California Pharmacists - The Real Story on Job Outlook

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So as an update -- to all the negative comments sent to my inbox and those claiming that our salary's would not last/our pharmacists would quit --- absolutely not true. In fact, one of our pharmacists picked up a lot of compounding skills and we were happy to refer him out but he has decided to stay at our place and work over time for extra cash instead while learning new skills. So in my 1 year of reflection and analysis, I really believe the market is headed for a shift here --- our employees are happy, they believe we are being fair, our work conditions are extremely better than any chain, etc. Our base pay salary is holding steady at 80k range and we've on boarded a new grad from north state at the same pay scale (again this particular individual had minimal loans). We offered a sign on bonus of 5 grand (which is more then the competition so this was a nice addition to our previous packages). And I can tell you once again we had many folks for this spot.

Our biggest issue right now is new regulations in compounding (expected regulations that is). Special licensing proposals that are being actively considered could really hurt us and we may need to make a strategic decision to simply exit the compounding sector. We would not touch salary's though in any way because of this -- we would take a profit hit. But what is else is new!

So this is my update. Flame away, but for everyone negative inbox comment there was a request for an update. So here it is. Don't like it? Then just don't respond and say negative things...and guess what the thread will just go to page 2 in a few days and it won't be there for you to see.
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confettiflyer said:
I wonder how long you'll retain that grad
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He said the one employee has no loans. So if he's paying them $80K, and if he is-- how do i say this-- calling the employee Dr. Jennings, giving him/her a professional work environment, very positive and happy setting, not allowing the riff-raff customers to get him/her down it's possible that the employee feels that this is better than making an extra $30k or so at WAG or RAD.

We will still need yearly updates.
 
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awval999 said:
He said the one employee has no loans. So if he's paying them $80K, and if he is-- how do i say this-- calling the employee Dr. Jennings, giving him/her a professional work environment, very positive and happy setting, not allowing the riff-raff customers to get him/her down it's possible that the employee feels that this is better than making an extra $30k or so at WAG or RAD.

We will still need yearly updates.
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This assumes an either/or situation....there are still plenty of pharmacy dream jobs (well, dream to me) that have all the perks of what you mentioned and still pay >$120k.

If the incumbent has the wherewithal to look in 2-3 years, he/she shall be handsomely rewarded.
 
I met a 4th yr student on rotations in LA who already signed a contract with CVS, this surprised me bc I was under the impression that no one looks at you in CA unless you have your license...she didn't even intern at CVS! I guess there is hope for now? n=1 but it's still something.
 
pharmasaur said:
I met a 4th yr student on rotations in LA who already signed a contract with CVS, this surprised me bc I was under the impression that no one looks at you in CA unless you have your license...she didn't even intern at CVS! I guess there is hope for now? n=1 but it's still something.
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got a offer in los angeles or middle of no where cali? if in LA, then :thumbup:
 
pharmasaur said:
la
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Ah I remember the good old days when no one wanted to work in LA (except south bay and west side) and the weekly emails had TONS of open shifts.

I guess Inglewood and South Gate = the new OC, hahah
 
hate la, traffic fncking everywhere
 
confettiflyer said:
Ah I remember the good old days when no one wanted to work in LA (except south bay and west side) and the weekly emails had TONS of open shifts.

I guess Inglewood and South Gate = the new OC, hahah
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haha seriously, damn wish that was still true!

Momus said:
hate la, traffic fncking everywhere
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I wonder how ppl handle it if they have a floater job and get stuck in traffic everyday lol must suck
 
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PharmDTop5 said:
So as an update -- to all the negative comments sent to my inbox and those claiming that our salary's would not last/our pharmacists would quit --- absolutely not true. In fact, one of our pharmacists picked up a lot of compounding skills and we were happy to refer him out but he has decided to stay at our place and work over time for extra cash instead while learning new skills. So in my 1 year of reflection and analysis, I really believe the market is headed for a shift here --- our employees are happy, they believe we are being fair, our work conditions are extremely better than any chain, etc. Our base pay salary is holding steady at 80k range and we've on boarded a new grad from north state at the same pay scale (again this particular individual had minimal loans). We offered a sign on bonus of 5 grand (which is more then the competition so this was a nice addition to our previous packages). And I can tell you once again we had many folks for this spot.

