San Antonio to Chicago (schools, university, pharmacists)

[damba]

Originally Posted by George Brock

I see, thanks. Am I underestimating COL in Chicago? 30k a year here can get me a decent 1 bedroom with money left over to save a little bit, I don't have any kids and I'm used to not living in the best neighborhoods; So it doesn't have to be the best place in town. Pilsen catches my eye especially.

Yes, IMO you are underestimating the COL in Chicago. At that salary level a roommate is a must IMNSHO if you plan on saving money for the future.

[emathias]

Why not go back to school in Chicago and become a full-fledged pharmacist? I don't know about in San Antonio, but full pharmacists in Chicago earn three times $30,000/year, close to $90k/year. UIC has a decent pharmacy program. With that plan you a) get out of Texas, b) get into Chicago, and c) set yourself up for a good income long-term.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by emathias

Why not go back to school in Chicago and become a full-fledged pharmacist? I don't know about in San Antonio, but full pharmacists in Chicago earn three times $30,000/year, close to $90k/year. UIC has a decent pharmacy program. With that plan you a) get out of Texas, b) get into Chicago, and c) set yourself up for a good income long-term.

Take this advice.

[lepoisson]

There is no way I'd move to Chicago at $30K/year salary unless I had a roommate situation.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

There is no way I'd move to Chicago at $30K/year salary unless I had a roommate situation.

And that wouldn't be a bad thing as the OP would have an "instant tour guide/potential friend"

[damba]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

Take this advice.

Maybe, but he already said he doesn't have much $. You would need savings or some very expensive loans to be able to afford pharmacy school. UIC is probably $20-25K/semester (guessing).

[emathias]

Originally Posted by damba

Maybe, but he already said he doesn't have much $. You would need savings or some very expensive loans to be able to afford pharmacy school. UIC is probably $20-25K/semester (guessing).

But it's exactly the sort of schooling it makes the most sense to borrow for.

Never borrow for an art degree. Never borrow for a history degree. Maybe don't even borrow for a generic business degree. But for specific, well-paid careers, such as software engineer, or lawyer, or doctor, or quite possibly even pharmacist, borrowing to get educated to be able to get a much better paying job can be a perfectly reasonable decision.

UIC says the average PharmD graduates after 4.5 years, or 9 semesters. Their tuition plus fees for in-state (definitely worth establishing residency before starting the program) is currently about $14.5/k per semester. So about $130k for the educational cost. Four years of cost of living might be in the range of $18k per year pushing the total cost of the program, if there is no scholarship, to about $211,500. Now, there are scholarships, plus the "cost of living" you're going to have no matter what. You may be able to work part time during the program to offset some of the costs. If you managed to earn a little over $20k/year part-time as a student for 4.5 years, let's say netting $18k per year after taxes, that completely offsets the cost of living portion, so you're left with the $130k educational cost.

Lets say you got some scholarships and grants and/or fellowships and total education cost after those left you with $100,000 in loans. Let's say you're salaried at $90k/year. To pay that $100k back in ten years you'd be paying something like $1,000 per month. All things in, that might be the equivalent, including taxes, of about $1,300 per month from your gross salary. So, $90,000 - (12 * $1,300) = $74,400 salary after paying for the cost of that education. That's over double $30,000 per year. That's called an *investment* with seriously good payoff.

Long-term, lets say a pharm tech eventually earns $45k/year. If the O.P. is 30 and they want to retire at 70, if they stay a tech and max out at $45k in 2017 dollars, the'll earn about $1.5 million in 2017 dollars over the next 40 years, assuming a $5k bump every ten years.

You get a pharmD and become a pharmacist, five years from now they'll be about $145,000 poorer than they would be if they just kept working. But TEN years from now they'd be over $200,000 richer *even after taking into account the cost of the education loans*. And by retirement they'd be well over twice as rich, even after taking into account the cost of that education.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by emathias

But it's exactly the sort of schooling it makes the most sense to borrow for.

Never borrow for an art degree. Never borrow for a history degree. Maybe don't even borrow for a generic business degree. But for specific, well-paid careers, such as software engineer, or lawyer, or doctor, or quite possibly even pharmacist, borrowing to get educated to be able to get a much better paying job can be a perfectly reasonable decision.

UIC says the average PharmD graduates after 4.5 years, or 9 semesters. Their tuition plus fees for in-state (definitely worth establishing residency before starting the program) is currently about $14.5/k per semester. So about $130k for the educational cost. Four years of cost of living might be in the range of $18k per year pushing the total cost of the program, if there is no scholarship, to about $211,500. Now, there are scholarships, plus the "cost of living" you're going to have no matter what. You may be able to work part time during the program to offset some of the costs. If you managed to earn a little over $20k/year part-time as a student for 4.5 years, let's say netting $18k per year after taxes, that completely offsets the cost of living portion, so you're left with the $130k educational cost.

Lets say you got some scholarships and grants and/or fellowships and total education cost after those left you with $100,000 in loans. Let's say you're salaried at $90k/year. To pay that $100k back in ten years you'd be paying something like $1,000 per month. All things in, that might be the equivalent, including taxes, of about $1,300 per month from your gross salary. So, $90,000 - (12 * $1,300) = $74,400 salary after paying for the cost of that education. That's over double $30,000 per year. That's called an *investment* with seriously good payoff.

Long-term, lets say a pharm tech eventually earns $45k/year. If the O.P. is 30 and they want to retire at 70, if they stay a tech and max out at $45k in 2017 dollars, the'll earn about $1.5 million in 2017 dollars over the next 40 years, assuming a $5k bump every ten years.

You get a pharmD and become a pharmacist, five years from now they'll be about $145,000 poorer than they would be if they just kept working. But TEN years from now they'd be over $200,000 richer *even after taking into account the cost of the education loans*. And by retirement they'd be well over twice as rich, even after taking into account the cost of that education.

Good post, although I might not agree with the lawyer part, as I don't think the legal field is what it used to be. Assuming that he enjoys working in pharmacies, and not simply earning a check, pursuing a career as a pharmacist is a pretty worthwhile thing...

[Clark&Addison]

Originally Posted by MassVt

Good post, although I might not agree with the lawyer part, as I don't think the legal field is what it used to be. Assuming that he enjoys working in pharmacies, and not simply earning a check, pursuing a career as a pharmacist is a pretty worthwhile thing...

… and opens up his career to many more places than pharmacies. Hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, mental health facilities, etc all employ pharmacists!

[personone]

Originally Posted by emathias

Why not go back to school in Chicago and become a full-fledged pharmacist? I don't know about in San Antonio, but full pharmacists in Chicago earn three times $30,000/year, close to $90k/year. UIC has a decent pharmacy program. With that plan you a) get out of Texas, b) get into Chicago, and c) set yourself up for a good income long-term.

Pharmacy school is very competitive. Not just as easy as him deciding he wants to go, and then signing up. If it was that easy, a lot of people would enroll. He'll need to have (or get) great grades in his pre-recs (bio, chemistry, biochem, and physics), and then do well on the PCAT. It's not med school competitive, but most schools (including UIC) have very low acceptance rates. Only the best students get in.