Class of 2010: how's the job hunting so far?

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The short version: The market is bad, and it's getting worse.

The long version:

I wanted a position in a certain metropolitan area on the East Coast, but I was getting nowhere. Neither networking nor aggressively pursuing potential openings proved to be helpful.

I accepted a position in a small town about 80 miles from the center of the aforementioned metropolitan area.

Even out here in the rural areas, the market is getting tight. You can still find a position if you work at it, but it's not nearly as easy as you'd think. I never thought I'd see saturation in the rural areas, but it's happening.
 
I just shocked the chit out of myself testing the sprinkler valve solenoid! 😱

It hurts!
 
We are in Ohio. My fiancee who graduated with me couldn't start looking until my residency match result came out, and is thus also restricted to within commuting distance, so she had it harder than most. Ohio is also ultra saturated thanks to having 7 COPs, with one right where I'm doing my residency.

She applied to everything under the sun. Basically after interning for 3 years with kroger, they had no job for her. Walgreens/CVS/Kroger are not hiring. Target is dead, Biggs no openings, Walmart got nothig. Lacking hospital experience, nothing for her there. RiteAid only needed part time floaters for 1-2 days a week, no benefits, as well as Planed Parenthood.

After 2 months of frustrating searches, she got a job with a long term care pharmacy, partly thanks to her boss being an alum and her 1 year of long-term care internship. It pays $15-20K less than Walg/CVS, but is a 9-5 job and very low stress. Only 2 weeks of vacation/yr starting, 401(k) match 50% on first 6%. I feel that her health care benefits are expensive, but I can cover her with my VA pimpin benefits. 😀

All in all, we are happy and lucky how things turned out given the late job hunting time frame. When you see OSU grads having to hunt for jobs like that then you know Ohio is very saturated. Only the cleveland area isn't bad, but that will change when the diploma mills there start graduating their 1st class next year. We don't expecting to stay in Ohio after my residency when I start job hunting.
 
torchbearer said:
The short version: The market is bad, and it's getting worse.

The long version:

I wanted a position in a certain metropolitan area on the East Coast, but I was getting nowhere. Neither networking nor aggressively pursuing potential openings proved to be helpful.

I accepted a position in a small town about 80 miles from the center of the aforementioned metropolitan area.

Even out here in the rural areas, the market is getting tight. You can still find a position if you work at it, but it's not nearly as easy as you'd think. I never thought I'd see saturation in the rural areas, but it's happening.
Click to expand...

The same thing had already begun in Australia as well. This stupid Aussie gov't overreacted to the perceived shortage of pharmacists and too many pharmacy schools were built with increasing number of students, close to 1500 per year for a population of only about 22 million! The result, of course, is shortage of jobs, not pharmacists.
 
aussiepharmer said:
The same thing had already begun in Australia as well. This stupid Aussie gov't overreacted to the perceived shortage of pharmacists and too many pharmacy schools were built with increasing number of students, close to 1500 per year for a population of only about 22 million! The result, of course, is shortage of jobs, not pharmacists.
Click to expand...

At least in Australia you don't have $100k-150k in loans to pay back.
 
rx4life would love to hear your pain!
 
Not c/o 2010, but unemployed.

One hospital called me back but I never heard from them again. Everyone else...nothing. Starting to get rather dejected and depressed. Hoping I don't have to resort to retail. But if I do...I do.

Maybe I'll join the Army and go hang out with Caverject.
 
I'm happy things are the way they are.. now hopefully less idiots will go into pharmacy now that it's becoming like any other job instead of a glorified, highly paid super tech position. I know too many retail pharmacists who did it for the money, and their lack of education and lack of patient care shows. Hopefully there will be a backlash against all these new schools with employers now that they can be "selective". I honestly don't care that you have to move 100 miles from a party city to find a job or that you're making only $100k a year, boo hoo. (No one in particular, but in general).
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Not c/o 2010, but unemployed.

One hospital called me back but I never heard from them again. Everyone else...nothing. Starting to get rather dejected and depressed. Hoping I don't have to resort to retail. But if I do...I do.

Maybe I'll join the Army and go hang out with Caverject.
Click to expand...


You in the Army. LOL.
 
BMBiology said:
rx4life would love to hear your pain!
Click to expand...

not trying to bring back the pain, but since one of my intern told me she got a job offer in San Jose , so i thought the job market has been improving...so just being nosy and curious a little bit...
 
themorphinerule said:
I'm happy things are the way they are.. now hopefully less idiots will go into pharmacy now that it's becoming like any other job instead of a glorified, highly paid super tech position. I know too many retail pharmacists who did it for the money, and their lack of education and lack of patient care shows. Hopefully there will be a backlash against all these new schools with employers now that they can be "selective". I honestly don't care that you have to move 100 miles from a party city to find a job or that you're making only $100k a year, boo hoo. (No one in particular, but in general).
Click to expand...
Good luck on the job hunt😉.
 
Just a thought...

Right now there are ~ 307 million people in the US. Its estimated that 83% of americans are now covered by insurance. While I'm not going to suggest that uninsured americans do not fill Rxs, I will say that they are a hell of a lot less likely to than someone who has insurance (if you're paying for ins, you feel the need to get some use out of it). So we're looking at say 255 mil insured to the 270k pharmacists in the US (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm data from '08 on the pharms). That's roughly 1 pharmacist per thousand people. With the new health care law, coverage is suppose to go up by 12% or ~ 35 million people. This should equate to ~ 35k pharmacists being needed if the ratios hold. Granted there is a hell of a lot more that goes into than that, but still, there should be some improvement and not more doom and gloom by 2014. No?
 
joetrisman said:
Just a thought...

