djgoldma

University of British Columbia: Dr. Carlo Marra - Tier 1 Canada research chair, PhD UBC focuses on health econ, specifically outcomes, and CEA analysis University of Toronto: Dr. Paul Grootendorst - PhD Toronto focuses on reimbursement and insurance Now, Dr. Marra is doing the exact type of work I want to do, but he is not an economist. Dr G. is an economist, so his work in health econ is a little more advanced, and he is willing to let me do CEA and outcomes work, which is out of his area. I know there are ppl on this board that spent a lot of time researching supervisors to help with their decisions. I was wondering if people can perhaps use their resourcefullness and tell me what they think of these 2 supervisors. Based on my research, Marra takes the cake...looking for your opinions.. Thanks.

I thought about the econ MA, but no, it's 2 yrs in Canada...if it were 1 yr, I'd do it. The PhD is 4 yrs, so, if I am going back to school for pharma econ, it would be for a PhD. My point is - despite the fact that not many have a PhD for what I wanna do, things may change in 10 yrs, and I never want to be rejected from a potential positon, because another applicant had a PhD. How can it really hurt me? The PhD will further develop my research skills, give me hands on experience with modeling, and CEA/COI studies, not to mention the plethora of other skills that a degree at this level offers. Opportunity cost of doing it...4 yrs of making $85,000 to 4 years of making $12,000. But I think the long term income potential with a PhD is greater..?

Hey, I posted questions regarding which school to choose for a PhD in pharmaceutical economics. Now, I am having second thoughts about doing the degree at all.. I am currently working in industry, but would like to work as a health economist. My undergrad was in biotech and economics, and my masters was in biotech. Now, what Im told by people in industry, is to do my 2 year time in my current role, establish myself in the company, at which point I will be able to more easily move into Health Econ. I don't think a single person in the company doing health econ has a PhD. If I was offered a job tomorrow as a health economist in industry, I would 100% take it, and not do a PhD. Is that a strong sign to not do a PhD? I am afraid, that even after I do my 2 years, I will not be able to move in health econ. Whereas, if I did a PhD, I would 99.9% be able to get a job in Health econ. I know that a PhD is not needed to work as a health economist in the pharma industry, but I never want to be turned down for a job, b/c the other candidate had a PhD. Most jobs want experience doing economic and clinical evaluations, and experience doing reimbursement submissions to the government. I have never done this, but this can all be learnt on the job... Thinking out loud, looking for feedback - thanks.

Which is better for health econ/ and health outcomes research?

Hey, There are 2 types of people doing pharmaceutical economics. There are PharmD people that went back to get their PhD's in some aspect of administrative pharmacy - yes they conducted economic research, but not at a very high level, and their work now utilizes econ, but their modeling is not advanced. Then, there are pure econ PhD's that have chosen to do their work in the pharmaceutical industry. For the pure econ folk, many have gone to Mcmaster, U of T, and the US. For the PharmD people, they come from everywhere. I have a background in econ, but no where near rigorous enough to do a pure econ PhD. Instead, using my solid foundation of econ, I will work with a pure econ PhD now doing their work in the Pharma industry. Arguably, the best econ programs in Canada U of T, Mcmaster, and McGill. The best Pharmacy school is hands-down U of T. Canada does not have many programs to study what I am doing - in fact Mac is the only other place, and their program just started this year. I could probably take the same classes at any other Canadian school, but there does not seem to be much research aside from Mcmaster and Toronto. I am leaning towards toronto because Mcmaster is in a shitty city thats a far commute. The potential guy I'd work with at U of T was specifically brought in there to strengthen the school's research in pharmaceutical economics....

I plan to look at large international pharma companies that have locations in Canada.

Reactor: Sorry for my ignorance..so are u saying U of T or U of M?

This is the problem... If I want to stay in Canada, then a degree from U of T is phenomenal...it's Canada's most prestigious school. ON the other hand, in the US, it means nothing.... In Canada, it seems that the only US schools that are widely known are the Iveys...

professors from the faculty of pharmacy would supervise - but they are pure econ PhD people that have now chosen to specialize in parmacoecon..

What is more commonly used in industry for statistics in economics. Some schools say SAS, but lately I have heard that STATA is more comprehensive and more useful... what are your opinions?

Hey, Maryland is ranked 8th in the US for their school of pharmacy, which is the dept that this program is administered through. However, their econ dept is very low ranked ..is it not? This is U Maryland Baltimore, not College Park. U of T is the most prestigious school in Canada, their Pharmacy is probably #1 in Canada, and their econ is top 20 in North America, and # 1 or #2 in canada...(please correct if I am wrong) The money is not the biggest deal - I want to go to the school that will make me the most competent researcher. I want the place that will teach and challenge me the most. Although U of T lacks structure, I can still take all of the same classes that I would at Maryland. If I would like to work in Canada, wouldn't the degree from Toronto look much better?

Yes, I know the Maryland area is much better for industry careers, but is Maryland considered a good school? I know each school has their own strengths, and I know Maryland school of Pharmacy is top 10.

The program is pharmaceutical economics, administered through the faculty of pharmacy. Maryland: 20k stipend plus tuition Toronto: 12k stipend plus tuition Maryland has a structured program, with specializations. U of T has no structure, committee decides what u should take based on your interests and thesis goals. Maryland has a track record of successful graduates. U of T has 1 graduate, because the program is very new. Classes will be taken through the econ and pharmacy faculty, both schools are strong in these areas. as far as faculty, Maryland seems stronger.... What should I do???????

E-mailing programs is a great idea. However, I already have an MS in biotechnology...getting another MS would be an additional 2 years. The PhD would be 4-5 years..and with a PhD, I can never hit a ceiling in my career. When I look at health economist jobs, they all require MS or PhD..same with many health econ consulting companies. I got rejected from all..why...they said they give preference to PhD's. Bottom line: PhD cannot hurt me...can just take 4 years of my life...opportunity cost of that is $$$...which I hope to make back in the next 20 years with the degree...what do u think?

Quant: I don't know of a single senior health economist, or director of health economics without a PhD. As well, the specialty consulting companies (here in Canada) basically only hire PhD's.