Our biggest issue right now is new regulations in compounding (expected regulations that is). Special licensing proposals that are being actively considered could really hurt us and we may need to make a strategic decision to simply exit the compounding sector. We would not touch salary's though in any way because of this -- we would take a profit hit. But what is else is new!

So this is my update. Flame away, but for everyone negative inbox comment there was a request for an update. So here it is. Don't like it? Then just don't respond and say negative things...and guess what the thread will just go to page 2 in a few days and it won't be there for you to see.
Click to expand...
Your analysis has an n=1...how do you think you can reasonably extrapolate to the entire market of the United States based on your individual pharmacy?

My n=1 is this: you couldn't pay that salary in my neck of the woods with any modicum of success.
 
The key words from OP here are minimal loans. The ONLY people that can get away with minimal loans in California are the ones with rich parents, so money is the last thing on these people's mind. Location is much more of a priority for these ppl. So when you say it's N=1, it literally is... Because everyone else literally can't do this. In conclusion, there is no "market shift" here... Unless the schools decide to lower tuition.
 
thank you pharmdtop5. you're good poster. are you familiar with the chemical industry? i think a choice many pre-pharms (with chemistry or biochem degrees) is: should I go into pharm with the expectation of 80k wages (trending lower) and 200k in debt (easily 10-20 yr repayment schedule) OR chemistry with no debt and prospects of 40-60k wages?

the choice seems obvious to me, but i'm interested as to your opinion.
 
TheGhostOfStali said:
thank you pharmdtop5. you're good poster. are you familiar with the chemical industry? i think a choice many pre-pharms (with chemistry or biochem degrees) is: should I go into pharm with the expectation of 80k wages (trending lower) and 200k in debt (easily 10-20 yr repayment schedule) OR chemistry with no debt and prospects of 40-60k wages?

the choice seems obvious to me, but i'm interested as to your opinion.
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This post got me thinking, what exactly is the advantage (or disadvantage) of going into $200,000 of debt + the opportunity cost of 4 years of limited/minimal employment vs. starting at $50k/yr with steadily increasing income to about $80k after 10 years with nominal COLA each year for both?
 
confettiflyer said:
This post got me thinking, what exactly is the advantage (or disadvantage) of going into $200,000 of debt + the opportunity cost of 4 years of limited/minimal employment vs. starting at $50k/yr with steadily increasing income to about $80k after 10 years with nominal COLA each year for both?
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it's whether you want to be a chemist or a pharmacist...lol....they are just SO different. healthcare, patients, meds, physiology... vs. QA/QC/lab work/manuals/SoPs...

also u think there are any chemist jobs? psshtt. you might get lucky and land a $14/hr lab tech job and after 3 yrs move up to lab tech 2 at $16/hr and then QC at $20 then QC manager at $25...that just sounds so horrible and so boring (to me)
 
pharmasaur said:
it's whether you want to be a chemist or a pharmacist...lol....they are just SO different. healthcare, patients, meds, physiology... vs. QA/QC/lab work/manuals/SoPs...

also u think there are any chemist jobs? psshtt. you might get lucky and land a $14/hr lab tech job and after 3 yrs move up to lab tech 2 at $16/hr and then QC at $20 then QC manager at $25...that just sounds so horrible and so boring (to me)
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well career preferences aside, just a pure numerical exercise is what i'm interested in.

but i agree i'd die if i worked in a lab all day.
 
confettiflyer said:
This post got me thinking, what exactly is the advantage (or disadvantage) of going into $200,000 of debt + the opportunity cost of 4 years of limited/minimal employment vs. starting at $50k/yr with steadily increasing income to about $80k after 10 years with nominal COLA each year for both?
Click to expand...

http://www.calcxml.com/do/ins07

Simple online calculator--- I just made it simple cause I can't do fancy things with online calculators
Start at 22 for career or 26 for RPh, retire at 62 for both.

