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Chrish said:
Are chain salaries in 40s an hour have been verified by someone or it it just someone “heard” it?
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Verified in multiple places on the internet and I've heard it from graduating students too. That's $98,000 at 40 hours a week or $78,000 at 32 hours a week. Those are numbers that haven't been seen in retail pharmacy in 15+ years. Just think what they'll be offering next years class in a struggling economy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of offers for $42/hr. Also, some graduates are only being guaranteed 24 hours a week or none at all. It will be interesting to see what happens to salaries in hospitals since so many hospitals have been impacted.
 
Gombrich12 said:
Verified in multiple places on the internet and I've heard it from graduating students too. That's $98,000 at 40 hours a week or $78,000 at 32 hours a week. Those are numbers that haven't been seen in retail pharmacy in 15+ years. Just think what they'll be offering next years class in a struggling economy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of offers for $42/hr. Also, some graduates are only being guaranteed 24 hours a week or none at all. It will be interesting to see what happens to salaries in hospitals since so many hospitals have been impacted.
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Yup I heard it from a couple of interns outside it Chicago.
 
Gombrich12 said:
Verified in multiple places on the internet and I've heard it from graduating students too. That's $98,000 at 40 hours a week or $78,000 at 32 hours a week. Those are numbers that haven't been seen in retail pharmacy in 15+ years. Just think what they'll be offering next years class in a struggling economy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of offers for $42/hr. Also, some graduates are only being guaranteed 24 hours a week or none at all. It will be interesting to see what happens to salaries in hospitals since so many hospitals have been impacted.
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Hospital pharmacist salaries will go down for sure. They lost so much money from having elective surgeries canceled. The only reason hospital pharmacist salaries were high in the first place was to keep them from quitting and going to retail. Before the retail boom, hospital pharmacists did not make much.
 
Gombrich12 said:
Verified in multiple places on the internet and I've heard it from graduating students too. That's $98,000 at 40 hours a week or $78,000 at 32 hours a week. Those are numbers that haven't been seen in retail pharmacy in 15+ years. Just think what they'll be offering next years class in a struggling economy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of offers for $42/hr. Also, some graduates are only being guaranteed 24 hours a week or none at all. It will be interesting to see what happens to salaries in hospitals since so many hospitals have been impacted.
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That is nuts. how are people going to take a cut like that ?? from 62-42 .........does this pay rates apply to everywhere?
 
SFCA2020 said:
Oh wow. There's a big difference between people. My closest friend just got a job offer from cvs last week, staff - not floater, $56.40 plus benefits.
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is your friend experienced? I am talking about fresh grads. I think majority of class of 2020 got 51 per hour at cvs in AZ.
 
Rphonthecome said:
That is nuts. how are people going to take a cut like that ?? from 62-42 .........does this pay rates apply to everywhere?
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There won't be paycuts. If you make $62/hr then you'll keep it. But you'll also have a big target on your back. They'll do whatever they can to get rid of you legally - why pay someone $62/hr when they can pay $42/hr? We are all expendable.
 
harvoni_rituxan said:
there are A LOT of phantom job posts. they probably already have someone in mind. it's just up there for the show.
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Specialty pharmacist jobs are definitely hard to come by but what worked for me was willingness to work for an independent specialty pharmacy to gain the knowledge to be successful and open more doors. Not impossible but it’s increasingly difficult year by year
 
mentos said:
There won't be paycuts. If you make $62/hr then you'll keep it. But you'll also have a big target on your back. They'll do whatever they can to get rid of you legally - why pay someone $62/hr when they can pay $42/hr? We are all expendable.
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The profession is dying and losing its value, soon we will be making pretty much the same salary as nurses with a doctorate degree.
 
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casprph said:
Specialty pharmacist jobs are definitely hard to come by but what worked for me was willingness to work for an independent specialty pharmacy to gain the knowledge to be successful and open more doors. Not impossible but it’s increasingly difficult year by year
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I am hoping to land one of those in the big chains. How can I stand out from the next candidate? is there training or you just got be lucky?
 
