Pharmacy, PT, or Optometry please help a poor confused soul

Pre-Med & Medical School Careers in Medicine
1

Please help me I am really confused. I am into my junior year of college and I am still not sure which healthcare career I want to pursue. I worked as a pharmacy technician in retail and had a horrible boss which contributed to me hating the experience. Also when I worked there the counting of pills stressed me out plus I was the only tech there and I always felt lost. I prefer group settings and I don’t think i’ll ever be able to memorize all the brand and generic drug names. And I do not like how you’re working against a clock and you have 50 tasks that need to get done at once and you’re the boss as a pharmacist so all responsibility falls on you if anything messes up…and some patients are very rude they treat you like a slave. I know so many people that pursue this field and they seem to love everything about it and it comes so easily to them…maybe I just don’t have the confidence or personality for it and am scared I will mess up :frowning:

The things I do like about it are:
the flexible hours, working 2 days a week, or when needed as floaters. I feel that if I master all the tasks that stress me out it’s a pretty straightforward job
learning about drug interactions
conversing with patients
the pay

I am also thinking of PT or optometry. PT sounds really interesting; I like how interactive it is and how your physically working to help reduce the pain of a patient. I am an active person so I feel I will enjoy that. I also like how you’re not looking at a screen all day. To me, the PT environment seems more people friendly. The con is I know it pays less than pharmacy and requires the same amount of studying and I am not sure if hours are flexible.

I don’t know much about optometry. I hear the pay is good but you probably need to start your own practice for that and I am not sure how I feel about that.

This is the year to be taking grad school exams and doing applications and I still don’t know what I want and everyone around me does…I feel because I don’t have a clear path my grades and motivation have also suffered. I don’t even know if i’ll get into any grad schools with my gpa.

In the end I just want to be happy and make a good living. I am really lost. If someone could guide me I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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Have you shadowed a optometrist and physical therapist?

That should probably be your first step to see if you like those professions.

At the very least, you should arrange to talk to people engaged in both professions to hear what they feel are the pros and cons of the career.

PT hours can be flexible, depending your practice situation.

Optometrists don’t necessarily need to start their own practice from scratch. They can buy an established practice from a retiring OD. They can join an established practice as junior partner. They can work for established practice as a full or part-time associate (paid on a per patient basis). Or they can work for a salary at an optical chain.

Please don’t feel pressured to make a major life decision just because other people are. This is your life and you’re making a lifetime career commitment by choosing a professional school. Take the time to be sure this is what you want before you apply.

If your GPA isn’t strong enough for professional school, then you need to decide how much you want a PharmD, OD, or DPT. If this is what you truly want, then work hard for your remaining time in college so you can improve your GPA as much as you can. If necessary, there a grade-enhancing post-bacc programs for health science careers. Or you can do a do-it-yourself post-bacc at a local college or university. For your post-bacc, take 1-2 upper level or graduate bio classes each semester while working at a job that will give you real life hands on experience with your future career. A PT-aide or PT therapy assistant if you decide on PT school. An optometry office assistant or eyeglass fitter/optician if you decide on optometry. When your GPA has improved enough, then apply. Your real world experience will be an big plus.