Starting at age 22
Years 0-10: $50k+ annual 2% COLA = $547,486 total income for 10 years
One time raise
Years 11-40 $80k+ annual 2% COLA = $3,245,446 total income for 30 years
Lifetime income from ages 22-62: $3,792,932

Starting at age 26
Years 0-36 $110,000k (obviously depends on hospital/retail, etc) + annual 2% COLA = Lifetime income $5,719,380....
MINUS
http://www.mortgage101.com/amortization-calculator-home
Amortizated $200,000k student loans over 25 years at 6.8% interest = $416,443.26

Lifetime total = $5,302,937

Final difference: +$1,510,005 for RPh.

Obviously if you change the numbers it can change dramatically.
If you imput starting salary at $100,000 for RPh with only 1.5% COLA (ie: 0.5% real drop every year).... you get lifetime income of: $4,727,597 - $416,443 in amoritized student loans to give a lifetime total of $4,311,154 and a victory of only $518,222.

But I did this exercise just for you confetti
 
awval999 said:
Obviously if you change the numbers it can change dramatically.
If you imput starting salary at $100,000 for RPh with only 1.5% COLA (ie: 0.5% real drop every year).... you get lifetime income of: $4,727,597 - $416,443 in amoritized student loans to give a lifetime total of $4,311,154 and a victory of only $518,222.
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can you do this for 80k, with no COLA?

ps: don't you need at least 3% annual/average increase each year JUST to keep up with inflation??
 
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awval999 said:
http://www.calcxml.com/do/ins07

Simple online calculator--- I just made it simple cause I can't do fancy things with online calculators
Start at 22 for career or 26 for RPh, retire at 62 for both.

Starting at age 22
Years 0-10: $50k+ annual 2% COLA = $547,486 total income for 10 years
One time raise
Years 11-40 $80k+ annual 2% COLA = $3,245,446 total income for 30 years
Lifetime income from ages 22-62: $3,792,932

Starting at age 26
Years 0-36 $110,000k (obviously depends on hospital/retail, etc) + annual 2% COLA = Lifetime income $5,719,380....
MINUS
http://www.mortgage101.com/amortization-calculator-home
Amortizated $200,000k student loans over 25 years at 6.8% interest = $416,443.26

Lifetime total = $5,302,937

Final difference: +$1,510,005 for RPh.

Obviously if you change the numbers it can change dramatically.
If you imput starting salary at $100,000 for RPh with only 1.5% COLA (ie: 0.5% real drop every year).... you get lifetime income of: $4,727,597 - $416,443 in amoritized student loans to give a lifetime total of $4,311,154 and a victory of only $518,222.

But I did this exercise just for you confetti
Click to expand...

You are a God among men, a true patriot, and of most generous spirit.:thumbup:

Yah this was EXACTLY what I was looking for/looking to do. I now have all these variables in my head that can augment the "final" victory #, like facing a higher tax rate/AMT given the income difference, liability and secondary costs associated with being a pharmacist vs. a chemist or something, different loan programs/terms, going into PGY1, and hell even costs of undergrad (private vs. public) which you noted to be identical for this exercise.

I do like how you showed a shift in COLA + starting salary drastically altered the victory number.

Hell I liked that you called it a victory number, haha.
 
does anyone know what is the pay difference between southern and northern cali if you work for CVS?
 
piad said:
does anyone know what is the pay difference between southern and northern cali if you work for CVS?
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Last year NorCal was giving out $65/hr... Not sure about SoCal
 
I know of $65 in the east bay outside of SF city proper.
 
wait

cvs is offering 65? is this LA?

i was looking last yr but was able to change employers pretty quickly and ignored the CVS and WAGS interviews they wanted to set up with me after i accepted current employer

how much for manager in, lets say, OC at CVS or WAGS?

wtf am i doing?!?!?!!?!?!
 
