Pharmacy Practice/Jobs in Canada

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Digsbe

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Looking at graduation I'm trying to consider every avenue, and practicing internationally isn't something I'd be opposed to. I'm a soon to be P4 student in an American pharmacy school and I was wondering what the job market and licensing hoops one would have to go through as a US PharmD getting a license in Canada or doing a residency in Canada. Is the job market any good? I've had people tell me rural pharmacy pays boatloads of money in Canada, I wouldn't be opposed to taking a job like that to blitz off student loans.

Any other international opportunities for US grads? I'm just trying to consider all my options if I don't go and apply to med school or a US pharmacy residency. I've heard pharmacy scope of practice tends to be more open in Canada as well, although varying by province.

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i can only tell you about Germany:
there's no big chain/corporate pharmacy there, only independent and hospital pharmacies.
pharmacists employee salary is very very low (about 40-50k euro/year),
but owner of an independent pharmacy earns A LOT (they're super rich).
but you need fluent German to work there.

Know that the US is the only country in the world taxing its citizens abroad :rolleyes:
so if you work in another country, you pay both that country's taxes and the US tax,

unless you relinquish US citizenship :D
 
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The main cities (Toronto, Vancouver etc.) are saturated. From what i know, both UofT and UBC has been increasing their # of spots. I'll tell you what i know about Toronto. If you're willing to move outside of GTA, even a couple of hours away from Toronto, you'll probably find a job. I've spoken to an international pharmacist recently who voiced his displeasure with current pharmacist salaries apparently being in the $35-$40/hour range in Toronto.

I know lot of what i said sounds anecdotal, so take it for what it's worth and definitely do more research on this! I once considered Pharmacy, as you can probably tell by my username but decided against it. On another note, i think it's great you're considering Canada as an option :) I highly doubt we'd ever have the oversaturation problem to that magnitude, considering the lack of pharmacy schools and competitiveness in Canada.
 
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Thanks for the info, I've been looking into things and it looks like the averages around Toronto are about 85-95k per year as an anual salary. However, I've read that some hospital positions pay significantly more (130k+). Then again, can't always trust numbers you read online. From my research it doesn't look like it's economically worth it to relocate to Canada unless things get much worse in the US or unless things get better in Canada. I haven't gotten any data on rural pharmacy which is rumored to pay a ton though up there. The problem I see is many countries require the MSPharm or B.Pharm which require less years of training and are easier to get, thus keeping salary levels closer to 50-80k per year USD equivalent in many countries.

Looks like the US is my best option, but still looking into other things if I stick with pharmacy. I just hope jobs here either improve or don't get any worse.
 
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