Is Pharmacy School Still Worth It? 

I am a pharmacist... it is a great career but the debt, decreasing salary, and lack of jobs are making it not worthwhile. The schools got greedy and expanded too fast, now they are lowering their standards to keep enrollment up

My wife is a pharmacist. She graduated with 220K in loans. For the first 5 years after she graduated, she was on an income based repayment plan. She paid 1k a month and paid almost 50K in just interest alone without touching a dollar in principal! I married her and inherited her loans. Since we’ve been married, we have been paying anywhere from 2-5k per month over the last 5 years to pay off her loans. Her min loan monthly payment is 1,500. It’s been 10 years now since she graduated. After 5 years of paying 2-5k a month to her loans, her loans total is now 78K. Pharmacy is just not worth it. She makes roughly 150k a year before taxes but long hours, high risk of errors, and really horrible people in retail settings. Also, she works with pharmacy techs and clerks that make a little over min wage and most of them didn’t go to college, and quit frequently. Luckily, I make over 250k with no student loans in the tech field. We direct most of her salary to her school loans and we live off my salary. We live modestly in a small house, both drive used cars, and take luxury vacations each year. We could of paid off her loans more each month but I’m not living on rice and beans according to Ramsey’s method. It hurts to see 4K-5k a month going to her school loans but hey, I married her. Any future spouses of Pharmacists, make sure you understand their school debt before marrying and their income.

Just because you go to pharmacy, Law, or medical school doesn’t mean you need to practice as a pharmacist in this specific case. A lot of ppl don’t take into account the industry they go into. Being a pharmacist doesn’t mean you will be stuck at CVS or Rite Aide for half your life. Pharmacists can go into medical affairs, regulatory affairs, clinical research, publications, or medical info & services. I was unaware of these options as well when graduating but there are def options that ppl are unaware of.

I recently went to my grocery store to get my monthly prescriptions. When I opened the sealed bag, I found the lid on one of them was off and pills were spilled all over the bottom of the bag. When I asked what happened, the Pharmacist told me that the monthly prescriptions are actually filled by machines at a distribution center several hundred miles away, not by humans, and occasionally a problem can happen. Machines are less expensive and part of the cause of lowering wages in that field.

I am a retail pharmacist and steer away many young people from the profession. I have 31 years of retail experience and in the early years it was a good profession. Now you have a borderline unaffordable degree compared to your pay. Today's pharmacy school graduate is $300k in debt which will weigh on them for an average of 20 years! The stress in retail is out of control. Customers are getting ruder every day and we are always short staffed because techs don't make what they are worth. Do yourself a favor and go to PA or ARNP school!

I emphasize with this young man. I practiced as a Doctor of Optometry for 32 years. The compensation for optometry and pharmacy is no longer worth the Blood, Swear & Tears. Pharmacists are over qualified and under qualified for what they do in retail pharmacy. Avoid optometry also.

My wife started in retail pharmacy but now works in a hospital after her residency. She enjoys it a lot more but it can be very stressful. Skipping lunches and breaks is a frequent occurrence alongside with being understaffed.

After listening to this episode, I went and told my Wife, Dave Ramsey says I need to have a bunch of options. I woke up this morning with a Form FL100 sitting in my front seat of my car. Thanks Dave

This guy is wise to talk to someone in a field he’s thinking of going into before he starts school

I also wanted to become a pharmacist/pharmacologist, but I heard the same story even a few year ago - it wasn't worth it and the people were miserable. I took a gap year (or two), then went back to grad school for chemistry. Most state grad schools will also have grants/scholarships that if you get in, your tuition is waived, and you may even get a stipend for being an RA or TA. Was wayyyyyy better to get my Masters and am now working in the medical device industry and basically get paid to study, rather than do pharmacy with loads of debt after.

I was going to be a pharmacist when I started college. I ended up graduating with a degree in cybersecurity and making the same salary as a pharmacist without the crazy debt.

My wife is a pharmacist and has actively steered people away from the field due to the hours, the lack of pay compared to the pay and little opportunities for advancements.

I'm in nursing school and totally agree with this video! more options are better for decision making.

Alex if you're reading this DON'T DO IT!!! Pharmacy has gone downhill and it's only getting worse. Literally do anything else.