jawnly211 said:
wait

cvs is offering 65? is this LA?

i was looking last yr but was able to change employers pretty quickly and ignored the CVS and WAGS interviews they wanted to set up with me after i accepted current employer

how much for manager in, lets say, OC at CVS or WAGS?

wtf am i doing?!?!?!!?!?!
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I was talking about NorCal, not sure about SoCal... And u were able to change job within actual LA pretty easily?
 
tossed my resume out there and one company bit quickly.....about a week

and i accepted because i was actually moving near that area

now im looking to move once again to orange county so I'm hoping lightning strikes twice

i have 5 years experience retail with 3 years managerial

but after i accepted and started at new job i had kaiser, walgreens, cvs, and rite aid all contact me for interviews which i had to decline at them time

wucool33 said:
I was talking about NorCal, not sure about SoCal... And u were able to change job within actual LA pretty easily?
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awval999 said:
Obviously if you change the numbers it can change dramatically.
If you imput starting salary at $100,000 for RPh with only 1.5% COLA (ie: 0.5% real drop every year).... you get lifetime income of: $4,727,597 - $416,443 in amoritized student loans to give a lifetime total of $4,311,154 and a victory of only $518,222.
Click to expand...

they do. earning 80k (2% COLA) as a pharmacist is the break even point in this example. wages below this and one would have been better off not going to pharm school (from an income perspective).

another ting; i'm pretty sure most pharmacists work a lot for their wage? more than 40hrs/week? is this true?
 
Hey guys,

I'm currently a 4th year student from VA. I just started rotations a couple weeks ago. I currently don't work for any company, because I wasn't sure of where my career would take me.

My boyfriend just got stationed outside of the bay area...and it looks like that's where I'll be heading after school. I know jobs are scarce (well....I've read that) and I'm looking for some advice....:naughty:

1) Should I sit for my boards in CA?

2) Should I try and intern for a local CVS in VA? (Walgreens job outlook for pharmacists in northern california is not great) I figured if I get my foot in the door they may be more likely to hire me on...

Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks!
 
pharmcho said:
Hey guys,

I'm currently a 4th year student from VA. I just started rotations a couple weeks ago. I currently don't work for any company, because I wasn't sure of where my career would take me.

My boyfriend just got stationed outside of the bay area...and it looks like that's where I'll be heading after school. I know jobs are scarce (well....I've read that) and I'm looking for some advice....:naughty:

1) Should I sit for my boards in CA?

2) Should I try and intern for a local CVS in VA? (Walgreens job outlook for pharmacists in northern california is not great) I figured if I get my foot in the door they may be more likely to hire me on...

Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

PM me where he's being PCS'd, I'll have more details for you (I hope). and yes get your paperwork in order and sit for your boards ASAP, process takes a while.
 
TheGhostOfStali said:
thank you pharmdtop5. you're good poster. are you familiar with the chemical industry? i think a choice many pre-pharms (with chemistry or biochem degrees) is: should I go into pharm with the expectation of 80k wages (trending lower) and 200k in debt (easily 10-20 yr repayment schedule) OR chemistry with no debt and prospects of 40-60k wages?

the choice seems obvious to me, but i'm interested as to your opinion.
Click to expand...

let me be an insider. I was a medicinal chemist. Here is the detail info.

Graduate from University of Texas with dual degree in bio and chem. Summer internship at Pfizer after 3rd year. Offered a year long internship before graduation, which I took. Hired as a medicinal chemist 7 months into that internship.

Pharmaceutical research was a good place to work for. But here is the scoop:

1) Pay: good compared to rest of BS degree. I was making $60K+/yr with a BS degree in 2006. This is compared to high 40/low 50K in non-research industrial jobs.
2) Structure and limitations: "band" are structured so that BS and MS does not get far. I talked to too many BS and MS colleagues who have been there 20+ years. Ph.D rules the roost. Especially at sites when they form the Harvard, Yale, MIT cliches.
3) matrix: the attempt as matrix-zing an innovation based industry is what I think is the leading cost of its down fall. As "low hanging fruits" (aka, easy drug targets) are exhausted, companies tried to enforce/increase productivity by mandating quotas of how many new chemical entities you must make a year. This lead to making a bunch of useless fillers to fill the quotes that have no hope of drugs. As more and more effort is devoted to meeting quotas, fewer truly drug worth compounds are being made.

