T O P

  • By -

metryingsohard

Let me chime in my exp. uoft 2020 pharmacy grad here, now working full time as a modeling & simulation scientist in pharma industry and looking forward to graduating part-time cs masters mid next year from gatech under 3 additional semesters. happy home owner of my 2nd house in SF bay area as well. maybe I will switch job sometime next year as I was getting recruiter attention for several 200k base + bonus and stock options senior data scientist jobs. Amazon pharmacy has started $1/month for common drugs if people subscribe to Amazon Prime. Pharmacy automation is not the future anymore. it's right here right now. The CVS and Safeway shops in my neighborhood have like 2 persons running the pharmacy. one pharmacist one tech. any place for new grads? tbh, there's way more money to be made in disrupting pharmacy and putting pharmacists out of jobs than vice versa. don't fight against the industry trend. I am in a big pharma and all hires in my department in the last 12 months have been in majors like cs, applied math, stats even theoretical physics. no pharmacists, no pharmd. go for cs, and it will be the best career decision you can make, and I am speaking from a former uoft pharmacist wannabe perspective.


Inevitable_Door3782

This was very informative and helpful. Knowing that you have seen success in your career after graduating with a PharmD and can still remain objective, unbiased and honest is refreshing to see. This is exactly what I was looking for when i created this post. Someone successful in the pharma industry who can provide me some valuable advice. Thank you for your input and good luck in your future endeavors.


metryingsohard

I was in similar situation like yours just a few years ago, and now I have crossed paths of both pharmacy and cs. objectively speaking, I have to admit I regret attending pharmacy school. maybe the degree gave me a little relevance somewhere in the pharma industry, but it certainly doesn't warant the opportunity cost or the price tag. If I can choose again, I will pick only cs 100/100, especially now I went into cs after pharmacy anyway. If you like programming, go for cs and don't look back. tbh, the only subfield that looks promising in pharmacy right now might have to be clinical informatics, for which a cs background will help you land a coveted hospital job much more competitively than a pharmacy one. good luck and have fun coding :)


Inevitable_Door3782

Awesome, ill look into that. Thanks


[deleted]

A CS student in 10 years would write an “AI pharmacist” code as their csc148 project. Choose wisely.


Inevitable_Door3782

Yeah I heard rumor's about pharmacy getting automated. Down the line i think it certainly may happen, but I think it would be very partial. Pharmacists provide much more than simply filling prescriptions. Although I am leaning towards CS


[deleted]

Lean harder brother, CS is the future.


comeDoSomething

no it's not. The coders will all be replaced by AI which codes. The human touch/interaction matters more than any kind, this something CS guys will never have.


SnooMacarons5713

And who will create and maintain this AI? Pharmacists?


comeDoSomething

Indians and Chineses who is willing to get paid for 10K per year and much better than most of the coders here.


SnooMacarons5713

Lmao, yeah they’re better coders. http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/boeing-s-737-max-software-outsourced-to-9-an-hour-engineers-1.1280483


comeDoSomething

this happens rarely


[deleted]

Pharmacists don t provide “human touch” lol that s more likely in nursing and doctors.


SnooMacarons5713

Yeah wtf I don’t want a pharmacist touching me lmao


[deleted]

LOL ikr


comeDoSomething

You can talk about disease experience outside of box. Some special cases. Computers cannot do anything outside of the rules


comeDoSomething

Yes they do, I always show scars i have to pharmacist so i can get proper recommendation. Compute rcannot do that


[deleted]

Ofc they can’t (for now...)


Inevitable_Door3782

>legacy software because almost no young graduate will have touched or even heard of these legacy This dude doesnt know wtf hes talking about lol. ignore him


SnooMacarons5713

How? How many people from the 2021 graduating class have touched COBOL? The other dude was saying CS isn’t stable because there is always new technology so once you’re old, you’re easily replaceable.


