[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by and the

I tell mine that they're going to move to Somolia and be pirates.

Do pirates get health care, and what kind of hours do they work?

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

Do pirates get health care, and what kind of hours do they work?

I think early retirement. LOL

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by kcam213

I believe this. However Pharmacy school is very hard, and very competitive. Only medical school lead pharmacy for brutal school curiculum (sp?) and competition.

I have heard from a colleague that you have several YEARS of science classes, and I don't mean chemistry 101... we are talking about level 3 science and chemistry classes. She could not pass one of her chemistry classes so she switched to RN school.

Pharmacist do make great money. I tell my 7 year old that is what she will be when she grows up. She doesn't know what a pharmacist is but that is what she replies when asked what does she want to be when she grows up.

Getting a degree in education, which the poster who started this thread already has, is no walk in the park, believe me. You need a major area of study, a minor one, AND the degree in education, all racked up in a 4-year period. If you can do that, you can probably do pharmacy school, unless you have zero talent in the sciences or, Scrod help you, an artistic temperament and no left brain.

[Ishten]

To the original poster, I would focus more on your strengths and desires than the current hot market. Market trends shift and you do not want to be stuck with loan debt looking for a job you dislike. Look deeply into what drives the salaries: health care is driven by insurance; education is driven by taxes and student loans; construction is driven by the availability of credit. All of the drivers can be changed - taxes lowered, credit tightened, socialized medicine.

As for the value of education, this is tricky. In my opinion, education does not create wealth, it merely provides the tools for you to create or pursue it. The fundamental question consumers of services/goods ask is "what can you do for me?" Well, a college education doesn't help much because you aren't trained to do anything - it is all theory - someone has to train you to provide value.

The bottom line is whether we consider college an investment in monetary terms or human development. In the past a college education could be equated with more lifetime earnings. However, this may be skewed as a diploma was required to obtain the positions. This system is easy on eveyone - the kid gets to goto school for 4 years - the school gets paid generally by someone other than the kid - an employer sees the diploma and knows he is trainable. Because at its core, a college degree only proves that you can learn. Well, does a kid really have to pay the tuition to prove he can learn? I don't think so. Absent the societal licensing barriers, gimme a bright kid, who works hard, and I can train him to do anything - with or without a college degree.

[Peter B]

I am getting trained to be a pharmacy tech then eventually a pharmacist. From all my research, it is about the most secure field for future lucrative employment, especially in NW Michigan where job opportunities are expected to increase almost 30% the next 5-7 years.

[kcam213]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

Getting a degree in education, which the poster who started this thread already has, is no walk in the park, believe me. You need a major area of study, a minor one, AND the degree in education, all racked up in a 4-year period. If you can do that, you can probably do pharmacy school, unless you have zero talent in the sciences or, Scrod help you, an artistic temperament and no left brain.

I know zero about education classes. However I did take 2 chemistry classes. The BEGINNERS Chemistry required you to memorize the element table so that you can DRAW the atom and place it properly in bonds.

Here is an example of ONE element:

Name: Chromium
Symbol: Cr
Atomic Number: 24
Atomic Mass: 51.9961 amu
Melting Point: 1857.0 °C (2130.15 K, 3374.6 °F)
Boiling Point: 2672.0 °C (2945.15 K, 4841.6 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 24
Number of Neutrons: 28
Classification: Transition Metal
Crystal Structure: Cubic
Density @ 293 K: 7.19 g/cm3
Color: gray

That is ONE element... here is the element table:



Now this was Chemistry 101. My friend took molecular chemistry 2 - 3 times and realized... pharmacy school was not for her.

Education degree can be a fast paced program but I am talking about the degee of difficulty of each individual class that is required for Pharmacy... which is a 5 year program of primarily chemistry, math and pharmacology classes. Pharmacology class = take a drug book the size of a Webster dictionary and MEMORIZE it.

[Cliffie]

OK, but a science teacher has to have a firm foundation in Chem, Physics, Biology, Math and probably a few other subjects I haven't thought of. If the poster who started this thread is a science teacher, that's a serious leg up.

Lots of people are good at memorizing! I'm not going to assume the stranded teacher in question is no good at it!

[sike0000]

Originally Posted by kcam213

I know zero about education classes. However I did take 2 chemistry classes. The BEGINNERS Chemistry required you to memorize the element table so that you can DRAW the atom and place it properly in bonds.

