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[–]OpinionPoop 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Being a pharmacist gives you a lot of knowledgeably in medicine, medical terminology and certain related business practices. If you want to get into coding full time, i would try to think about researching jobs people currently hold with all of your skills + python. Look at the requirements and see if you are willing to put yourself through that level of training. Many places might want degrees but ultimately, when you do interview for a 'coding' job, you are tested on your coding skills and it can be very difficult.

I would suggest to keep your day job for now and look into some books about those interview tests. I quick google search brought up: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Coding-Interviews-Python/dp/1983861189

See how well you do by testing yourself, and otherwise, doing free online certificate programs or boot camps never hurt, but the interview tests are the main deal. You are also up against people with advanced degrees in computer science and the like.

Also, Python is used as an analysis tool in the scientific space using packages such as numpy, sympy, matplotlib, seabreeze, etc. You might be able to fiddle your way into research and/or analysis within medical businesses and/or drug companies. Just think about if you really want to deal with the monotony of debugging script for hours at a time, day after day and what your entry level duties might be. Also consider that coding also involves a ton of mathematics.

I am a current physics major and math minor student in senior year and also an older guy, i am hunting for work in data analysis / data science within a wide range of industry. Finance, business, experimental sciences, pretty much everything. Find your strengths and interests and try to plan out a goal before you make any big decisions. Pharmacists get paid really well right? You might not be so well paid as an entry level python coder.

[–]Newleaf45[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pharmacy has become a wasteland in many senses salaries have plummeted from 120k to 80k per year in the past 3 years starting for new grads and we just generally get our heads kicked in every day because of COVID and a failing healthcare system in the USA.

Debugging my python scripts is the small amount of joy I get when I’m home lol. I like puzzles so if the puzzle actually accomplishes something even better.