Any recent graduates having difficulty finding jobs?

[UnicornDemon]

I'm considering a career in pharmacy but I've encountered a lot of doom and gloom posts about saturation of the market, too many schools opening up, etc.

So, yeah, any graduates having difficulty finding jobs, or are these doom and gloom posts excessive pessimism?

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[rph3664]

The doom and gloom is for real, and truthfully, things are only going to get worse.

As for whether you want to do it, have you worked as a technician? DO THAT, in any environment (retail, hospital, long term care, home infusion, ANYTHING) before you dive in.

 

[LucidDream]

As a recent grad from a pharmacy school in the Midwest, I was able to find a job after graduation, though I did need to relocate across the state. Out of the ~100 students in my graduating class, I know of only 3 that have not yet found a job.

I would agree with rph3664 that before you start up pharmacy school, it would be best to shadow pharmacists in numerous settings or try working as a technician first to see if you enjoy the work environment. I was fortunate enough to have opportunities to do just that in high school and that heavily influenced my career choice.

 

[Potential123]

Where in the Midwest is this?

 

[rph3664]

LucidDream, what school did you attend? You can PM me if you don't want to post it here.

 

[LucidDream]

Where in the Midwest is this?

Ohio. Though I do concede that this is just what I have observed and the experiences of others may GREATLY vary, it may/may not be representative of the reality of the situation. Will also point out that out of those that were able to find a job, the majority of those with jobs were retail and the majority of my class did have to relocate.

Any answer to this question though will likely vary based on geography, local market, willingness to work retail, and willingness to relocate.

 

[rph3664]

the majority of those with jobs were retail and the majority of my class did have to relocate.

That was true 20 years ago too.

 

[boriqua]

I graduated last year(2012) and something like 40% of my graduating class is still unemployed. I was ass lucky to have gotten a job

 

[humate]

I graduated last year(2012) and something like 40% of my graduating class is still unemployed. I was ass lucky to have gotten a job

it's bad but it is not that bad; what state is your pharmacy school?

 

[boriqua]

New York. Which is most likely why lol

 

[kendrick lamar]

it's bad but it is not that bad; what state is your pharmacy school?

welp that sounds pretty bad, well I rly got the jist that we're getting oversaturated b/c of this forum, I think otherwise I wouldn't have known as much. I rmr in P1 year, my dean addressed this question to a guest speaker during our white coat ceremony and she said that she doesn't think this idea of the shortage being over should discourage people from the field as more opportunities are opening up for us in clinical fields, etc. lol. Might not match up with what's happening in reality, I guess, eh. It's weird b/c it seems like most kids I know got jobs or residencies, I don't rly know if know anybody who is having problems as far as the last class who graduated, but my friends know kids who haven't found a job for months. Boriqua, are you working in New York? I'm curious as to what areas pharmacy jobs are available when people talk about relocating? Ideally, I'd like to work on the East Coast or California (not necessarily New York), but from the sound of it, California seems to be pretty saturated, East Coast, I'm not sure of, I've heard Boston's been pretty saturated, but I have a friend who found a job there; otherwise some of my friends are getting offers in Mass, Virgina, etc.

 

[kendrick lamar]

also wondering if people can elaborate on the difficulty in finding jobs-like how long are grads waiting till they can find a place to work? has it been so bad for some people that they've done a career switch? My school offers dual-degrees, like business and such, so I was just wondering if it's rly bad enough I can't find a job, I could go into some management, public health type of field or something if I pursue something like that.

