I ran across this.....that the goal at Walmart, with yesterday’s slaughter, is to get wages to $30/hour for RPh
Any truth to this?
Any truth to this?
The “goal” $30/hour for pharmacists?
- Thread starter farm4real
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Might dip even lower because I don’t see a point at which the market will stabilize. In other words, what does “equilibrium” look like for the pharmacist job market? Shut down all pharmacy schools, effective immediately and sustained through the next 10 years is the only answer, but it’s not going to happen so there is going to be no end to how low salaries can drop.
Looks like Modest’s prediction of $15/hr might come true, after all.
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Bachelor degree-level jobs would compete with pharmacy at $30/hr in some parts of the country. I imagine some people will still jump on that "price point" but many will go to less stressful and more secure jobs with room for advancement. Also, the traditionally lower paying realms of pharmacy would then pay more which would shake up demand throughout the profession. I think the critical point is around 75k per year in expensive areas but some people will cling to the pharmacist job title if their hours are cut and their annual pay drops below this threshold. It sounds silly to say someone cannot raise a family on 60k/yr but their lifestyle would have to shift dramatically (grandparents move in as babysitters, and so on). Of course, less expensive areas could absorb these cuts better.
How much did pharmacists make prior to the "shortage" adjusted for inflation? A return to that level would be painful but possible because the PharmD is mandatory. The profession should fight to make the PharmD an optional post-bacc degree for those interested in clinical care and/or research (like it was in the 90s). Ugh, but when does the profession ever stand up for itself!?
How much did pharmacists make prior to the "shortage" adjusted for inflation? A return to that level would be painful but possible because the PharmD is mandatory. The profession should fight to make the PharmD an optional post-bacc degree for those interested in clinical care and/or research (like it was in the 90s). Ugh, but when does the profession ever stand up for itself!?
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We straight up don’t. Chalk full of betas. That’s why we got to this point.
I’ll put it out there, if it dips to below 40$ per hour, I’m straightup quitting and going back to my bachelors degree job. Not worth the risk or stress.
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School deans: "Chicken Little has been neutralized! Everything is fine, nothing to see here, 100k jobs grow on trees...no need to worry, pay your tuition by Tuesday, pharmacy on every corner...Hepler/Strand...provider status..."
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Neither did I. Too bad I’m already in this boat. Who would have figured we’d go from sign on bonuses 10 years ago to this.
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Some of you are pathetic.
The inflation adjusted salary for the 1990 pharmacist is $90,000 in 2019 dollars.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Does pharmacy suck? Yes.
Will wages not keep place with inflation? Yes.
Is it a terrible career? Yes.
But, will we be making $15/hr? No.
For God's sake hospital pharmacy techs make $25/hr with 10 years experience in OHIO.
The inflation adjusted salary for the 1990 pharmacist is $90,000 in 2019 dollars.
Pharmacists' compensation and work patterns, 1990-91 - PubMed
Several major trends were observed in these findings from the 1990-91 National Pharmacists' Compensation Survey (for details see the final report). Only 72.6% of licensed pharmacists were working full-time in pharmacy; another 14.4% were working part-time in pharmacy, and nearly 13.0% were...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Does pharmacy suck? Yes.
Will wages not keep place with inflation? Yes.
Is it a terrible career? Yes.
But, will we be making $15/hr? No.
For God's sake hospital pharmacy techs make $25/hr with 10 years experience in OHIO.
Some of you are pathetic.
The inflation adjusted salary for the 1990 pharmacist is $90,000 in 2019 dollars.
Pharmacists' compensation and work patterns, 1990-91 - PubMed
Several major trends were observed in these findings from the 1990-91 National Pharmacists' Compensation Survey (for details see the final report). Only 72.6% of licensed pharmacists were working full-time in pharmacy; another 14.4% were working part-time in pharmacy, and nearly 13.0% were...
Does pharmacy suck? Yes.
Will wages not keep place with inflation? Yes.
Is it a terrible career? Yes.
But, will we be making $15/hr? No.
For God's sake hospital pharmacy techs make $25/hr with 10 years experience in OHIO.
Good point, but has there ever been an oversaturation of the market the likes of which we are presently seeing (and will likely be seeing for the next decade)?
The same laws of supply and demand which saw pharmacist salaries skyrocket to $120,000-$130,000 per year up from the adjusted 1990 rate of $90,000 dictate that the same swing can happen in the opposite direction.
The current ultra-rapid decline in entry-level salaries tells me that we can't be too confident that $90,000 will necessarily be the bottom.
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Some of you are pathetic.
The inflation adjusted salary for the 1990 pharmacist is $90,000 in 2019 dollars.