I'm an ICU h pharmacist. Pharmacy school is way too expensive now. Most nonretail pharmacy jobs require residency and/or board certification. That takes at least 1+ yr of post grad training +experience. That's years of loss salary and debt.

My wife has been a pharmacist for 38 years and early on it was a good job. Now it gets worse by the year and she would advise others to stay away from this field.

My best friend from college is a pharmacist and said he doesn't recommend it unless there's a salary increase. It's sad that the price of college and the salary is deterring millions of americans from saving lives.

The CVS and Walgreens of the world have made it harder to make real money as a pharmacist. They also control the insurances which pay pharmacies and have made it harder and harder for independent pharmacies to make money when in the past, independent pharmacy was a great way to become a millionaire.

Student debt is what has made careers like pharmacist, veterinarian, dentist, and lawyer no longer worth it. Once you get into that kind of debt, you are basically stuck for life even if you hate the job.

I was originally a pre-pharm major. Hated the field after working years as a tech. The debt to income ratio just isn't worth most of these doctorates anymore. I switched my major and graduated with a bachelor's in dental hygiene. It's a good field, work with my hands and patients, relatively minimal student loan debt (30k). I considered going back to get my DMD, but half a million in debt with less return than ever just isn't worth it at my age.

He also needs to get some other information than just one guy. There is so much BS in the healthcare industry and rumors. I have been a RN 17 years. When I was getting my BSN there were people telling me there were "too many" nurses. Yeah ok. in 2021 I made 127K and get job offers daily.

I got degree in biology. And now working as a quality control tech in tobacco industry. You never know where you will end up with your degree. But be mindful of those loans. They will give you a lot of headaches.

I am a current pharmacist. The debt to income ratio isn’t worth it like It use to be unfortunately. Wages of stagnated and the job has become so corporatized with lots of pressure to meet metrics. In a community pharmacy setting pharmacists have to multitask and move very fast. Which is big risk for a misfit accident. If you can get residency I’d say maybe go for it. But, be aware residency is very tough to land these days. Very competitive! And clinical pharmacists make just as much as community. But, just like dentistry the debt to income ratio is enormous. You will have to take out living expenses loans if you don’t have the ability to live at home and have family help also. I’d say go shadow a community pharmacist then go shadow a pharmacist in a hospital setting first. 80% of what you learn as a Pharmd is put to the way side in community especially working for big chains.

I’m a pharmacist. If I had a crystal ball, I would never have gone into the field. At 58 I’m going to go back to school and get a CS degree. I’m talking retail pharmacy. The clinical/hospital path might be OK. The problem with retail is PBMs control it. Some plans the average profit per script is 82 cents. As an owner it’s ridiculous. It affects the chains too. They have to increase their volume and lower their labor. So you’re filling more scripts with less help. A perfect recipe for many medication error disasters.

I am a pharmacist. Made a pivot going into managed care pharmacy.. Couple of my school mates went into the pharmaceutical industry doing pharmacist medical science liaison work My friends and I are enjoying our jobs with good work life balance. There are good options out there for pharmacists. And overall, being a pharmacist is still a good profession .

Video was done two years ago but it’s still true. Too much money invested in a PhD to become a pharmacist and not enough jobs out there to cover the cost

I’m a hospital clinical pharmacist - the retail gig isn’t really desirable anymore considering hospital jobs pay more and give much better quality of life. Graduated with 140k total in debt for my first year out of residency salary being $140k. I enjoy my job and am challenged daily. There are also great perks like them paying for you to go back to school if interested in a MHA/MBA - it can still be a good career path!

I’m a nurse, I’m told the same this at work, and pharmacy is a racket-totally saturated-do engineering-STEM, robotics, AI will be the best for a 24 yo

My niece has student loans of 160k to become a teacher and makes $17 an hour and my 19 yr old daughter makes 16 an hour at walmart .. I couldn't imagine being in debt like that

I just finished pharmacy school and a 2 year residency... I will say as long as you are willing to do clinical pharmacy and not retail, it is worth it

I am a pharmacist, been in the dietary supplement/integrative health industry for 20+ years. Writing books, educating, articles, etc... I love it, worked from home for 20 years . !!

