Quiz time: the city with the highest paid retail pharmacists is...

[297point1]

Answer tomorrow.

Guesses below!

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[WVUPharm2007]

I'll guess San Fran.

 

[croquemonsieur]

Watsonville, CA

 

[npage148]

Bangor me

 

[Rukn]

Philly

Has to be PIC of Harbison

 

[KARM12]

Barrow, Alaska

 

[genesis09]

highest in terms of absolute dollars or relative to cost of living?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Philly

Has to be PIC of Harbison

If anyone wants to see what a three ring circus looks like and is in Philly...the world famous Harbison store. Actually, I take that back...because my store is a three ring circus. Harbison is a five-ring circus.

That said...

...I still think cost of living will raise the bar of Bay Area, Cali a hair above.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Detroit, MI

 

[Rukn]

If anyone wants to see what a three ring circus looks like and is in Philly...the world famous Harbison store. Actually, I take that back...because my store is a three ring circus. Harbison is a five-ring circus.

That said...

...I still think cost of living will raise the bar of Bay Area, Cali a hair above.

There are more wild stores out there in terms of drama and chaos ... but Harbison is the number 1 pharmacy in the country in terms of volume

 

[confettiflyer]

Just based on volume of recruitment emails for this area....

Crescent City, CA.

The problem is...the hourly rate isn't remarkable, it's the straight cash bonuses for extreme Northern California + free housing that will skew the numbers.

So my next vote will be....

Salinas, CA

Mostly because a) there's a HUGE gang problem there and b) a union presence locally that might drive up salaries. Fringe commutable from Silicon Valley (~1hr anti-commute direction), so there's that.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Who cares what the highest salary is if its cost of living is even higher? Unless of course its Alaska.

Either you live above your means and will be working forever or you live dirt poor but can retire earlier.

I'll take neither scenario.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Bangor me

Hey let's keep it professional.

 

[297point1]

Interesting guesses, but only @confettiflyer managed to have a pick in the top 10.

The top 10:
10. Modesto, CA
9. Salinas, CA
8. San Jose, CA
7. Redding, CA
6. Eureka, CA
5. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Fresno, CA
3. Chico, CA
2. Yuma, AZ
1: Brownsville, TX!!

You could have given me 50 guesses, and maybe I might have picked San Jose. Maybe.

Mean annual salaries are highest in California ($148,000) and lowest in South Dakota ($115,400).
Alaska came in third, behind both California and Nevada (?!).

Source: PharmacyWeek 2016 Salary Survey
Snapshot here: http://www.pharmacyweek.com/cm/salary_survey
[The full report will run you $7,350]

 

[bacillus1]

Interesting guesses, but only @confettiflyer managed to have a pick in the top 10.

The top 10:
10. Modesto, CA
9. Salinas, CA
8. San Jose, CA
7. Redding, CA
6. Eureka, CA
5. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Fresno, CA
3. Chico, CA
2. Yuma, AZ
1: Brownsville, TX!!

You could have given me 50 guesses, and maybe I might have picked San Jose. Maybe.

Mean annual salaries are highest in California ($148,000) and lowest in South Dakota ($115,400).
Alaska came in third, behind both California and Nevada (?!).

Source: PharmacyWeek 2016 Salary Survey
Snapshot here: http://www.pharmacyweek.com/cm/salary_survey
[The full report will run you $7,350]

Interesting that SJ is higher than SF, considering cost of living in SJ is significantly lower. I can believe it though.

 

[confettiflyer]

Interesting guesses, but only @confettiflyer managed to have a pick in the top 10.

The top 10:
10. Modesto, CA
9. Salinas, CA
8. San Jose, CA
7. Redding, CA
6. Eureka, CA
5. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Fresno, CA
3. Chico, CA
2. Yuma, AZ
1: Brownsville, TX!!

You could have given me 50 guesses, and maybe I might have picked San Jose. Maybe.

Mean annual salaries are highest in California ($148,000) and lowest in South Dakota ($115,400).
Alaska came in third, behind both California and Nevada (?!).