Rphonthecome said:
I am hoping to land one of those in the big chains. How can I stand out from the next candidate? is there training or you just got be lucky?
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CVS specialty always seems to have pharmacist positions listed in Chicago. Whether that’s a sign of high turnover or high growth, I don’t know.
 
projektreverb said:
CVS specialty always seems to have pharmacist positions listed in Chicago. Whether that’s a sign of high turnover or high growth, I don’t know.
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Its mostly HIV and oncology stuff I think, how was your experience there ? was it fast-paced as retail or how do you describe it?
 
SFCA2020 said:
3 years since P1. Some of my classmates worked as a tech with them many years before pharm school.
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Guess they'll have to work as techs again, only with 4 years lost pay checks and student loans.
 
Rphonthecome said:
The profession is dying and losing its value, soon we will be making pretty much the same salary as nurses with a doctorate degree.
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NPs make about the same as we do if not more. So do the PAs. We needed to do a better job improving our profession about 2 decades ago. I blame the older generation for this lol. It's gotten to a point where it is not fixable anymore. The best option is to just leave.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
NPs make about the same as we do if not more. So do the PAs. We needed to do a better job improving our profession about 2 decades ago. I blame the older generation for this lol. It's gotten to a point where it is not fixable anymore. The best option is to just leave.
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I completely agree and too many students getting pumped out of schools every year.
 
firework said:
Guess they'll have to work as techs again, only with 4 years lost pay checks and student loans.
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Unfortunately when we have pharmacist license, tech license is voided.
 
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Farmgurl20 said:
Wow that’s insane
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From recruiters of Albertson's/Safeway/Vons, they pay new grads and experienced pharmacists the same if they're hired the same year. This year it's ~$53 in both CA and AZ.
I don't think experienced pharmacists get paid more.
 
SFCA2020 said:
From recruiters of Albertson's/Safeway/Vons, they pay new grads and experienced pharmacists the same if they're hired the same year. This year it's ~$53 in both CA and AZ.
I don't think experienced pharmacists get paid more.
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Wow, 53 for Bay Area too?
 
SFCA2020 said:
From recruiters of Albertson's/Safeway/Vons, they pay new grads and experienced pharmacists the same if they're hired the same year. This year it's ~$53 in both CA and AZ.
I don't think experienced pharmacists get paid more.
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do you think they will go further down? or what do you think it will be for 2021 graduates ?
 
projektreverb said:
Yup I heard it from a couple of interns outside it Chicago.
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But how could anyone not see this coming? How can anyone miss all the red flags??? If you thought the job market was tight after the last recession lol ... I couldn’t care less now lol lmfao
 
mentos said:
Hospital pharmacist salaries will go down for sure. They lost so much money from having elective surgeries canceled. The only reason hospital pharmacist salaries were high in the first place was to keep them from quitting and going to retail. Before the retail boom, hospital pharmacists did not make much.
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Not true if you work for NYC hospitals. 1199 is very strong union
 
$53/hr is bad anywhere in California. Walmart still doing > $60/hr for recent grads (1-2 years out) from recent observations.
 
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Sine Cura said:
$53/hr is bad anywhere in California. Walmart still doing > $60/hr for recent grads (1-2 years out) from recent observations.
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What are they offering for 2020? I heard in AZ they are doing 45 for 2020 grads
 
Farmgurl20 said:
What are they offering for 2020? I heard in AZ they are doing 45 for 2020 grads
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how reliable is the $45 ???????? , as previous comments form this thread was saying 50-55! I feel like someone is throwing the wrong number here.
 