Pharmacy, veterinary, optometry, chiropractic…all among those occupations with low ROI. If you have rich parents who will foot the bill and you you don’t have lofty earning expectations then go for it. Otherwise stay far away!

I am a pharmacist working full time for 5 years now, if i go back in time i wouldn’t choose this career. Its very much controlled by few players the wages are not going up… my only advice if you must do this pharmacy always have a second plan if it doesn’t work out the way you hope to.

Perhaps the young man can get a job at a pharmacy as an assistant and he can see "from the inside" if he would like to go into the pharmacy profession. Taking a year to work never hurt anyone before going back to school....especially if they already have a degree.

I know a guy who went to pharmacy school who is a car salesman.

I almost went down the doctor path with my undergrad in chemistry. I realized early on, if the doctor path didn’t pan out the best I could do with a chemistry degree was being a lab tech earning $20 an hour. I switched to chemical engineering and it was the best thing I did. An engineering degree opens many doors.

Don’t do it, Alex. I graduated pharmacy school 10 years ago and the career is not worth it any more.

b.s it doesn't mater what field you are going in to you will always hear about over-saturation, low pay, your going to get replaced by robots, etc. Usually by people who are not in the field, or people who don't want competition so they can continue to demand higher wages. Pick something you like and fight for it, remember every one has nay-sayers and the only one who get to tell their stories are the one who make it.

PA school, Medical school, anesthesiology assistant

Have you worked in a pharmacy? Might want to be a pharmacy technician for a summer and see what it is like. I come from a family of pharmacists and they too would not recommend newcomers because of the lack of jobs, reduced salary, the number of hours it takes to become one, and the difficulty in getting a pharmacy license in a new state (should you ever want to move). However, if that's truly what you want to do, then go for it. But I would really want to know if that's something you truly want to do.

42 years and finally out of this idiotic profession!

Currently in my first of four years of pharmacy school. I currently work as a pharmacy extern in a hospital and I really enjoy it. It’s more back-end work (i.e. not interacting with patients, which I like), but it’s not super difficult and is sometimes stressful, but not overwhelming. I enjoy the material I’m learning and like the curriculum and hope to work as a night shift pharmacist at the hospital I’m currently at until I pay back my loans as a minimum. From what I’ve been told by other pharmacists, it’s a field that can be great, but has slowly deteriorated over the years.

Research doesn't pay unless you are the primary investigator with a PhD

Walgreens is paying $50/hr. Not worth it if you are taking out. 200k in student loans. A decent paying job pay $25-30/hr without going to all that debt.

This pop up on my list, and I am a pharmacist, and you guess it right, for years working in Pharmacy, I still have so much debt, and the field is indeed very saturated, I work with one of the biggest retail chain, other position outside of retail, has become very competitive due to residency program. Of course you can try to work for industries as well. But they also have a internship program and it does not mean you can get it. I got an on site interview after interviewed with 7 drug companies and was the final 2 candidates to compete for one position out of 450 candidates. Ended up failed the last interviews. Now working at retail, and they are a very stressful place, please do as much research as you can, before you commit to it. I don’t do pharmacy because of money, I did it, because I wanted to help people, but retail life has killed my passions, killed my compassion for patient, and ruined my physical health, and mental health. And with 250k student loan. Please think twice. Many pharmaceutical company offer job for science major undergrad. You don’t need a doctor degree for that.

I was in pre-pharmacy school. It wasn't for me. There are so many career paths to choose from. I chose IT (web developer).

I’m a pharmacist in UK 10+ years service and I hate it. Staff cuts everywhere and barely any pay increase. More services are added for us to do and that’s on top of all the normal work load with no extra help or pay. I was convinced by my parents to do pharmacy but I actually wanted to be a vet which is one of my biggest regrets

I am fortunate to be a debt free pharmacist thanks to the Indian Health Service scholarship. In all honesty, the decision to go to pharmacy school would have been harder if I were faced with loans.

The thing is , Pharmacy is school is super expensive and really hard. If your going to put in that much expense and hard work you could just go to PA or Medical school. Then youde be the one writing the prescriptions for people so its sort of like being a pharmacist anyway, except with likely better future pay.

