$32.00 / hour?? Just a rumor?

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Heard a rumor that Caremark hired a bunch of phamacists in the Pittsburgh area for 32.00/hour to review charts etc. Now, we all know CVS maintains the highest moral and ethical behavior and would do nothing to degrade the profession. The mere rumor of them taking advantage of an oversupply in the Pittsburgh area to decrease the pay of pharms makes me sure "it just ain't so". Anyone heard the same thing out of Pittsburgh? I've been told that UPMC in Pitt. starts at 38.00 or they did last year anyway.😱😱

 

[MountainPharmD]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

Job Title: Pharmacist (Staff Pharmacist)
Department: Department Of Justice
Agency: Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System
Sub Agency: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Job Announcement Number: FTW-2011-0007

SALARY RANGE: $60,681.00 - $78,883.00 /year OPEN PERIOD: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 to Wednesday, February 02, 2011
SERIES & GRADE: GS-0660-11/11
POSITION INFORMATION: Full Time Permanent
PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 11
DUTY LOCATIONS: 1 vacancy - FCI Fort Worth
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED: Area of Consideration:

THIS IS A DELEGATED EXAMINING ANNOUNCEMENT OPEN TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Heard a rumor that Caremark hired a bunch of phamacists in the Pittsburgh area for 32.00/hour to review charts etc. Now, we all know CVS maintains the highest moral and ethical behavior and would do nothing to degrade the profession. The mere rumor of them taking advantage of an oversupply in the Pittsburgh area to decrease the pay of pharms makes me sure "it just ain't so". Anyone heard the same thing out of Pittsburgh? I've been told that UPMC in Pitt. starts at 38.00 or they did last year anyway.😱😱

Yes.

And UPMC starts at less than $38, actually. You can look it up on their employment site.

But its been like that for a while. The Yinzers never seemed to get an increase in the past in the hospital and LTC sectors...its not like salaries went down, per se...

 

[PharmBound2011]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

I know for a fact that a CVS in NJ is offering PharmD new grads $42 an hour and I'm being told that they're still getting several applications...thats like 79k in a high cost of living state...

 

[PharmD RPh]

I know for a fact that a CVS in NJ is offering PharmD new grads $42 an hour and I'm being told that they're still getting several applications...thats like 79k in a high cost of living state...

Not buying it. I don't think they can pay their current pharmacists over 100k then bring in new grads for a different rate. Plus the guy can't do math. $42/hr * 40 hrs/week= 1680* 52 weeks= 87360 not 79k. Plus guy is pre-pharm quoting hearsay.

 

[lorain]

yes upmc is around 38

the thing about pittsburgh is that people actually like living there, and not a lot of them move out once settled, factor in the 2 pharm schools getting a job in that town as a rph is next to impossible

but if the salary is lowered, that increases your chance of getting it, and people take it just so they can stay there and then hope they find something higher later

 

[rph3664]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

The IHS pay range is similar. However, they get housing and meal allowances because they are paramilitary (when I did rotations in 1994, it was about $1,000 a month for a single person, and tax free to boot) and they also had PX privileges. Their health care was free too, at least at the time.

 

[ronkoshy]

...

 

[Argentium]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

but with government benefits.

 

[BelleMD2B]

but with government benefits.

Which normalizes the salary, if not puts it above the "average" pay...

The idea of an actual pension after 20 years sounds dang good to me.

 

[awval999]

but with government benefits.

You mean taxpayer benefits, but I'll let it slide.

 

[rph3664]

I did an update earlier today on a place where I applied a while back, and their pay range is $33-52 per hour. There are 2 pharmacy schools within 50 miles, so that might drive wages down somewhat.

 

[hckyplyr]

https://www.healthcaresource.com/tr...ls&template=dsp_job_details.cfm&cJobId=603309

$66,000-$91,000/yr.............However, I had to search pretty hard to find a salary that low...

 

[TonyRx]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

The thing is though, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is part of the Dept of Health and Human Services as well, which is all part of the Commissioned Corps. Just like, IHS, FDA, CDC, Coast Guard and so forth are Commissioned Corps.

So that salary range of 60k-78k is spot on considering all the government perks like; free health and dental care, 30 days paid vacation, paid sick leave, federal holidays off, enlisted as an Officer and tax-free housing and meal compensation. Pharmacy Officers typically get an extra bonus yearly, the Army for example gives 7k a year. A 30k sign on bonus is available and 15k retention bonuses are given too. Not to mention up to 120k (3 years at 40k per year) tuition reimbursement for new grads. The benefits are very similar to what other military branches are offering, like the Army. Of course, things do vary slightly from branch to branch.