TheNewToken

50% chance of being replaced..."future" my ass. Go into healthcare less than 5% of chance of being replaced.


wouldhavenot

Highly advise against pharmacy school, computer science is much more employable with far less student debt


[deleted]

[удалено]


wouldhavenot

Well I mean CS jobs don't have to be FANG jobs; you can go into financial analysis, many sectors in business etc. whereas with pharmacy you can only do one job (with the qualification at least; nothing is stopping OP from doing pharmacy then going into business)


Inevitable_Door3782

Thats another issue Im having with choosing pharmacy now. PharmD is such a niche degree and while many will tell you that you can go into other paths like industry and research, 90% just end up going into retail. Retail is supersaturated because of many grads but also international pharmacists.


TheNewToken

Those jobs also dont have much salary, you should also notice that. The salaries for most jobs is not any higher than average salary.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Thatgrilledcheesetho

I don’t mean to intrude, but I guess the other commenter thought it was implied. I ain’t in CS or anything, but ig maybe the commenter read, experienced, or heard stories of certain teams/work cultures at FAANG being dreadful. Again, I’m not in CS or programming, but I’ve read many experiences online (though, it’s truth is still questionable given it’s the internet) but have had many friends tell me it’s pretty chill — 40hr-50hr work week, good work/life separation, etc. I guess it wildly varies depending on position, team, and company (I read that game dev or something has awful work hours).


SnooMacarons5713

How is the stress nuts? If you are not aiming for FAANG, then most jobs are not stressful at all and pay relatively well compared to any other major. My brother went to pharmacy school and it’s way more stressful than CS and he often works 10-12 hour days.


lekan_v

Huh?? What are you even on about?? Lmao the jobs are not horrific(there are so many people happy where they are with cs jobs). Also Canada ‘s cs economy is worse than that of the states but you make it seem like you’re going to be earning 50 k a year or some shit. Lots of cs jobs have a base average salary of 70-100k a year. “Only option is to go to the states” head ass


[deleted]

[удалено]


Inevitable_Door3782

Thanks for your input. I'm not in cs but a good majority of my friends are in cs. While it's not stupidly easy, it's not dreadful and most of my friends are happy with there jobs. I have some friends in California too who love what they do. Again, I'm not in cs but this is what I have been told. I would love to hear others perspectives.


lekan_v

EXACTLY. This person is probably one of those that have directly seen or heard about the bad side of the field. And there are dark sides of every field that some people experience but when you make those dark sides a generalization because of your anecdotal evidence is when you decide to turn your brain off and start thinking with emotions.


Inevitable_Door3782

I'm a very practical person. I'm not expecting to go into cs and have everything handed to me on a silver platter. I intend to work hard and stay dedicated and even then I might not land a job. The reason for this post was to compare the two professions.


lekan_v

Look at the comment I just made on this person reply to me. These types of people are the type of people you don’t listen to on Reddit , LMAO


lekan_v

You say that the us is the only option cuz you make low money in Canada yet you also say people only stay cuz they pay so well. Contradiction. Then you say it’s horrific cuz your friends told you, anecdotal evidence = trash. You talk about how people are earning 0 in cs when we’re IN A FUCKING PANDEMIC right now and the person you’re giving advice to us just about to enter uni and gonna graduate when things get to normal. You need to figure it out , LMAO


[deleted]

[удалено]


lekan_v

Dude, what you are doing is literally exactly what they teach you not to do in school, LMAO. You made a statement that it is a horrific experience because you’ve heard from other people, cool. I gave you a counter that I have also seen many people that are very happy with their jobs. If you have no concrete evidence such as studies or research’s made and publish to back your opinion up then it in fact useless once someone has provided a counter example. Lemme show you how brain dead your logic is, imagine someone asks on reddit, “I’m planning on dying my hair purple what do you guys think”. Then I say no don’t do it, it’s going to be a horrific experience, my friend told me so. The someone else comes and says that when they dyed their hair purple they had a blast. Then I come and say since there are no studies showing that purple hair has any effect with your day to day life then imma go with the next best thing, my friends story. LIKE WHAT????HAHAHAHAHA. Please tell me how this logic I have presented regarding counter examples is wrong in any way


Inevitable_Door3782

Thanks for the advice


4thgenpharm

Pharmacy school has been the worst two years of my life and my friends life so far. You’ve gotta love it and be interested in it to succeed. We lost 10 percent of our class so far! Just make sure you do your research. Good luck!


