CVS or Walgreens

[cuckoo879]

Hi guys I need some advise here as to which company I should pick.

So back in September last year, my school did a career day and I interviewed at CVS and walgreen. CVS interview went very well, however cannot say the same for walgreens.

Needless to say, about a month later I was contacted by CVS and went through another telephone interview and received an offer in California. While I was waiting for the CVS offer, I just wanted to keep my options open and applied for walgreens in California too. Walgreens took a long time to get back to me and by the time a pharmacy manager contacted me, I've already accepted CVS offer.

Well, I went to the walgreen interview just for the practice, and the manager offered me a conditional offer on the spot. (meaning I have to go through drug test and such). I wasn't expecting this to happen, considering how bad the career day interview went, now I don't know what to do.

Walgreens:
Pros:
Desirable location. (close to my fiancé and family compare to CVS)
Less stressful?
pharmacy manager said I can qualify for potential scholarship if I decide to sign up as 6th year grad intern?
Cons:
Floater position
Wanted me to train as 6th year intern at the location. (40miles away from my parent's house)
Potentially expensive living arrangements.

CVS:
Pros:
Better pay than walgreens?
FT staff position.
Allows me to train near my parent's house during 6th intern.
Cons:
Stress?
Located in an area 30 miles to the nearest city, 100 miles to my parent's house.
If have to commute, would have to drive over a 10-15 mile stretch of mountain.

Since I went to a school in different state, CVS hasn't started anything with me yet. (Just completed my drug test last Friday.) No sit in stone training day/orientation either. How bad is it to "burn" the CVS bridge at this point? Also, how bad is it to work as floater at walgreens, typically how long does it take for people to get a home store?
If you can comment on anything regarding benefits for both companies are also greatly appreciated.

I'm just pulling my hair out at this point.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[owlegrad]

That scholarship sounds pretty suspect to me. I didn't think any of the chains offered those anymore?

Tough choice. I don't know that I would want to float somewhere that had a lot of mountain driving. You say Walgreens has a convenient location but how can that be if you are floating?

 

[wagrxm2000]

If you are a floater for walgreens you can be sent to any store in the district. So are you a floater or are they giving you hours between a couple stores?

 

[cj98]

Kind of sad these two companies are the main choices this upcoming year.

 

[cuckoo879]

That scholarship sounds pretty suspect to me. I didn't think any of the chains offered those anymore?

Tough choice. I don't know that I would want to float somewhere that had a lot of mountain driving. You say Walgreens has a convenient location but how can that be if you are floating?

The area I would float will still be closer than the CVS location. CVS 100 miles away. walgreen furthest I will float according to the PM 60-80 miles away. I say its a better location, mainly because that's in the center of bay area, closer to great restaurants, San Francisco, and many of my friends are located there. Mainly my family and fiancé are within driving distance and the BART system(Train) basically covers the region. (My mom doesn't drive + great alternative to driving when I want to go home)

 

[cuckoo879]

If you are a floater for walgreens you can be sent to any store in the district. So are you a floater or are they giving you hours between a couple stores?

PM told me all new grad interns starts off as floaters. So I will cover the entire district, which was not that bad per PM. I don't know how big districts usually are tho. The area mentioned by PM aren't that far apart. (I consider >60 miles far away)

 

[Lnsean]

take the staff position at CVS......for the convenience of having 1 store and 1 set schedule. Trust me, walgreens isn't better than cvs, vice versa.

 

[Sine Cura]

Use the drive-thru criterion.

Unless it's a newer location CVS is less likely to have a drive-thru. Walgreens is synonymous with drive-thru.

 

[farmadiazepine]

It doesn't matter which one you pick. They are the same thing as a pharmacist, pharmacy "intern", or pharmacy tech.

 

[cuckoo879]

Thank you guys for your inputs.

I just found out walgreens doesn't even guarantee hours, as only June/July training I'm gauranteed 40 hours, then I'll work as needed.
CVS promises 30 hours, but my DM said if I'm good at my job I'll get 40 =( the pressure is on....

 

[BidingMyTime]

. I say its a better location, mainly because that's in the center of bay area, closer to great restaurants, San Francisco, and many of my friends are located there.