Anyways, adding in all the perks the job is around 100k or more. Even higher if you are a new grad getting the tuition reimbursement at 40k a year on top of it all.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

The thing is though, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is part of the Dept of Health and Human Services as well, which is all part of the Commissioned Corps. Just like, IHS, FDA, CDC, Coast Guard and so forth are Commissioned Corps.

So that salary range of 60k-78k is spot on considering all the government perks like; free health and dental care, 30 days paid vacation, paid sick leave, federal holidays off, enlisted as an Officer and tax-free housing and meal compensation. Pharmacy Officers typically get an extra bonus yearly, the Army for example gives 7k a year. A 30k sign on bonus is available and 15k retention bonuses are given too. Not to mention up to 120k (3 years at 40k per year) tuition reimbursement for new grads. The benefits are very similar to what other military branches are offering, like the Army. Of course, things do vary slightly from branch to branch.

Anyways, adding in all the perks the job is around 100k or more. Even higher if you are a new grad getting the tuition reimbursement at 40k a year on top of it all.

Yeah and not to mention the working conditions and responsibilities as well. In IHS I think you have a little more prescriptive authority and clinical management responsibilities. I imagine that working in the prison means you are mainly compounding or working with doctors with a smaller patient load (beats retail or a busy hospital for some people.) Only issue is the working environment and probably the location (GTMO maybe? lol) And in the FDA you can do research or field work. I think you can also do coastal guard in the health corp so you would be doing clinical work for other military folk. This is all in the health corp I believe. And if you look at the promotion schedule there for the health corp you can go through the ranks somewhat quickly as long as you keep up with the work load they hand to you. Starting off as an O3 isn't terrible to begin with. So even if you don't like the job but you are there for a few years you have a bunch of experience to do another job that might be more intriguing to you.

And after 35 years you get like 50% of the wage in a retirement fund, up to like 75% of the wage after 35 years of work. For most people they could retire at the 25- 30 year mark after leaving school at 25-26. That means they have income and retirement benefits around the age of 50+. Someone I know did that and then works 1-2 days a week to bring in a little extra "play" money.

Then you have USAA for your insurance (being an insurance agent I have to say they are pretty good with their underwriting guidelines for your coverages and cost) and if you ever felt like doing something with school again you have the GI bill (i.e. doing management at a hospital with MBA/MHA or going into the FDA.)

University of Florida has a thing with the FDA which is a 2 year program where you are commissioned as an officer and get the tuition and everything paid for as well as a wage for the 2 years you are learning to work for the FDA and do research. You just have to work 2x years more than what they paid for.

And correct me if I'm wrong but since you are in the health corp, military, etc. aren't you exempt from paying back student loans after 10 years? I'm not sure how all that works but if you get over half paid off in the first few years and lower payments then after those 6 doing lesser payments the money is no longer due. Some people might have issues with that but the government believes they got their money's worth out of you by that point.

Just a few things I've been looking into for this kinda thing.

 

[MountainPharmD]

but with government benefits.

Yes, another negative besides the pay......

 

[MountainPharmD]

The thing is though, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is part of the Dept of Health and Human Services as well, which is all part of the Commissioned Corps. Just like, IHS, FDA, CDC, Coast Guard and so forth are Commissioned Corps.

So that salary range of 60k-78k is spot on considering all the government perks like; free health and dental care, 30 days paid vacation, paid sick leave, federal holidays off, enlisted as an Officer and tax-free housing and meal compensation. Pharmacy Officers typically get an extra bonus yearly, the Army for example gives 7k a year. A 30k sign on bonus is available and 15k retention bonuses are given too. Not to mention up to 120k (3 years at 40k per year) tuition reimbursement for new grads. The benefits are very similar to what other military branches are offering, like the Army. Of course, things do vary slightly from branch to branch.

Anyways, adding in all the perks the job is around 100k or more. Even higher if you are a new grad getting the tuition reimbursement at 40k a year on top of it all.

This job is a GS-11 position and is not a commisioned officer position. It is a GS position just like the VA. There are not any more perks at a government job than there are in the private sector. In fact with the governemnt spending money faster than they can print it I would be very leary of working for any level of government right now.

 

[TonyRx]

This job is a GS-11 position and is not a commisioned officer position. It is a GS position just like the VA. There are not any more perks at a government job than there are in the private sector. In fact with the governemnt spending money faster than they can print it I would be very leary of working for any level of government right now.