Source: PharmacyWeek 2016 Salary Survey
Snapshot here: http://www.pharmacyweek.com/cm/salary_survey
[The full report will run you $7,350]

I'm gonna count Crescent City as part of Eureka just to make myself feel better. I'm surprised about Fresno...it's starting to fill up, a few years ago I started seeing "residency preferred" peppering their listings (that's usually a sign the market has jumped the shark).

 

[Sine Cura]

I have seen the Mercer survey from 2013. It doesn't list every municipality.

For chain pharmacies in small cities on the Texas-Mexico border and small towns throughout the Southwest, it would make sense to pay a premium as it's typically very hard to recruit and retain, or at least it used to be. If I made 68-69/hr as a new grad it stands to reason more experienced pharmacists would make around that wage or slightly more.

 

[297point1]

I'm gonna count Crescent City as part of Eureka just to make myself feel better.

Eureka to Crescent City: 84 miles
Orlando to Tampa: 84 miles

Whatever it takes, man

I was in Crescent City last summer. Seemed...meh. I could see how a 25-30 year old wouldn't want to settle down there, but might be an attractive locale for the 55+ crowd.

 

[confettiflyer]

Eureka to Crescent City: 84 miles
Orlando to Tampa: 84 miles

Whatever it takes, man

I was in Crescent City last summer. Seemed...meh. I could see how a 25-30 year old wouldn't want to settle down there, but might be an attractive locale for the 55+ crowd.

Why....why would you go there??

It's California, we measure distance in units of time, get it right!


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[Sine Cura]

I wouldn't mind working at Pelican Bay even with a pay cut. Probably better working conditions compared to retail. As they say, the difference between working at a prison and working in retail is dealing with the scum of the earth versus prison inmates.

 

[297point1]

Was passing through moreso than a destination- spent about 2.5 hours there.

It did have two things I thought was cool:
- Big-arse REDWOODS!!
- This offshore lighthouse that you either had to walk to or swim to, depending upon the tides. (I caught the tides right and got to walk)

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=58

 

[confettiflyer]

Was passing through moreso than a destination- spent about 2.5 hours there.

It did have two things I thought was cool:
- Big-arse REDWOODS!!
- This offshore lighthouse that you either had to walk to or swim to, depending upon the tides. (I caught the tides right and got to walk)
8

Okay, that's pretty cool. Redwoods are cool.

 

[Humble Sloth]

Who cares what the highest salary is if its cost of living is even higher? Unless of course its Alaska.

Either you live above your means and will be working forever or you live dirt poor but can retire earlier.

I'll take neither scenario.

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

 

[awval999]

Umm... I want pictures of your trailer parked in Manhattan. How do you feed the meter? No way this is possible. I want NYC posters to confirm or deny.

 

[Humble Sloth]

Umm... I want pictures of your trailer parked in Manhattan. How do you feed the meter? No way this is possible. I want NYC posters to confirm or deny.

There is no meters on residential streets. I usually park on Riverside drive in morningside heights (by the Gen. Grant memorial) , manhattan. Just street cleaning. 4 times a week (two times on each side) M,T,Th,F.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

I think my family would rather take the higher cost of living.

 

[297point1]

I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. .

Calling Inspector @Sparda29...please verify this claim!!

 

[TheBlaah]

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

You're what I like to call an outlying piece of data. I think we've actually already had a convo about this before regarding you living in a minivan.

If you're fine with living in this kind of condition, then more power to you. It does however seem strange to be concerned with salary, which is already high being a pharmacist, if you're content to live in small quarters. Do you plan on just hoarding the money or something?

 

[knight on horse]

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

Been reading early retirement extreme have we I would keep meat in my diet though

What kind of trailer

 

[Humble Sloth]

I think my family would rather take the higher cost of living.

There are trailers you can buy that can support a large family.

You're what I like to call an outlying piece of data. I think we've actually already had a convo about this before regarding you living in a minivan.

If you're fine with living in this kind of condition, then more power to you. It does however seem strange to be concerned with salary, which is already high being a pharmacist, if you're content to live in small quarters. Do you plan on just hoarding the money or something?

