Anyone else out of work?

Started by Angela1234
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I was just wondering how many of us pharmacists posting here were out of work. I may go to waiting tables before going to McDonald's, may make better tips.
 
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Angela1234 said:
I was just wondering how many of us pharmacists posting here were out of work. I may go to waiting tables before going to McDonald's, may make better tips.
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That's assuming you can even get a job at McDonald's or waiting tables. Chances are, they'll tell you that you're overqualified (whether coded or not) and even if they don't, these days you can't get a job like that unless you're covered with tattoos and have enough body jewelry to set off a metal detector from a distance of 100 yards. 🙄
 
rph3664 said:
That's assuming you can even get a job at McDonald's or waiting tables. Chances are, they'll tell you that you're overqualified (whether coded or not) and even if they don't, these days you can't get a job like that unless you're covered with tattoos and have enough body jewelry to set off a metal detector from a distance of 100 yards. 🙄
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I'm going to say something that might offend a lot of people so if you're reading this post and you get easily offended, stop reading. I would NEVER hire someone with visible tattoos. It's trashy, it's low class, and it's a sign of low intelligence in my honest opinion.
 
I did call managers at Walmart directly, and they told me there were no job openings anywhere near me. I have responsibilities where I live, and a lease and other things so I can't just pick up and move. When I apply for jobs waitressing, I will tell them that I need to start working and earning money. I will put it in a cover letter.

At least the people with the tattoos and body piercings are working. I'm not as an unemployed pharmacist. I really regret going to pharmacy school and racking up big student loans.
 
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Angela1234 said:
I did call managers at Walmart directly, and they told me there were no job openings anywhere near me. I have responsibilities where I live, and a lease and other things so I can't just pick up and move. When I apply for jobs waitressing, I will tell them that I need to start working and earning money. I will put it in a cover letter.

At least the people with the tattoos and body piercings are working. I'm not as an unemployed pharmacist. I really regret going to pharmacy school and racking up big student loans.
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you should have read the warning threads from rxforlife2004, capaxone, PharmaTope, TC714, Triangulation, and BMbiology since 2009. They were all banned for telling the truth, unfortunately.
 
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There are jobs if you are willing to move to the boonies... If you don't want to move, you'll probably be unemployed for a very long time. My suggestion is to take a job anywhere with a big chain and ask for transfer a year or two later. When the time comes next summer, they will easily find a desperate new grad to replace and transfer you to a more desirable area (if someone quits/gets fired/moves) once you have experience.
 
I am pretty sure you can put your student loans in deferment if you are unemployed. They still rack up interest but at least you will not be hurting your credit rating with overdue payments on student loans.
 
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lisinopril said:
you should have read the warning threads from rxforlife2004, capaxone, PharmaTope, TC714, Triangulation, and BMbiology since 2009. They were all banned for telling the truth, unfortunately.
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Perhaps the grander warning is this: the middle class is being eroded away. People are being replaced by robots/jobs outsourced, and there's the simple fact that no one will ever pay what you're truly worth. Sure pharmacists make a very handsome salary, but compared to the profits they generate for the pharmacy itself, it pails in comparison.

"Average revenues per pharmacy location were $3.9 million in 2008, up 7.7% versus 2007."
 
People keep calling me...and in the interest of not burning bridges I answer/reply and politely decline.

And I'm in super saturated california. Are you guys doing something wrong?
 
i work in northern nj and nyc. i have to agree with the 2 posters above me. i constantly get job calling after job calling, especially from privately owned retail stores. i'm at a point now where i turn down job after job. i don't understand how i am in such a saturated area and yet there are still so may places looking for full time and part time pharmacists.

you have to look.....

finding a job is not about applying online at whoever's website. that's not how i got any 1 of my 3 current jobs. you have to talk to people, go into stores, find out who needs help and who doesn't, and USE your friends in pharmacy to get you a position.
 
Even in this saturated market, there are still jobs as pharmacists retired, go on leave, etc. But when was the last time Walgreens or CVS made a big deal about their expansion? The long time ago because they figured the U.S market had already saturated and now their focus is no longer domestic but international.