Do not do it. If you are smart enough to do Pharmacy School you will be greatly disappointed when your trucker friends are making more. Your lawyer friends who all did one less year of school will make two to five fold if they make partner or put the same effort forth. If you went the Medical Route you would have almost no competition in almost any specialty as their are residency barriers to entry to keep competition down, yet again in the long run pay is higher, but also more stress. Tech would be more interesting but there is the concerns of automation. Tech sales are booming however. This is a very bad career choice financially. You will be stressed out, understaffed and unappreciated. If the technicians call out you will have to work the entire store by yourself jumping between 3 different stations. Turnover is worse than McDonalds.

Don't do it. Trust me. Too many negatives!

He needs a mentor who is a pharmacist. He needs to meet with and talk to pharmacists. And he needs to shadow a few pharmacists before committing his life to this.

Job field is not saturated, we are understaffed and pharmacies are desperate to hire. Pay has no gone down in my area (California). Not saying pharmacy school is worth it as it's a tough job, but there are opportunities for people that can handle it.

I am a hospital pharmacist and do retail pharmacy as a side hustle. I make north oh 175k a year in combined income. Hospital pharmacy is a far better quality of life and I tolerate retail pharmacy on the side. Financially it has been VERY rewarding, but I have to say doing retail pharmacy as a career would not have been a good choice.

Defer for a year to do your research and work on backup plan. I did this with Med school and actually decided not to go after being accepted could not deal with the debt. I found another passion and happy with my decision. Following your dreams should not bankrupt you or stress you sick.

The switch to the PharmD program only has generated dollars (majority of the tuition years are graduate level credits - much higher cost) for the Universities. Since this happened (mid 1990s) the number of pharmacy schools has roughly doubled. Post baccalaureate, it'd be way smarter to pursue a career in medicine where you can find ways (eg military service) to pay for that education. Something that's not available to pharmacy folks.

This is a very loaded question. I believe "Pharmacy" is too broad a term to really answer that question. There are circumstances that make it worth it, and some that make it a financial nightmare. There are Pharmacist in certain sectors that do extremely well.

Don't quit on your dreams! There is soo much to pharmacy than retail and hospital.

if you are smart enough, YES, complete your PrarmD...always worth it...don't forget pharm for Veterinary needs...

I feel like every industry the workers say, "it's oversaturated" "it's not what it used to be". Gotta take a shot at something.

If you go to Pharmacy school, work hard to prepare yourself and train for a career outside of retail: hospital, longterm care, consulting, home infusion, specialty fields such as oncology, cardiology, etc.. There are many other options. Retail is a nightmare and I would not recommend it.

Get the Pharmacy degree enter the Military as an officer working as a Pharmacist. Retired in 20 years of service.

My suggestion would be to work as a pharmacy technician for 1-2 years. This would put him up close to what really takes place and hive Jim first hand knowledge of the industry before putting a dime into pharmacy school . Once he sees into the industry he may decide it is or isn't for him based in what he learns

Pharmacists are now working as sales reps in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry making much more money than they did filling prescriptions. There are opportunities but not on the traditional career path.

No, don't do it. Do anything else

We will always need pharmacists and Doctors. The question is finding a way to pay for schooling and compensation after education.

The answer for him is no. He's in it for the (not enough) money. If you were passionate about it you would do it, regardless of any obstacles.

I'm not a pharmacist But my gf graduated this year her and most of her classmates got very good jobs before even graduating. Mid 100k and large sign on bonuses. She works for a retail pharmacy with a pretty good work life balance. It seems pharmacy's are short handed. If you do it right you wont end up with a ton of debt either. She got many scholarships and qualified for may different programs. Her pharmacy school was virtually free. Search out there for schools what different payment options, grants and scholarships are out there. Even if this way the case their are other options out there for pharmacists other then retail. Good luck to all!

I mean, there are jobs out there for new-grad pharmacists, just not the one you WANT, or the position that you're QUALIFIED for.

I’m graduating from pharmacy school this May and I have a retail job lined up but the thing that terrifies me is that I feel like I will wind up hating my job. I wish I had set myself up better in pharmacy school to do a residency and become a clinical pharmacist, but I felt that my grades weren’t good enough and no residency program would want to interview me.

Don’t do it !! The profession is trash. And retail is the worst totally .

I regret becoming a pharmacist every single day!