I'm saving up money to buy an independent. I also need money for the two 501C3 i'm starting. I donate a large amount of my money to Wikipedia foundation and National Public Radio. To me it's just kinda like a game to see how much money I can save plus I like being social and living closer to environments were interpersonal interactions can readily take place.

Been reading early retirement extreme have we I would keep meat in my diet though

What kind of trailer

Harbor Freight 1720 Lb. Capacity 48" x 96" Super Duty Utility Trailer. The chassis is built up about 11 feet high with wood.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

There are trailers you can buy that can support a large family.



I'm saving up money to buy an independent. I also need money for the two 501C3 i'm starting. I donate a large amount of my money to Wikipedia foundation and National Public Radio. To me it's just kinda like a game to see how much money I can save plus I like being social and living closer to environments were interpersonal interactions can readily take place.


Harbor Freight 1720 Lb. Capacity 48" x 96" Super Duty Utility Trailer. The chassis is built up about 11 feet high with wood.

You need to turn that trailer into a house/food truck. You are not maximizing your earning potential. That's practically stealing money from NPR in my book. And does it have a toilet? Install a meter and you've got yourself a pay toilet. Ka-ching!

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

This guy wants to be a pharmacist, well la-dee-freaking-da! You'll have plenty of time to count pills when your living in a trailer at the corner of happy and healthy!

 

[Humble Sloth]

You need to turn that trailer into a house/food truck. You are not maximizing your earning potential. That's practically stealing money from NPR in my book. And does it have a toilet? Install a meter and you've got yourself a pay toilet. Ka-ching!

I only use it for emergencies though. McDonalds is open 24/7. How is donating to NPR "stealing money" ?

 

[sakigt]

We have a hybrid pop up camper my family of four could easily live out of with outdoor space. Not as extreme but plenty doable

 

[lane one]

Cost of living doesn't effect everyone. It is not a real term to me. I only care about the highest absolute pay. I live in Manhattan in a trailer. I move my trailer 4 times a week (street parking) and pay zero in rent when my coworkers are paying 2500-3000 USD a month in rent. I can easily survive on canned black beans and rice which are probably only a few cents more expensive in san francisco, california than Miles city, montana. Living economically can be a lot more fun then being stuck in a single room studio. So any increased city "cost of living pay" is straight gravy to me. We do have to take into account State and City taxes though when calculating the best pay as those can not be avoided easily.

Lol so you're basically homeless.

 

[Humble Sloth]

Lol so you're basically homeless.

"Homelessness" is a social construct propagated by the commercial real estate power structure and government to fear monger individuals into buying overprized property. I know individuals that were raped daily in their "home". A house certainly doesn't make a home. Why must everyone take a 30 year loan for a house they can not currently afford? What does it mean to live in a mostly empty house where everyone is tied to the screen of their smart phones or the electric television? These are important questions that need answered. Did you know that James Holmes, Bernie Madoff and Adam Lanza all lived in houses? A house is someplace to stock pile fire arms in secret, or to become irate at minorities or a prison to contemplate a thousand different ways your day could have went better. A house is isolation, fear and quiet.

Preconceived notions of what a homeless person is are often false or at the very partially inaccurate. Home is where you feel comfortable. It is an emotional state not always tied to a physical structure. It is where the heart is at. For me that is living in the streets in what i honestly consider a luxury trailer that I built myself for around ~1000 USD is home. There are hundreds of millons of people in india, china, somalia and the united states that would love to sleep a night in my trailer.

 

[confettiflyer]

"Homelessness" is a social construct propagated by the commercial real estate power structure and government to fear monger individuals into buying overprized property. I know individuals that were raped daily in their "home". A house certainly doesn't make a home. Why must everyone take a 30 year loan for a house they can not currently afford? What does it mean to live in a mostly empty house where everyone is tied to the screen of their smart phones or the electric television? These are important questions that need answered. Did you know that James Holmes, Bernie Madoff and Adam Lanza all lived in houses? A house is someplace to stock pile fire arms in secret, or to become irate at minorities or a prison to contemplate a thousand different ways your day could have went better. A house is isolation, fear and quiet.