I can see my own staff pharmacists' pay rate (unless it's pre-populated in the system and not the actual rate lmao) and I ask my buddies the rates for other recent hires. That's why I know they're still tossing out 60+ at Walmart. No it's not new grad though but "recent grad." That's CA though. I'm sure it's worse pretty much anywhere else aside from crapholes like the AZ border, TX border. Might come to an end soon though
 
Sine Cura said:
I can see my own staff pharmacists' pay rate (unless it's pre-populated in the system and not the actual rate lmao) and I ask my buddies the rates for other recent hires. That's why I know they're still tossing out 60+ at Walmart. No it's not new grad though but "recent grad." That's CA though. I'm sure it's worse pretty much anywhere else aside from crapholes like the AZ border, TX border. Might come to an end soon though
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Lol are they hiring in bay area, I have always been interested in Walmart
 
Farmgurl20 said:
Lol are they hiring in bay area, I have always been interested in Walmart
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Prob not. They have manager openings in the Methstate (i.e., Redding and environs) though. Given how long I have seen those reqs open you prob don't want any of that
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
NPs make about the same as we do if not more. So do the PAs. We needed to do a better job improving our profession about 2 decades ago. I blame the older generation for this lol. It's gotten to a point where it is not fixable anymore. The best option is to just leave.
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Exactly. Too much money and too much corporate greed has devalued the profession.

Interesting how other professions are fixing their profession. Nursing has issued a standardized exam to make them competitive. Medical school with shortening the MCAT and pass and fail STEP1 to make USMD the only safe route to get a medical degree in order to increase more demand.
 
Sine Cura said:
Prob not. They have manager openings in the Methstate (i.e., Redding and environs) though. Given how long I have seen those reqs open you prob don't want any of that
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How would you recommend an internal transfer negotiate for that area to a manager promotion? If I am @ 68ish now in central US staffing?
 
Rx1992 said:
Exactly. Too much money and too much corporate greed has devalued the profession.

Interesting how other professions are fixing their profession. Nursing has issued a standardized exam to make them competitive. Medical school with shortening the MCAT and pass and fail STEP1 to make USMD the only safe route to get a medical degree in order to increase more demand.
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And we are now not even requiring PCAT lol It's just getting worse by the year...
 
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VictorOfHungerGames said:
And we are now not even requiring PCAT lol It's just getting worse by the year...
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Yeah, the profession is going down. Retail and hospital are both getting hit and both are taking salary cuts. Man, this pandemic should have been where pharmacists make a stand and provide value, instead once again, the pharmacist gets a outsourced service of providing COVID testing which a nurse can easily do
 
Rx1992 said:
Yeah, the profession is going down. Retail and hospital are both getting hit and both are taking salary cuts. Man, this pandemic should have been where pharmacists make a stand and provide value, instead once again, the pharmacist gets a outsourced service of providing COVID testing which a nurse can easily do
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Have you been doing anymore research lately on alternative careers to pursue, just in case?
 
Rphonthecome said:
how reliable is the $45 ???????? , as previous comments form this thread was saying 50-55! I feel like someone is throwing the wrong number here.
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Hey but think about it. It was 50 to 55 before this recession. The number of applicants applying to jobs in some spots (example: IHS Phoenix) was 200 to 1 or 2 spots. And even in BFE (kayenta and IHS: Ihouse-no cell signal) had 80 or more applications 3 years ago. A friend of a friend recently applied for a “temp/contract” job in Maryland and was told they had 900 applicants. Of course now she’s on unemployment, which turns out to be or so she says about what she was getting working at CVS (because they only gave her 24 hours a week). It’s 2020, this field has been saturated in many states in 2011. If I’m an employer, and I know I can get you for $45/hr, why pay 50? After all 50ish was the going rate for temp companies before Covid hit, and that’s without benefits.

It’s just logic? I mean let’s get real. It’s a downward trend. Nursing might have better salaries now though lol .....What are you worth to the employer? I don’t even see many pharmacists in the news with this pandemic. I’ve seen MDs talk about therapies and Plaquenil on TV...... If they needed you they’d pay you. Money talks.
 
Rx1992 said:
I am still looking into it. Giving one last swing on pharmacy.
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I'm actually trying to decide myself whether or not I want to attend an online direct-entry (I.e., no coding experience required) CS masters program that begins classes next week. I got in touch with the graduate admissions director yesterday, and she said that if I can get all my transcripts sent in within the next few days, I can matriculate with the summer 2020 cohort.

