Why being a retail pharmacist is a bad career choice?

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Everyday I regret even starting my pharmacy degree here in Australia. I look back with regret at having lost all those years and money pursuing a career that sucks. Having worked in many different careers I can say without a doubt that being a pharmacist is not worth it in terms of pay and what you have to go through. I have worked in jobs that require no qualification and involve very little stress that pay more than what a fully qualified pharmacist makes here in Australia. For anyone even thinking about pharmacy as a career then I would advise against it unless you like:

- To stand on your feet all day with no stools or chairs to sit on even for a minute. Imagine yourself in this situation.
- Very little room to move or go for a walk.
- Pay is not worth all the responsibility and stress you have to go through.
- Very little career advancement
- Dealing with sick people all the time
- Spend 4 years at university when you can get a similar job that pays the same and doesn't require a degree.

Hi, I'm a freshman in college and I've been searching the web a lot during my winter break for career info. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of certain careers and pharmacy seems good. I'm interested in advice about pharmacy vs either being a doctor or going into academia.

I like studying and being in school and find bio and chem interesting, so I'm pretty sure I want to go to school for at least another 4 years, whether it be PhD, PharmD, or Med School.

Things I value: Making a pretty good salary, at least 70K when I'm 30, having time for a family when I'm 30, not being dead tired from work, doing something creative and fun, doing something useful that directly helps people

What I don't like about med school is as an attending, would you still work ridiculous hours and not devote a lot of time to family? I like forensic pathology because it seems fun and you can work 40-50 hour weeks and earn a good wage but I hear its really hard to find jobs,

I was thinking of getting a PhD in either psyc or bio, studying neuroscience or mental illness, but its very tough to get a job in academia and I would hate to have a PhD and then be unemployed, also long hours for low pay especially until you get tenure,

I hear there's a lot of jobs in academia for pharmacy, does anyone know how are the pay and hours? Also, could you do retail pharmacy 40 hours a week and be a part time lecturer at a university or community college? I'm interested in mental disorders so does anyone know if it is rewarding to specialize in psychiatric pharmacy?

Thanks

I can't believe I stumbled across this after googling pharmacy, jobs, egypt. Maybe it's a sign :) I left pharmacy but don't know what i want so I'm thinking of going back to pharmacy because at least it's a stable carer path. Pharmacy is boring and repetitive and doesn't offer the mind stimulation required but it's difficult especially in the current climate. I studied in UK but I moved back to Egypt which is interesting given that half the medicines used here are not used anyhwere else in the friggin world. My email is hakuptah@gmail.com. If anyone's in a similar situation and wanna get in touch, please do!
It's good you were able to slot into another job after pharmacy and hope the rest of us can find similar fulfilling career paths!

Hello, very interesting article. I've read all the replies.

I have been a Pharmacy Tech here in the US for almost 12 yrs. in a retail Pharmacy. I am in my mid 30's and planning to go back to school now that my kids are older. I am considering Pharmacy school, Computer Science and X-ray tech but I'm looking more into Pharmacy school. After all, I have been used to the ignorant and disrespectful patients who yells at you when their medications are not ready or not covered by their insurances. Not to mention the Pharmacist who lack courage to help or defend you in this situation. Some even take advantage of you and make you do all the work and not even bother to counsel patients on their new presciptions unless they have questions. I know by law, technicians are not allowed to counsel but sometimes I find myself counseling patients on their antiobiotics and pain medications (those that are common) when the Pharmacists is busy with another patient and the customer cannot wait. It is such a stressful and frustrating job when you know you are almost as capable as the Pharmacist but you are getting paid 4 times less than what they are making. So that is why I am going back to school but my co-workers and Pharmacists are not helping with my decision. Some are supportive but others are discouraging me. I know that it might take me 10 yrs. to graduate. I know that there is a hiring freeze right now and I know it is even harder when you have little ones to take care of.

My goal is to make an upper class income by the time I graduate. So do you suggest B.S. in Computer Science with emphasis in a related field, or Pharm. D? Or just pursue a different degree or career that takes 2 yrs. to complete and make a decent income? Really need your guys help.

Has anyone also heard of Pharmacy Informatics? Pretty interesting field where you get to combine Pharmacy and IT knowledge. I don't know about pursuing that since I know that it will take me much longer to finish. But just letting you guys know that it's an interesting field if you like Pharmacy and Computers and have the time to study both.

In Canada (my particular reference point), being a pharmacist leads many grads down the path of retail pharmacy: lick, stick, pour, count. However, in addition to doing these things, pharmacists in some provinces also complete other services for which funding is mounting. These include medication assessments, referrals, providing injections, adapting prescriptions (essentially prescribing) and working in interdisciplinary teams to achieve specific health outcomes (such as diabetes chronic disease managament). These clinical services, however, are still 'shiny and new' to the public eye.

There are many problems that plague the pharmacy profession, especially pharmacists' own attitudes. Often, when a pharmacist finds that for very little work in community/retail, they make 45 plus dollars per hour, in addition to many other perks, they settle for the status quo of lick, stick, pour and count. In many situations, pharmacists do not want to acknowledge their high level of education and experience by providing a higher level of care simply because it is easier not to bother. I am not saying pharmacists are lazy and inconsiderate of their patients' needs, only that they are human and therefore vulnerable to resisting change.

As a new pharmacist, I see many problems that have caused pharmacists to be very cynical about providing 'clinical' services. For example, patients are not educated about the type of training that their pharmacist has received. Secondly, the government itself, which reimburses pharmacies for drugs dispensed to low income individuals and seniors, set a small fee for 'dispensing' that has been mislabeled as a 'professional fee'. If a small pharmacy is to make money by just discpensing pills, they need to do this in high volumes and therefore spend very little time with the patients which often perpetuates the problems. If we are to move to a system where pharmacists, like physicians, provides services (as above) of a fee-for-service basis, perhaps patients, pharmacists and the general public would not only make a more appropriate use of this body of knowledge but pharmacists themselves would have greater career satisfaction. Maybe, just maybe (kidding, of course, because there is evidence to support this) having pharmacists perform clinical (also called 'cognitive') services will improve the health of Canadians.

For the time being, I truly enjoy calling myself a pharmacist and I hope to continue finding reasons to think that this profession is more than meets the eye. For me, for now, this happens one patient interaction at a time.

i've been reading most of the posted comments and my goal was to find an answer to one question.....am i really going to be acknowledged by the doctors/physicians as a clinical pharmicist who will priscribe the medicine or will they just ignore that fact and treat me as a pharmacist wo doesnt have the authority to do anythin but dispence the medicine prescribed by them only? and if you could enlighten me with the hospitals where clincal pharmicists actually do their job in egypt beside 57357 it would be kind of you.
thank you.