Feeling discouraged- low starting salary

[Teegee17]

Hi,
I'm graduating in May and I just got an offer from Rite Aid for a pharmacy position. I have worked in pharmerica for about 2 years which is not he typical retail setting but it's still experience. I received my offer letter in the mail today and my starting gross salary will be $3300 biweekly which amounts to $85,000/year. I honestly think this is too low, and I'm not sure if I should negotiate or just let things be. I'm really concerned on how I'll be able to pay off my loans, seeing that this is gross income, and taxes will have to be cut out. Help!

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[Teegee17]

Hourly?

It didn't say but I believe is amounts to $41. It just states I'll be compensated for all my pharmacy/ non pharmacy related duties with a gross biweekly total of $3300

 

[mentos]

What are your base hours? I've never heard of anyone negotiating starting salary with a chain these days. If you turn it down there are thousands of unemployed PharmDs who would love to have that.

 

[Teegee17]

What are your base hours? I've never heard of anyone negotiating starting salary with a chain these days. If you turn it down there are thousands of unemployed PharmDs who would love to have that.

Doesn't say just states I'll full time

 

[Sine Cura]

"FT" may mean whatever the company wants it to mean these days (I've seen FT 28/week, FT 30/week, FT 32/week etc...). I would get clarification.

 

[gwarm01]

That's way too low for 40 he/wk retail. I wouldn't take the job.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

You are not a current employee/intern, not licensed, and you got an offer for a pharmacist position after you graduate and get licensed in 7 months? Nope.


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[vm26]

Hi,
I'm graduating in May and I just got an offer from Rite Aid for a pharmacy position. I have worked in pharmerica for about 2 years which is not he typical retail setting but it's still experience. I received my offer letter in the mail today and my starting gross salary will be $3300 biweekly which amounts to $85,000/year. I honestly think this is too low, and I'm not sure if I should negotiate or just let things be. I'm really concerned on how I'll be able to pay off my loans, seeing that this is gross income, and taxes will have to be cut out. Help!

what is the going rate for new grads in that geographic area? What is the job market like in this area? If it is saturated they may be low-balling bc they can

 

[zelman]

Guys, I think the pharmacist job market might not be stellar. What do you think?

 

[croquemonsieur]

What region is this? Are you sure it doesn't say $4300 biweekly?

 

[Wickett]

It didn't say but I believe is amounts to $41. It just states I'll be compensated for all my pharmacy/ non pharmacy related duties with a gross biweekly total of $3300

It must not be for a full 40 hrs or you're getting royally screwed....no one I know graduating this year is getting anywhere near that low for retail. The job market is bad but even then, hours are what is getting cut, not pay/hr that drastically.

 

[gwarm01]

Guys, I think the pharmacist job market might not be stellar. What do you think?

But... my mom's friend told her it was an easy job that makes tons of money! And there is a huge shortage!

It must not be for a full 40 hrs or you're getting royally screwed....no one I know graduating this year is getting anywhere near that low for retail. The job market is bad but even then, hours are what is getting cut, not pay/hr that drastically.

I was offered $41/hr at a hospital as a new grad several years ago, laughed at them, then negotiated a higher rate. This person is getting royally screwed if they accept that rate to work at Rite Aid.

 

[radio frequency]

You are not a current employee/intern, not licensed, and you got an offer for a pharmacist position after you graduate and get licensed in 7 months? Nope.


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Why is that unbelievable? I had my grad intern offer by then with a company I'd never worked for.

 

[mentos]

Let's assume it's 30 base hours, that comes out to $55/hour. That sounds about right for MA. Most new grads are only guaranteed 30 hours not 40. I think CVS starting salary was $54/hr for new grads last year. You can always pick up extra shifts to get to 40 hours.

MA is the most saturated state in the country, but you knew that right? You are very lucky to get any job in this state.

 

[BMBiology]

What kind of offer tells you how much they will pay you without telling you how many hours you need to work?


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[Lnsean]

Why is that unbelievable? I had my grad intern offer by then with a company I'd never worked for.

These days really rare...being not licensed with no connection to said company.......maybe it was a while ago for you or a unique situation?

 

[mentos]

What kind of offer tells you how much they will pay you without telling you how many hours you need to work?


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All of the major chains give deceiving offers. For example CVS/wags will say "your salary will be $114,400 based on a 40 hour work week" which really means $55/hr. Then new grads are disappointed when they find out they are only guaranteed 30 hours. It's been like this for years so I don't know why new grads expect to be making guaranteed 6 figures.

 

[Wickett]

All of the major chains give deceiving offers. For example CVS/wags will say "your salary will be $114,400 based on a 40 hour work week" which really means $55/hr. Then new grads are disappointed when they find out they are only guaranteed 30 hours. It's been like this for years so I don't know why new grads expect to be making guaranteed 6 figures.