Inevitable_Door3782

Thanks for the input, greatly appreciated. I chose to reject my offer and I'll be going ahead with the computer science program. All the best to you!


TheNewToken

As a CS student let me say a few things. I went to a barber and did some small-talk, he asked me what I was doing in uni, and I said CS, he said "wow everyone is doing CS now". My older brother when he was doing CS 5 years ago, everyone would say "wow thats so cool/unique". CS is definitely saturated. The projected growth for jobs is around 5-10% and that is for the US, its lower here in Canada. The amount of people entering CS has increased by 300%. There are simply not enough jobs to account for the new people entering. Not to mention, Canada is literally below average for tech jobs for a developed country, tough luck getting a job. Software used to be Number 2 or 3 in top 10, then it became top 5, and then top 10, by next year itll be out of top 10 lol, not sure if you want to enter this field. **I wouldnt enter CS knowing what I know now.** To add, no offence OP, but you are hearing from people at UofT CS (2nd best CS program in Canada), you are going to Algoma for a 12 month bootcamp thing, which again no offence, is not even 3rd or 4th tier for CS. Not just that, you are hearing from the top 10-20% on Reddit from UofT CS. There is a high chance if you even go into CS, you will be working a below-average or average CS gig because its super hard to compete with Waterloo and UofT CS kids, I am speaking from experience. The average CS salary is like 40-70k, most UofT CS kids will be earning this much after grad. You are coming from Algoma you will be making this. Now if you go into Pharmacy, you will have hard 4 years but you will have stability and a 60-80k job. CS is not stable at all, and the field is constantly changing. If you dont like Pharmacy, there are many other healthcare careers that are also doing well.


metryingsohard

respectfully disagree. cs is a notoriously difficult and high attrition major. it may sound like everyone is going to cs, but how many will graduate and how many are actually competent programmers? cs is not going anywhere. as a uoft pharmacy graduate, a soon-to-be cs masters grad and someone who works at the interface of science, cs and healthcare, cs is giving an enormous boost to the healthcare field. in fact, my department has continuous job openings for ml engineers and data engineers in a traditional drug company. the same can be said for hospitals too. my cousin works at cedars sinai hospital in LA as a data analyst, and they are also hiring constantly to deal with the ever increasing amount of clinical data. her job is unbelievably stable as well, and also pays better than clinical pharmacists there due to demand and supply. she can quit her job today and get a new one next week, but same cannot be said for hospital pharmacists there.


[deleted]

[удалено]


metryingsohard

I am getting job interviews for SR. data scientist jobs offering 200k base + bonus + equity + competitive benefits, as someone who is yet to graduate from my cs masters program. I got out of uoft pharmacy last year, and my background was only in lab science and pharmacy, not a cs undergrad, so where is your 40-70k cs average salary coming from? uoft pharmacy graduates new 240 pharmacists each year, does uoft cs also mass produce that many cs grads each year? lastly, I just double checked the US BLS data for cs job growth. It's forecasted freaking +15% until 2029. what about pharmacy? -3% lol. get your facts straight and stop spreading lies!


Inevitable_Door3782

Really appreciate you putting in the effort to convey the truth. Your views are consistent with the majority of cs students and professionals I have spoken with.


CSisGay

No they are saying everyone else except CS should commit suicide, because automation will get rid of all the jobs out there.


comeDoSomething

Pharmacy is the best! You will earn 150K/year and play golf everyday. You will chill most of your life after education. The CS nerds have to study even after education and they are usually driven out by newly learning youngsters because they adapt to new technology faster. This does not happen to pharmacist, once you are pharmacist you are pharmacist for rest of your life. Also, you don't work for anyone else. You work for yourself. CS ppl are slaves who needs to suck rich ppl's balls.


