you so” or graduate from pharmacy school and end up with no freaking job and have my dad say “I told you so” and my mom to treat me like crap for living off their $$$.
So yeah. That’s what keeps me up at night. Please halp. Thanks and God bless.
Pharmacists continue to be in demand. And, they do deal with patients.
All job demands/markets can be volatile and uncertain. I was just talking to a friend whose daughter is a nurse. She couldn’t get a job in her state and had to move, even though there IS a general demand. I am going into pharmacy and have talked to several pharmacists about the job market/demand. Now could things change in 5-6 years? Yes, however, at the moment there doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming problem.
Pharmacists are still in demand and you should be able to get a job straight out of college. That out-of-college ob security could depend on where you go but when I talked to another pharmacist, she said she got a job straight out of college.
You DO have to deal with crazy patients sometimes. People asking questions, people trying to snatch drugs, annoying insurance companies, etc. You get it. If you don’t want to be a nurse, you don’t have to be! If you want to be a pharmacist, strive to become one without drowning yourself in debt. Happiness in your career is important. Would you rather be a dissatisfied nurse but your dad’s happy?
What are your current stats? Like GPA/SAT/ACT? That will help determine if you can handle pharmacy (but you probably can anyways. 
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I went through a similar struggle, mainly because I decided on pharmacy when I was ~13-14 and never changed my mind. My passion and love for it strengthened as the years progressed, even though people doubted and said I would change my mind. 5 years later, my mind hasn’t changed and I’m excited to begin college.
Don’t focus on failure or dealing with “I told you so.” Prove your dad wrong for as long as you can but hey, if you change your mind, you change your mind. It’s not the end of the world.
TL;DR: Nursing has no overwhelming advantage over pharmacy, so go with what YOU want.
In many states they are expanding the roles that pharmacists play in providing various levels of service in the areas of preventative health, medication monitoring and primary care. The job market is a bit better at the moment in the South and West, especially in those states that have already expanded pharmacists’ roles in healthcare, but jobs are still available elsewhere. More common is doing a one or two year residency after pharm school, they are not mandatory, but you do get paid and they allow you to specialize in a field of pharmacy and build up your resume as well. I agree with @TheDidactic that the market will contract and expand over time and have seen it happen with plenty of other health care fields. Pharmacy is in a transformative period, and if you love informatics it might be a great field for you since that is one of the expanding areas for pharmacists. Good luck with whatever you choose!
Hi my GPA is ~97 right now. I got a 2080 on my first SAT. I haven’t taken the ACT but I’m getting 31’s on the practice tests. AGGHH i really think I’d be a better pharmacist.
You’ll do fine in pharmacy school. You have similar stats to me before I retook my SAT and ACT for the last time. Go for pharmacy, where you will be happy! Have a sit-down talk with your dad and convey in a calm, mature manner that this is something you really would like to pursue and that you hope you have his support either way.
A lot of pharmacists are not that happy because they work for chain stores and have little autonomy. There is a glut of pharmacists in some areas because of the increased number of schools and thus graduates. It’s hard to predict the future and obviously there will be a need for some pharmacists and some of the jobs will be good but there are concerns about the pharmacy job market. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/10/27/Pharmacy-schools-turning-out-too-many-grads/stories/201310270094 http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119634/pharmacy-school-crisis-why-good-jobs-are-drying Nursing is in high demand but definitely don’t go in to it if you don’t really like it.
If you don’t like retail (it’s not for everyone), hospital pharmacy may be better for you.
I’m not saying those articles are inaccurate because they aren’t, but keep in mind those articles are older. Job markets change all the time. Tomorrow there could be some growing concern about nursing. Do what makes you happy BY ALL MEANS. 
My friend has a D going to pharmacy school. It cots $80 K year (including summer). No financial aid. Only loan.
Our state flagship pharmacy school’s tuition is $17k/year and ranked #5.