In the end, it's a lesson in management. People are adaptive animals. Applying strict and regimented criteria without deducing it's consequences leads to costly failures. A good manager would calculate and simulate the possible responses before making a change, or at least plan/follow up with further changes to achieve the desirable effects.
 
awval999 said:
http://www.calcxml.com/do/ins07

Simple online calculator--- I just made it simple cause I can't do fancy things with online calculators
Start at 22 for career or 26 for RPh, retire at 62 for both.

Starting at age 22
Years 0-10: $50k+ annual 2% COLA = $547,486 total income for 10 years
One time raise
Years 11-40 $80k+ annual 2% COLA = $3,245,446 total income for 30 years
Lifetime income from ages 22-62: $3,792,932

Starting at age 26
Years 0-36 $110,000k (obviously depends on hospital/retail, etc) + annual 2% COLA = Lifetime income $5,719,380....
MINUS
http://www.mortgage101.com/amortization-calculator-home
Amortizated $200,000k student loans over 25 years at 6.8% interest = $416,443.26

Lifetime total = $5,302,937

Final difference: +$1,510,005 for RPh.

Obviously if you change the numbers it can change dramatically.
If you imput starting salary at $100,000 for RPh with only 1.5% COLA (ie: 0.5% real drop every year).... you get lifetime income of: $4,727,597 - $416,443 in amoritized student loans to give a lifetime total of $4,311,154 and a victory of only $518,222.

But I did this exercise just for you confetti
Click to expand...

I don't think you guys are calculating things as you should.

There's no way a pharmacist can be "well off" with the cost of their education unless they find other sources of income. Pharmacy income gives you the freedom to find these sources, and the money earned counting away is just gravy. That's the only way.
 
angryrx said:
There's no way a pharmacist can be "well off" with the cost of their education unless they find other sources of income.
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I don't know why you would say that. What is the total cost of education after all interest, etc? I should know this, but I am going to ballpark it around maybe $350,000? And what is the lifetime earning potential compared to people who have zero student loan? I am sure it is much, much greater than $350,000!

But what do I know, I haven't even started paying back my loans yet.
 
I just ran into this thread because PharmDKat bumped it. I skimmed it and to say the least, the individuals here calling the OP what is essentially synonymous with "idiot" or "hypocrite" do not know what they are talking about. I'm not calling those people dumb or anything; they just have limited experience and can only draw from a small pool of working at retail only... or maybe they're still students... or going simply off conjecture.

The OP said all this back in 2012, and the information is accurate. It's only natural progression that as the job market becomes flooded, wages decrease and the employer is rewarded with better labor at a cheaper rate. Why would I hire a pharmacist who is asking for $130k/year when I can find an exact replica for $80 to 100k/year? Competition is fierce among independently owned pharmacies, we all know that; and the savings isn't only $30-50k/year for business owners; you have to figure in various other fees that scale with pay.

I took an $80k/year pay cut to work at my pharmacy; the whole idea about small/smaller (2 different facets) wage is something many will not understand. One more thing - I wouldn't be surprised if I posted a job in 310 or 949 at $60k/year, full time and had applicants.
 
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ExpressMaiL said:
I took an $80k/year pay cut to work at my pharmacy; the whole idea about small/smaller (2 different facets) wage is something many will not understand. One more thing - I wouldn't be surprised if I posted a job in 310 or 949 at $60k/year, full time and had applicants.
Click to expand...