Here is an example of ONE element:

Name: Chromium
Symbol: Cr
Atomic Number: 24
Atomic Mass: 51.9961 amu
Melting Point: 1857.0 °C (2130.15 K, 3374.6 °F)
Boiling Point: 2672.0 °C (2945.15 K, 4841.6 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 24
Number of Neutrons: 28
Classification: Transition Metal
Crystal Structure: Cubic
Density @ 293 K: 7.19 g/cm3
Color: gray

That is ONE element... here is the element table:



Now this was Chemistry 101. My friend took molecular chemistry 2 - 3 times and realized... pharmacy school was not for her.

Education degree can be a fast paced program but I am talking about the degee of difficulty of each individual class that is required for Pharmacy... which is a 5 year program of primarily chemistry, math and pharmacology classes. Pharmacology class = take a drug book the size of a Webster dictionary and MEMORIZE it.

What one person finds difficult another will not. Memorizing a book is one thing, but understanding it is another. I have heard that some areas of study lean more towards memorization. As an engineer I was taught what formula to use is certain situations. Call it memorizing. But what really sets me apart from any person that can use Algebra is that I understand where the formula comes from, how it was derived, and how to change to meet my needs. I guess you could say I "learned" the formula not just memorize it.

I know people that had struggled to get a teaching certification. You want to be a history teacher? Well what foreign language classes have you taken? I would rather sit through three semesters of chemistry (which I truly hate) then one semester of a language. I find those classes impossibly diffilcult.

And taking the second and third level of the same classes is not as hard (at least to me) then taking the first one. Calc 1 was extremely difficult for me. It was completely new to me and a new way of doing things. But calc two and 3 were not. By that time it was not totally new.

I had to take a beginner course in chemistry as a pre req before college level. So college level was pretty much a nap for me. Thankfully I didn't have to take chem 2 or I might of stuck a pencil in my eye socket.

[kcam213]

I agree that specialized education degrees will have same degree of difficulty as specialized science careers such as pharmacy and engineering.

I guess I am basing my opinion on the elementary education general education degree. My sister in law is pursuing her certificate... basic algebra, music, literature.

you are right of course... what some people may find easy or better yet, logical and therefore easier to comprehend (advance math and science) maybe a nightmare to others.

and I don't think every teacher is proficient in a foreign language.

I guess I am reacting to this attitude that Pharmacy is an easy field to just "jump into" because another field is drying up.

I am in the medical field, RN... graduate #3 in my class... I was an excellent student and did very well.
However, even with best effort and tutors, I have doubts that I could sucessfully complete pharmacy school. I looked at the curriculum. It is difficult. That is why pharmacist new grads without ONE day of experience can make more than $110,000 here in Michigan.

Just a dose of reality for people looking for new careers in Michigan.

[kcam213]

Originally Posted by sike0000

What one person finds difficult another will not. Memorizing a book is one thing, but understanding it is another. I have heard that some areas of study lean more towards memorization. As an engineer I was taught what formula to use is certain situations. Call it memorizing. But what really sets me apart from any person that can use Algebra is that I understand where the formula comes from, how it was derived, and how to change to meet my needs. I guess you could say I "learned" the formula not just memorize it.

I know people that had struggled to get a teaching certification. You want to be a history teacher? Well what foreign language classes have you taken? I would rather sit through three semesters of chemistry (which I truly hate) then one semester of a language. I find those classes impossibly diffilcult.

And taking the second and third level of the same classes is not as hard (at least to me) then taking the first one. Calc 1 was extremely difficult for me. It was completely new to me and a new way of doing things. But calc two and 3 were not. By that time it was not totally new.

I had to take a beginner course in chemistry as a pre req before college level. So college level was pretty much a nap for me. Thankfully I didn't have to take chem 2 or I might of stuck a pencil in my eye socket.

In nursing/medicine this is what we call applied learning. and yes it is absolutely what you must do. However, I can't apply the knowledge, if I haven't mastered the material... I can't decided what to do about a fever if I don't know that temperature over 101 is abnormal. This is where memorization of the material is needed.

In Pharmacy... there is so much about the molecular structure of medications. Just one extra Hydrogen ion can greatly change a drug property and how it will react in the human body under different conditions... an acidic condition, an alkaline condition and reaction to other medications.

A pharmacist should be able to synethesize drugs in a neighborhood pharmacy lab. 20 years ago, pharmacist did just that using basic elements and plants.

Chemotherapy medications are not sent pre-mixed from some lab... your hospital pharmacy mixes each and every ingredient.

If he has a bad day and screws up, he doesn't make bad parts or have to re-do a report... somebody dies.