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Medical Forum / General / Pharmacy / July 2007Is 49 too old to become pharnacist?
I'm 49 and laid off Thinking of moving sideways in the work filed..... going to pharm school Too old? On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:55:02 -0500, me wrote: > I'm 49 and laid off > > Thinking of moving sideways in the work filed..... going to pharm school > > Too old? Are you asking if it's too old for getting into a school, or are you asking our opinions on becoming a pharmacist at that age? As far as applying to a school, many other factors need to be considered, but age alone wouldn't automatically disqualify you. Alot is going to depend upon your past experience, attitude, etc. My personal feelings, at least about the program I attended, was that they preferred the adult students. I think the oldest in my class was about 40 though. Regarding my opionion on whether or not it is a good idea, you don't mention which field you are interested in, or what your background experience has been, but I have to ask, have you ever worked in a pharmacy? Are you sure you want to? FWIW, I work retail, and I'm aiming at being at least semi-retired (ie, part-time) from pharmacy by 50. I'm not the type who thrives on stress, so I figure that's more than enough. If you're looking at retail, I would highly suggest getting a job as a tech first, before you commit the time and money to a job/career that you may find unsuitable. >Are you asking if it's too old for getting into a school, or are you >asking our opinions on becoming a pharmacist at that age? Both I suppose <G> >Regarding my opionion on whether or not it is a good idea, you don't >mention which field you are interested in, or what your background >experience has been, but I have to ask, have you ever worked in a >pharmacy? Are you sure you want to? My background experience has been in the engineering/maint field. I do NOT have a bachelors degree of any kind but have 40 semester hrs of gen education and working on more I'm tired of being laid off!! I've finally decided that manufacturing is dead and gone in the US!!! Kaput!! Am looking to move "sideways" into another filed. Something in demand and that would allow one to work in his 80's if he wanted (part time) >If you're looking at retail, I would >highly suggest getting a job as a tech first, before you commit the time >and money to a job/career that you may find unsuitable. yes retail...and yes have thought abt becoming/trying a tech job first What is needed to become a tech? Any college at all? Or can anyone off the street become a tech? On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:11:29 -0500, me wrote: > What is needed to become a tech? Any college at all? Or can anyone off > the street become a tech? Depends upon the state. Some you just need to be a H/S grad with no serious criminal convictions, others you need to be certified (CPhT through ptcb.org). Additionally, there are probably some employers that require certification even in states where the law doesn't require it. PTCB certification does not require any college credits, and AFAIK, no state requires any college education to work as a pharmacy tech. I (unfortunately?) live in a state that doesn't require certification, so I don't know if any of the states that do require it give you a certain amount of time to become certified while working without certification, or if you have to have the certification to even be elligible for applying. >> What is needed to become a tech? Any college at all? Or can anyone off >> the street become a tech? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >through ptcb.org). Additionally, there are probably some employers that >require certification even in states where the law doesn't require it. OK thanks I live in Missouri if that helps any I will look into pharn tech and see if I can work as that while going full time to college this fall I'm two hrs north of St Louis and would probably go to school in STL for pharmacy if that's what I decide Question tho..... can one still work as pharmacist even in his late 70s and 80s? On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:32:08 -0500, me wrote: >>> What is needed to become a tech? Any college at all? Or can anyone >>> off the street become a tech? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I live in Missouri if that helps any Maybe someone from Missouri can chime in. I don't know Missouri law. > I will look into pharn tech and see if I can work as that while going > full time to college this fall [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Question tho..... can one still work as pharmacist even in his late 70s > and 80s? AFAIK, there's no age limit for being licensed. Age is relative. Some people are more active, mentally and physically, in their early 80s than other people are at 50. Personally, if I thought I'd be working in my current position at that age...<shudder> If you are looking at retail, just keep in mind that you will be standing or on the move non-stop. An 80 year old who is physically fit and genetically blessed wouldn't have any problems, but one with even moderate osteoarthritis might not handle it so well. Then there are a slew of other age-related conditions like vision or hearing loss that could affect your ability to function as required. >Depends upon the state. By the way.... thanks so much for your time in answering my questions!!!!! I appreciate the advice My concern is that at age 49, I still have so much school to get through to become a pharmacist that it may not be cost effective (payback) given that I only have another 16 years or so to work in the filed I realize it is costly to get through pharmacy school and would be in debt when graduating at say age 53 or so. One caveat... I do very well academically.... do well in math (calculus) and the sciences On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:39:43 -0500, me wrote: > My concern is that at age 49, I still have so much school to get through > to become a pharmacist that it may not be cost effective (payback) given [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > One caveat... I do very well academically.... do well in math (calculus) > and the sciences