Preconceived notions of what a homeless person is are often false or at the very partially inaccurate. Home is where you feel comfortable. It is an emotional state not always tied to a physical structure. It is where the heart is at. For me that is living in the streets in what i honestly consider a luxury trailer that I built myself for around ~1000 USD is home. There are hundreds of millons of people in india, china, somalia and the united states that would love to sleep a night in my trailer.

The spirit of pre-tech San Francisco lives!


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[lord999]

Interesting guesses, but only @confettiflyer managed to have a pick in the top 10.

The top 10:
10. Modesto, CA
9. Salinas, CA
8. San Jose, CA
7. Redding, CA
6. Eureka, CA
5. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Fresno, CA
3. Chico, CA
2. Yuma, AZ
1: Brownsville, TX!!

You could have given me 50 guesses, and maybe I might have picked San Jose. Maybe.

Mean annual salaries are highest in California ($148,000) and lowest in South Dakota ($115,400).
Alaska came in third, behind both California and Nevada (?!).

Source: PharmacyWeek 2016 Salary Survey
Snapshot here: http://www.pharmacyweek.com/cm/salary_survey
[The full report will run you $7,350]

LOL, Yuma?! Guess Yuma Regional's reputation warned off another generation, ha ha ha....! Retail down there pays $10/hour above the average, but the hospital down there paid outrageous money for many years due to it being an infamously difficult place to work on top of a not particularly nice place to live.. It's good to know that karma works just fine in the business still.

 

[Hope1974]

Am in Arizona and was also working in Texas. You'd be a fool to work in Brownsville. You can find the same salary you would get in Brownsville, in a nicer area/city. And, Yuma is not worth working in either. It's one of the hottest places on earth. It's like an oven. Anyone there will tell you that the only good thing about Yuma is that it's 2 hours away from San Diego.

 

[Sparda29]

Calling Inspector @Sparda29...please verify this claim!!

It's possible. There are streets in Upper Manhattan without metered parking and just street cleaning every other two days or whatnot. Highly likely that this trailer is parked in the ghetto, and if I was a thief and I noticed a dude getting out of his trailer every morning to go to work and saw a pattern, I'd definitely consider breaking into it. I don't know how this guy would sleep at night, I'd be paranoid as ****. And where does he go to shower?

 

[zelman]

It's possible. There are streets in Upper Manhattan without metered parking and just street cleaning every other two days or whatnot. Highly likely that this trailer is parked in the ghetto, and if I was a thief and I noticed a dude getting out of his trailer every morning to go to work and saw a pattern, I'd definitely consider breaking into it. I don't know how this guy would sleep at night, I'd be paranoid as ****. And where does he go to shower?

The gym IIRC.

 

[Humble Sloth]

It's possible. There are streets in Upper Manhattan without metered parking and just street cleaning every other two days or whatnot. Highly likely that this trailer is parked in the ghetto, and if I was a thief and I noticed a dude getting out of his trailer every morning to go to work and saw a pattern, I'd definitely consider breaking into it. I don't know how this guy would sleep at night, I'd be paranoid as ****. And where does he go to shower?

>I'd definitely consider breaking into it
There are two locks on the door. The jokes on the burglar there is literally nothing worth stealing. I keep my laptop with me at all times and my mattress, clothes and heater are all modest and have low resell value on craigslist.

>I don't know how this guy would sleep at night, I'd be paranoid as ****.
You get acclimated to the city noises. It helps that NYPD has started using vibrating police cars instead of sirens in morningside heights, so all you hear is a deep long hum when they pull people over. Honestly, as sad as this sounds, I think people, even criminals are more afraid of me then I am of them. There isn't much a deviant person can do to you when you are protected inside a wooden box. The worst i had is a group of three teens driving dirt bikes through the park and throwing empty corona beer bottles at cars. Manhattan is really pretty safe.

