Pharmacy or radiography

Hi I’m in college and I can’t decide between pharmacy and diagnostic radiography, I did pharmacy work experience and I loved it but I don’t do chemistry A level so I will have to do a foundation year for pharmacy or an access course to science so that would be an extra year, I don’t have any work experience for radiography but I can get into it straight after college because I do the subjects the course requires so I would only have to do 3 years so what do you think the best thing for me to do?

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

thegeek888

One word...Radiography!!! 🙂

Reply 2

Vibe2226

Original post by thegeek888

One word...Radiography!!! 🙂

Why not pharmacy

Reply 3

thegeek888

Original post by Vibe2226

Why not pharmacy

Pharmacy is lower paid and less exciting. Radiography is more rewarding.

Reply 4

Vibe2226

Original post by thegeek888

Pharmacy is lower paid and less exciting. Radiography is more rewarding.

Really ? I thought the salary for pharmacy was more

Reply 5

thegeek888

Original post by Vibe2226

Really ? I thought the salary for pharmacy was more

Radiographer's can earn minimum of £30,000 per year, more of an average of £45,000 per year and at the top end £80,000 per year.

Pharmacist's start on slightly lower salaries of £26,000 average and this rises to £40,000 in a few years and then the most able can earn up to £85,000 per year.

I would enjoy being a Radiographer more than a Pharmacist. 😉

Reply 6

dadadeedadada

Original post by Vibe2226

pharmacy is boring and exhausting. same thing every single day. i would probs do radiography if i could go back, way more patient interaction and like someone said before, more rewarding. the mpharm is difficult as hell and half the stuff is useless when you actually become a pharmacist. don't wanna put u off or anything but yea definitely make a wise decision.

Reply 7

Tianax

I'm in my last year of radiography and really enjoy it. I can't speak for pharmacy and also would have never considered it due to being terrible at chemistry however i find radiography really interesting and there is tonnes of variety. There is some physics involved but it is pretty easy to get your head round and being able to see it in practice helps a lot. You can go into so many different areas such as CT, MRI, cardiovascular, ultrasound, nuclear medicine etc. so I feel like there are more routes to go down compared to pharmacy. It is also more patient focused compared to pharmacy so you get to see lots of patients daily and build up a relationship with them whilst also being in a fast paced environment. Any questions feel free to message me :smile:

Reply 8

ieatfoodtocope

I would recommend pharmacy.

“Pharmacy is boring and repetitive”
A lot of people aren’t actually aware of how many roles there are in pharmacy. The first thing that comes to mind is community pharmacy e.g. boots and jhoots. However, there are many types of pharmacists within the hospital sector (one example being medicines information pharmacist) and pharmacists can also run clinics (clinical pharmacists). Did you know that there are also veterinary and prison pharmacists?
Pharmacy is undergoing a lot of changes right now (a significant change was made today actually, if you search “pharmacy first”)(see below).

“The pay isn’t that good.”
The pay is good. Currently, a lot of changes are being made in the pharmacy sector. Pharmacists are starting to have greater responsibilities on the healthcare scene to ease the pressure off doctors. If pharmacists are offering more services, then we can hope to see an increase in pay too. Furthermore, I know of people who have done a degree in radiography who couldn’t find a job. I’m not gonna say this is the case for everyone in radiography- you have to look into employment rates yourself. But there is an increasing demand for pharmacists right now, hence universities have increased their cohort size to accomodate this. You will definitely find a job.
Also, there are pharmacists in industry who are making a killing. More on that after. Locum pharmacists may also get paid quite high.

“What can you even do with the degree”
Pharmacy is a flexible degree, further increasing your chances of being employed. You don’t have to go into pharmacy with your degree- you can look into pharmaceuticals and pharmacology style degrees such as drug development (industry pharmacy). A lot of pharmacists these days don’t just work in pharmacy- they may work as a lecturer for a couple days a week.

“The degree is difficult and most of the stuff you learn is useless”
Pharmacy is a masters degree. It is to be expected. You put more work in- you get more reward out of it (higher degree classification). The things you learn are most definitely not useless. If you have a true interest for pharmacy, this is especially clear. You learn all the relevant information around drugs, ailments and the processes that are necessary for drugs to work deeper within the body. Once you’re qualified, you have the power to save or take a life based on your decisions. You need all the information- what is going on at cytochrome P450 might not feel so relevant but when you have to make your own decisions, knowledge is everything and you need it to inform your decisions.

Advice
I chose pharmacy because I enjoyed my work experience and I had a genuine interest in medicinal drugs. I realise more and more everyday that I would hate to be stuck in a degree that I’m not eager about because it’s a lot of work- if you’re eager about what you’re learning it is bearable and enjoyable. Think more long term- how will these decisions affect you 10 years from now? I didnt have the right A level qualifications to begin with either. I invested a year into fixing that, because I knew pharmacy is what I wanted and that it would be better for me in the long term.
Of course, I am me and you are you. Go with whatever feels right. Pharmacy of radiography, either way I wish you the best x