advancement opportunities in a pharmacy career?

[koercive]

do people with pharmacy jobs see a lot of raises throughout their careers?

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[Lady Tokimi]

I'm not sure what you mean by "a lot" but i'm sure that there are promotions and how rapidly you get those promotions depends on your competency and the organization that you work for.

 

[Tyler Derden]

I'm not sure what you mean by "a lot" but i'm sure that there are promotions and how rapidly you get those promotions depends on your competency and the organization that you work for.

Define promotions

I have the same question. As someone coming from industry just looking into another career there doesn't seem to be much upward mobility as a pharmacist (not necessarily a bad thing if you just want to put in your time and go home), and yeah I know you can become a general manager, district manager, etc. But how about something that doesn't sound like you work at a Wal-Mart...errr well you know what I mean.

 

[baggywrinkle]

do people with pharmacy jobs see a lot of raises throughout their careers?

Yes, you may count on a meager raise once in a while. When I worked for Health Trust/HCA/Colombia the normal raise was 4%, 6% if you walked on water. Walgreens could be counted on for 11% with a nice bonus in a busy store. This year Rite Aid gave an across the board raise of $0.25 to all their pharmacists which worked out to a generous 0.56% raise that might buy you a pack of cigarettes (I don't smoke so I wouldn't know).

If you really want a "raise" in this industry you do it by running across the street, or at least threatening to. Back to HCA/Colombia and their 4% raises.
During that time a buddy of mine left and went to Dallas Children's Hospital for a net gain of 12.5%. He stayed there for one year and then returned home for another raise of 12.5%. This was a net gain of 25% over a two year period vs the 8% the rest of us got for tending the home fires while he was romping through the countryside.

As a pharmacist you must be on guard against becoming too comfortable in your position. It can cost you money. It has happened that the happy little worker who is satisfied with the tiny merit raise becomes upset when he finds that the sassy new grad has hired in at the current market rate and is making more than the happy little worker.

The moral to the story is it never pays to fly fat dumb and happy. Do not allow the moss to grow under your feet. Your loyalty will not necessarily be rewarded

 

[SomeGuy]

I'd say there's as much upward mobility as there is for a teacher. In my area at least, you can pretty much start and retire as a teacher rather comfortably. If you want to get into higher positions, like department head, vice-principal or principal, it is possible, but a lot of people are quite happy where they are.

Being a pharmacist is no different, you can head up into higher-pay positions that are more administrative or clinical, but you'll by no means starve if you don't.

I guess in a hospital environment you can move into more clinical positions, or more managerial positions, which may lead to somewhat high positions within the hospital itself.