>And where does he go to shower?
Shower at the gym. Currently at Body strength fitness on 106th street. They have two showers and a sauna in the male changing room on the third floor that hardly anyone uses.

 

[Eichhoernchen]

>I'd definitely consider breaking into it
There are two locks on the door. The jokes on the burglar there is literally nothing worth stealing. I keep my laptop with me at all times and my mattress, clothes and heater are all modest and have low resell value on craigslist.

>I don't know how this guy would sleep at night, I'd be paranoid as ****.
You get acclimated to the city noises. It helps that NYPD has started using vibrating police cars instead of sirens in morningside heights, so all you hear is a deep long hum when they pull people over. Honestly, as sad as this sounds, I think people, even criminals are more afraid of me then I am of them. There isn't much a deviant person can do to you when you are protected inside a wooden box. The worst i had is a group of three teens driving dirt bikes through the park and throwing empty corona beer bottles at cars. Manhattan is really pretty safe.

>And where does he go to shower?
Shower at the gym. Currently at Body strength fitness on 106th street. They have two showers and a sauna in the male changing room on the third floor that hardly anyone uses.

Wow, I kind of want to stop by and say hi! lol

 

[owlegrad]

Wait you live in a trailer but pay for a gym membership?!

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[Ackj]

Wait you live in a trailer but pay for a gym membership?!

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Since I clearly don't need to worry about being the weirdest one in the thread, I'll share. I like that I can shower without having to go home, and I have definitely gone to the gym just to shower and not work out. It's very convenient, and if there was ever an issue with my plumbing or water heater, it's a good fallback. Depending on gym price and water rates, it actually might be worthwhile to get a membership to a gym (even if you never work out) and just use their showers. There are many gyms that are like $10/month or $99/year or stuff like that.

 

[Sparda29]

Since I clearly don't need to worry about being the weirdest one in the thread, I'll share. I like that I can shower without having to go home, and I have definitely gone to the gym just to shower and not work out. It's very convenient, and if there was ever an issue with my plumbing or water heater, it's a good fallback. Depending on gym price and water rates, it actually might be worthwhile to get a membership to a gym (even if you never work out) and just use their showers. There are many gyms that are like $10/month or $99/year or stuff like that.

I've done this before. Was at work and had to go to this party later but didn't wanna go back home to shower, so I just went to the gym to shower.

 

[owlegrad]

Since I clearly don't need to worry about being the weirdest one in the thread, I'll share. I like that I can shower without having to go home, and I have definitely gone to the gym just to shower and not work out. It's very convenient, and if there was ever an issue with my plumbing or water heater, it's a good fallback. Depending on gym price and water rates, it actually might be worthwhile to get a membership to a gym (even if you never work out) and just use their showers. There are many gyms that are like $10/month or $99/year or stuff like that.

I get what you are saying. I am not even knocking gym membership though. This is someone who is so "frugal" he lives in a trailer that he parks on the street. Yet he pays for a gym membership. I can't wrap my head around it, lol

I think it is far more likely he doesn't shower frankly.

 

[Humble Sloth]

I get what you are saying. I am not even knocking gym membership though. This is someone who is so "frugal" he lives in a trailer that he parks on the street. Yet he pays for a gym membership. I can't wrap my head around it, lol

I think it is far more likely he doesn't shower frankly.

I gotta protect my gains bro. I would be paying for a gym membership anyway so I don't really see it as a waste of funds.

 

[zelman]

I get what you are saying. I am not even knocking gym membership though. This is someone who is so "frugal" he lives in a trailer that he parks on the street. Yet he pays for a gym membership. I can't wrap my head around it, lol

I think it is far more likely he doesn't shower frankly.

It's hard to keep a job without showering.

 

[njac]

I get what you are saying. I am not even knocking gym membership though. This is someone who is so "frugal" he lives in a trailer that he parks on the street. Yet he pays for a gym membership. I can't wrap my head around it, lol

I think it is far more likely he doesn't shower frankly.

Even a membership to a fancy gym like Equinox is cheaper than the cheapest rents in the NYC metro area - he's still coming out way ahead.


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