You would get applicants, and they'd be very good/functional new/new-ish grads, but will they stay for the long haul and would you recoup your training and acquisition costs if/when they leave? These same applicants will work per-diem locally, and after a trial run and some organic/natural personnel movement at the other place, you'll become their stepping stone because they'll now enter the "experienced pharmacist 1+/3+ years" level of the marketplace which is a bit different from "licensed pharmacist 0+"
 
confettiflyer said:
You would get applicants, and they'd be very good/functional new/new-ish grads, but will they stay for the long haul and would you recoup your training and acquisition costs if/when they leave? These same applicants will work per-diem locally, and after a trial run and some organic/natural personnel movement at the other place, you'll become their stepping stone because they'll now enter the "experienced pharmacist 1+/3+ years" level of the marketplace which is a bit different from "licensed pharmacist 0+"
Click to expand...

After observing their work ethic and productivity, I'll increase their pay accordingly. If they're not worthwhile, I'll find a new hire. I have no problem increasing their pay to $100k+ or splitting their position into two parts if need be. I cross train employees on a need-to-know basis so my operation takes a smaller hit when **** happens.
 
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ExpressMaiL said:
I took an $80k/year pay cut to work at my pharmacy; the whole idea about small/smaller (2 different facets) wage is something many will not understand. One more thing - I wouldn't be surprised if I posted a job in 310 or 949 at $60k/year, full time and had applicants.
Click to expand...

I would be all up on that if you did. I'll take what I can get at this point. Been unemployed since July and still waiting to get licensed UGH!
 
DexterRx said:
I would be all up on that if you did. I'll take what I can get at this point. Been unemployed since July and still waiting to get licensed UGH!
Click to expand...

well that's definitely a reason for unemployment.
 
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PharmDTop5 said:
1st -- Before you jump on me, understand this: I am only speaking about what I know from extensive analysis of the California market (maybe some of this will translate into other states but again this is for California people primarily). If you attend, UCSF, USC, Western, UCSD, etc this job market post is for you.
2nd -- Feel free to disagree but cite your numbers/evidence
3rd -- My analysis is meant only to help new people coming into the field seriously understand the job market.
4th -- This analysis is based on my understanding of the graduation numbers from the following schools of pharmacy: USC, UOP, Loma Linda, UCSF, UCSD, Touro, Western, California Northstate. This does not take into account the 3 other planned school openings within the next 2 years and the high potential school at UCR. Also, I can tell you as my family are donors to the UC system, I know there is a heavy push especially within the UCLA medical campus community for a school of pharmacy there. This is low radar still but point is the same...we have 8 operating schools, 3 potentials in the pipeline and potentially even 1 more. This is insane on so many levels and it doesn't take a genius to figure this out but I'm going to give you my two cents.

My background - my family owns 8 independent pharmacies in the state of California. Two are very big operations within hospitals. I am not rich (the business is divided among many partners, cousins, uncles, etc)...I myself own about 12% of the show as I am new on the scene (and FYI I draw less than 40,000 dollars of personal salary a year and put many hours of sweat equity for this stake). Yes, it is a family business and I am taken care of but I just want to share this detail because I think some people will be able to see that I am not some spoiled kid trying to rain on the pharmacy parade here. This is a true warning form someone in the know. My family is connected to many other owners in the state and many of my comments are not just for my business but for other owners as well.

All the prime counties in the state are literally saturated with pharmacy labor right now. 100% saturated. Floater jobs only. 6 out of 8 of our pharmacies are in prime counties (one in SF, some in LA, one in Irvine, OC etc) and 2 are in the less desirable areas (San Bernardino county). 4 out of the 6 in the last 1.5 years needed new staff pharmacists (due to retirements etc)...we hired about 6 full time pharmacists in the last 18 months essentially. 5 at the prime locations and 1 at a not so prime location. **I am younger and in the business (have a BA in Finance and a CPA before pharmacy school and so am involved with all contracts and accounting for the entire operation). For the 5 prime locations for work comparable to a chain (40 hours a week etc) we paid an average annual wage of 81,000 a year. Are benefits package costed us another 11,000 per employee and we incurred other costs (payroll taxes etc) that added to the total employee cost for us. But that is beside the point...you should focus on the 81k. The employees we hired had minimal loans (parent help or whatever, but that is the truth) but one of the employees did have up to 70kish in loans. For the non prime location pharmacy, we paid 102,000 for a new staff pharmacist with 4 yearsish experience.

