Wow! Haha! How to become a pharm tech? And die like a pharm tech. Pharmacy is the most trusted profession and this happens all the time. Most students take pharmacy at college for purposes of surviving in the job industry. They missed campus and now they want to make a difference in their lives, studying about medicine. This comes with the hopes that they will be able to advance their studies and become something. Getting accepted in a medical college is usually tough because the number of applicants is most of the time high. KMTC accepts something close to a mean grade B. That grade can get someone a good course at the universities but due to various reasons, individuals choose to do pharmacy. One of the primary reasons is that they come from poor family backgrounds which cannot afford a university education. So they choose pharmacy because it is cheaper (although cheaper is relative maybe I should have said affordable) and they are assured of a job once they have finished because the market has high demand too. They also hope to make a dime and further their studies but forgetting they have a family that is supporting them and they will need to take care of once they land a nice job.
Pharmacy itself at the college level is tough too; most people struggle and only a few manage to graduate. Perhaps that’s why KMTC decided to introduce a double intake and many more colleges are doing the same. Finally, they graduate and get jobs, life begins. Paycheque to paycheque becomes the routine with which is used to chase bills; rent, food, transport 365 days a year. At least you have a job and you are healthy what other people don’t have. Sometimes you help people who can’t afford to see a doctor cross-prescribing. They save money and time they are happy but what about you? The salary you are getting insufficient, although salary is never enough-but for this case it is insufficient. It will take years of saving before you can actually save something to pay for your education to advance to the next level. Your salary only increases with inflation.
By the time you even start thinking of saving you are already approaching the third floor. Years move very fast like they always do. You start thinking of marriage. Marriage with its responsibilities you are left to choose between your profession and family. Some people try tu small biashara on the side, but what does that change? You are still a pharm tech. At this time you are needed fully everywhere while your profession enthusiasm starts declining. If you are working in the same organization for several years you begin leaving most of the work to junior staff, fresh from college. Or to some they start switching jobs with hopes of increasing their paycheque, they may also work several jobs to make ends meet. I mean people know you are a “pharmacist” which you are of course since you have equivalent many years of experience.
An ideal pharm techs life cycle is usually, college-internship-job-another job-pharmacy superintendent-open own pharmacy/start biz-Work for an NGO-retire (and work for God knows what). Opening a pharmacy most of the time follows with becoming broke probably due to fixed capital, poor business or theft from employees. The most mistake pharmaceutical practitioners do is employing someone to work for them while they work somewhere else. Pharmacy business like any other businesses needs close attention and dedication. But that is not usually the case, people open pharmacies just because they want to open, there is a lot to consider before opening any. It turns out that such pharmacies don’t make any much considerable income and most guys don’t quit their primary jobs because they are scared they might not make much out of the business to pay their bills. They stick around hoping for the business to pick up until it finally crumbles down on them.
I have always hoped folks going for pharmacy degree courses would stand out, they still fail. Pharmacy is not like the music industry where you can become super rich in your 20s unless you are inheriting a family business; it takes time with several challenges. It is sad that people put in so much only to be disappointed. Right now graduates as pharmacists don’t know exactly what to do because the people they consider as role models have failed both in the community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy. Most pharmacists end up getting employment in public hospitals, the pay is still less but far much better than a pharm tech. So graduates run most of these public hospitals but we still have poor service with no drugs, what does that mean? We understand what they go through because of public hospital dynamics and all that although there is a lot that needs to be done that is more than a paycheque. But going for a degree and coming back to such a mess doesn’t change anything about you being a pharm tech.
That is why most pharmacists don’t practice. With a few paychecks, they quit pursuing other things. That’s wasted brains, you might as well think. But they just want to distance themselves competing with people with less education. That’s why the pharmaceutical industry is somehow controlled by the pharm techs. In the real sense, they are being controlled. Most of the big faces behind the pharmaceutical industry even don’t have medical backgrounds. They are just successful business people using pharmaceutical practitioners to achieve their goals. They pay them less. And that is how to become a pharm tech and die like a pharm tech. Phew!