The current growth of pharmacy schools is simply not sustainable. The demand for new graduates is not there. I expect many new grads this year or the next year will have a very difficult time finding a full time position.

I know this is not what we all want to hear.
 
Those retail chains are now overhiring new grads. In fact, some of their interns aren't even offered jobs with the company. I've asked recent grads.

I wish I had gone to medical school and become a radiologist. I was an older student when I started pharmacy school or else I would have done that.
 
The saturation started in 2009. That was when the chains cut their expansion plan. This did not only affect pharmacists but also pharmacy students as many internships were eliminated. This is why so many new graduates have little or no real pharmacy experience. How are these new graduates going to compete?

Coupled with the expansion of pharmacy schools and the need for rotation sites (aka free labor), there is no need to hire as many interns as before. In fact many pharmacy schools now even pay for rotation sites.
 
BMBiology said:
The saturation started in 2009. That was when the chains cut their expansion plan. This did not only affect pharmacists but also pharmacy students as many internships were eliminated. This is why so many new graduates have little or no real pharmacy experience. How are these new graduates going to compete?

Coupled with the expansion of pharmacy schools and the need for rotation sites (aka free labor), there is no need to hire as many interns as before. In fact many pharmacy schools now even pay for rotation sites.
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I honestly don't get it, maybe it's just where I'm at so I can't speak nationally, but I didn't go in person to talk to any of the stores I applied to and received interviews and job offers from all 5 chains I applied to for an internship. It's not like I had much prior experience either as to working in a pharmacy.
 
BMBiology said:
The saturation started in 2009. That was when the chains cut their expansion plan. This did not only affect pharmacists but also pharmacy students as many internships were eliminated. This is why so many new graduates have little or no real pharmacy experience. How are these new graduates going to compete?

Coupled with the expansion of pharmacy schools and the need for rotation sites (aka free labor), there is no need to hire as many interns as before. In fact many pharmacy schools now even pay for rotation sites.
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as a may 2013 grad from one of the oldest school with 347324874 new schools opening around me, i know what youre saying
 
Reason #467,813 why I am glad I did not have children, and was therefore able to retire at the ripe old age of 47 years 50 weeks.

😀

I still feel bad about blowing up the bridge at my last pharmacy job, but that job was on the verge of putting me into the hospital where I worked, and doing otherwise was not an option. BTW, it took them 5 months to find a replacement for me. 😱 Yes, it was in a rural, economically depressed area, but there were big cities an hour or two's drive in several directions.
 
rph3664 said:
Reason #467,813 why I am glad I did not have children, and was therefore able to retire at the ripe old age of 47 years 50 weeks.

😀

I still feel bad about blowing up the bridge at my last pharmacy job, but that job was on the verge of putting me into the hospital where I worked, and doing otherwise was not an option. BTW, it took them 5 months to find a replacement for me. 😱 Yes, it was in a rural, economically depressed area, but there were big cities an hour or two's drive in several directions.
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Although retiring early is also my goal, but I honestly can't imagine not working. Life would be so empty without the center that lend meaning to it. I might cut it down to working every other day, but if I take 2 week offs, I get bored and actually antsy to get back towards the end.
 
Regardless of how old you are, you'll know when it's time. I've heard this many, many times from people in all kinds of job fields.

It also depends on where you live. No way could I be a happy retiree in the city where I had that old job, but I am here because there are so many things to do, and I actually have a social life here too. That wasn't the case in that old town; it was a small city that wasn't all that warm and fuzzy to outsiders, and I had more of a social life in the 8 months I lived in the town where I had my last pharmacy job than I did in the 8 years where I had that other job that I lost - something I know now was not a bad thing. I recently got an update on what was going on there, and it's horrible.

Last week, after I got all my quarterly financial reports, I made a list of all my financial assets and the dates they mature (for the CDs), and I put it in a open box; one of my cats found it and chewed it up.

