Pharmacology degree too niche?

[Yellowjade]

DD has applied to do Pharmacology at uni but is now wondering if it's too niche and a broader degree such as Chemistry might be better for employment prospects due to its applicability in a wider range of employment areas. Any thoughts especially from those in related industries?

I'm a scientist with a degree and PhD in biochemistry, work in the pharmaceutical industry and have done for over 20 years. We recruit scientists with all kinds of biology and chemistry degrees.

It's not too niche. I would suspect it has better job prospects than a chemistry degree TBH but that might be my bias. Where's she thinking of studying?

Not too niche at all I'm a nurse and there are regularly jobs in this area.

@JaninaDuszejko I was going to say the very same thing.

Just a heads up. My friend's D'S took pharmacology and some of the lab practicals involved testing on animals. It is worth asking about this at open days.

@JaninaDuszejko , @Tecksupport and @FoxFeatures , that's reassuring, thank you. She has applied to Cardiff, Nottingham, Bath and Manchester.

@RampantIvy , thanks for the tip. DD is fine with that.

Not niche at all. Pharmacology is part of the faculty I did my degree in. If you have a life sciences degree you can do basically anything. Of my uni course mates we have careers in finance/ research/law/dentistry (did another degree)/ PR etc.

The transferable skills you get from a science degree from a top university are second to none. Also, I attended Manchester university- had a great time!

I have an inkling that some of the responses are confusing pharmacology with pharmacy, which is a very different degree (much broader based and widely transferable skill set).

Pharmacology does put you in a niche, but if that's the niche you want to be in that's not a problem. There are still lots of areas that could be branched into and eg a bit of pharmaceutical industry experience would open doors to other areas not specifically within pharmacology. As would a masters in something else afterwards at some point if a change needed it.

@TrudyProud and @somanybooks thank you.

@somanybooks Pharmacy was considered but in the end decided that she preferred drug discovery and development to being customer facing.

Yes, if she's not wanting to work with (or do the training with) patients then that seems like a sensible choice. Pharmacology is definitely better for a more intense focus on drug discovery if she's set on that career. She could branch into clinical trials work easily too.

I'd say if that's what she's fascinated by then it's a good choice. Better to go and spend your time learning something you're passionate about than making choices based on too many 'what ifs' that might make it feel more of a slog.

If she's interested in careers in drug discovery, it's worth looking at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry web site: abpi.org.uk - click on the two horizontal lines in the top right-hand corner, then Our industry then Careers. The option that says "School & college studies" should really say "School & college students"; if you go to this page and select "Choices at 18" it shows the range of degrees people enter the industry with.

Not niche. Great degree.

I did a degree in Pharmacology at Uni of Bath in the '90s and it was a great choice. I worked for various Pharma companies in clinical trials. I've been a primary teacher for 10 years and it wasn't a barrier to a second career.
I'd say go for it!

Better to do something she's interested in then something broader / which she isn't keen on. Slogging though something you aren't passionate about is a recipe for dissatisfaction.

I had similar aspirations at the same age. Did a degree that had pharmacology modules. Discovered I didn't actually like pharmacology that much.... it was a medical science degree so luckily I had covered a broad section to start with and I ended up specialising in cellular and molecular biology

Dd currently doing a pharmacology degree. They have all sorts of placements available... from drug companies, through academia and teaching to hospital labs, so I guess not too niche.

She's enjoying most of it, just gets fed up when she has a 10 hour labs day when her friends doing less scientific subjects spend more time in the library.

Obviously as a pharmacist I'm biased but it might be worth considering pharmacy.

She can still go into the pharmaceutical industry as she would learn the pharmacology but DD would be a qualified pharmacist which might make better financial sense as she could locum straight away if she couldn't get into the industry she wanted straight off the bat.

Having said that community pharmacy isn't in great shape at the moment and you have to have thick skin if you work there.

Worth discussing anyway.

Thank you, was surprised to see more responses.

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne that's a useful website, especially the case studies. Have forwarded it on to DD.

@timetorefresh Manchester University's pharmacology degree shares a common first year with other biological sciences degrees and there's an option to transfer after the first year, so that's worth thinking about.

@BeyondMyWits Good to know that there's a variety of placements as she doesn't really know what sort of career she wants, just not one that's very people oriented!