double major in finance/economics or get a PharmD? (computer science, skills, degrees)
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i can't decide which to go for. i'm only a sophomore in HS right now so the job market should hopefully be better by the time i enter it (6 years from now if i go for double major or 8 years from now if i do PharmD). what would you suggest? i was told that while economics and/or finance degree holders may make less starting salary than pharmacists they will eventually outpace them in salary, is this true? i'm great in math but not so much in science, but i'm sure i can improve enough to go for the PharmD.
If you're not so great in science, don't do a science degree. If you're great in math and you enjoy it, stay in math. There are lots of things you can do in math- including finance and econ. However, you are 15- you will change your career path a dozen times in the next few years. In the mean time, if you know you like math and you are good at it, just keep challenging yourself and and build your math skills. My BF was a math major and he's worked as a video game developer and an analyst. Since he has a solid math background, he's able to apply it to fields that interest him.
I was told that while economics and/or finance degree holders may make less starting salary than pharmacists they will eventually outpace them in salary, is this true?
The best way to put this is probably that there's more salary growth potential in finance than pharmacy.
To be successful in pharmacy school, being good at science is a must.
As others have said though--you have years. It's good that you're thinking about it, and maybe planning your high school coursework accordingly, but know that most people change their major at least once in college.
The best thing is to keep your options open. Science often isn't taught very well at the high school level, so you may have more potential in science than you think.
Take as much math and science as you can and you can go in any direction later.
Yes, it's true that you won't advance by leaps and bounds in pharmacy, but that's partly because you start out with such a high pay scale. My daughter graduated with a pharmacy degree 15 years ago and started at $80K the next week. There's a huge advantage with that; you needn't stay with the same employer for years to make a good income. Heck, you could move around all over the country if you wanted. Pass the state's required tests for licensing and you've got a wide choice of jobs. That was one of the main reasons she chose that path -- so she could quickly get a good job wherever she wanted to. And it worked, as she followed her husband's federal job from the west to the east and back and never missed any work. (She actually transferred within the same company.)
My daughter has done very well "moving up the ladder" in a large chain. While the pay increases aren't spectacular, they are good, and the list of benefits increases substantially -- bonuses, profit sharing, company car, etc.
You'll need to keep your grades up in high school and college. The year she was accepted to her small pharmacy school, there were 400+ applicants for 25-35 spots.
i can't decide which to go for. i'm only a sophomore in HS right now so the job market should hopefully be better by the time i enter it (6 years from now if i go for double major or 8 years from now if i do PharmD). what would you suggest? i was told that while economics and/or finance degree holders may make less starting salary than pharmacists they will eventually outpace them in salary, is this true? i'm great in math but not so much in science, but i'm sure i can improve enough to go for the PharmD.
At this point, you need not worry. Both directions require you beef up your math and physics. Both require a good background in statistics and numerical methods. Focus on these things.
Down the road, there will be a fork: on one side, pre-Med chemistry and on the other, classes on history and political philosophy.
At this point, you need not worry. Both directions require you beef up your math and physics. Both require a good background in statistics and numerical methods. Focus on these things.
Down the road, there will be a fork: on one side, pre-Med chemistry and on the other, classes on history and political philosophy.
I took a lot of the prereqs for pharmacy, but my school was tough for the intro science classes. I ended up with an econ degree. It was tough finding a job. But I'm happy that I got to work abroad. But I think computer science would have been interesting. I've met people in Europe who came from all over and were able to work or go to graduate school in computer science. I think math and computer science would be good ones. Or maybe engineering like industrial engineering. People who did math, econ, or engineering often do econ or finance graduate degrees. But it's harder to do it the other way going from econ to computer science.
But my cousin and her husband are relatively young pharmacists and do very well financially. The hours can be a little tough/annoying though. I think you need to see if that's a job for you. Try to work in a pharmacy (realize not all pharmacy is like retail). If you like it, maybe it will motivate you. I used to think that a chill pharmacy job would be to be a pharmacist in my university's health center. The hours and working conditions would be pretty good.
Last edited by somenobody; 02-26-2010 at 08:40 PM..
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