Student pharmacists are lucky to have various opportunities for traditional careers tracks after graduation. Still, there are student pharmacists who may be interested in something different: graduate school. Although the concept of more education may be daunting, graduate school provides the experience needed to set oneself apart in academia, managed care, and the pharmaceutical industry. Despite what it may seem, the cost of remaining in school to obtain a graduate degree is minimal and can be mitigated with a little planning and hard work.
Earn while you learn
Graduate school isn’t quite like pharmacy school in that you will at least get paid to go to school. Depending on the program, typical graduate student stipends can range from $20,000 up to $35,000. I say “typical” although PharmD graduates have the ability to earn much more, which can help offset the cost of additional schooling.
The obvious way to offset costs is using that hard-earned degree and working part-time as a pharmacist. If you attend graduate school at a medical campus, part-time work could be a minute away as a clinical or hospital pharmacist. Community pharmacist positions abound especially for night and weekend shifts. The easy way to think about it is for every day per week you work, you are earning 20% of what you would have made working full-time. Realistically, working 2 days per week is possible without being a distraction from your degree progression while still earning your stipend. Even further, you will be able to deduct your tuition and fees from being a student on your taxes and gain more back through annual income tax returns.
In addition, there are a few “not so known” sources of funding that not many people know about that can make the difference during graduate school. One trick is that PharmDs are considered “post-doctoral scholars” by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This has two advantages. It increases the number of applications you can submit given you are eligible for pre-doctoral awards as well as post-doctoral positions.
NIH fellowship awards (https://
researchtraining.nih.gov) include F31 and F32 options for these two types of classifications. The difference being the monetary award levels—F31 awards have stipends on par with graduate school stipends while F32 provide post-doctoral stipends that are about the equivalent of a residency stipend ($44,000). The other benefit is that these are extremely competitive awards and are a tremendous boost to a CV.
Loan repayment
The NIH also acknowledges the tremendous burden of loans and how the pressure to pay off loans might detract from decisions to pursue advanced research training. In response, they have the NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) with a mission to “recruit and retain health professionals into research careers.” The LRP (www.lrp.nih.gov) provides loan repayments of up to $35,000 for 2 years for a total of $70,000 of direct payments to the balance of your federal loans.
They have a particular focus on clinical, pediatric, and health
disparities research and have separate applications for those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. if you ever received a Health Professions Student Loan). There are also private foundations such as the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education and the PhRMA Foundation that provide
fellowship awards.
On-the-job training
Industry-sponsored fellowships can be found during the showcase at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting and the Academy of Managed Care Residency Showcase. These fellowships provide higher stipends and on-the-job training within managed care and/or the pharmaceutical industry, while also working toward a degree.
The University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Humana-Pfizer Fellowship is currently providing me with hands-on training with leading researchers at massive health care corporations in addition to a $55,000 stipend. Fellowships like this should be thought of as 2- to 3-year on-the-job interviews and will provide networking opportunities that can pay dividends in the future while currently providing that extra incentive.
Weigh all factors
I would never recommend making a career decision based only on monetary considerations and I don’t consider one career path better than the other. You must factor in your personal and professional goals, family considerations, and how your decision will impact your job satisfaction in the future. If graduate school seems like the right path, then know that money shouldn’t be perceived as a barrier, especially if the goal is to follow your dreams.