walmart vs. wags

[ph007]

I know there are other threads comparing these two companies, but I was looking for a more current comparison. In the past it seems that walmart would be more desirable to work for compared to wags.

I am currently working for wags- I started out as a grad intern in June and have been working as pharmacist for about 2 weeks now. The wags position is a floater position and I haven't been getting all my hours. I recently got offered a phone interview for a walmart position at closer location. I am not sure if the walmart position is at one location or if its even full time. I am basically looking for a comparison mainly based on working conditions. I am not enjoying having to wear multiple hats at wags (cashier/tech).

-Is there more tech help at walmart?
-Are there lunch breaks?
-Are there any other pros/cons about working for walmart?

Any insight and help would be appreciated!

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[Momus]

Jump. Yes to all 3 of your questions. Walmart is an EASY job that pays decent (within $3 of major chains), compared to usual standalone retail. Bonus: you don't feel like you are getting ripped off shopping there right after work.

 

[RxAddyCt]

Bonus: no drive-thrus at walmart


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[trailerpark]

Bonus: no drive-thrus at walmart


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Not true...


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[PAtoPharm]

Jump. Yes to all 3 of your questions. Walmart is an EASY job that pays decent (within $3 of major chains), compared to usual standalone retail. Bonus: you don't feel like you are getting ripped off shopping there right after work.

Just curious, what are Walmart's starting salaries like? I've heard that they pay new grads $120k-$125k to start in most areas and was just wondering if that was true. Also, I've heard that managers can earn up to a $48k bonus if the pharmacy performs extremely well (although I also heard that very few pharmacies do well enough to earn that bonus). Do you know if that's true as well?

BTW, does Walmart post job openings for student interns on their website, or is that a position you have to apply for in-person at one of their stores? I've checked their website for intern openings in GA/AL over the last few weeks but I haven't seen one job posted, so I was just curious

 

[ABCPharmD]

Bonus: no drive-thrus at walmart

I was an intern at Walgreens for 3 years and jumped ship for a few different reasons. The main ones were that in the Walgreens district I was in floaters have at least a few shifts a pay period that are 3-5 hours away and every new grad floats unless you take a super rural store. Also, the pharmacist hours were better at Walmart. I'm at an average store which would've been a slow store at Walgreens and there's still pharmacist overlap. Lunch is nice and most don't have drive thrus but some do.

 

[RxAddyCt]

I was an intern at Walgreens for 3 years and jumped ship for a few different reasons. The main ones were that in the Walgreens district I was in floaters have at least a few shifts a pay period that are 3-5 hours away and every new grad floats unless you take a super rural store. Also, the pharmacist hours were better at Walmart. I'm at an average store which would've been a slow store at Walgreens and there's still pharmacist overlap. Lunch is nice and most don't have drive thrus but some do.

Midwest;

Walmart starts $61/hr as a staff pharmacist
Wags/Cvs around $55-58/hr

Walmart provides a 30 min lunch every day including weekends when there's only 1 pharmacist. We would close at 1:30pm and re-open at 2:00pm. Any customers that came at 1:31pm we would tell them to f*** off and come back after 2:00pm or transfer your script to Wags down the street where they don't provide lunch breaks for their pharmacists.

While a few walmarts have drive-thrus, the majority still does not. Surprisingly even with the amount of techs working at once things were still chaotic. There would be anywhere from at least 6-7 techs per morning shift. 2 at cash register, 1-2 at input, 2-3 filling, and 1 doing all the troubleshooting for insurance/dr's invalid scripts, etc.


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[cj98]

Yes, leave if you can! Walmart in CA starts at $65/hr for new grads in 2015, plus we get a lunchtime premium ($25) so it ends up being around 68/hr. Closing for lunch on weekends is nice and bonuses are good too, if you're placed in a good store. I also like how part of our metrics measure accuracy and how there's a focus on promoting a safe/accurate culture and workflow. Immunization goals are not too bad, our DM pushes about 4 shots/day during flu season, 4 shots/week during non flu season

I would say a downside is the type of clientele walmart attracts.... (ie peopleofwalmart.com)... Also if the market is saturated, you are not guaranteed 40 hrs a week. I think they offer 72hrs per pay period in overstaffed areas.

