<p>My older cousin who will be a freshman in college next year decided that he wants to pursue pharmacy. His mom apparently talked to some friends (according to my mom) and heard that there are not a lot of available pharmacy jobs these days. She was told that it's very competitive because there're so many pharmacy graduates and not enough jobs. She also heard of a graduate who has been looking for a job for two years and still hasn't been able to find one. I'm currently a junior in high school and have had my mind set on pharmacy for a long time. Now, after hearing this, I'm really anxious about going into the field. What if I can't get a job? What if I can't pay off my school debts? Should I completely scrap my plan and look into alternative careers? </p>
<p>Is it true that it's going to be too difficult to get a job by the time I get my PharmD?</p>
<p>Yes and no. While I am not yet at the job-hunting stage, my impression is that it really depends on your location and willingness to be flexible and relocate.</p>
<p>Areas like Chicago, California and some of the north eastern states have lots of pharmacy schools and people generally consider them desireable places to live, so finding pharmacy jobs is much more difficult than say states with 0-2 schools.</p>
<p>Finding a job also doesn’t guarantee that it will be full-time or have good benefits either. Many companies are purposely employing only part-time or “float” pharmacists to save money on benefits. Those that are fully employed have their salaries capped early in their career. I’ll put in the disclaimer that this is my experience with one of the largest pharmacy companies in the nation and that it may not be indicative of pharmacy in general, but I’m sure that other companies practice similarly even though they are experiencing record profit margins.</p>
<p>I would be wary of pharmD programs’ statistics regarding job placement. My school boasts that 96% of grads are employed or in a residency within 6 months of graduating, but I’m sure many of those are part-time or underemployed. A residency also doesn’t guarantee you a job down the road.</p>
<p>The economy makes it difficult for many people to find a job, not just pharmacists, but I would only go into pharmacy right now if it’s the only thing you can see yourself doing in the long-run considering the glut of new schools and no end in sight to more and more of them opening. I would make sure you have some idea of what working in a pharmacy is actually like (shadowing, job as a technician, etc.) before you decide it’s what you want to do.</p>
<p>Your mom is right. I’ve been a pharmacist for over 25 years and I’ve never seen the job market this bad. My pharmacy recently got sold out to a big chain; of the 3 Rphs they only hired one back on. One other found a job after stiff competition in interviewing and the other hasn’t been able to find anyone hiring. I would be very certain that this is what you want to do before you commit to 6-8 years of school for this. And if you are going to come out with huge amounts of debt, please think carefully. Salaries are still good, but some areas are starting to see declines in pay. Why would a company have to pay top salaries if there is a huge supply of graduates willing to work for anything just to have a job? And with more schools opening all the time, it’s just going to get worse.</p>
<p>Depends on the area you wish to live/work. DS is graduating with his pharmD in two weeks and many of his classmates have already had offers or will have fellowships/residencies next year. No signing bonuses as in years’ past, but definitely jobs out there.</p>
<p>After reading things like this I’m scared for my future and I don’t know if I should switch out of the pre pharmacy major for something with a better outlook.</p>
<p>There were 3 schools of pharmacy when I graduated, now there’s over a dozen. Our state d switched from our own board exam to the Napblex exam which is easier and thus lowered the barriers to entry. California is experiencing a tremendous glut of pharmacists as I’m sure the rest of the country is. Consider PA or nursing school if you still want to stay in health care or better yet, infomatics or clinical research. Anything but pharmacy.</p>
<p>My kid will be graduating this year. He was just home for a visit, and I was shocked when I heard him advise someone not to pursue pharmacy. He said that the jobs have really dried up, especially if you don’t want to do retail and stand behind a counter at a chain store for the next 40 years. He did say that there are a few locations such as TX that are still hiring.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth – His recommendation: the 6-7 year Physicians’ Assistant programs instead of 6-7 year pharmacy programs.</p>
<p>This is funny because I recruit for one of the largest pharmacy companies in the US and they currently have hundreds of open recs to fill. I think some new grads do need to “do retail” at first and then move out when they get some experience under their belt. BTW - the company I recruit for is NOT retail.</p>
<p>Hi ahsmuoh
I am a recent PharmD graduate and would like to talk to you about current job openings. I do have a retail job but am not keen in staying here. Could you please get back to me asap? Thanks much.</p>
<p>I saw something on TV the other day about pharmacy jobs drying up because they’re using more and more automation … machines counting and sorting the pills. Is this true? My daughter is a senior in high school and is thinking of going into this field. She is doing an internship in the spring through her high school so maybe she will get a better understanding from the pharmacists she will be working with.</p>
<p>My hospital laid off pharmacists and use pharmacy techs as much as possible to fill in the gaps where they legally can. This despite having an increase patient load.</p>
<p>My cousin who is graduating in the spring has gotten 3 job offers already, but they are retail positions. My other cousin who graduated a couple of years back got a job in mail-order right after she graduated. Besides these 2 cousins, I have 3 more that are pharmacists and they have stable jobs. For now, at least. I am still planning on pursuing pharmacy as of now…Hopefully everything will go well when it’s my turn to graduate! First, I’ll focus on graduating from high school and getting into a good school! :)</p>