What! Did BLB see this? I thought there were no pharmacy jobs at all in CA, how did you get 2 offers near San Francisco?

 

[hye345]

What! Did BLB see this? I thought there were no pharmacy jobs at all in CA, how did you get 2 offers near San Francisco?

I heard from a buddy of mine at CVS that they short/looking to hire 7 pharmacists in the South SF/Oakland area. Apparently, the whole of CA isn't as saturated as these forums would have you believe...

 

[cuckoo879]

What! Did BLB see this? I thought there were no pharmacy jobs at all in CA, how did you get 2 offers near San Francisco?

Yeah, I just checked walgreens, they have positions popping up all over the area in the bay area. (for grad interns ) Those positions weren't there 2 month ago

 

[Rukn]

It doesn't matter which one you pick. They are the same thing as a pharmacist, pharmacy "intern", or pharmacy tech.

This

Both are absolutely terrible and identical

 

[useruseruser]

What! Did BLB see this? I thought there were no pharmacy jobs at all in CA, how did you get 2 offers near San Francisco?

I heard from a buddy of mine at CVS that they short/looking to hire 7 pharmacists in the South SF/Oakland area. Apparently, the whole of CA isn't as saturated as these forums would have you believe...

hi 2016 grad here. also chiming in that I had no problem at all getting offers from CVS and Walgreens in the bay. Walgreens actually gave me an offer the same day I interviewed. Socal friends (LA/SD) have no issues getting offers with CVS either (though I haven't heard of Walgreens offers in socal yet..)

 

[Rouelle]

Retail is retail. They're all the same, just a different sign on the building

 

[Momus]

When you said pay is better is actually 1-2 dollars different hourly between companies, not worth it. Undesirable areas normally gives 3-4 dollars more for the same company, again not worth it. Pick whichever suits your lifestyle better. You aren't gonna miss $8k difference (5k/yr after taxes).

 

[cuckoo879]

Thanks for the input guys, I think I'm going with CVS due to guaranteed hours. Heard some pharmacist working as floater at walgreens only gets 10 hours a week, the uncertainty scares me...

 

[Digsbe]

How do they usually schedule? Does anyone know which one lets pharmacists work 10-14 hour shifts? My dream retail job would be long shifts and alternating weekends giving me a "short week" where I have 4-5 days off. I worked at a place that had the pharmacists do 2 13 hour shifts each week with alternating Fri (13 hr) Sat (9 hr) and Sun (6 hr) shifts totaling to 80 hours biweekly. I'd love that kind of schedule. I can put up with metrics if it means having a dream schedule.

 

[BidingMyTime]

How do they usually schedule? Does anyone know which one lets pharmacists work 10-14 hour shifts?

CVS & K-Mart, probably most grocery chains to 10 - 14 hour shifts. Possibly Target now that CVS is buying them out.

 

[Sine Cura]

The fact that there happen to be openings at CVS in "desirable areas" may mean that in that particular district their last batch of new grads didn't pan out or the sup is a tyrant and people are jumping ship. But all they need to do is find enough Northstate graduates who will stick only because he/she is desperate to pay off 300k in loans. Turnover is built in as part of the hiring model, and also people with other options (or who think they have them) typically do not last long. I doubt any of these jobs are 40-hour non-float positions. As far as Oakland locations go, the closer you are to the "flats" the more likely you get riff-raff. Where are the openings in Marin County? LOL

I walk into a CVS in my area once in a while out of curiosity, and the people on the wall are typically foreign graduates who have been with the company for some time, new or recent grads from Northstate or Touro, even MCPHS grads. RXM might be a UoP grad from the time of Longs Drugs who is stuck financially due to a 401k loan.

If you are hired for only 30 hours guaranteed a week as a floater, sups are just hedging their bets because most new grads quit within a year, some in a few months, or even a week. If you are hired externally as a FT staff pharmacist and given a store right away, they must be really desperate, so assume that store is a dumpster fire. At the least the latter can be considered a sign of relative job security if you can hack it.

 

[aglo123]

Hi guys I need some advise here as to which company I should pick.

So back in September last year, my school did a career day and I interviewed at CVS and walgreen. CVS interview went very well, however cannot say the same for walgreens.