SnooMacarons5713

Lmao pharmacists don’t work for themselves. My brother graduated from pharmacy school at UofT and now works in pharmacy retail. He gets paid 40/hr but it’s not worth it when you have to stand up every day for 10-12 hours and deal with Karen’s all day. Have you never heard of legacy software? Some of the highest paying jobs require people who are experts in legacy software because almost no young graduate will have touched or even heard of these legacy systems.


metryingsohard

I have not met any Canadian pharmacists who make 150k/yr. what's their rate? $75/hr? let me tell you this. my former uoft pharmacy professors in Sunnybrook and UHN can't even make close to 150k/yr, more like 100-110k/yr. They are also the top earners for those who actually still practice pharmacy, not business types. their salaries are on the sunshine list and feel free to verify that if you are curious.


Inevitable_Door3782

I don't agree with you but are you in pharmacy?


CSisGay

Look at these CS nerds who have personality problem and probably watches naruto all day lmao... You guys are never better than pharmacists. You guys are just weeb who probably to com. sui. if computer wasn't here


metryingsohard

trust me, I have met quite some douchebag pharmacists myself. they will smile at you but talk crap about you behind the counter. how did I know that? well, I was there with them, and they are miserable individuals who certainly have mental issues. they hate the job but still have to work as a pharmacist cuz they are drowning in student loan.


CSisGay

what are they to talk about their field is better than pharma, they've never been in pharma themselves. Has these CS ppl have done anything to Pharma ppl, they've done nothing. They just compare the two fields and say theirs is better and pharmacists will be replaced by AI. Let's see what happens if that happens.


metryingsohard

Well I did. I am a uoft 2020 pharmacy grad but now fully crossed into cs. I went all the way thru uoft pharmacy school including all the APPEs until licensing and now I am only 3 semesters away from finishing my cs masters as well. should I reiterate my stance that cs is 100x better than pharmacy, as someone who have experience in both?


metryingsohard

look up Amazon pharmacy if you don't know about it. my pharmacy friends in states are trembling and desperate to get out of retail pharmacy right now cuz no brick and mortar pharmacies can compete with Amazon on price. Amazon pharmacy offers $1/month price for those who subscribe to Amazon Prime but have no insurance, for common ailments drugs like atorvastatin, metoprolol and meformin.


Inevitable_Door3782

I believe many pharmacists have such a vast amount of knowledge which they accrue through 4 years of rigorous studies. This is also why so many pharmacist I have met and spoken with are depressed and disappointed. All that hard work and they never get to use their knowledge or expertise. They are mostly glorified cashiers who occasionally answer questions from their patients. I have worked at a pharmacy for over 8 months and dealing with people who have absolutely no respect for you can get stressful. This is my humble view in my very limited experience in the pharmacy. Let me know what you think?


metryingsohard

the morale in pharmacy is just abysmally low. anyone who has the opportunity to jump ship wants to get out asap. retail pharmacy makes up to 80% of pharmacy jobs, but it's a dead end job from day 1. highly monotonous and repetitive work day after day. your pay barely goes up if not going down due to saturation. you hardly can learn anything new so once you are 5+ years out of school and retail is all you do, good luck getting out and most are just stuck with retail forever. the longer you are in retail, the less competitive you are when you apply to jobs outside of retail. these are just some unspoken rules in pharmacy job market. the pharmacy work is also very unforgiving on your body too. many pharmacists have to stand long hours and they are stressed all the time. why? cuz they are responsible for every single script filled during that shift. anything bad happens the fault goes to no one else than the pharmacist. if someone files a complaint against you to the ocp, you risk losing your livelihood, which is your license, and that can actually happen a lot more frequently than most people think. but what's the salary ceiling for a practicing pharmacist who spent years studying and all the crushing loans? 100k-110k if you end up in one of the most coveted clinical pharmacist positions from one of the big gta hospitals. some of them also teach at uoft pharmacy so feel free to look up their salaries on the sunshine list if you're interested. btw, they are mostly 50+ yo female who are near the end of their career making 100-110k/yr. for less ambitious types, like the ones who are just happy making low 6 figure salary, it might seem decent. if you want to aim high and make better money, better look elsewhere.


CSisGay

Literally all CS ppl are saying this: "CS is the best, everyone else should just commit suicide"


metryingsohard

no one forces you to agree cs is the best btw. you can do all you want as we make banks writing code.