My wife is a pharmacist, and you can easily get a job after finishing
pharmacy school, even if you are in your early to mid forties at the time.
Currently you can make 38 grand by either working full time for months or
part time for about 8 months.  My wife worked part time about 24 hrs. a week
and was bringing in approx 70K, now that she has gone full time, she is well
over 100 K.  There is ageism in certain types of positions, but if you have
a license you can get a decent job full or part time, with or without
benefits in retail, hospital, HMO's, Industry etc.   Different types of
people work different types of pharmacy jobs, because some jobs are
monotonous and others are with heavy problems solving. Some are people
oriented and some are form, or lab oriented.  There are many options. Most
big cities need pharmacists, and the outlook for the next 15 years continues
to be shortage of pharmacists.

======================
Are you to old to go back start another career.....HELL NO....!!!!!

I retired in 1998 as a Pharmacist and one of my part time cashiers
was about your age ..in the 80's... and went back to school...to be a
Pharamcist ... Never ever heard her say anthing except she was glad
she did....

Hours per week....40 is now standard ...used to be 48 then 44 then
42... now at 40....who knows it may be 35 in a few more years...BUT
I still work 6 hours a week....and the store in which I work has 3
other opart time Pharmacists...all women..all with children and each
of them  work about 20 hours a week    Should not be a problem finding
a job that fits your schedule...

Nobody knows when we will be replaced by machines....but I just have
the funny feeling that the baby boomers will keep you busy well past
the next 15 years...

Have no clue what  you are talking about (ageism).....noboby refers to
me as the OLD GUY...

So you want to make 38K a year... Guess you only intend to work a
couple of days a week...after you get your licience....may I suggest
Wednesday and Thursday each week...that way you will not mess up any
long weekend....

Just need a Pharm D and pass the state boards then go out and find a
job...(not at all hard)...

I did do a few years as a Hospital Pharmacist ...just not my thing
being stuck in a basement and away from any contact with
"customers"..so I can only  say that what I looked for in a Pharmacist
was someone who had far above average  people skills and at least an
average head on their shoulers to understand retail Pharmacy is a
business ....not just a  profession....

Jobs are available all over the place...  in the late 60's I was in
the US Army stationed in a town of 25,000 people...maybe 5 drug stores
in the entire county...I managed to work about 30-40 hours a week as a
relief  Pharmacist ...Joe wanted off Tuesday evening, Sam loved to
Bowl on Wednesday evenings etc...  Not that much different today

Lots of luck  

Bob G.

You have to get your prerequisites out of the way usually, then do your 5
years as a full time pharmacy student which will get you your pharm d

Average wage is $42 an hour parttime or fulltime.  You can work 1 day a
week, 5 days a week.  There is no "ageism" in this position.  A lot of
pharmacists are older, and generally more knowledgable which results in less
liability for the pharmacies since they are less likely to make mistakes.

It is one of the few jobs that gives you the ultimate in freedom and
flexability.  You can go anywhere, if you get a license in that state, and
work just about whatever shift you want.  You write your own ticket.
Wherever there are drugstores or hospitals there are jobs.

Ms Sovereign,
Here are the best answers I could give in a short amount of time.

Usually 40 or so hours for full time whether hospital or retail or LTC or
whatever.  You can work part time too.

Absolutely not.

Pharmacist is one of the most secure jobs around.  There will always be sick
people, and considering  polypharmacy running rampant these days you will be
in demand  for some time.  Docs just love writing prescriptions and people
just love getting them filled.

Not really.  If you can perform you will be employed.  Just be prepared for
stress, and in some cases, losing your mind due to the whirlwind of activity
around you (it happens to all of us). Stress management is an integral part
of the job

If you work full time in retail (depending on geographics) you could start
out making over 100K per year.  Hospital is lower but gaining ground these
days.

Get your degree and pass your boards (very easy right out of school).  You
will also have to fulfill some sort of state intern hour requirement.  For
example, in the state of Maine you must have 1500 hours in the pharmacy
along with your education and boards to get a license.
Be aware that pharmacy school can be very difficult at times.  Develop a
group of study-buddies and you will be OK.

People who can produce pinpoint accuracy all day. Patient people who can
keep their head together under extreme stress and not get shaken up by being
berated by intolerant fools. Finally, people who have great "people skills"
tend to excel in retail pharmacy ( If you work in retail, it also helps to
be assertive when it comes to what you will and will not accept from your
company in terms of available technicians, workload, etc.).

You will probably work at the same career level forever, much like a
physician.  That is, unless, you go into management which may or may not be
a good thing depending on the job and your personality.  This does not mean
that you will not get raises--pharmacists do very well in the payroll
department as they are in demand and have a high market value (market
value=regular raises, not including performance raises or bonuses).  Being a
pharmacist is a very good living in terms of supporting yourself.

Depends on the area, but you should have no problem living wherever you
want.

Questions?  Query here.

cjRPh

You should work in a pharmacy  for a while. It can be very stressful,
so you can determine whether it's right for you.

It depends. A floater can work as many (or as few) hrs as he /she
wishes. A full-time pharmacist usually works 40 hrs.

You're still young!

It sure looks that way.

We have one full-time pharmacist who is 74yo and a part-time
pharmacist who is 80. BTW: She is a little slow but makes the fewest
mistakes of any pharmacist we have.

The moment you take your first full-time (or part-time) job.

Get licensed and step into the first pharmacy or hospital you pass.

Those who are meticulous at their work, handle stress well and
multi-task well.

You can find jobs in retail, clinical or industry. The primary
drawback with pharmacy is that there is usually no corporate ladder to
climb..

Jobs are everywhere.

As an aside, pharmacy is a great profession for women. This is due to
the large number of part-time opportunities.

JDA, R.Ph.