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- Mar 21, 2021
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So the other day, I ran into a former high school classmate who became a pharmacist (Was picking up azithromycin and something else for an infection). She looked pretty depressed and tired. We talked a little bit before I left. So she went to undergrad and took a bunch of pre-med courses. Took the PCAT and then went to pharmacy school.
Now, I always thought pharmacists were making 300+k considering they have to attend graduate school and take out 150+k in loans. When I checked the salary surveys, it seems like pharmacists only make 120k. That didn't sound right, so I kept looking, but every survey returned the same results.
I slacked off in high school (Almost failed due to the amount of days I cut) but got into a decent university with a high SAT score (I believe I scored a 2290. Didn't get into an ivy league, but the college consistently ranks in top 20 in USNEWS rankings). I fooled around in college (Partying, sleeping around, sleeping in, etc.). Got a job immediately after graduation for 70k starting. My job is easy, so promotions came in every couple years and now I make 120k at age 28.
My story isn't atypical. There are so many people going into banking, finance, insurance, fintech, tech, government, and anything else and they're making 120+k in their 20s. They all only have bachelor's. I'm one of the unlucky ones, because I had such a poor work ethic in school. If I had the work ethic you pharmacists had, I would be a banker pulling in 300+k.
While my former classmates who went in pharmacy were busy paying down their loans, people like me who started working early bought houses and invested in TSLA call options + bitcoin last year and are now multi-millionaires. People who went into pharmacy are stuck making 120k with almost no possibility to moving up. They missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity last year and are still paying down their loans. At this point, I can stop working and none of my pharmacist peers would ever catch up to my net worth.
So here's my question. Why would anyone become a pharmacist?
You work hard for 4 years in college while people like me were partying and taking easy classes. Then you study for the PCAT. Then you work hard in graduate school. You're deferring working for 4 years, you take out 150+k in loans, and to top it off, your income isn't even that good. What is it about this field that makes you want to stay? I don't get it.
Edit: Just had my performance review this morning. I'm getting another raise to 145k. LOL...
Apologies if this sounds like a rant, but I have a lot of personal issues with some pharmacists. Back in high school, I was dubbed an underachieving loser who would amount to nothing in his life. All the cool, smart kids went into pharmacy. I graduated bottom of the class (Though I got the highest SAT score and got accepted into the best college in my class year). It always amuses me seeing the reactions of some of my former classmates when I tell them what I'm doing now and how I bought a house in a nice neighborhood. I can see the envy in their eyes.
Yes, I know this sounds extremely petty and immature, but if you went through the same crap I went through in high school, you would feel the same.
Now, I always thought pharmacists were making 300+k considering they have to attend graduate school and take out 150+k in loans. When I checked the salary surveys, it seems like pharmacists only make 120k. That didn't sound right, so I kept looking, but every survey returned the same results.
I slacked off in high school (Almost failed due to the amount of days I cut) but got into a decent university with a high SAT score (I believe I scored a 2290. Didn't get into an ivy league, but the college consistently ranks in top 20 in USNEWS rankings). I fooled around in college (Partying, sleeping around, sleeping in, etc.). Got a job immediately after graduation for 70k starting. My job is easy, so promotions came in every couple years and now I make 120k at age 28.
My story isn't atypical. There are so many people going into banking, finance, insurance, fintech, tech, government, and anything else and they're making 120+k in their 20s. They all only have bachelor's. I'm one of the unlucky ones, because I had such a poor work ethic in school. If I had the work ethic you pharmacists had, I would be a banker pulling in 300+k.
While my former classmates who went in pharmacy were busy paying down their loans, people like me who started working early bought houses and invested in TSLA call options + bitcoin last year and are now multi-millionaires. People who went into pharmacy are stuck making 120k with almost no possibility to moving up. They missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity last year and are still paying down their loans. At this point, I can stop working and none of my pharmacist peers would ever catch up to my net worth.
So here's my question. Why would anyone become a pharmacist?
You work hard for 4 years in college while people like me were partying and taking easy classes. Then you study for the PCAT. Then you work hard in graduate school. You're deferring working for 4 years, you take out 150+k in loans, and to top it off, your income isn't even that good. What is it about this field that makes you want to stay? I don't get it.
Edit: Just had my performance review this morning. I'm getting another raise to 145k. LOL...
Apologies if this sounds like a rant, but I have a lot of personal issues with some pharmacists. Back in high school, I was dubbed an underachieving loser who would amount to nothing in his life. All the cool, smart kids went into pharmacy. I graduated bottom of the class (Though I got the highest SAT score and got accepted into the best college in my class year). It always amuses me seeing the reactions of some of my former classmates when I tell them what I'm doing now and how I bought a house in a nice neighborhood. I can see the envy in their eyes.
Yes, I know this sounds extremely petty and immature, but if you went through the same crap I went through in high school, you would feel the same.
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