Pharmacists' compensation and work patterns, 1990-91 - PubMed
Several major trends were observed in these findings from the 1990-91 National Pharmacists' Compensation Survey (for details see the final report). Only 72.6% of licensed pharmacists were working full-time in pharmacy; another 14.4% were working part-time in pharmacy, and nearly 13.0% were...
Does pharmacy suck? Yes.
Will wages not keep place with inflation? Yes.
Is it a terrible career? Yes.
But, will we be making $15/hr? No.
For God's sake hospital pharmacy techs make $25/hr with 10 years experience in OHIO.
$15 is not gonna happen but the difference between techs and pharmacists is that techs are actually in demand. So $30-40 in the near to mid term for a pharmacist is not too far fetched.
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The technicians won't be in demand anymore if you can get a pharmacist for $30/hr.
Anyway guys, I'm going to stay in the ivory tower of a health system where the pharmacists a but a rounding error in the budget and they actually pay for PGY2 trained clinical specialists to do nothing all day but make "recommendations". I love to staff and have leadership experience. My doomsday scenario is checking the cart fill on 3rd shift. I'll survive. I'm not too proud to slum it in central like the residency trained pharmacists.
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No one is going to hire a pharmacist for $30/hr if they can get a tech for less than that. They are already fully staffed with pharmacists.
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I have to laugh a little - I just moved to third shift and love it! Albeit a clinical position with a PGY0 - but ya , our salaries have flatlined for new hires, but I still make 150k in a mid cost of living area - we stuggle to find competent RPh's, but we have tons of quantity, just not quality. I don't see our salaries plummeting bc of what you said - there is a push to save $$, but (for the most part) we have been successful in showing that we save $$ - good thing there are always MD's/NP's who do dumb things and we "get to save them". I put that in parenthesis bc I think we make a bigger deal out of it than is necessary, but people buy it. It is harder to get new positions, and raises are smaller than they used to be (~3.5% vs 6%) but I enjoy my job, make good money, and will keep saving up, and will ride the train as long as I can.
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Do PGY-1 grads with 7 years retail qualify for 150k? Been thinking about going to a PGY 1 for a year then try hospital....
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all depends on the economics of where you work - in my hospital - no way - only 20+ years experience is going to get you 150 k - 15k+ of mine is shift differential - I have 15 years experience and have been at the top of my performance raise (received max amount) the last 10 years,
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Yikes I was thinking this. I make a bit under this with no residency in retail...Might be sticking with that unless I get caught in the layoffs...
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like I said, it is all about geography -you can't make a general statement - FWIW I make more than most retail RPh's in my area - I know the the starting salaries are low 50's for retail in my area. Also have to take into account PDO etc, I currently get 280 hours or PDO and am about to increase to 320
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hours not days
owlegrad
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Haha 320 days off might be a bit excessive even by Bernie standards. 
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some places let you accrue a crazy amount if you work for 30 + years, but ya - good thing is we actually get to use them!Haha 320 days off might be a bit excessive even by Bernie standards.
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My dad (retired state worker) had banked an average of 30+ days off earned per year (5 weeks of vacation plus five weeks of sick leave minus time taken) for 40+ years when he retired. He is one of the kind of people that forced them to cap roll-over. He doesn't even understand how ridiculously good he had it. I doubt anyone ever actually took their 10 weeks (!) because the sick leave was tightly controlled (basically just free money at retirement).
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I have heard those stories of people having enough PDO banked they get to retire 2 years early
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As a PIC (for now) for WM , they have dropped salaries for staffs and managers. roughly 15$/hr cut across the nation. So i would say, Maybe....they are def on the right path. Have you been watching the most recent cuts that started last week? OMG... they have had to put TV commercials out about "investing in American jobs" and hang signs in the store just to try and shed the bad PR they are getting. Go google "wal mart cuts" and look on The-Layoffs.com...They are cutting everything from HR, To asset protection, to home office in Arkansas,door greeters, and outsourcing accounting and finance to india! they are literally doing the exact opposite of what they are advertising. the whole company is a mess. trying to invest in automation and technology to keep up with amazon i suppose. they got a 2.2 BILLION dollar tax break this year and immediately cut the company to shreds....biggest in their history....and these cuts will continue, many are not done yet....who knows where it will end. They said by 2020 106 stores will have NO GM inside of them....just grocery and pharmacy. Not sure how that works but ok....good luck wal mart
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I can see that you BEGRUDGE the Wally World big shots their biz jet fuel...all of the Wally World GM is Chinee junk in any case...The problem is that they will leave these huge cinder-block buildings behind as they close...
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That's OK, churches love old Walmart buildings. Unfortunately, there still are some empty eye sores left behind.
On another note, an SDN member recently speculated that falling wages will inspire more pharmacists to open independent stores. "If you are only going to pay me a low wage of $XX.00**, I will open up my own store for about the same income and get to enjoy freedom from the pharmacy chain hamster wheel."
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