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Pharmacy vs cyber security

Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.
(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by Aguf
Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.


Have you researched the requirements for the role? Some of the things I have found:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/cyber-intelligence-officer
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/cyber-security-analyst
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/data-network/job-profile/cyber-intelligence-officer

Your options:

Go straight into the role as a graduate (going to be fun explaining how you did an MPharm to go into cybersecurity though)

Go straight into the role as a college leaver/apprentice (not ideal if you want to also go into pharmacy or keep that door open)

Do a master's in computer science or cybersecurity (which likely needs to be funded out of pocket because MPharm is a master's level qualification) - the computer science degree might require you to be proficient in maths

Do an entry level cybersecurity certificate which would get you into most jobs - there are a number of them for roles in the UK



I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?
I don't know how much coding and maths there is for cybersecurity, so that's something you would need to research.
If you would do a professional certificate in it e.g. CompTIA Security+, you would have it as a backup option and stop yourself from wondering whether it's something you should have pursued (not that you can only go into pharmacy with a degree in pharmacy, but hey). Regret is something you should not have.

should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.
It's usually recommended that you do one undergrad where possible (because financing the second one is a complete pain). Having said that, there aren't that many careers out there that would require you to do a specific bachelor's (or even have a degree at all) to get into the field. The challenge has always remained in getting the job, especially if the job is at a top firm in the industry.
Whether something makes enough money for you and is rewarding depends on the individual e.g. what's enough money? £100k per year? £1m per year? £13k? £5k? What's rewarding for you? Saving people's lives? Progression? Time for yourself? Opportunity for travel? Meeting celebrities as part of the job? Boring desk jobs? You would need to be a lot more specific.
I can't tell you what you should go into, but the above is something to think about.
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Reply 3
Original post by Aguf
Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.

no you can apply to Warwick for cyber security I recommend you that over doing CS as has too much maths and coding and cyber DOSENT compare to data science and cs and machine learning and artificial intelligence

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