bcarvings

Hi,
I don't know if I want to go for engineering or pharmacy. I know I'll have more options with engineering buty with pharmacy I'll have job securety as long as I graduate. Graduates at the pharmacy school I would go to has an average of $85,000 for its graduates. Of course with engineering I could get a Phd and earn just as much. However a Phd takes a lot more work to earn then a Pharmd. Then again engineering has a high ceiling.

Now with the money issue put aside here comes my main dillemma. Which would I enjoy more? How can I tell if I'm ment for engineering?

I'm so confused, if anyone else here had to choose between pharmacy and engineering please let me know how you chose and if you're happy with you're decision and why...

Thanks again..

racnna

if you like math(calculus) and physics, you'll probably like engineering. I have a friend who wants to get a pharmD but he's doing chem Engr. undergrad first.

JJG

If want to start making big money soon, if you go to a college that has the PharmD linked to the undergrad program (like Butler) you can get a PharmD in much less time that it would take you to get a PhD in Engineering.

If you want to get a job soon, you can get a good job after 4 years with a B.S. in an engineering; some of these jobs pay very well.

I think you should try to go to a career exploration day or weekend for engineering. Check for these at the closest engineering college near you (even if it is not a college that you would consider attending) or look at
http://www.engineeringk12.org/outreach/default.php

If you really loved chemistry and biology and math, pharmacy?
If you really loved physics and math, engineering?
Or chemistry physics and math, chemical engineer?

This is a tough one.

clove7965

I've seen around these forums that you could get a Bachelor's in Engineering and an MBA and earn over $100,000 a few years after you graduate. MBA's in general are where the big bucks are if all you're interested in is money.

aarosurf

im doing undergrad cheme and then planning to get a pharmd... doing both : )

UriA702

clove7965 - an MBA in itself will earn you around 90k a year right after graduation with a big fat signing bonus. The engineering degree + MBA is pointless if you just want an MBA you should study business.

UnseenShadow

I used to work in a pharmacy as a technician part time. If you want to sit in a 10x15 ft room for 10 hours a day and fill prescriptions, using only about 1/20of your brain, than pharmacy is for you.

lkf725

Oh, unfair comment UnseenShadow! You must have had a really boring job! Pharmacy has tons of options. Not only can you be guaranteed of work in just about any city, but you have lots of schedule options and work environments to choose from. Some include: big chain retail, small independent retail, teaching hospital, community hospital, long term care, home infusion, consulting, radiopharmacy, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical manufacturing, drug development, research, etc. And of course there is always health care management (MPH or MBA) or health law (JD). You can have as much interaction with doctors, nurses and patients as you like. Yes, some tasks are mundane (that's why we have technicians!), but when you can put your knowledge to use to monitor drug therapies, counsel patients, make recommendations to physicians, develop or bring a new drug to market, it seems pretty good. Also, you can work day or evening shifts, or 4 ten-hour days per week, or 7 days on and 7 days off, or self-designated schedule if you own a store of if you consult. It's really pretty flexible.

I am a pharmacist and I have 4 engineers in my family. Engineering is quite diverse too with a variety of fields and work environments. One person was high up in management of a big corporation (suit and a corner office thing), one manages a small company (flannel shirt and jeans thing), one is a university professor, and the last is my son, who is still a student.

It seems to me that "I like bio and chem" = pharmacy, while "I like math and physics" = engineering. Pharmacy needs some math, but engineering needs much more. Pharmacy will have chemistry of some sort every year, so you gotta love it. Good luck with your decision.