I seem to have come across a fork in the path that's slowly turning into a rut.

I'm in the pharmacy program right now and I can tell you that chemistry is a killer. You practically take every science course known to man -_-'. There's also something about having to memorize 200 to 300 drugs sometime around 3rd year. But I think it's really fulfilling if you keep up with it (If i survive chemistry and yes you also have to take physics anyway, and calculus). If you're on the east coast there are four good schools, USP in Philadelphia, Temple (in Pennsylvania), St John's in New York, and Rutgers in New Jersey. Rutgers is probably the cheapest of them all but its practically the best on the east coast.

As for after graduation, I've talked to some of my pharmacy friends and they say that research starts out with a lower salary but they get raises quicker. Retail starts with a higher salary but raises are somewhat on the low side. Whatever you choose, as a pharmacist, you'll still be underpaid for all your work though. It is also unlikely you'll be working in research. About 10 % of a graduating class usually goes into research (you need a ph D), about 70% go into retail and hospital pharmacy.

I hope this helps, though I am a little biased for pharmacy

Jam it back in, in the dark.