 

[ldiot]

As odd as this sounds I'm really looking forward to my Wal-mart rotation. Interested to see how bad CVS really is.

 

[PAtoPharm]

As odd as this sounds I'm really looking forward to my Wal-mart rotation. Interested to see how bad CVS really is.

If I decide to stick with pharmacy school, I'm looking forward to rotating at Walmart and/or Sams Club as well. Since it seems like Walmart is the only retail pharmacy employer that both pays relatively well (e.g., $120k to start for FT emlployees plus at least several weeks of PTO) and isn't considered detestable to work for, I'm planning on doing whatever I can to get an intern position with them so that I can hopefully secure a job in the future with them as a pharmacist. I honestly think that will be the only way I could possibly have a future in pharmacy. There's just no way I would ever be willing to complete 2 additional years in a residency program, just to come out making ~$40k less than I'd make as a retail pharmacist (not like I'd be competitive for residency anyways). Then again, I could never handle working for a company like CVS or Walgreens, so I guess Walmart is my only hope for pharmacy (no Costco, Kroger, or other good-to-work-for-as-a-pharmacist companies here).

 

[Michael_Scott]

Bonus: no drive-thrus at walmart


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who said that ? there are drive thru's at many wally's world...

 

[Michael_Scott]

If I decide to stick with pharmacy school, I'm looking forward to rotating at Walmart and/or Sams Club as well. Since it seems like Walmart is the only retail pharmacy employer that both pays relatively well (e.g., $120k to start for FT emlployees plus at least several weeks of PTO) and isn't considered detestable to work for, I'm planning on doing whatever I can to get an intern position with them so that I can hopefully secure a job in the future with them as a pharmacist. I honestly think that will be the only way I could possibly have a future in pharmacy. There's just no way I would ever be willing to complete 2 additional years in a residency program, just to come out making ~$40k less than I'd make as a retail pharmacist (not like I'd be competitive for residency anyways). Then again, I could never handle working for a company like CVS or Walgreens, so I guess Walmart is my only hope for pharmacy (no Costco, Kroger, or other good-to-work-for-as-a-pharmacist companies here).

stick with pharm and get a job at a hospital ...you are set for life...

 

[PAtoPharm]

stick with pharm and get a job at a hospital ...you are set for life...

maybe so, but I just can't warm up to the idea of doing a residency (required in my area -- soon to be a 2-yr residency requirement), and I would like to make more money than most hospital pharmacists outside of CA make.

 

[ldiot]

If I decide to stick with pharmacy school, I'm looking forward to rotating at Walmart and/or Sams Club as well. Since it seems like Walmart is the only retail pharmacy employer that both pays relatively well (e.g., $120k to start for FT emlployees plus at least several weeks of PTO) and isn't considered detestable to work for, I'm planning on doing whatever I can to get an intern position with them so that I can hopefully secure a job in the future with them as a pharmacist. I honestly think that will be the only way I could possibly have a future in pharmacy. There's just no way I would ever be willing to complete 2 additional years in a residency program, just to come out making ~$40k less than I'd make as a retail pharmacist (not like I'd be competitive for residency anyways). Then again, I could never handle working for a company like CVS or Walgreens, so I guess Walmart is my only hope for pharmacy (no Costco, Kroger, or other good-to-work-for-as-a-pharmacist companies here).

I agree residency is stupid BUT they aren't looking at your pre-reqs so there's no reason you couldn't be competitive... it's all based on networking and fluff on your CV. And when I say networking I'm not talking about knowing tons of people but doing rotations at places that offer residencies. It's not hard to look like a genius compared to some of your classmates that they will see and it always helps when they can put a face to the name.

 

[EML9255]

I would probably go to Walmart. I recently left wags for grocery chain but would have went to walmart also if available. We CONSTANTLY lose pharmacists in my old district to walmart like 6 a year at least. and they all liked it better

 

[Topcat15]

In addition to the other stuff people mentioned, I think Walmart also has the best computer system in all of pharmacy. Lots of emphasis on patient safety and double-checks. It feels like it was really designed by someone with a good grasp of how errors occur in pharmacies.