The 81k a year was the average but most were around that average. My family is not cruel...we were able to get these employees fairly easily we did not sell ourselves etc. After interviewing/hiring we found out that we could have easily paid 75k (but probably not lower) and have got these people to sign our contract. All 6 people we hired were graduates of USC/Western so I can't generalize to all schools but I can say we did get applicants from nearly all California schools we just settled on these two schools because we liked the folks and thought they would stay at our pharmacies for many years etc.

From a business perspective, we cut 6 pharmacists that were at 130ish in salary to 5 pharmacists at 81k and 1 at 102k. Substantial savings and we are getting more productive, better educated labor here. However, we don't feel good about paying the wage we do. My parents are the first to call our association networkers to try to protect pharmacy from over satuartion etc. But at the same time, they run a business and they are going to get what they can get especially in a recession when we have 2 pharmacies barely breaking even after all the costs.

My opinion on the California job outlook for Pharmacists is that it is BLEAK. Extremely extremely bleak. I am telling you 80k a year for a pharmacist wage isn't some future saturation myth...it is here now...we PAY it...that's our new rate, we don't pay a dime over 85k and won't in our new store openings either...doesn't matter about your experience. We don't need experience, we need a license (until pharmacists are able to bill for real services). I hate it, I don't like to cheapen our profession but with the margins the way they are this is what we have to do to survive. And with the new schools opening up, with cut throat people...I am telling you all...your classmates will take a job at our pharmacy for 75k. I know it for a fact. Heck some may go lower. That should scare you...it scares me!

All I can say is-- if you are pre pharmacy in California ...RE CONSIDER now until things get resolved. Lots of other healthcare professions are not having it as bad as we are right now in California.

If you are in pharmacy school -- do something to distinguish yourself. The people we still pay well are either extremely good at running a compounding operation or essentially business managers doing pharmacist staff work as an extra. Complain to the associations, the state board...anyone that will listen. GET up and GET involved fast ladies and gentleman becuase I am telling you we are in a free fall and there is an influx of graduates right now and the supply and demand is all out of whack. DONT listen to all that bull**** about MTM jobs and healthcare reform and baby boomers. This is absolute garbage. This is California...everyone wants to live here, work here etc...we have one staff Pharmacist who essentially came to California to work 25 hours a week, live in Newport Beach and die after working 30 years in Arizona. The California job market for pharmacists in prime areas is completely shot. The chains haven't dropped their new salaries yet (they're just cutting hours, benefits and bonuses etc) but they will...

As someone involved in the pharmacy business, I can tell you for a fact that in the last 2 years many people are getting into the pharmacy labor market at 85k or less. Chains are simply just not going to hire...but then what you have to go to a hospital staff pharmacy or independent or clinic and take 85k and that day where that is the standard is coming. Be careful everyone. God bless and I hope we can fight this trend, we need pharmacists to bill for clinical services and we need to stop the school openings. Do this and business owners will be happy to pay 130s and up for the pharmacist.
Click to expand...

I agree with the OP. My cousin graduated from Feik School of Pharmacy - University of the Incarnate Word with a Pharmacy degree in June 2015. The best pharmacist job he could find in San Jose, CA was a $130K job where he had to work 70 hours a week. This is $37 an hour. Converting to 40 hours a week, it comes down to $78K exactly as the OP has described.
Feik School of Pharmacy - University of the Incarnate Word
 
^ wtf... That school name sounds like a troll... That's the kind of school I'd shut down. And California pharmacists are paid by the hour with strict OT laws, so I think you are trolling
 
I asked about that too in another thread. Are you sure the job isn't 7 on 7 off? California is one of the only states that mandates OT and lunch breaks for pharmacists, I doubt someone is working 70 hours every week making 130k as a pharmacist or that their base hourly rate is $37 an hour.
 
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