They all graduated before 2004 which they keep referring to as the "golden years of pharmacy". They graduated with little debt (state school) and started out in retail; all but one eventually found jobs in hospitals. They said if they had to do it all over again, they would probably go for med school or PA.
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- Thread starter UncleChester78
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They all graduated before 2004 which they keep referring to as the "golden years of pharmacy". They graduated with little debt (state school) and started out in retail; all but one eventually found jobs in hospitals. They said if they had to do it all over again, they would probably go for med school or PA.
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Don't know. Probably bought in by the salary. I tried dissuading him subtly - too subtle, maybe.
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Wow what do you mean by plenty bro. I live in the same place and its a struggle to even get a 32 hours / week retail position at a major chain that I already work with. I would be really obliged if you can point me in the direction of these jobs.
Ok, have you tried grocery-chains such ss HEB, or Brookshire Brother? Someone I know graduaded from UH, got a fulltime position as staff and he currently is a PIC, making good money at BrookshireB. It is the same case for HEB as well. Have u tried Sams Club? They usually hire their intern, salary is above 3-letter chain.
Either CVS or Walgreens always has the hrs, if u are willing to commute. A friend of mine (grad 2.5 yrs ago), picked up every shift in Baytown, TX City, Galveston, Dickinson, Alvin, Houston surrounds, and even Beamount sometimes. Hour has not been an issue for her. Again if u are willing to commute.
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Ask law graduates about their salary expectations. JDs salaries are bi-modal: a group making 160k a year, yet another group making 40-60k a year, and very few fall in between or either extremes. Why are PharmDs any different if supply exceeds demand?
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I was a nontraditional student. I got my undergrad in business and went back for pharmacy 5 years later. I work in a hospital and I love my job but I do have to deal with long term student loans. Best advice is to not work retail...
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That isn't realistic advice, since 65 - 70% of pharmacist jobs are in retail. Nobody should go into pharmacy, unless they are willing to work retail.
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I think the best advices for now are either don't go to pharmacy school at all in the first place or be prepared to acquire another set of hardcore in-demand skills (full-stack web dev, data analytics, software engineering, digital marketing etc) somewhere along the line as both a pharmacy career differentiator and a backup plan.
The worst thing you ever want to do is having to stay in a job that treats you like s**t and makes you miserable day-in day-out yet you are absolutely trapped and need it to pay the bills. If you hate being treated like a disposable commodity, then put in some serious work to make a change and leave. If you can't do that, then that kinda proves your employer is actually right: you are basically just a consumable good, and why would anyone treat a consumable good like toilet paper with respect?
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interesting discussion going on here ..!
Just my 2 cents ...
I'm a foreign grad from Canada now living in Nevada ( Las Vegas ) for 16 years now . I decided 5 years ago , to pursue my licensing here . I just passed the MPJE , passed Naplex a month ago , did the 1740 hours of internship (volunteered work i may add part time over 3 1/2 years) , passed the FPGEC , did TOEFL etc etc etc...
I graduated with a BPharm in 1986 from Montreal University . And I had a 30 year + career up there , owned 4 pharmacies , had over 40 full time employees . Sold everything when i moved here in 2002 .
I still practice in Canada doing relief work and there's plenty of jobs out there with plenty of $$$ attached to them .
Although i knew what I was going into when I decided to pursue my licensing in the US , I decided to go for it because I like my job . I like people and although sometimes it is difficult , I would say the most of the time it's rewarding .
When I was doing my internship , i met an another intern , soon to be Pharm D grad , that was already $180 K in debt from student loans .
I was puzzled on how will he be able to pay all of this back .
When I graduated , it cost me $ 6 K to get my degree ( and it still only cost probably $10 K now in Canada because of universal education .
( but we pay 48 % income tax.. nothing is free right ?? )
Would I get in debt .. close to $200 K ? to be a pharmacist these days in this saturated market ? Hell no .. !
Now , i don't have the financial pressure of most of the new grads flooding the pharmacy market so I'll probably be a floater for a long time and will need to commute back and forth doing part time work ( if ever I can find work !! ) ...and I'm ok with it .
It's a daunting situation for new grads out there . There's too many pharmacy Schools in the US . They flood the market with new grads and they are making tons of money from it .
But I still think that there will be a need for pharmacists but we'll need to adjust .
I must agree that the golden age of pharmacy is over though ..!
best regards
Just my 2 cents ...
I'm a foreign grad from Canada now living in Nevada ( Las Vegas ) for 16 years now . I decided 5 years ago , to pursue my licensing here . I just passed the MPJE , passed Naplex a month ago , did the 1740 hours of internship (volunteered work i may add part time over 3 1/2 years) , passed the FPGEC , did TOEFL etc etc etc...
I graduated with a BPharm in 1986 from Montreal University . And I had a 30 year + career up there , owned 4 pharmacies , had over 40 full time employees . Sold everything when i moved here in 2002 .
I still practice in Canada doing relief work and there's plenty of jobs out there with plenty of $$$ attached to them .
Although i knew what I was going into when I decided to pursue my licensing in the US , I decided to go for it because I like my job . I like people and although sometimes it is difficult , I would say the most of the time it's rewarding .
When I was doing my internship , i met an another intern , soon to be Pharm D grad , that was already $180 K in debt from student loans .
I was puzzled on how will he be able to pay all of this back .
When I graduated , it cost me $ 6 K to get my degree ( and it still only cost probably $10 K now in Canada because of universal education .