My CA state flagship UCSF COA for resident is $60K+. Non-residents pay $12.5K more.
https://finaid.ucsf.edu/newly-admitted-students/cost-attendance
We love our daughter but we also want her to have a marketable degree so, we are very guilty of trying to “re-educate” the dd from doing pharmacy because all of the pharmacists we know are giving us this advice. She is however, focused and stubborn.
We can’t afford to pay for her pharmacy school and she doesn’t seem to understand that there is no financial aid. Our state has a glut of pharmacists so we don’t know if she will ever be able to repay her loans if all she can find is part-time jobs. It’s what she wants to do, so she’s going to continue to finish her undergrad and then, she’s on her own. We won’t discourage her, but we just don’t have $250K to fund her pharmacy program; we hope, however, that she understands that we want her to have a future.
Don’t become a nurse because your heart is not in it. It will not work. Our state also has a glut of nurses.
Study pharmacy, if that’s what you want to do, with your eyes open because you need to know all of the risks, as well as your options.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes job outlook & in depth details about professions. Although it is difficult to predict the future labor market, BLS data does a much better job in compiling and presenting information in an easy to understand manner. It can be one such input in making future career decision based on current available information.
Over a decade, the current data compiled for 2012 - 2022, BLS provides estimates of growth rate for jobs. for example,
Registered Nurses - Job Outlook (2012-2022): 19% (faster than average), 2012 Median pay, (not starting salary): $65,470 per year
$31.48 per hour
Pharmacists - Job Outlook (2012-2022): 14% (as fast as average for other occupations), 2012 median pay : $116,670 per year
$56.09 per hour
Have you considered becoming a Physician Assistant PA? The demand for PAs services from a huge wave of retiring baby boomers will be very robust and likely persist beyond the next decade.
What the Physician Assistants do? (from BLS web site)
Physician assistants, also known as PAs, practice medicine on a team under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. They are formally educated to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment.
BLS data for PA
Job Outlook (2012-2022): 38% (MUCH FASTER than average), 2012 Median Pay: $90,930 per year
$43.72 per hour
More details:
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Physician-assistants.htm
If interested in pursuing an accredited program in PA in the your state, refer to: http://www.arc-pa.org/acc_programs/
BLS details for Pharmacists & Registered Nurses:
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Pharmacists.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm
Good luck
PLEASE DO NOT GO INTO PHARM…PARTICULARLY A PHARM D…
OMG NO.
I can only say this with certainty because one of my very very close friends is in it now and hates it passionately and really pushed themselves to go for their family in hopes they would earn money. They are attending a top school and worry perpetually about the $200,000+ they have in student loans which they will be unable to pay off because…yes and VERY HONESTLY the pharmacy market is dead right now. There are people with experience who are unable to find jobs. You have to market yourself like mad crazy and hope to end up at a CVS in the midwest if you are lucky…
It is a field they wish they had not gone into.
That $100,000 starting salary is unrealistic when you factor in taxes—so it shrinks down to more like $60,000 a year. Good luck paying your student loan of $3000 a month and you rent and food bills on that…
AVOID please. Do anything else but pharm!
At least in our area, employers are actively recruiting pharmacists again. The job market is actually tighter for nurses. Do what you like. Try to avoid debt. Get a job in a pharmacy or shadow a pharmacist. Do the same for nursing. Try and give yourself a realistic idea of what each profession is like. Figure out what you would enjoy.
Go around and proactively tackle this search for yourself. Talk to pharmacists and nurses. See what THEY have to say about the market and prospects. I made sure to talk to pharmacists and ask them about these things and received currently confident, honest answers. You will too. But remember, please don’t get into something you won’t enjoy.
What do you guys know about the situation for pharmacists in NY (city or long island area) or Atlanta? I actually see more jobs for pharmacists on sites like indeed than for nurses.
But to get into PA school you have to work for ~2000 hours as a CNA or RN or ekg tech or something. Trust me I’ve considered just about everything
I was personally told that the prospects are better for cities, but you will have to make some contacts/ask around at your local pharmacies and find out yourself.