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Old 06-04-2012, 02:25 PM   #1
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Default Walgreens in vegas or Ralphs in SoCal- What would you do??


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Dear all,
I have a situation and just want to gather some of your opinions, so any current pharmacists working for either one of these chains, your input is greatly appreciated.. here we go:
I live in SoCal ( LA) all this time and currently a grad intern for Ralphs and have been with the company for years; however, I have no permanent offer with ralphs yet, i just know that I might potentially be a floater for them, region to float: not sure..
I recently got an offer for walgreens in vegas with full time floater Rph. and now debating whether i should stay in CA or move to vegas.... My questions are:

1. How are walgreens compare with other chain? in term of benefits, tech hours and work flow???
- Is it going to be easier for me to transfer back into CA walgreens in the long run if i take the job out in vegas??

2. Do pharmacists at walgreens spend more time on patient counseling, drug DUR and other patient care aspect rather than filling prescriptions at all time??

3. given the fact that I am so comfortable with the Ralphs system, should i take the risk to leave this company for walgreens? Is walgreens gonna be around for longer given the ESI sitatuation?

4. Finally, How is Las vegas compare to SoCal despite the crazy heat in the summer??

I know i am asking a lot of questions but I am in a point that i need to see what other opinion out there before I make this major move.. this is also my first time posting in the forum so pls be easy on me
thank you for your input!!!
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Old 06-04-2012, 02:30 PM   #2
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Vegas. No state income tax in Nevada. Dirt cheap real estate also. Entertainment when you want. And LA is only 5 hours away drive. And you have a job offer.
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Old 06-04-2012, 02:38 PM   #3
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Vegas. Full time float is 40 hours and guaranteed income. All chains are pretty much the same. You'll learn the Wags computer system fast. I learned CVS's system in a matter of days.

No income tax, the cheapest airport I know of fees wise...and it has international destinations, too, guaranteed hours, CHEAP property due to the housing collapse.

Vegas. Not even a question in my mind.
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Old 06-04-2012, 04:19 PM   #4
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Damn you guys, all those perks you mentioned make me second guess if I should've given the VA job in vegas more consideration. But my wife was like "there's no way in hell I'm raising my baby in Vegas" and that was the end of that, Texas it was. Anybody live in Vegas have any input? Never been ther, but can kind of imagine drunks, hookers, and people who lost their shirt might be more common than most cities.
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Old 06-04-2012, 04:38 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xiphoid2010 View Post
Damn you guys, all those perks you mentioned make me second guess if I should've given the VA job in vegas more consideration. But my wife was like "there's no way in hell I'm raising my baby in Vegas" and that was the end of that, Texas it was. Anybody live in Vegas have any input? Never been ther, but can kind of imagine drunks, hookers, and people who lost their shirt might be more common than most cities.
The strip and surrounding area is like that, but las Vegas is pretty big, and you can avoid these areas if you try hard enough.
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Old 06-04-2012, 09:28 PM   #6
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Vegas for sure, pick a nice area to live, and you're good.
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Old 06-04-2012, 09:35 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by xiphoid2010 View Post
Never been ther, but can kind of imagine drunks, hookers, and people who lost their shirt might be more common than most cities.
Common misconception about LV. Outside the strip and in the master planned communities, it's your typical suburban oasis filled with strip malls, Costco, and lots of golfing.

Whenever I visit friends in Vegas, 1/2 of 3 days will be spent on-strip. We avoid it like the plague.

If you raise kids there...make sure they leave the city for college life, this is a must. If they don't, they get caught in this weird Vegas black hole and they become lifers. Don't be a Vegas lifer...locals and some Californians know what I'm talking about.
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Old 06-04-2012, 09:41 PM   #8
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Working for Ralphs can be risky. Pharmacy is just a small part of Ralphs and I hear they have not been making money.

If you don't have family in Southern California and if Walgreens offers you 40 hrs/week then take it. Work hard a few years and pay back your student loans. California is not getting better any time soon.
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Old 06-05-2012, 06:39 AM   #9
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Vegas man! Where else are you gonna have the opportunity to gamble 24/7? Fun stuff man!
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Old 06-05-2012, 08:39 AM   #10
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i went to pharmacy school in vegas. lived there for almost 8 years. i can answer any question youd like. the good the bad the ugly... i even worked for walgreens for 4 years as a floater/staffer in vegas. so i can tell you about the dpm's work schedule ect... shot me an pm with all your questions.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:07 AM   #11
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..

Last edited by UTpharmmonkey; 06-12-2012 at 01:00 AM.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:37 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UTpharmmonkey View Post
Thank you everyone for your opinion. After looking at all the pros and cons of both sides and especially see how Ralphs treated me, I decided to go w/ Vegas I guess I am very blessed to have an offer given how tough the market is for new grad. Thnx again for all ur opinion. Have a great day!!!
An old store manager of mine told me that during a vegas convention he was told that the pharmacists at the Wags on the strip job primarily consists of directing people to which isle condoms are on. Sounds like a decent gig to me
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