Oh okay, I didn't know it was a GS-11. Anyhow, yea the government isn't in great shape right now, nor to say will it ever be. But given the future of the private sector; saturation, wages, etc I think we are all running out of options. Haha

We're living in interesting times.

 

[rph3664]

One disadvantage to the IHS is that you will probably end up living literally in the middle of nowhere. One of the pharmacists I worked with while doing my rotations in New Mexico had a choice between that or Kotzebue, Alaska which is just north of the Arctic Circle and is only accessible by air. As a single man just out of school, he didn't consider that an option even though he would have bee paid considerably more.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

One disadvantage to the IHS is that you will probably end up living literally in the middle of nowhere. One of the pharmacists I worked with while doing my rotations in New Mexico had a choice between that or Kotzebue, Alaska which is just north of the Arctic Circle and is only accessible by air. As a single man just out of school, he didn't consider that an option even though he would have bee paid considerably more.

True that. But if you have Native American background then you have more of a say where you go and for rotations and stuff. But the pain is that no one ever goes to an area that they want to go. Everyone wants to be by the casino, no one wants to be in Alaska.

 

[Caverject]

And correct me if I'm wrong but since you are in the health corp, military, etc. aren't you exempt from paying back student loans after 10 years? I'm not sure how all that works but if you get over half paid off in the first few years and lower payments then after those 6 doing lesser payments the money is no longer due. Some people might have issues with that but the government believes they got their money's worth out of you by that point.

I've never heard of such a program and I've been in government service for a few years now...

 

[PharmDstudent]

One disadvantage to the IHS is that you will probably end up living literally in the middle of nowhere. One of the pharmacists I worked with while doing my rotations in New Mexico had a choice between that or Kotzebue, Alaska which is just north of the Arctic Circle and is only accessible by air. As a single man just out of school, he didn't consider that an option even though he would have bee paid considerably more.

Accessible only by air? That sounds exotic.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

I've never heard of such a program and I've been in government service for a few years now...

What is your government position?

http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml

the link talks about it pretty clearly and there is am FAQ there for questions as well. The earliest someone can get it though is 2017 since it is 10 years starting from 2007.

Quote:

The public service loan forgiveness program is targeted at students who pursue public service careers and who have high debt and low income. Borrowers with low debt or high income will not benefit as much.

As a back-end loan forgiveness program, the public service loan forgiveness is an all-or-nothing benefit. If a borrower stops working full-time in a public service job, even with just a few of the 120 payments left, they get no forgiveness.

The public service loan forgiveness option's main impact is to remove debt as a disincentive to pursuing a career in public service. Most borrowers will still earn less in a public service job than in the private sector, despite the forgiveness. But previously borrowers were precluded from long-term employment in public service jobs because the debt-to-income ratios were unaffordable.


It's probably something people don't talk about a lot since no one really qualifies for at least 6 more years.

Here are a few more links as well.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp
http://www.ibrinfo.org/what.vp.html
http://www.nextstudent.com/articles/student-loans-forgiven.asp

Hope this helps!

 

[ucrx]

The public service loan forgiveness program is targeted at students who pursue public service careers and who have high debt and low income. Borrowers with low debt or high income will not benefit as much.

Pharmacists still make good money in the military (Navy anyway, I assume Army is similar). You would have to have a lot of loans to get much benefit from this program.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

Pharmacists still make good money in the military (Navy anyway, I assume Army is similar). You would have to have a lot of loans to get much benefit from this program.

I read that part as well but depending on how long you are going to school and the cost (some people are going to about 40/year) you can accumulate around 200+k with interest. And what if you get a dual degree like MPH, MHA, MBA, etc. and then go? That's another year worth of tuition on top as well.

And I don't know how IBR works but I assume since you are making less money than in the private sector the amount you pay each month is less than the private equivalent. It's not meant to absolve you of your debt but if you have a family and getting a home going and everything, if you can spend less on your monthly payments for a loan then there is a good benefit since you can spend more getting your life going.

But yes, I agree. I don't believe this forgiveness was meant for pharmacist, probably more for social workers and teachers or something to that equivalent where they go to school 4-8 years and then get paid less than we would. There are some beneifts for some people but the option is still there...

 

[Ilikechemicals]

CVS do something illegal, immoral or just plain wrong?!?!? Surely you jest!

Maybe there is something to this. I found this in my inbox this morning from USA jobs.com. Wow! A fabulous job working in a federal prison for 30% less than the going rate of a staff pharmacist in the DFW metroplex. Sign me up!!!!

I saw that job post yesterday. I almost applied for it just to escape my current gig at an unamed massive chain. 🙁

This was after working a 14 hour shift on a monday with no tech (she called out sick)