Pharm.D In India, PART 4 Final frontier, Jobs

All you need to know about Pharm.D in India

Disclaimer: These are my views/opinions/suggestions.

The primary focus of this article is on the Pharm.D program (doctor of pharmacy) however other pharmacy degree students may benefit as well from certain sections.

What after Pharm.D? Donald Trump: “...JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!...”

First, register for a license.

Then comes finding a job.

This is the one annoying (as per me) question every junior will ask. I always wonder, my dear fellow you really choose this course without inquiring first about what job this degree gets you? well well…. in that case, you are in for a treat!

As I explained in the earlier section you by now must be well aware if you read my other posts that though Pharm.D is supposed to offer you a position in some hospital that really does not happen. Despite being first introduced in the year 2008, Pharm.D degree is something many people are still unaware of. Due to which only a few hospitals will offer you a position as a clinical pharmacist.

Luckily you have far more options within pharmacy unlike the graduates with other degrees. I would like to bring to your notice that the Pharma industry is ever expanding and that India is called the Pharmacy of the developing world.

So what options do you have?

First option further studies: apply for some further studies abroad based on your Pharm.D degree you can apply for another masters degree in Pharmaceutical sciences or something similar. This may increase and improve the type of jobs you can get in the country of study. All developed countries are good options. Except for the US, because of TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! In general, it is easy to get admission for a masters degree abroad.

Second option standard jobs: simply apply for any of the many jobs available in any company, these range from simple research associates (it’s a desk job, not the lab type as seen in most places), to medical writers etc. there are a variety of these designations available.

Third option Drug inspector and alike, an unlikely choice for most but still an option. All details you will simply find if you google. Again it's no cakewalk. Lots to study for the exams that will get you this position. other similar things like UPSC may also be considered.

The fourth Option becomes a retail pharmacist abroad, here I recommend cracking something like NAPLEX and alike. Again it's not easy, at this point I find myself asking WHAT THE HELL IS EASY?! I can imagine your state. (Told you, you are in for a treat!) It would be important to note that this one path commonly take and many have failed due to bad strategies but still others have succeeded. I would like to recommend that if you are taking this option do no try to gain admission to some random course like, MPH and hope to study simultaneously for the Licensing exam. That shit does not work and yes that was the bad strategy I was talking about.

The fifth option is to find a job in some other country in some multinational company. It would be a good start, one can always climb up, but getting it will always be difficult. Note that if you are trying to get a hospital job in some foreign country you may need to write their equalizing exam and/or their licensing exam. This applies to many Arab countries, Canada, USA, EU, UK and others.

If you are feeling really adventurous try Africa (Just a suggestion I don't know much about it, but they need all kinds of professions, do your research, you might end up being the unlikely trendsetter.). My suggestion to you would try getting into a company in some foreign country

The sixth option, Join some CRO. There are several Clinical Research Organizations in India where its possible to get a job, generally, they require you to have some experience. But I am sure that if you search or contact them in the right manner and attitude you should find some job there.

Paths less taken…

Aside from the above, there are always those who have either a silver spoon in their mouth or a hell lot of guts, if you are one of those and have a strong destiny line on your palm you can always try some startup or start a business or something. Or maybe even a hospital or (I recommend) Palliative Care Center. We need more of those because Indians are growing old and as it is many are dying poorly in India.

Lastly one can start one's own pharmacy. But we both know you will choose something from the above and not this.

Some of you might wonder why Ph.D. is not on this list. Well, that’s because Ph.D. is not an option here. It’s not something one simply does because everything else fails or some stupid reason like that. There has to be some long-term goal, some really really good reason why you want to do Ph.D for you to pursue it. Ideally, Ph.D. is something that is not recommended at all! Ph.D. is not for the weak and not for everyone. DO NOT DO A P.hD. SIMPLY.

Someone who wants to do a Ph.D. must do their research very well about the crazy difficulties that you will be facing with regards to your health, wealth, mental and social well being. I always recommend to those who want to do a Ph.D to list out 10 really good reasons why you want to do a Ph.D, not 6 not 3 but 10 good reasons. Only then you can consider it. If you want to do a Ph.D you should be so desperate for it such that a Ph.D is your only option and nothing else and that can only happen when you have really really good goal driving you.