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pharmacy market


MrMister

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16 minutes ago, offmychestplease said:

lmao please don't say you that "physio is just as competitive as med" that is so wrong, it's upright disrespectful. Without saying any objective facts about the process (physio does not need the MCAT, physio does not need crazy number of subjective EC's, physio interview is a joke, physio GPA standards are lower,  med applicants are much stronger/more of them as well (and many having graduate degrees etc), etc etc), I know someone who applied to med 4 times, rejected each time, applies to physio once gets in right away to multiple schools

PT had a higher admittance percentage at many medical schools. I would not have gotten into PT at my alma mater, like medicine if i didn't have strong MCAT and non-academics to compensate for example.

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12 hours ago, kingassault said:

If the main reason you are doing pharmacy is because you don't know what else to do, then don't do it.  Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses but I would strongly consider a career in IT or technology over pharmacy where even a 2-4 year program can yield you 70-100k. With pharmacy, most jobs are floating where you will be at 2-4 different stores running around from town to town. You will never have job security. The nail in the coffin for me was when the best pharmacist I have even seen (who had 15 years of experience at the store) just outright quit and went back to school.You get little time for lunch, you are managing people who generally don't care. You are constantly stressed and disrespected. Do not be fooled by the people posting how you can make 40$/hr or 100k per year. My friend just graduated from pharmacy with a whopping 150k of debt (she is pretty frugal), she got a job floating across BC! Consider this, do you want to take on 150k of student loans, lose out of 4 years of working, all so you can join a hypercompetitive job environment that sucks right now and is pretty much doomed for the future. If you don't believe me, ask a pharmacist if you should do pharmacy. If they are honest they will all tell you to run! Anyone who is just googling "pharmacist salary" and doing surface level research will regret it in 4 years.

London Drugs starts at $39/hr and if you are a manager for LD u make $100k/year (family friend)

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If you want to make money, do something else. I know lots of people with just Bachelor's degrees in actuarial science, computer science, engineering, business, applied mathematics, data science, and information technology, who came out of school with six figure salary jobs, or close to that range. Trying to justify spending 8 years or more in school, and taking on six figure levels of debt, just for a salary that you can make out of skilled trades or a 4 year Bachelor's degree is pretty damn naive. 

If you want to pursue pharmacy, physiotherapy, optometry, etc. because you'd actually enjoy doing this kind of work, then that is valid. But do not pretend that you are going to be wealthy or upper class on a pharmacist's salary. No one thinks "I need to make money " so I will go into optometry, physiotherapy, or pharmacy. There are many careers out there where you can make 80-120k without going through all the schooling and testing that is required of these fields. The ceiling in pharmacy is also much lower than many other careers out there. Most pharmacists are solidly in the upper middle-class. 

Students coming out of computer science programs landing Big N and Silicon Valley jobs are getting paid 100-150k starting with bonus and stock options. Students coming out of business school and landing jobs in finance, investment banking, and consulting are making six figure salaries with bonus and stock options. You can do a few online or college-level courses and go into UX design, information technology, developer roles, etc. and make over six figures. There are lots of people working in sales jobs in the technology, medical devices and business industries who make over six figures. Go on forums like redflagdeals, wallstreetoasis, etc., and read up on people's journeys to the 100k+ club. Most of them are not healthcare professionals. 

Pharmacy is most definitely not worth it if you just want to make money. You are not entitled to a high salary just because you are in 100k+ debt and have a professional degree. Employers are investing in unique talent and skills. They are investing in people who will help them become richer - which is why those working in the technology, business, and corporate legal fields make more money than most other people in Canada. Employers are also investing in skilled workers who can do jobs that not everyone wants to do, but needs to get done regardless. 

In all of this, a pharmacist or someone with a pharmacy degree really does not bring much to the table, given the limitations in skills they have in a highly specialized field. There is a saturation of pharmacy jobs, and a constant flood of new graduates and immigrants entering an already crowded marketplace.

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