Needless to say, about a month later I was contacted by CVS and went through another telephone interview and received an offer in California. While I was waiting for the CVS offer, I just wanted to keep my options open and applied for walgreens in California too. Walgreens took a long time to get back to me and by the time a pharmacy manager contacted me, I've already accepted CVS offer.

Well, I went to the walgreen interview just for the practice, and the manager offered me a conditional offer on the spot. (meaning I have to go through drug test and such). I wasn't expecting this to happen, considering how bad the career day interview went, now I don't know what to do.

Walgreens:
Pros:
Desirable location. (close to my fiancé and family compare to CVS)
Less stressful?
pharmacy manager said I can qualify for potential scholarship if I decide to sign up as 6th year grad intern?
Cons:
Floater position
Wanted me to train as 6th year intern at the location. (40miles away from my parent's house)
Potentially expensive living arrangements.

CVS:
Pros:
Better pay than walgreens?
FT staff position.
Allows me to train near my parent's house during 6th intern.
Cons:
Stress?
Located in an area 30 miles to the nearest city, 100 miles to my parent's house.
If have to commute, would have to drive over a 10-15 mile stretch of mountain.

Since I went to a school in different state, CVS hasn't started anything with me yet. (Just completed my drug test last Friday.) No sit in stone training day/orientation either. How bad is it to "burn" the CVS bridge at this point? Also, how bad is it to work as floater at walgreens, typically how long does it take for people to get a home store?
If you can comment on anything regarding benefits for both companies are also greatly appreciated.

I'm just pulling my hair out at this point.

Both:
-All about the metrics, literally any metric you can think of
-Vaccinations!

Walgreens:
-Lots of floaters and people who fill in at different stores, get to meet a lot of people.
-Express pay is convenient
-Computer systems have a lot of glitches which Walgreens seems to ignore and not fix but it is fine
-More of a "closed" concept pharmacy
-Many stores contain a robot that will fill top 200 drugs for you
-Many many bosses

CVS:
-Phone calls, phone calls, phone calls are stressed...PCQ calls on weekends are a must.
-They own CVS/caremark, which has a stake in a lot of prescriptions that they fill, AKA it's easier to find someone's insurance information with CVS.
-More of an "open" concept pharmacy
-Computer system is very simple, yet frustrating at times (i.e. patient on the phone wanting refills but doesn't have the rx numbers, only 5 rx's are listed per page on the profile, forcing you to remember which ones they want and then go back, which is tough when there are 10+ refills they want.)
-Typically do not contain robots that fill Top 200 drugs for you.


Floating is not fun. Take the FT staff position before someone else takes it from you.

 

[hye345]

If you are hired for only 30 hours guaranteed a week as a floater, sups are just hedging their bets because most new grads quit within a year, some in a few months, or even a week. If you are hired externally as a FT staff pharmacist and given a store right away, they must be really desperate, so assume that store is a dumpster fire. At the least the latter can be considered a sign of relative job security if you can hack it.

Hmm, what if one was hired externally as a FT staff pharmacist, but not given a store yet (just a specific region)? When I questioned my supervisor about specific stores, he said that the decisions are usually made in the spring, and mentioned that if I had any specific location preferences, he'd be happy to work with me to make that happen. Does this imply that the entire region itself is a dumpster fire?

 

[Sine Cura]

There are better stores and worse stores. If you given a store when you aren't even close to graduation, they are probably having a really hard time finding people because no one wants to work there. Why stick an external new grad somewhere when you can use a more experienced pharmacist or intern who you know isn't a total idiot?

 

[fayfes32]

I

Thanks for the input guys, I think I'm going with CVS due to guaranteed hours. Heard some pharmacist working as floater at walgreens only gets 10 hours a week, the uncertainty scares me...

I am in the same situation as you ...Don't know which one to pick but I am leaning toward CVS as they will be giving me one store and full time position. I was skeptical about CVS since I heard so many bad things about CVS ...But at the end they both retails

 

[hye345]

I

I am in the same situation as you ...Don't know which one to pick but I am leaning toward CVS as they will be giving me one store and full time position. I was skeptical about CVS since I heard so many bad things about CVS ...But at the end they both retails

This is true. Any 'perceived' difference will be largely overshadowed by the circumstances of your SPECIFIC location (demographics, relationship with supervisor/DM, etc...).