Right now there are ~ 307 million people in the US. Its estimated that 83% of americans are now covered by insurance. While I'm not going to suggest that uninsured americans do not fill Rxs, I will say that they are a hell of a lot less likely to than someone who has insurance (if you're paying for ins, you feel the need to get some use out of it). So we're looking at say 255 mil insured to the 270k pharmacists in the US (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm data from '08 on the pharms). That's roughly 1 pharmacist per thousand people. With the new health care law, coverage is suppose to go up by 12% or ~ 35 million people. This should equate to ~ 35k pharmacists being needed if the ratios hold. Granted there is a hell of a lot more that goes into than that, but still, there should be some improvement and not more doom and gloom by 2014. No?
Click to expand...


You forgot that there were only 91 Pharmacy schools when I started in 2006. Now there are something like 108. So diploma mills pwns you. 🙁
 
joetrisman said:
Just a thought...

Right now there are ~ 307 million people in the US. Its estimated that 83% of americans are now covered by insurance. While I'm not going to suggest that uninsured americans do not fill Rxs, I will say that they are a hell of a lot less likely to than someone who has insurance (if you're paying for ins, you feel the need to get some use out of it). So we're looking at say 255 mil insured to the 270k pharmacists in the US (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm data from '08 on the pharms). That's roughly 1 pharmacist per thousand people. With the new health care law, coverage is suppose to go up by 12% or ~ 35 million people. This should equate to ~ 35k pharmacists being needed if the ratios hold. Granted there is a hell of a lot more that goes into than that, but still, there should be some improvement and not more doom and gloom by 2014. No?
Click to expand...

Not everyone gets sick. I know plenty of people that has never needed a rx filled for them. I haven't had any filled for me in years.
 
If I go out on the DC Beltway way with a sign that read, "Unemployed Pharmacist. No jobs anywhere. Will counsel for food."...you guys think I might make the news and maybe someone somehwere that is hiring will call me? I'm about to start dropping applications off to Omnicare pretty soon.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
If I go out on the DC Beltway way with a sign that read, "Unemployed Pharmacist. No jobs anywhere. Will counsel for food."...you guys think I might make the news and maybe someone somehwere that is hiring will call me?
Click to expand...

No because they can get free counseling at any pharmacy! Your service has no additional value to the consumers.
 
It seems there is some hospital jobs in Phoenix area - the hospital I worked at previous has 2-3 openings. I know of a couple others. Phoenix Children's always seems to need pharmacists.
 
Mike's wife hates the heat. I know of a few openings here in Phx, too. Wasn't aware of Phx Children's....that is a FANTASTIC hospital. Top notch right there. 3 of the hospitals here in the valley made top 10 hospitals of the year in their respective categories. They are all hiring, too.
 
rxlea said:
Mike's wife hates the heat. I know of a few openings here in Phx, too. Wasn't aware of Phx Children's....that is a FANTASTIC hospital. Top notch right there. 3 of the hospitals here in the valley made top 10 hospitals of the year in their respective categories. They are all hiring, too.
Click to expand...

I'll apply. I'll buy the most bad ass air conditioner in the history of the universe. I'm 'bout at my whit's end.
 
lmfao...could you imaginebeing one of these people: Link

I love their mission statement.

Connolly Healthcare's Non-Negotiable Values
Integrity
Self-Motivated
Passionate
Team Player
Results Oriented
Reliable
Professional
Boundaryless Behavior
Our mission, "We exist to positively impact the profitability of our clients".
Click to expand...

I got the boundryless behavior down. Assuming they mean that I'll do anything they want me to without any real ethical qualms to overcome. The sad thing is that that is the type of job I'd be the damned king at. But...yikes...I'd feel like a slimeball every day of my life.
 
xiphoid2010 said:
Only 2 weeks of vacation/yr starting
Click to expand...
You don't even know how spoiled you are if you say "only" two weeks of vacation. In corporate world, you are lucky if you get a week in your first year. 😀
 
does anyone know of a position in sf? Please PM me if u know :xf:
 
rxlea said:
No go on Australia. They are saturated, too.
Click to expand...

Even more so than North America, and the signs of saturation began earlier than you guys, like around early- or mid-2007. Now the saturation is so severe that the hourly rate is only a tad bit more than tech wages. Not only that, discount chain stores that also operate as pharmacies ruined the profession in AU. New Zealand is also saturated I heard.
If you say life isn't all about money, how long do you think it will take to buy an average flat(apartment) that costs at least AUD$400~500k for a 2-bedroom with an hourly salary of only $28~30/hr, paying rental rates of avg. $350/week pre-purchase? AU also rips you off on almost every other aspect too.
Free healthcare? lol - taxes are also much higher here.

Oh and btw, you can never emmigrate to AU as a pharmacist, as of July 1st 2010.
 
I heard it is also difficult to emigrate to Europe as an American. Is this true? Maybe I will claim asylum in Canada, become a citizen, and then get into EU that way. :laugh:
 
rxlea said:
I heard it is also difficult to emigrate to Europe as an American. Is this true? Maybe I will claim asylum in Canada, become a citizen, and then get into EU that way. :laugh:
Click to expand...

I have dual citizenship with a EU country. Working there wouldn't be a problem. However working there as a pharmacist would require going through all the requirements to get license reciprocated...which often times requires taking additional coursework.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
I have dual citizenship with a EU country. Working there wouldn't be a problem. However working there as a pharmacist would require going through all the requirements to get license reciprocated...which often times requires taking additional coursework.
Click to expand...

You have a citizenship in Liechtenstein? I thought you grew up in Arizona bordering Central North American country.
 
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