advice for aspiring pharmacist

Hi, you’re gonna be 30 anyway. Why not be 30 and a pharmacist?

And you don’t need to study pharmacology first, pharmacology and pharmacy are different disciplines. I believe to be a pharmacist in the uk you need a pharmacy degree. (3 years)

I wouldn't want to wait until my 30s to have a respectable career, it will be so long, I feel I am already far behind, that it wont feel like anything by then, it will feel pointless, its depressing and it means I will forever be broke until i finally get to that point -that is if i do need to wait that long but from your second paragraph its contradicting with what I've been told by tutors, i'll have to see what others say in the thread, this stuff just really makes my head spin because i dont know how to even get started or approach these things, this site is the best i could do for advice.
thank you for replying to the thread friend

Not entirely sure which forum this should go into.

I wanted to become a pharmacist and recently I decided to get back into education to get on that path but I am having second thoughts; feeling as though its going to take me too long to achieve and/or I'm not cut out for it.

Im 23 years old, from what I can understand I will need to take Pharmacology, then pharmacy course which will take a long time and I will be in my 30s by the time I'll get to where I want to be and by that point it feels too late.

It and a lot of other things are weighing heavily on my mind; before I got back into education I didn't have any goals and didn't care about my life, I had no reason for living and I still feel that way still, the reason for me mentioning this is that when getting back into education I wasn't able to think things through very thoroughly and so I went to the open day at the Uni I currently study at and told them my goals so they could recommend me and get me enrolled on a course, the problem is that I think that they just basically didn't listen to me and just applied me onto a course which essentially isn't going to help me out; I say this because when looking how I can get into my desired career I saw that what I'm doing is not helpful and I don't know what to do about it, if i should just find something else to aim towards.

I hope I can get advice, please don't berate me in the comments or anything I know I'm kind of stupid I just want advice or something so I can be better

I don't know where you got the idea that you need to take Pharmacology then Pharmacy as they are completely separate. To become a pharmacist you need to complete a 4 year MPharm degree followed by a year of pre-registration training on the job. If you were to start the MPharm course this or next year you would be qualified well before you even hit 30.

I was in a similar situation with no specific goals - started a degree when I was 18 which I quickly lost interest in but completed just for the sake of finishing it. After a few years of working in different jobs I landed in pharmacy, quickly developed an interest and started studying Pharmacy at 26. I wouldn't be put off by being 23, there are always people coming into Pharmacy and health courses in general much older than this including pharmacy technicians wanting to step up, people wanting to change careers etc. Just make sure that you have the interest and drive as the course is intense.

If you do decide to pursue the pharmacist route then you need to act quickly with regards to financing. You've mentioned that you are currently studying another course - Student Finance will only fund you for one 'additional' year in cases such as changing course or having to redo a year so if you are in first year now you would still be able to change to an MPharm course and receive full funding for all 4 years.

Personally I’m about to start at course in September and I will finish it when I’m 28 and then I’ll probably be 35 ish by the time I’m a consultant. Yeah it would’ve been nicer if it was earlier but everything happens for a reason. And everyone has a completely different journey. Some people decide they want to begin university at 60+, would you tell them that it’s pointless bc they’re “old”? No you probably wouldn’t so don’t be so harsh on yourself. Do the best thing for yourself in this life, get a good job you enjoy so you can have a greater quality of life.

In order to be a pharmacist in the uk you will need a 4/5 year long “credited” Pharmacy degree. Find a list of all the uk pharmacy degrees and see if your grades fulfil these. If not you should call during clearing and hopefully you’ll get a place. (I have no pharmacy experience but I’m pretty confident this is the route into it, hopefully you will Google for more info or watch some YouTube videos)

I got that idea from a tutor I had a meeting with specifically about progressing onto some kind of pharmacy course, I may be misremembering or misinterpreted what was said but I basically would need some chemistry (or biochemistry??) in addition to what I currently have as qualifications now.

Also yeah I didnt mention this in the original posting but I already did a course and dropped out prior to what I am studying now so getting financing is out the window I guess?

Funding you can get is = Length of your course + 1 year - years previously funded.

The only course which leads to Pharmacist status is an MPharm and requirements are typically 3 A levels and can include Chemistry/Biology. See individual unis for what specifically they require.

Alternatively some unis also do a foundation year which allows you to get in with lower grades or non science A levels.