Degree regrets

flibbage0 · 5 Jul 2017 at 17:50

First of all not sure if this should belong here or in the careers section

A bit of a background, did my A-levels (flopped) did some retakes and did well enough to get into pharmacy school.

Embarked on a 4 year course, obtained a 2:1 MPharm. In all honesty I hated it since 2nd year and found it boring however I remained dedicated to finish it.

At the moment I'm doing my training year and I hate it even more, one small mistake and the patient could potentially end up in critical care and you could be struck off, hearing other pharmacists telling me to get out of the profession ASAP and seeing salaries drop.

I have an exam coming up which is the ultimate one and if I pass my salary will go to £19-£22 an hour (locum work). However if I fail I have to wait until June/July 2019.

I understand that earning that sort of salary at 24/25 is good however the salary remains there it doesn't go up (if anything it will go down)

My question is: What other careers can I do, was thinking of going into Oil and Gas or Chartered Accountancy but I have no idea whether I'll end up not liking them, is it the case of the grass is always greener on the other side?

Should I just man up and stick it out because at the end of the day a job is a job?

diamount · 5 Jul 2017 at 17:58

If you hate it already, are there not any other fields related to it which you might enjoy? What does that involve exactly?

Puzzled · 5 Jul 2017 at 17:58

Try your best to pass the exam so you have the qualifications out of the way.

You could try the job for a bit and explore other avenues while earning. No need to think that you'll be stuck doing it for life though, we are living in an increasingly flexible work force and most people will change career a few times throughout their lives.

Haggisman · 5 Jul 2017 at 17:58

What aspects of the job/subject attracted you to pharmacology in the first place?

IMO it's important to have a job you enjoy - you're going to spend the vast majority of your waking life doing it, why would you do something you hate?

It's not all about the pay (obviously you need to be earning "enough", but past that point it's definitely important to consider quality of life)

Nasher · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:04

For subjects like that (medical, science, etc) I think a degree is worth it. For other things they are largely a waste of money these days, people much prefer experience and proven skills.

Accountancy can make a pile of money and it's a pretty easy and risk free job (people don't die if you screw up). But it's rather dull and not really something with any real meaning.

dowie · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:05

Could you transition into something related. As you mention locum work/£22 an hour I presume you're referring to working in boots dishing out pills? What about Hospital pharmacy work? You can specialise there - I mean there are pharmacists who deal with radioactive isotopes etc.. Drugs companies too presumably have positions for someone with your background? Or perhaps healthcare startups?

I guess if you went into accountancy or consultancy then maybe you could focus on drugs companies or something?

flibbage0 · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:17

diamount said:
If you hate it already, are there not any other fields related to it which you might enjoy? What does that involve exactly?

I wouldn't mind doing the law side of it or perhaps working in industry (quality assurance) unfortunately the number of these industry jobs I could count on my fingers.

Haggisman said:
What aspects of the job/subject attracted you to pharmacology in the first place?

IMO it's important to have a job you enjoy - you're going to spend the vast majority of your waking life doing it, why would you do something you hate?

It's not all about the pay (obviously you need to be earning "enough", but past that point it's definitely important to consider quality of life)

I was originally going to do petroleum engineering/chemical engineering but thought that pharmacy would also involve a lot of chemistry since the universities did bang on about it (it really doesn't) and to be honest when I applied over 5 years ago they said there was a shortage of pharmacists and back then someone could set up there own pharmacy relatively easily, now they've more than doubled in price

In addition to this they've also cut pharmacy funding by 20%

Maybe it's just bad timing.

dowie · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:21

flibbage0 said:
I wouldn't mind doing the law side of it

why not pursue that then - do the LPC (and/or whatever conversion course you need) or try the barrister route

this can be done part time - the OU has a law school for example and your tutors will be practising solicitors and barristers:

http://law-school.open.ac.uk

there is a third option re: Law too - patent attorney they need people with science/engineering backgrounds:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/patent-attorney

If you have a good degree in a science or engineering subject and an interest in the law, a career as a patent attorney may be for you

As a patent attorney you'll assess whether inventions are new and innovative and therefore eligible to be patented.

Specially trained in drafting patents and with knowledge of intellectual property law, you will lead individual inventors or companies through the required process to obtain a patent and then act to enforce inventors' rights if patents are infringed.

Haggisman · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:25

If it was the chemistry side of it that attracted you, then why not look at something like R&D at a pharmaceutical company? Or as you've mentioned petrochemical (assuming there are enough transferrable skills)

Participant · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:43

Sorry, who are you?

Vanquish-Storm · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:46

Everyone hates pre-reg but you are not guaranteed locus work especially with no experience.

flibbage0 · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:50

Participant said:
Sorry, who are you?

Constructive, considering I did that over 6 years ago also I believe that they added what I said in that thread in a sticky a year or two later

platinum87 · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:52

I had the same problem with doing geography. I was like wtf will i do with a geography degree.

Anyway i am a crime boss now

n111ck · 5 Jul 2017 at 18:55

Two words...

Breaking. Bad.

Nasher · 5 Jul 2017 at 19:28

n111ck said:
Two words...

Breaking. Bad.

This, but without getting too greedy

Vonhelmet · 5 Jul 2017 at 19:31

Nasher said:
Accountancy can make a pile of money and it's a pretty easy and risk free job (people don't die if you screw up). But it's rather dull and not really something with any real meaning.

Accountancy is indeed boring. It's only easy if you're not earning much. Once you're earning a decent amount it's hard.

Participant · 5 Jul 2017 at 19:37

flibbage0 said:
Constructive, considering I did that over 6 years ago also I believe that they added what I said in that thread in a sticky a year or two later

#neverforget

dowie · 5 Jul 2017 at 20:03

Participant said:
#neverforget

what's this about?

flibbage0 · 5 Jul 2017 at 20:43

dowie said:
what's this about?

You're really not missing out on much, just some jibberish.

datalol-jack · 5 Jul 2017 at 21:49

A couple of points of advice: first, as mentioned above - do not fall for the 'sunk costs' fallacy; as in, just because you did X for Y years, you have to dutifully plough on with it for the rest of your life and croak exhausted and depressed because 'well, I've sort of spent so much time/money on this already, so might as well...' and 'job's a job' line that keeps popping up in your head. Fish around - always easier whilst you at least have some money coming in. Accounting is dull, but so is freeze drying; if you are a half-decent organic chem-bro, why not try the latter as a sidestep? Other analytical work is available in private labs up and down the country, for example. Sales work in this area isn't too terrible either. Secondly, plan with contingencies in place. Because jobs are in one sector now, doesn't necessarily mean they'll be at the same peak of demand five years down the line. Finally, if stability is really important, look at roles in industries or specialities which enable other industries and services. Accounting, law, sales and actuary work is like that. So is infrastructure work underpinning the IT shift to the cloud. Being useful may be slow, but it'll always be steady and in demand. After that it's down to your subjective priorities, personality and risk tolerance.

Good luck.