What Do You Want to "Learn" for a Living?

I recently met with a long-time mentee of mine who was asking for advice. He is a recent pharmacy graduate who is trying to determine the next step in his career. The conversation, as these often are, was a learning experience for me as well as it helped me better understand why I followed the path I did.

I usually describe myself as having the attention span of a five year old and my career certainly echoes that. I have worked in 14 different hospitals in five different health-systems and in 23 different retail settings. My dad owned a community pharmacy growing up and my first job as a pharmacist was for a retail chain, but I quickly returned to the acute care setting having worked for 11 years as a hospital pharmacy technician during high school and college. As a hospital pharmacist, I tried every clinical setting from pediatrics to geriatrics, general medicine to critical care, and central pharmacy to the surgery satellite. I finally tried management and leadership which is where I found my true passion. Since receiving my license, I have continued my education to gain a Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Certificate, PharmD, and a Masters Degree in Health-Service Administration.

Throughout all of these career changes I thought I was trying to find out what I wanted to DO for a living. One of the first questions I ask students I have precepted and mentored over the years is “what kind of pharmacist do you want to BE when you grow up”.  It may be a reasonable question for those students who think they have already determined their desired job, be it community, acute care, managed care or other. However, for many I think this is the wrong question.

Instead of asking what they want to BE or what they want to DO for a career, I think a better question is to ask what they want to LEARN. Particularly early in your career, what job will help you develop as a new pharmacist, continue to build your CV, and gain skills that will help you get that next job if you choose to make a change. I believe the old questions of BE and DO fit better with previous generations where you had the same job for most of your working life, but today’s generation is much more likely to move from job to job and even from career to career. Therefore, selecting your first or next job based on how it can help you develop new and marketable skill sets becomes increasingly important.

 My new advice to students will be to think less about the end career goal and focus more on seeking a job that which you will learn and grow as a professional. This is particularly important in this increasingly competitive market for residencies and pharmacist positions. It is now far less likely that you will get the position that fits a pre-defined career path or get that job that you will keep for thirty or forty (or more!) years. Keep learning, growing and moving forward and you will reach your goal, which may or not be the same goal you set when you started your journey.

Most importantly, enjoy your work and enjoy the journey.