 

[boriqua]

well, my assessment of the NY job market would be a little unfair because I grew up here. all of my friends, family, connections etc. etc. a lot of my jobs came from social networking and ass luck. i'll give you a timeline
I graduated in summer of 2012 but for family reasons, I missed the NYS compounding exam in june. I passed naplex and law and had to wait till jan. to take the compounding exam which I passed and got licensed in feb. and out of sheer ass luck, one of my classmates who was working at an independent pharmacy 7 days a week wanted a day off so the day after I told him my license came in, he poached me for a part time at his pharmacy. a month later, one of my other classmates asked me to cover a day in his cousins pharmacy. I agreed and while I was covering, the owner came in and we talked and it turned out that he remembered me from elementary school and we were in 4th grade together(SMALL ASS WORLD). so after a little reminiscing, he hired me for 2 days/week. I worked these 2 part time jobs until a bout a month ago, I was drinking with a homie that I grew up with from back in the day. unemployed, living off the government, but just so happened to have an uncle who owned a pharmacy. hooked up the full time for me and that's been my journey lol.
oh and I want to add that during this entire time I was applying to a million places online and not a single person ever got back to me. also, I never worked a single day in a pharmacy while in college.

 

[Ackj]

well, my assessment of the NY job market would be a little unfair because I grew up here. all of my friends, family, connections etc. etc. a lot of my jobs came from social networking and ass luck. i'll give you a timeline
I graduated in summer of 2012 but for family reasons, I missed the NYS compounding exam in june. I passed naplex and law and had to wait till jan. to take the compounding exam which I passed and got licensed in feb. and out of sheer ass luck, one of my classmates who was working at an independent pharmacy 7 days a week wanted a day off so the day after I told him my license came in, he poached me for a part time at his pharmacy. a month later, one of my other classmates asked me to cover a day in his cousins pharmacy. I agreed and while I was covering, the owner came in and we talked and it turned out that he remembered me from elementary school and we were in 4th grade together(SMALL ASS WORLD). so after a little reminiscing, he hired me for 2 days/week. I worked these 2 part time jobs until a bout a month ago, I was drinking with a homie that I grew up with from back in the day. unemployed, living off the government, but just so happened to have an uncle who owned a pharmacy. hooked up the full time for me and that's been my journey lol.
oh and I want to add that during this entire time I was applying to a million places online and not a single person ever got back to me. also, I never worked a single day in a pharmacy while in college.

Where in NY? Depends heavily on the region how the job market is. WNY, LI, NYC are tough, but I always see positions for southern tier and adirondack areas. Of course it's all about where you want to live, and many don't want to live in the middle of nowhere.

 

[boriqua]

Where in NY? Depends heavily on the region how the job market is. WNY, LI, NYC are tough, but I always see positions for southern tier and adirondack areas. Of course it's all about where you want to live, and many don't want to live in the middle of nowhere.

I tried applying to pretty much every advertised position upstate as well. the only response I got was from a contract staffing agency that was looking for an overnight pharmacist for a hospital. jerked me around for 2 weeks and than told me that the hospital was looking for someone with more experience. the agency said they would keep looking for me but I never heard from them again.
but like I said, I had zero pharmacy work experience coming out of college so that might have had something to do with it as well

 

[kendrick lamar]

well, my assessment of the NY job market would be a little unfair because I grew up here. all of my friends, family, connections etc. etc. a lot of my jobs came from social networking and ass luck. i'll give you a timeline
I graduated in summer of 2012 but for family reasons, I missed the NYS compounding exam in june. I passed naplex and law and had to wait till jan. to take the compounding exam which I passed and got licensed in feb. and out of sheer ass luck, one of my classmates who was working at an independent pharmacy 7 days a week wanted a day off so the day after I told him my license came in, he poached me for a part time at his pharmacy. a month later, one of my other classmates asked me to cover a day in his cousins pharmacy. I agreed and while I was covering, the owner came in and we talked and it turned out that he remembered me from elementary school and we were in 4th grade together(SMALL ASS WORLD). so after a little reminiscing, he hired me for 2 days/week. I worked these 2 part time jobs until a bout a month ago, I was drinking with a homie that I grew up with from back in the day. unemployed, living off the government, but just so happened to have an uncle who owned a pharmacy. hooked up the full time for me and that's been my journey lol.
oh and I want to add that during this entire time I was applying to a million places online and not a single person ever got back to me. also, I never worked a single day in a pharmacy while in college.

lol good looks, dude, glad it all worked out!