😳
 
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BMBiology said:
The saturation started in 2009. That was when the chains cut their expansion plan. This did not only affect pharmacists but also pharmacy students as many internships were eliminated. This is why so many new graduates have little or no real pharmacy experience.
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Here're the numbers to back up what I am saying:

http://info.cvscaremark.com/our-company/history

Just look at this link. Pre-2009, CVS was buying local pharmacy chains left and right. In 2009, it opened its 7000th stores

http://info.cvscaremark.com/our-company/cvs-caremark-facts

According to this link, the company now has "more than 7,300" stores. Lets make it simple and assume, it now has 7,400 stores. So in 4 years (2009-2013), it has only added 400 stores so about 100 stores a year for the past 4 years. If each store hires 3 full pharmacists, then CVS has created 300 full time pharmacist positions per year for the last 4 years.

Guess how many pharmacists graduated in 1 year (2011-2012)? Wait for it.......12,719 new graduates!

http://www.aacp.org/about/Pages/Vitalstats.aspx

How is this sustainable?
 
300 pharmacist positions vs. 12,719 new graduates. That's a little more than 2%. CVS and Walgreens employ the most pharmacists. So you can talk about how this or that recruiter tried to recruit you but this number gives you a good picture of the harsh reality facing new graduates and it's going to get worse.
 
BMBiology said:
300 pharmacist positions vs. 12,719 new graduates. That's a little more than 2%. CVS and Walgreens employ the most pharmacists. So you can talk about how this or that recruiter tried to recruit you but this number gives you a good picture of the harsh reality facing new graduates and it's going to get worse.
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You do understand that you can use that logic for almost every occupation, right?
 
rph3664 said:
That's assuming you can even get a job at McDonald's or waiting tables. Chances are, they'll tell you that you're overqualified (whether coded or not) and even if they don't, these days you can't get a job like that unless you're covered with tattoos and have enough body jewelry to set off a metal detector from a distance of 100 yards. 🙄
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If you do find yourself applying for a job you're overqualified for, best not to mention your qualifications. I've heard of lawyers, whose field is more oversaturated than ours, being unable to get jobs doing something else until they stopped mentioning their law degrees on their resumes.
 
SoylentGreen said:
If you do find yourself applying for a job you're overqualified for, best not to mention your qualifications. I've heard of lawyers, whose field is more oversaturated than ours, being unable to get jobs doing something else until they stopped mentioning their law degrees on their resumes.
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I have too, but how am I supposed to explain how I worked as a pharmacist without also revealing my degree? Lawyers who haven't worked in the field might have a somewhat easier time, although I do happen to personally know two pharmacists who have law degrees. One never practiced law but is a licensed attorney; the other one does, and does some pharmacy relief work to keep her skills sharpened.

As for tattoos, right now I'm living in the 100-degree zone, and saw a woman in a halter top today who had some very impressive work that covered her whole back. But she didn't have body art anywhere else, and she could have worn professional attire and nobody at work would ever know.
 
BMBiology said:
300 pharmacist positions vs. 12,719 new graduates. That's a little more than 2%. CVS and Walgreens employ the most pharmacists. So you can talk about how this or that recruiter tried to recruit you but this number gives you a good picture of the harsh reality facing new graduates and it's going to get worse.
Click to expand...

So are we pretending nobody retires, quits, changes careers, etc.?
 
Travex said:
So are we pretending nobody retires, quits, changes careers, etc.?
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Are we going to pretend you have actually looked up this number?

How about the number of the middle shift pharmacists that Walgreens and CVS have cut during the last 4 years?
 
How about instead of people bragging they are getting calls from recruiters give some of us who are out of work recruiter names?
Because most of the jobs in the area no longer use recruiters since so many people are looking for work, and I have signed up already with all agencies in the area. Thanks.
 
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Angela1234 said:
How about instead of people bragging they are getting calls from recruiters give some of us who are out of work recruiter names?
Because most of the jobs in the area no longer use recruiters since so many people are looking for work, and I have signed up already with all agencies in the area. Thanks.
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How about instead of begging people for names, you go out and network? Thanks!!
 
I'm not the ones posting that recruiters are calling me. I have been networking and making follow up calls.
 
I get calls from recruiters daily. BUT these are for director of pharmacy or clinical specialist jobs, not for new grads.
 
Got a call today from a recruiter looking to hire a clinical coordinator position. Again, not a job they would be looking to hire a new grad.
 
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