Yea most people are getting 30hr guaranteed float now. From what I hear though, if you put in some effort and don't suck, you'll find more hours. It makes me feel lucky I got the job I have when I graduated this past year.

 

[radio frequency]

These days really rare...being not licensed with no connection to said company.......maybe it was a while ago for you or a unique situation?

It was not very long ago and didn't seem that uncommon in my class.

 

[mustang sally]

If you're only working 30 hours a week, it's probably reasonable. But if full-time means 40 hours a week, then no way Jose.

However, I have no idea what the job market is like where you're at, so take this with a grain of salt. But it sounds like a pretty crappy deal to me.

 

[Lexington2012]

All of the major chains give deceiving offers. For example CVS/wags will say "your salary will be $114,400 based on a 40 hour work week" which really means $55/hr. Then new grads are disappointed when they find out they are only guaranteed 30 hours. It's been like this for years so I don't know why new grads expect to be making guaranteed 6 figures.

My CVS offer letter says "Staff Pharmacist FT."

Does this mean they can still give me only 30 hours? The pharmacy supervisor promised 40 hours. He said that all STAFF pharmacists are guaranteed 40 hours and it is only the floaters that get less.

 

[mentos]

My CVS offer letter says "Staff Pharmacist FT."

Does this mean they can still give me only 30 hours? The pharmacy supervisor promised 40 hours. He said that all STAFF pharmacists are guaranteed 40 hours and it is only the floaters that get less.

30 hours is considered full-time at CVS. Which is a great deal, IMO. If I could work only 30 hours and get health/dental/vision insurance, 401k, vacation time, sick pay, ESPP, etc I would take it and enjoy my time off.

If it's not in writing, I wouldn't believe anything your sup says.

 

[Chriskahn]

I would be ok with working only 30 hours a week while getting full benefits. Actually I might prefer that.

 

[Promethean]

You can and should negotiate. Even if the offer were higher than you'd expected. Never leave money on the table that was yours for the asking. An offer is unlikely to go away just because you say "You know, I'm really interested in the position, but can you do better than that on the pay? I've been looking at other opportunities and I'd really like (10% more than you want.) Can you get me closer to that figure to start?"

You may be told that the offer is firm, and you can decide what to do about that. But if someone is going to pull an offer because you merely asked for something that you wanted, that is a pretty good sign that you didn't want to work for that employer anyhow.

Also, always clarify the terms of an offer that matter to you, like what hours you would be working, and what shifts, etc. These are things that make sense to do anytime you are considering a position.

 

[gwarm01]

You can and should negotiate. Even if the offer were higher than you'd expected. Never leave money on the table that was yours for the asking. An offer is unlikely to go away just because you say "You know, I'm really interested in the position, but can you do better than that on the pay? I've been looking at other opportunities and I'd really like (10% more than you want.) Can you get me closer to that figure to start?"

You may be told that the offer is firm, and you can decide what to do about that. But if someone is going to pull an offer because you merely asked for something that you wanted, that is a pretty good sign that you didn't want to work for that employer anyhow.

Also, always clarify the terms of an offer that matter to you, like what hours you would be working, and what shifts, etc. These are things that make sense to do anytime you are considering a position.

Words of wisdom right here. If they offered you the job, they want you. If you ask politely you could easily get at least 5-10% more, which is several thousand dollars as a pharmacist. If they pull the job offer for that then they did you a favor because it's probably a toxic work environment.

 

[gwarm01]

I got told they couldn't negotiable for my last job. Sucked but whatever

I think that's pretty common, especially with public institutions. Still, never hurts to try.

 

[batteen1]

Hi,
I'm graduating in May and I just got an offer from Rite Aid for a pharmacy position. I have worked in pharmerica for about 2 years which is not he typical retail setting but it's still experience. I received my offer letter in the mail today and my starting gross salary will be $3300 biweekly which amounts to $85,000/year. I honestly think this is too low, and I'm not sure if I should negotiate or just let things be. I'm really concerned on how I'll be able to pay off my loans, seeing that this is gross income, and taxes will have to be cut out. Help!

I just got this same offer in Utah. Its a floater position with 30 hrs guaranteed. Seems like $55-$57 is the going rate when its broken down hourly, and Its not bad considering 30 hrs is full time with benefits for Rite Aid.

 

[npage148]

Yup. An offer won't go away if you ask for more, you just get told no. I had an offer that came in 10% below my current job. I was really honestly interested and said if you can meet me 1/2 I'll be happy. They said sorry. No can do but the original offer was still good. It was too bad because they really (up to that point) were after me