Costco vs hospital pharmacy jobs

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jkhwun

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So I am currently working as a hospital intern in my 4th year but I also got a job offer from costco as a tech as well. (Bc i did my appe there)
Now that I have one more year left in pharmacy school, i feel like this technician position really directs my future.
I can't work at both places. I think costco wants me to work every saturday but I can't b/c of hospital work.
Which one would you choose? I know both costco and hospital jobs are hard to get.
I feel like staff pharmacists at hospitals and costco pharmacists are not that stressful.
Besides money factor, which one should I pick as a tech and even as a pharmacist?
(But seriously, how much costco pharmacists get paid? And what are their benefits?)

Thank you all!
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Why tech and not intern position at Costco? Go with the place that is more likely to hire you as a pharmacist
 
well, lets put it they are both trying to hire me as a pharmacist.
So let's say that I am guaranteed to work in both places later.
Hospital I a working at is mid-size community hospital with about 500 beds. So I really like that too.
But we all know costco jobs are super nice too!!
 
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jkhwun said:
well, lets put it they are both trying to hire me as a pharmacist.
So let's say that I am guaranteed to work in both places later.
Hospital I a working at is mid-size community hospital with about 500 beds. So I really like that too.
But we all know costco jobs are super nice too!!
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Costco, imo, is the best place to work as a pharmacist in a retail setting. Great hours, great pay, and great benefits. Oh and they always have enough tech help... now granted, this is only my experience with the few Costcos in my area.
 
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Go with the hospital. It is more stable. Just ask Target pharmacists.
 
Costco is great but it can be difficult to get a full-time pharmacist position there. No one leaves. If you are willing to move anywhere in the country, then it won't be hard to get a Costco job (as an internal candidate). If you are geographically restricted, good luck as there only about 500 Costco stores in the country.

Working at any pharmacy is always a risk. The CVS/Target situation won't happen to Costco because Costco makes an enormous profit from the sale of their Kirkland brand OTC products.
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
Could happen to either. Ask any hospital whose facility has closed or who has had pharmacy services contracted out. Costco isn't closing their pharmacy any time soon.
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All Target pharmacists will remember where they were on the morning of June 20.

I would take a hospital closure any day. At least you will be compensated. CVS would just close your store and make you travel 50 miles. Don't want it? Too bad. Here is your pink slip.
 
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MatCauthon said:
Working at any pharmacy is always a risk. The CVS/Target situation won't happen to Costco because Costco makes an enormous profit from the sale of their Kirkland brand OTC products.
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Why can't Costco keep on selling their Kirkland brand OTC products? Isn't that what Target is doing?

If I were Costco and if CVS is offering me more money for the pharmacy than what I am currently making then why wouldn't I take the offer? It would also increase the foot traffic into my Costco.

CVS is able to do this because of their buying power. The price for generic drugs has jumped. This makes it more difficult for Target, Walmart, Costco, Kroger, etc to compete and to make a profit. The $4 generic plan is hurting them big time.
 
BMBiology said:
Why can't Costco keep on selling their Kirkland brand OTC products? Isn't that what Target is doing?

If I were Costco and if CVS is offering me more money for the pharmacy than what I am currently making then why wouldn't I take the offer? It would also increase the foot traffic into my Costco.

CVS is able to do this because of their buying power. The price for generic drugs has jumped. This makes it more difficult for Target, Walmart, Costco, Kroger, etc to compete and to make a profit. The $4 generic plan is hurting them big time.
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Costco has always been the low-price leader of the chains. Obamacare has been hurting Costco because they can't accept the low-margin plans. However, Costco still has a nice niche in pharmacy world by selling cheaper cash-price drugs/vaccines, having decent customer service, and selling very affordable pet medications. Unlike Target, Costco pharmacies are still profitable. I don't think Costco would risk forgoing some of their tremendous OTC sales by having an outside pharmacy come in. Wouldn't that mean ceding more OTC sales to the competitor and using more of the competitor's private-label? Kirkland OTCs are a huge part of Costco store volume.

Why would a CVS increase foot traffic into Costco? Costco already has enormous foot traffic into their pharmacies. Most of their pharmacies are doing several hundred scripts per day. Even on a slower Saturday they usually do about 200 plus scripts. Also, Costco keeps its pharmacy operations going because they increase membership sales. The Costco membership does not easily fit into the strategy of another chain retailer. As long as Costco is still profitable they will keep their own pharmacy operation going. Costco uses OTC sales as part of the profitability equation so the pharmacies will not be closed or leased out anytime soon.
 