He should consider PA school. It’s a great career with great pay and he’d be competitive with that major and GPA

My niece is a pharmacist. Expensive school, but she lived at home for three years and paid off school. She is able to make six figures/year.

From someone who wanted to go to pharmacy school: no, not if you can get a free ride for school somehow. There is no point in getting yourself into an absurd amount of student loan debt to go to school.

The field is trending down....just way too many grads being pumped out for the jobs you'd actually want to work. At best, you'll be miserable at a retail chain....the working conditions really are just awful. Any other decent non retail job posting commonly has 100+ applicants.

A relative is a pharmacist. She says it's different than it use to be. However, she makes six figures.

I would like to have known how Much debt pharmacy school would leave him in.

Do NOT go into pharmacy now. Terrible choice

Occupational Outlook Handbook, research different career and find a great one that uses your degree and is growing.

Great advice. And no, pharmacy is not worth it. Quality of life isn't great. High stress, too much debt for the wages. The retail environment is a nightmare.

Shoutout to the graphics person: the got to go transition in the title was smooth 😄

Many medical fields are getting tougher in terms of pay and competition etc…put in your due deligence in terms of learning and comparing pros and cons of the field.. What is the real reason you want to do it and what are your expectations??? Also, speak to people that are currently doing it…Goodluck to all 🧠👌

I think if you're interested in something, go for it. It's NOT much $$ you make/year, it's HOW you make it. As long as you begin your career focused on investing for cash flow in real assets to replace your active/earned income then your career choice shouldn't matter.

It's definitely worth it. The pay is increasing, there is a drought of pharmacist today and everything's going up. I know my pharmacy manager makes 230K a year after bonuses. You'll make a lot doing it. Now that pharmacist role is being expanding towards provider status and with the expanding role I'm sure the salaries will increase further. Also, as another side that a lot of people don't think about is that you'll be 1 year short of a masters of business and get a lot of knowledge of upcoming drugs and a lot of students make a lot in stocks. It's 1000% worth it.

Is Business school or study( Finance, accounting,management) still worth it????? In the era of AI, ML, Automation of multiple tasks like taxes and AP/AR ….

DO NOT DO PHARMACY FULL TIME!! Get a teaching degree in chem or bio and become a relief pharmacist. Better hours, better schedule,you will be happier, and a lot less B.S.

Don't do it. I'm a pharmacist. Not worth it. I graduated four years ago and can not get a permanent regular consistent job.

seems like every pharmacy is understaffed and there are so many customers. i pick up meds for my grandma and regularly wait 40+ minutes. the staff seems stressed any pharmacy i go to

Great job guys! Great info!

...and by all means ignore your passion and think only of the money.

My sister worked in Walgreens pharmacy while pursuing her "pharmacist degree"( unsure of the actual degree), making $27 an hour. (98-2000s) Once she graduated with her Masters, She moved to Orlando and got a pharmacist job making $60 plus an hour. Some numbers of years later.... she went back to school to become a pediatrician. (2014) Moral of the story: Pharmacists make great money!!

No one likes their profession, unfortunately

CVS and Walgreen's pharmacies don't do any compounding. Go to pharmacy school and find a traditional pharmacy to work for that is owned by someone who lives in the same state.

What about a PHD in pharmaceutical science and work for big pharma? That way he can for sure get a PHD for free and still work in the pharmacy industry.

Hey, y'all. I've been a pharmacist for a few years. This video highlights valid points; however, becoming a pharmacist can still be a GREAT path. I'd recommend *experiencing* the field before committing to student loans. Research the dozens of different specialties and areas pharmacist work (too many to list). The pharmacy field is forever evolving, and there are countless "practice" areas pharmacists prosper without the woes typically attributed to traditional retail pharmacy. The field continuously becomes more competitive, but plenty of great paying jobs still exist and there is still room for entrepreneurship. If you're in it because you believe it's an easier and faster way to +100k/yr compared to an MD, DDS, PA, etc., I can assure you that you will be disappointed. The work to position yourself as the perfect candidate for your desired gig should start years before applying to pharmacy school.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Don't do it

If you’re going to be a pharmacist work in a hospital.

If you live in a state with instate tuition I would go into dentistry but I know out of state is super expensive but you can make a lot