( but we pay 48 % income tax.. nothing is free right ?? )
Would I get in debt .. close to $200 K ? to be a pharmacist these days in this saturated market ? Hell no .. !
Now , i don't have the financial pressure of most of the new grads flooding the pharmacy market so I'll probably be a floater for a long time and will need to commute back and forth doing part time work ( if ever I can find work !! ) ...and I'm ok with it .
It's a daunting situation for new grads out there . There's too many pharmacy Schools in the US . They flood the market with new grads and they are making tons of money from it .
But I still think that there will be a need for pharmacists but we'll need to adjust .
I must agree that the golden age of pharmacy is over though ..!
best regards
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Thanks for the advice I ll definitely give brookshire brothers a chance as well. I haven't applied there.
No Prob,
Gives HEB a try too. Sams Club is a very good choice as well, with a high starting salary.
You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. If given a choice between no job and 80k, I would take the 80k. As pharmacy saturation gets worse and worse, you bet chains would start to lower their starting salary. In this day and age, the best way to increase profit is to lower labor cost. I know PhDs at my school who make 60k to 70k.
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It's not happened only with you this problem occurs with every student when they have to start the career. I think you have to talk with the pharmacist which carrier you have to choose . Moreover, its also depend upon your interest whether you want to do pharmacy or something else coming in your mind.
Today's market has a lot of opportunities but it's your choice where you want to start your career. Also, it depends upon your previous study.
For an exam, if any student is done with GNM graduation. He/She can't work as an engineer. So its depend upon your interest.
As I heard Pharmacy is the risky field you have to concentrate every time for medication because it's directly related with the patient you can't ignore the things. Because it would be the cause of harm. So you have to concentrate on each and every medicine before giving it to any patient.
Just relax! and think would you can work for the whole life in pharmacy? Do you like this field?
If yes! Then only go with this field. Otherwise, don't ruin your life.
Today's market has a lot of opportunities but it's your choice where you want to start your career. Also, it depends upon your previous study.
For an exam, if any student is done with GNM graduation. He/She can't work as an engineer. So its depend upon your interest.
As I heard Pharmacy is the risky field you have to concentrate every time for medication because it's directly related with the patient you can't ignore the things. Because it would be the cause of harm. So you have to concentrate on each and every medicine before giving it to any patient.
Just relax! and think would you can work for the whole life in pharmacy? Do you like this field?
If yes! Then only go with this field. Otherwise, don't ruin your life.
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I've been practicing since 2012. now a manager for Wal mart pharm. When i set out on my pre-recs(2003), the field was booming and we were in demand. It is the complete opposite now.
1) companies are restructuring/downsizing/failing which translates into less jobs, part time, less money..etc
2) Saturation is over-whelming now. Way too many pharmacists to fill the current need.
3) Loans range between 100-300K with high interest.
4) Job stability is almost absolute zero as far as longevity goes.
5) Morale in the field is in the toilet.
6) state boards pass laws allowing us to manage higher workloads in favor of big business
Look, In the end I wish i had done something else, but remember, When i started this was a booming field. I had no idea it would end up in total disaster. So not my fault. But YOU....you have a chance to listen and research for yourself to see if i am right.
My personal truth:
when this job runs out for me, which it most certainly will in the near future, i never see myself working in pharmacy ever again.And this is what i truly wanted to do since i was about 15 (1995). I struggled and sacrificed, and in the end i made it. Now i feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me.
Don't go down the path i have walked already.
I wish I would have gone into computer science. This city is filled with people 10 years younger than me that make as much or more than I do and have way more opportunity than I ever will. I was just telling someone how I chose pharmacy because it was booming and I was naive about just how much money 100k/yr really is. I definitely took what appeared to be the same path and am now regretting it.
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I started classes this fall. I got tired of not being in control of my career’s future and decided to do something about it.
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Imagine office setting pharmacy work environment?
A patient comes to drop off window where a tech is sitting and typing rxs!
Then the label prints at filling/production station where the robot will bring drug bottle for the tech who is sitting and counting pills!
Then the counted bottle is sent to verifying Rph who verifies rxs (how about 120 rxs in 8 hours??)
Then the patient pays for the rx at POS.
A patient comes to drop off window where a tech is sitting and typing rxs!
Then the label prints at filling/production station where the robot will bring drug bottle for the tech who is sitting and counting pills!
Then the counted bottle is sent to verifying Rph who verifies rxs (how about 120 rxs in 8 hours??)
Then the patient pays for the rx at POS.
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As a pharmacy manager, he's absolutely right. I have already seen my staff pharms and new managers hiring on 10-15$/hour less than me or compared to a staff. This is legit information and happening NOW in every chain......for those of you around the 4-8 year in mark in your 30's, hold on as long as you can! we will never see this money again! stow it away and invest in a exit strategy....
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I agree this works, however, companies are thinking beyond that. They want to get it to your door like amazon! they want you in and out fast! (for now) until they transition to some mail order like operation. It's all about technology and replacing the need for human actions now. All the while we hide under the hugely profitable guise of patient care. Get your flu shot! Protect your community! LOL.
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As much as we all like to rag on our profession, let me play the devil's advocate on pursing a career in computer science:
- CS is a boom/bust field. The difference between graduating in 2002 (dot-com bust) and 2012 is night and day, similar to graduating with a PharmD in 2008 vs 2018
-Ageism is more rampant in CS due to ever evolving technology and programming languages
-More susceptible to outsourcing
With that in mind, a CS degree is still by far a much better proposition than a PharmD. Taking out 200k+ loans for the latter is essentially committing financial suicide.