How do you know Costco pharmacy is profitable?

Like I had previously said, Costco would get to keep its OTC just like what Target is doing.

And you don't need a Costco membership to use its pharmacy.

The question - is Costco going to make more money from its pharmacy if it sells it to CVS? Even with the same staffing, CVS can buy medications at a much longer rate.
 
BMBiology said:
How do you know Costco pharmacy is profitable?

Like I had previously said, Costco would get to keep its OTC just like what Target is doing.

And you don't need a Costco membership to use its pharmacy.

The question - is Costco going to make more money from its pharmacy if it sells it to CVS? Even with the same staffing, CVS can buy medications at a much longer rate.
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1. I spent many years working for Costco. They have an annual retreat where they go over the chain finances and challenges with the managers. Costco is still very profitable, especially since they factor in OTC drugs in the sales.

2. You don't have to be a member to use Costco pharmacy, but only a small % of people that use the pharmacy are non-members.

3. You can read about Costco pharmacy operations in their SEC reports. Since they are profitable there is no current reason to suspect that they would sell to CVS. Costco pharmacy is setup very differently from CVS and I suspect there would be corporate culture clashing. Profit calculations would be complicated and it would be risky to cede control to outside organization when the inside operation is already bring in profit. Costco pharmacy is not a loss leader.

Anything can happen, but I see no compelling reason for why Costco pharmacy will go out of business anytime soon. Costco doesn't have a history of outsourcing their departments. Not every pharmacy is going to get bought out by CVS/Walgreens. I would think other grocery store chains such as Safeway would be much more likely takeover targets.
 
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wal-mart and Krogers ain't losing money. stop spewing inaccurate predictions. $4 generics ain't breaking us
 
Safeway/Randall's is getting killed, if anything they will be next
 
FYI, 15k in sales today at my "loss leader" dept and this is not including OTC sales
 
Be wary of taking a job as a tech/intern and just assuming there will be a job waiting for you after graduation. This applies to both Costco and the hospital. I was an intern for three years at a hospital during pharmacy school, and in all of that time they only hired two out of the 15 or so interns that passed through the doors. There just weren't jobs open.
 
BMBiology said:
How do you know Costco pharmacy is profitable?
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My friend works at Costco as a Manager and in 2014 that store made so much money and their gross margin was so high they had to lower their prices to stay within guidelines. Costco looks for a 15% GM to cover costs and bank on volume and membership fees to make profit.
The idea that Costco as not making money on pharmacy or that they would sell their pharmacies to CVS is ludicrous.
 
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I would take hospital job as a tech. Costco has <500 stores in the country. You might want to check how many stores are within driving distance of where you live. You will work part time or float for them IF you are lucky enough to get a job with them once you graduate. Your chances of getting full time work for Costco are simply not there.
 
Try to figure out a way to do both? I worked two jobs during school thinking both places would hire me on after graduation giving me more options, but one place wasn't able to hire me due to saturation. It's good to have some backup plans these days.
 
What the hours of a Costco pharmacist?
 
BenJammin said:
What the hours of a Costco pharmacist?
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From the Costco Website. These are the hours of the place where I used to work.

M-F 9:00am-8:30pm
SAT 9:00am-7:00pm
SUN 10:00am-6:00pm
When only one pharmacist is on duty the Pharmacy may be closed for 30 minutes between the hours of 1:30pm and 2:30pm

But some days there are overlaps. So you could be 9am-830pm or 9am-6pm or 12pm-830pm or 12pm-6pm.
 
The Costco pharmacies in my area do not open on Sundays. Don't know if that is a local thing or not though
 
Sparda29 said:
From the Costco Website. These are the hours of the place where I used to work.

M-F 9:00am-8:30pm
SAT 9:00am-7:00pm
SUN 10:00am-6:00pm
When only one pharmacist is on duty the Pharmacy may be closed for 30 minutes between the hours of 1:30pm and 2:30pm

But some days there are overlaps. So you could be 9am-830pm or 9am-6pm or 12pm-830pm or 12pm-6pm.
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These hours are for the store, not for the pharmacist.

I work at a costco and they are open from 10am-7pm on the weekdays, Saturday is 9:30am-6pm with a lunch break from 1:30pm-2:30pm and they are closed Sunday.
 
Would you rather work hospital or retail? It comes down to that. I agree that you should try to work both jobs if able to keep your options open.
 
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Well.. Definitely hospital but I don't mind working at retail IF it's costco. I'm pretty sure that goes for many people lol.
Thanks everyone for replying! More opinions, the better!
 
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