Barai has been with her present company for six years. She has occasionally combined this employment with shifts at an acute care facility. She began her career as a pharmacist at a CVS pharmacy after graduating from pharmacy school, before moving on to two other local pharmacies and finally to her current position as a long-term care pharmacist. Gopika Barai attended primary school in Westfield, New Jersey, where she grew up. She graduated from Union County Magnet School, a long-standing top-ranked New Jersey school now ranked second in the state. Barai had access to various advanced placement curricula and tests on campus, which prepared her for the rigors of pharmacy school. The magnet school accepts kids through an application procedure, and the selection process is complex, with an acceptance rate of approximately 33%.