Pharmacy requires even more education now than it used to. Like many professions, the education requirements have been raised. I have heard from a couple of pharmacists that it's not a particularly gratifying profession, either. Any FReeper pharmacists care to weigh in?
From pharmacists I've talked to:
As you mentioned increased education.
It's extremely stressful, juggling dispensing drugs, phone calls, and talking to patients.
Crummy hours now that pharmacies have gone to 24 hour cycle, you might work 3rd shift, you'll probably work weekends.
Busy, but boring.
Pharmacies are understaffed, you'll usually not find 2 pharmacists working at a busy pharmacy during one shift. The company will hire one pharmacist and put pharmacy techs on to assist (thus saving money, improving profit margins...similar to one RN on a floor in a hospital with aides and LPNs to assist.)
Now that pay has increased (starting pay used to be in the 50,000 range), you may see more kids entering the profession, but the stresses of the job will be the same unless pharmacies decide to double up and put a couple pharmacists on each shift.
Supply and demand...about 5 years ago there was a slew of articles about the big drug chains gobbling up the mom & pop neighborood drugstores, and how pharmacists had terrible hours, and LOW pay, and felt like grocery clerks..
Not a pharmacist but the Des Moines Register had an article about this subject today and the starting salary is around 86k for some grads. One regional grocery/drug store chain gives students loans with the agreement thay will be forgivable if the student works at one of their pharmacies.
My wife is trying to get into pharmacy school right now (U of F). They have a distance learning center in the Tampa Bay area where we live and we attended their open house two evening ago. U of F, in the last few yeaars have more students in distance learning programs than at the main campus. All the lectures are steaming video on the internat and ar available 24/7 to students. I looked at the coursework and it is very intense. A tech counts pills. The pharmacist is a health care provider and has to know how every drug works, what drugs can work in place of other drugs and how drugs interact with each other. That is a huge matrix of information to have to know off the top of your head. On top of that, they have to know all the government and insurance regulations and have patient consultations.
She wants to avoid the chain stores and work in a hospital pharmacy. Also, the corner drug store pharmacists still do compound medication, too.
My aunt is one, pay is great, and you can pretty much work wherever you want, but you aren't exactly treated well by most employers.
I've been a pharmacist for 20 years, the last 2 at Walgreens--I was looking for information on the IL pharmacists when I saw this article on the shortage. My job is increasingly stressful, not as gratifying as it once was--Plan B, private insurance problems, Medicare part D problems, etc. As a wife and mother, I can work part time and still earn good money, but I am not recommending pharmacy school to anyone at this point.