Historically, the profession of pharmacy has long been touted as one of the highest paid professions. There are many advantages to a career in pharmacy – you get to help improve the health of people, serve as a safety check against medication-induced adverse effects, while still having a reasonable lifestyle (as opposed to a career in medicine). However, tuition and fees have been increasing at an astonishing rate in recent years.
Cain and colleagues evaluated “Pharmacy Student Debt and Return on Investment of a Pharmacy Education” and the results are sobering to say the least. They calculated the Salary:Indebtedness Index (SII) and for the first time, in 2011, it dropped below 1.0. The SII is calculated by dividing the average salary for a year by the respective average indebtedness of the student. Owing more than you owe in a year makes for a very deep hole.
As a pharmacy educator, I am concerned about the future of our profession. We cannot afford to lose the best and brightest to other professions. While I often tout the intangible benefits of a career/education decision, even I can’t count on that alone. The indebtedness of our students is staggering; selling shoes at Nordstrom’s might not be a bad deal after all.
Cain, J., Campbell, T., Congdon, H. B., Hancock, K., Kaun, M., Lockman, P. R., & Evans, R. L. (2014). Pharmacy Student Debt and Return on Investment of a Pharmacy Education. Am J Pharm Educ American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(1), 5.
Cain and colleagues evaluated “Pharmacy Student Debt and Return on Investment of a Pharmacy Education” and the results are sobering to say the least. They calculated the Salary:Indebtedness Index (SII) and for the first time, in 2011, it dropped below 1.0. The SII is calculated by dividing the average salary for a year by the respective average indebtedness of the student. Owing more than you owe in a year makes for a very deep hole.
As a pharmacy educator, I am concerned about the future of our profession. We cannot afford to lose the best and brightest to other professions. While I often tout the intangible benefits of a career/education decision, even I can’t count on that alone. The indebtedness of our students is staggering; selling shoes at Nordstrom’s might not be a bad deal after all.
Cain, J., Campbell, T., Congdon, H. B., Hancock, K., Kaun, M., Lockman, P. R., & Evans, R. L. (2014). Pharmacy Student Debt and Return on Investment of a Pharmacy Education. Am J Pharm Educ American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(1), 5.