I don't know what type of salary you are accustomed to, or what your lifestyle or spending habits are like, but even if you borrowed 100% of the cost of pharmacy school, with a little discipline you could have it all paid off within 5 years; even sooner if you make a serious effort. I am not advocating getting any student loans, just stating that if you should get loans, the salary you receive as a full-time pharmacist would allow you to repay it in short order in most markets. On the other hand, if you like paying interest, you will have the option to consolidate your student loans after graduation into one 30-year loan. The current interest rates are not terrible either, but ANY interest paid out over 30 years is going to add up to an outrageous figure. Of course, if you have 2 car payments, a $2500 mortgage payment, are paying to put 2 kids through college, and have credit card debt up the wazoo, it will take much longer to pay off the student loans. > the salary you receive as a full-time pharmacist would >allow you to repay it in short order in most markets. and what is the salary for fresh pharm grads? On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:49:11 -0500, me wrote: >> the salary you receive as a full-time pharmacist would >>allow you to repay it in short order in most markets. > > and what is the salary for fresh pharm grads? http://www.pharmacyweek.com/job_seeker/salary/default.asp?article_id=10049 >On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:49:11 -0500, me wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >http://www.pharmacyweek.com/job_seeker/salary/default.asp?article_id=10049 Thanks! I know this sounds like a petty question.... but as a registered pharmacist or even as a pharm tech...can I get deep discounts on my OWN maintenance drugs that I tale such as Lipitor, etc? On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:52:51 -0500, me wrote: > I know this sounds like a petty question.... but as a registered > pharmacist or even as a pharm tech...can I get deep discounts on my OWN > maintenance drugs that I tale such as Lipitor, etc? It may depend upon where you work. Generally speaking, No. If you're full time, you'll likely have insurance, so >99% of the time your copay would be lower than what you could expect to pay for them even if there was a deep discount. If you're only part-time, the employer may or may not offer insurance. If not, they may have some sort of discount for employees, but I highly doubt that it would be considered deep. If you work in a pharmacy, you will quickly realize that, in most cases, the margins are really small. Too small to afford any deep discounts. >It may depend upon where you work. Generally speaking, No. If you're full >time, you'll likely have insurance, so >99% of the time your copay would [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >If you work in a pharmacy, you will quickly realize that, in most cases, >the margins are really small. Too small to afford any deep discounts. OK.....and again thanks so MUCH for taking the time to answer my questions!! Being in college so late in life means that I MUST chose the right major.....as I wont be able to go back and change careers if not correct. My goal is to have a career that is "lay off proof"...... NOT in manufacturing..... and something that can be done at older age even if just part time basis. You have convinced me that I should take job as pharm tech first tho. Would my age (49) work against me in getting a tech job? On Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:10:34 -0500, me wrote: > You have convinced me that I should take job as pharm tech first tho. > Would my age (49) work against me in getting a tech job? I'm glad you decided on the tech position. If you don't have any prior medical experience, it can only help in applying to pharmacy school if that's what you decide to do, and will save you tons of time and money if you come to realize that a career in pharmacy is not for you. That doesn't mean you're limited to retail, as there are many other options. Some hospitals hire techs "off the street" too, but openings for hospital jobs and others like long-term-care, etc, are more rare than retail, at least locally. Not to sound like a broken record, but whether age matters is going to depend upon where you apply. Legally, of course, it can't be a factor, but the person doing the hiring may be looking for a teen hottie. Who knows? In general though, it may be a plus, as you're probably more likely to show up. We have a HUGE problem where I work with the young-uns just not showing up, leaving early because they have a test tomorrow, refusing to work weekends or into the late evening, etc, etc (and, unfortunately, management puts up with it). Hi there! Well, I'm 53 & became a pharmacy tech at age 46. The place where I had been working, closed, so luckily, my former employer re-trained us at their expense. Medicine and/or crime has always fascinated me, so I chose to be trained as a pharmacy technician. Since they were paying for it, I took advantage of a 3 month course at our local community college. I live in a state where you must be not only licensed, but also nationally certified. I now work, for the last 7 years, in a 700 bed forensic/psychiatric hospital. It's always interesting...Boring it is not. This job requires a lot of walking, filling prescriptions, interaction with patients & medical personnel, computer entry, billing, ordering, packaging... All the while, helping the pharmacist, as they check your work. I think there is a lot of information out there. I don't think it is necessary to actually go to a class in order to pass the test, although it does have a lot of math. I personally recommend a site called www.techlectures.com Good luck on whatever you decide to do. Most of my co-workers are in their 40's & 50's...Some are pushing 60. Take care, Cathy www.mycowcorner.com >Is 49 too old to become pharmacist? No. >Is 49 too old to start thinking about becoming a pharmacist? Now, that's a much different question... >Good luck on whatever you decide to do. >Most of my co-workers are in their 40's & 50's...Some are pushing 60. >Take care, >Cathy Thanks for that info!! |
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