In other words, the first day of class would literally be next week. I have to be honest: the prospect of getting underway with a program that will prepare me for a profession with one of the best job markets in the country is exciting and reassuring, especially when considering the potential career opportunities at pharma/biotech companies. At the same time, though, starting the CS program next week means I probably won't have time to study for the NAPLEX, so it would essentially mean leaving pharmacy behind (in the capacity of being a practitioner, at least). It's so surreal to think that I might actually be getting ready to throw all that time, effort, and money away.

Anyways, good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Mambo#5 said:
Hey but think about it. It was 50 to 55 before this recession. The number of applicants applying to jobs in some spots (example: IHS Phoenix) was 200 to 1 or 2 spots. And even in BFE (kayenta and IHS: Ihouse-no cell signal) had 80 or more applications 3 years ago. A friend of a friend recently applied for a “temp/contract” job in Maryland and was told they had 900 applicants. Of course now she’s on unemployment, which turns out to be or so she says about what she was getting working at CVS (because they only gave her 24 hours a week). It’s 2020, this field has been saturated in many states in 2011. If I’m an employer, and I know I can get you for $45/hr, why pay 50? After all 50ish was the going rate for temp companies before Covid hit, and that’s without benefits.

It’s just logic? I mean let’s get real. It’s a downward trend. Nursing might have better salaries now though lol .....What are you worth to the employer? I don’t even see many pharmacists in the news with this pandemic. I’ve seen MDs talk about therapies and Plaquenil on TV...... If they needed you they’d pay you. Money talks.
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I predict in 6 years the starting salaries for BSN nursing graduates will match starting pharmacist salaries. From what I can tell in the midwest a BSN graduate can expect around $26/hr starting out while a pharmacist starting out is probably around $50/hr. I'm thinking in 2026 they will both be starting around $33/hr. At that point I'm not sure how any pharmacy schools will stay open.
 
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Hedgehog32 said:
I'm actually trying to decide myself whether or not I want to attend an online direct-entry (I.e., no coding experience required) CS masters program that begins classes next week. I got in touch with the graduate admissions director yesterday, and she said that if I can get all my transcripts sent in within the next few days, I can matriculate with the summer 2020 cohort.

In other words, the first day of class would literally be next week. I have to be honest: the prospect of getting underway with a program that will prepare me for a profession with one of the best job markets in the country is exciting and reassuring, especially when considering the potential career opportunities at pharma/biotech companies. At the same time, though, starting the CS program next week means I probably won't have time to study for the NAPLEX, so it would essentially mean leaving pharmacy behind (in the capacity of being a practitioner, at least). It's so surreal to think that I might actually be getting ready to throw all that time, effort, and money away.

Anyways, good luck with whatever you decide.
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No offense but we complain about how easy it is to get into the pharmacy profession all the time on the forum. Why isn’t it a red flag that this program is so easy to get into?
 
projektreverb said:
No offense but we complain about how easy it is to get into the pharmacy profession all the time on the forum. Why isn’t it a red flag that this program is so easy to get into?
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These programs are online, so I guess seating capacity isn't really an issue. The school also isn't well known (it's a small state school in the New England region). Anyways, my plan (if I choose to attend the program) is to move as quickly as possible so that I can graduate well ahead of the CS job market saturation that may or may not be inevitable.

BTW, since I don't have a CS background, I'll have to take two additional prereq courses during the first semester. Either way, I should be able to graduate in 1.5 yrs or less if I maintain full time enrollment. The other program I was looking at is offered by Illinois Tech, which is obviously a "you've heard of it" school but may or may not be worth the substantially more expensive tuition (~$16k vs. ~$50k). There's an even cheaper state school that would only cost around $13k, but I wouldn't be able to matriculate until the fall semester. Getting tired of wasting time.
 
projektreverb said:
No offense but we complain about how easy it is to get into the pharmacy profession all the time on the forum. Why isn’t it a red flag that this program is so easy to get into?
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You don't need a lot of drug knowledge to work at CVS/Walgreens. Look at the faked Walgreens pharmacist. So schools don't have to worry about teaching much. It's easy to find sites for rotations. CVS needs free labor. They take 3 interns at a time. Not like BSN or MD programs, having sites for rotations is hard.
 
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