Floraelise Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Hello everyone! I would love to know if its doable to work while in pharmacy school? I have a family I need to support so it would be ideal to be able to work at least part time. Is working as a pharmacy assistant possible? Also, I read so many contradictory things about the saturation of the pharmacy market... I would like to work part time after graduation, not necessarily in an urban area. I am not to far from Montreal but would not ming going farther, or to work in an hospital after completing the necessary graduate program. Is this realistic? I don't want to start a 4 year program and have no possibilities to work after... So, any insight on the pharmacy market and possibility to wotk during the school year would be appreciated!! Thanks so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopefulpremed98 Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 As a current pharmacy student it’s very doable to work during the degree, at least the first 2 years which are mostly lectures. Many of my classmates have jobs during the semester it’s not an issue for anyone. It’s honestly less hectic than undergrad. The markets saturated tho. Anyone who says differently is lying or works for pharmacy schools. I had a prof tell me theres a lot of different jobs you can do with the degree, list out like 10 options and if you look into it the one person they used as an example they’re the only pharmacist doing that type of work in the province. It’s way too saturated. I think half my class has backup plans in other industries or are applying to other professional programs. There are jobs true but they aren’t great or well paid. If you can do something else, do that. Feel free to pm me if you have other questions cotecc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopefulpremed98 Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADoseofLuck Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 I agree with the person above me. I know many students in pharmacy who work as technicians or pharmacy students in retail or hospital settings. However, I chose not to go into pharmacy, because the market is indeed very saturated. It's easy to find a part-time job as a pharmacy student, but harder to find employment as a new grad. I know of a person in Montreal who, after graduating, could only find work near Mont-Tremblant. cotecc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cotecc Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Almost every student in pharmacy school(at least in Quebec) work as a tech at a retail or hospital pharmacy during the school year. It's almost a must. The job market seems saturated in cities, but you can still find work(part time) or do some locum/replacement for pregnancies etc at first before finding a permanent position. You'll have commute a lot, but it's feasible. There seems to be jobs 30-40 minutes from the big cities(Montreal or Quebec city). As a pharm student, try finding work in a pharmacy owned by a group who owns multiple pharmacies, those groups are more willing to train and hire their students as pharmacist once they graduate, since the chance of having a vacancy somewhere within the group is bigger. Or if you like working in a hospital, they is shortage of staff there. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floraelise Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 8 hours ago, hopefulpremed98 said: As a current pharmacy student it’s very doable to work during the degree, at least the first 2 years which are mostly lectures. Many of my classmates have jobs during the semester it’s not an issue for anyone. It’s honestly less hectic than undergrad. The markets saturated tho. Anyone who says differently is lying or works for pharmacy schools. I had a prof tell me theres a lot of different jobs you can do with the degree, list out like 10 options and if you look into it the one person they used as an example they’re the only pharmacist doing that type of work in the province. It’s way too saturated. I think half my class has backup plans in other industries or are applying to other professional programs. There are jobs true but they aren’t great or well paid. If you can do something else, do that. Feel free to pm me if you have other questions Thanks so much for your input! Its kind of sad that after doing such a demanding program, your classmates are looking at other options because of the merket saturation! I did not think it was that extreme... I am also wondering, you mention that there are jobs but they are not great or well paid. Can you elaborate on this if you have time? What are pharmacists grads looking for, and what are the jobs conditions, other than being far away from major cities? Thanks so much again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floraelise Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 5 hours ago, cotecc said: Almost every student in pharmacy school(at least in Quebec) work as a tech at a retail or hospital pharmacy during the school year. It's almost a must. The job market seems saturated in cities, but you can still find work(part time) or do some locum/replacement for pregnancies etc at first before finding a permanent position. You'll have commute a lot, but it's feasible. There seems to be jobs 30-40 minutes from the big cities(Montreal or Quebec city). As a pharm student, try finding work in a pharmacy owned by a group who owns multiple pharmacies, those groups are more willing to train and hire their students as pharmacist once they graduate, since the chance of having a vacancy somewhere within the group is bigger. Or if you like working in a hospital, they is shortage of staff there. cheers Thanks so much for all the info!! 30-40 minutes is not so bad... I am 20 minutes from Montreal so almost halfway from a potential job... However, the job market can still change in the next years, so it might be risky to start the PharmD program. I am an older student and cannot really risk not having a job after studying 4+ years and having to go back to school again for another diploma. However, I will look at the trend for hospital pharmacist jobs openings in the future. Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieL Posted January 8, 2021 Report Share Posted January 8, 2021 On 1/6/2021 at 12:08 AM, Floraelise said: Thanks so much for all the info!! 30-40 minutes is not so bad... I am 20 minutes from Montreal so almost halfway from a potential job... However, the job market can still change in the next years, so it might be risky to start the PharmD program. I am an older student and cannot really risk not having a job after studying 4+ years and having to go back to school again for another diploma. However, I will look at the trend for hospital pharmacist jobs openings in the future. Thanks again!! I'm in the same position :/ Floraelise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floraelise Posted January 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 4 hours ago, EddieL said: I'm in the same position :/ Its so difficult to make a decision when there is so much unknown about the field... My current work does not have a lot of opportunities, and I am not sure I want to go in another field with few openings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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