PHARMACY OR OPTOM?

[matt123]

i really need your help here guys.

ok so i already study pharmacy at csu , going to second year
and ive been given a place to study optom at deakin.
i wanna do med in the future postgrad ...

so im not sure which one is better to do
i think it will be easier to maintain a higher gpa in deakins optom than pharmacy as its 2 years of vision science which is so easy.
having said that .. if we look at it . pharmacists are in a massive oversupply and wouldnt be the best backup plan.
however optometrists are also going into massive oversupply and big chains like spec savers are taking over and paying optoms rubbish money.

what would be easier to keep a high gpa in? i only want to do medicine.
im not sure if i should stick to pharm or make the decision to change to optom
like im really 100% confused on this matter.

what do you people think
please tell me what you know about both job outcomes , job availabilities and which one is better suited for me ... tbh i dislike them both equally and using them as a backup plan.
also ... deakin does postgrad med .... is it more likely to get accepted into med at deakin having studied optom? incomparison to studying pharmacy at a different uni in a different state?

thanks in advanced
please help

[iamtom]

If you wanna go into Med, I would say stick with Pharmacy... Optometry is designed at Deakin to craft optometrists who can run a business while still fulfilling all the requirements. I'm curious, though, how did you get an offer for Optometry if you've already started university?

However, having said that... if you dislike the idea of both, what is making you 'like' Medicine?

[matt123]

If you wanna go into Med, I would say stick with Pharmacy... Optometry is designed at Deakin to craft optometrists who can run a business while still fulfilling all the requirements. I'm curious, though, how did you get an offer for Optometry if you've already started university?

However, having said that... if you dislike the idea of both, what is making you 'like' Medicine?

is that right?/ ... they dont have any business subjects? ...... Optometry is optometry ... lol i dont think they can "craft" you to do anything.

Im not sure how i was accepted . i applied as a non year 12 leaver so im assuming as a non standard or as transfer...... they must have liked my pi form.

in regards to your question .... Pharmacy = sitting behind a counter churning out scripts .....
optom = selling glasses or sitting behind a desk sticking a machine into someones eye
medicine/specialist or surgeon ..... diagnosing patients .... direct conversation with patient and surgeon = more logical , more actively involved in helping the person with their medical issues.
in pharmacy and optometry .... you do things that any random off the street could do anyway ... the pharmacy assistant does almost eveyrthing the pharmacist does... optoms just sit around selling glasses ... especially if you work for spec savers and the bigger companies . they dont care about diagnosing patients etc .. its all about SELLING SELLING SELLING!!!! $$$

[matt123]

which is why in conclusion im unsure of which one to do
both finish in the same time
and i wanna do med either way.

[iamtom]

which is why in conclusion im unsure of which one to do
both finish in the same time
and i wanna do med either way.

http://www.deakin.edu.au/hmnbs/medicine/optometry/course-overview.php

If you go there, they have two business subjects man.

And you're not overly right about what Optometrists or Pharmacists do. It's not that simple :p But hey, back on point, you should probably just finish Pharmacy instead of starting over and then doing post-grad Med

[matt123]

which is why in conclusion im unsure of which one to do
both finish in the same time
and i wanna do med either way.

http://www.deakin.edu.au/hmnbs/medicine/optometry/course-overview.php

If you go there, they have two business subjects man.

And you're not overly right about what Optometrists or Pharmacists do. It's not that simple :p But hey, back on point, you should probably just finish Pharmacy instead of starting over and then doing post-grad Med

fair call
but it literally makes no difference timewise if i do pharmacy or med .... its just that if one is easier than the other it allows me to get a higher gpa and thus get into medicine more readily.
the other thing is , deakin is in geelong where my parents live and i study in nsw by myself .. thus more costly.

i really dont know what to do
i have a fear that after 2 years of vision science deakin might not allow students to continue to do optometry and thus we will all be stuck with a vision science degree!!!!! hahahah

[iamtom]

I'd say stick with Pharmacy. More useful to you long term, whereas I'm not sure if you can actually drop out after the vision science component, lol.

[matt123]

I'd say stick with Pharmacy. More useful to you long term, whereas I'm not sure if you can actually drop out after the vision science component, lol.

