Hi all, I’ve been working on doing a 2 years of undergrad and then applying to pharmacy school, but I’m starting to feel like it might not be the best move for me. I’ve already been in school for about 3 years and I’m not even halfway through a Bachelor’s degree yet. On top of that, it feels like every time I look at pharmacy programs, I find new prerequisites I haven’t seen yet, which makes planning really frustrating and discouraging.
Right now, I’ve mostly completed general education courses and haven’t gotten through many of the science prereqs yet because I have to work full time. I’m worried this is slowing me down way too much. Time is a big factor for me. I feel like it’s time to actually start my career rather than spending several more years just trying to get into a PharmD program.
Another concern is cost. Pharmacy school is expensive, and I would not be able to work during it. Then I would like to pursue a residency after which is another dreadful 1-2 years. This makes the path feel a lot more uncertain both financially and career-wise.
Because of that, I’ve been seriously considering another path: going to community college for an RN (I already have all the nursing prereqs done), then doing an RN-to-BSN bridge, and eventually going from BSN to NP. This nursing route I came up with just seems more promising overall since it feels more direct and allows me to work and gain experience while continuing to advance.
My end goal is to simply become an independent healthcare provider. At this point, I’m honestly leaning toward nursing because it feels more practical and stable but part of me is hesitant to completely give up on pharmacy. Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Am I being realistic, or am I walking away from pharmacy too early?
Any insight would really help.