once a pharmacist always a pharmacist

[rafhelp]

Has anyone known a qualified pharmacist to have made a totally drastic career change. Or is it like the mafia, once you join you can't leave?

For example any pharmacists stopped practising and become football referees?

[crit care]

i've known a pharmacist to go on to study medicine and become a doctor...still couldn't write out CD prescriptions correctly....

[Pharmanaut]

Has anyone known a qualified pharmacist to have made a totally drastic career change. Or is it like the mafia, once you join you can't leave?

For example any pharmacists stopped practising and become football referees?

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
(Guitar duet follows...)

Can't wait to hang up my white coat.
Or whatever the modern equivalent.

Used to be chap who was a chemistry teacher with locums in summer holidays.

If you are going to move on stay on the register as a fall-back position until secure.
...and do it before partner/family and other big life commitments happen!

[johnep]

I also knew a locum who was full time chemistry teacher as I was, who locumed during holidays, as I did. However, I wished to buy a bungalow costing £2,400 and could not do so on teaching pay of £770. So went into retail for £1,400 in order to get a mortgage (1960). If pay had been better would have loved to stay in teaching.
johnep

[hibernia]

I know there was a pharmacist in the cast of Riverdance at one time but he kept his registration, dancing is a time-limited career.

Pharmacists going on to study medicine is quite common and likely to become more so with graduate entry programmes.

One of my classmates became a merchant banker. Don't know what she is doing now but her name isn't on the register any more so it must be something outside of pharmacy.

[crit care]

I know there was a pharmacist in the cast of Riverdance at one time but he kept his registration, dancing is a time-limited career.

.

thats pretty cool, although not quite sure how he found the time to do pharamcy whilst rehearsing riverdance...quite intense from the shows i have seen!

[hibernia]

I don't think he practiced pharmacy and danced at the same time, but I suppose you could dispense in time to the music

Another Irish pharmacist won a gold medal at the World Rowing championships one year and was unlucky to miss out on competing in the Olympics. She did abandon pharmacy, not for sport but for medicine.

[crit care]

i think i meant to write "do pharmacy and rehearse for riverdance" didn't intentionaly mean to say he would do both together...but ig uess you could bust a few grooves whilst standing at the counter..be quite funny to see the upper half of a torso bobbing up and down behind a counter lol

i wonder what my other career could be?

[culchie82]

One guy from my year at Uni went on to do teaching. Another guy also from my year, started training as Airline Pilot. Both detested Pharmacy.

[crit care]

surely after slogging you ass off for 4 years at uni to get the degree then doing a years training before finally getting onto the register, and then packing it all in and pursuing another career with even more training.....its just a waste of 5years really....i guess its better to have the hindsight and either never pursue pharmacy or get out sooner than year 5!