Oh....
well hmm .... optom is probably better for money and jobs than pharmacy .. im not sure what to do
if i live at home doing optom ill save another 10k a year = 30k all up too.

[iamtom]

Yeah, but you're going to go into Med anyway so jobs & money is irrelevant at this point of time.
Pharmacists aren't broke either man.

[Hellrocks]

I'd say stick with Pharmacy. More useful to you long term, whereas I'm not sure if you can actually drop out after the vision science component, lol.

Oh....
well hmm .... optom is probably better for money and jobs than pharmacy .. im not sure what to do
if i live at home doing optom ill save another 10k a year = 30k all up too.

was your pharmacy 1st year GPA good? That's something to consider. Also isn't the optom degree 3.5 years?

[matt123]

I'd say stick with Pharmacy. More useful to you long term, whereas I'm not sure if you can actually drop out after the vision science component, lol.

Oh....
well hmm .... optom is probably better for money and jobs than pharmacy .. im not sure what to do
if i live at home doing optom ill save another 10k a year = 30k all up too.

was your pharmacy 1st year GPA good? That's something to consider. Also isn't the optom degree 3.5 years?

GPA was distinction so about 5.8-6.1 and yeah the course is 3.5 years .. but as a pharmacist i need to do a year of registration anyway .. so in theory id actually save half a year.

and inresponse to the other comment .... i want to do med anyway .. but it still does matter because if i dont get into med than im stuck with pharmacy .. and pharm is actually broke . some people get payed $19 an hour . whilst minimum optom wages are around 35

[iamtom]

If it's half a year more I wouldn't worry too much, realistically. You've gotta do the same for Optometry.

[Hellrocks]

I'd say stick with Pharmacy. More useful to you long term, whereas I'm not sure if you can actually drop out after the vision science component, lol.

Oh....
well hmm .... optom is probably better for money and jobs than pharmacy .. im not sure what to do
if i live at home doing optom ill save another 10k a year = 30k all up too.

was your pharmacy 1st year GPA good? That's something to consider. Also isn't the optom degree 3.5 years?

GPA was distinction so about 5.8-6.1 and yeah the course is 3.5 years .. but as a pharmacist i need to do a year of registration anyway .. so in theory id actually save half a year.

and inresponse to the other comment .... i want to do med anyway .. but it still does matter because if i dont get into med than im stuck with pharmacy .. and pharm is actually broke . some people get payed $19 an hour . whilst minimum optom wages are around 35

I would say do whatever that would give you a higher GPA so your med entry is competitive

[akira88]

matt123, you appear to be very focused on the amount of money that these careers make. No doubt that you shouldn't think about it, since money is quite important, however the way you word "pharm is actually broke" and "stuck with pharmacy" makes it appear as you do really care just about the money. You keep finding reasons not to do pharmacy, and since you're not happy with it, why continue?

But if you really just want to get into med in the long run, I think pharmacy would be the better choice. I'm not sure what exactly you learn in your pharmacy course, but at Monash you learn quite a lot of physiology as well as (obviously) chemistry.

And on another note, if you really think that " Pharmacy = sitting behind a counter churning out scripts", you are quite wrong

[matt123]

matt123, you appear to be very focused on the amount of money that these careers make. No doubt that you shouldn't think about it, since money is quite important, however the way you word "pharm is actually broke" and "stuck with pharmacy" makes it appear as you do really care just about the money. You keep finding reasons not to do pharmacy, and since you're not happy with it, why continue?

But if you really just want to get into med in the long run, I think pharmacy would be the better choice. I'm not sure what exactly you learn in your pharmacy course, but at Monash you learn quite a lot of physiology as well as (obviously) chemistry.

And on another note, if you really think that " Pharmacy = sitting behind a counter churning out scripts", you are quite wrong

To be completely honest
i am not satisfied with pharmacy nor optometry as i want to medicine and thus yes , of course . im clearly only thinking about the money side of things..... if im not going to enjoy either and want to use it purely as a backup and as a entry into medicine.

i just wanna do med and i dont care if it pays less than pharmacy its where my souls at hahaha
im just so confused as for what to do right now . pharm or optom.. hmmmmmmmm
i dont know which one will be easier to get a higher gpa in