Fellowship

[yubjun]

Who here is doing a fellowship at a pharmaceutical?

How do you like it? Is it worth it? Do you wish that you just went for a retail or hospital and make the big bucks right away?

Really interested in what your thoughts are.

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[Hels2007]

Who here is doing a fellowship at a pharmaceutical?

How do you like it? Is it worth it? Do you wish that you just went for a retail or hospital and make the big bucks right away?

Really interested in what your thoughts are.

FellowshOp? That's giving me interesting mental images.

Well, I am a pharmaceutical industry fellow, and I like it. I would rather take my brain out with a rusty spoon than work in a hospital, and after 5 years of being a Walgreen's slave I know very well I would turn homicidal after a couple years of full-time retail.

 

[DrugRX]

FellowshOp? That's giving me interesting mental images.

Well, I am a pharmaceutical industry fellow, and I like it. I would rather take my brain out with a rusty spoon than work in a hospital, and after 5 years of being a Walgreen's slave I know very well I would turn homicidal after a couple years of full-time retail.

Plz give us some insights. How did you get a job in pharmaceutical company only with retail experience? What kind of work do you do?

Any inputs are really appreciated!

 

[xml2]

hmm...are you who we think it is?

FellowshOp? That's giving me interesting mental images.

Well, I am a pharmaceutical industry fellow, and I like it. I would rather take my brain out with a rusty spoon than work in a hospital, and after 5 years of being a Walgreen's slave I know very well I would turn homicidal after a couple years of full-time retail.

 

[Hels2007]

hmm...are you who we think it is?

If you think I am who I think you think I am, then yes.

 

[Hels2007]

Plz give us some insights. How did you get a job in pharmaceutical company only with retail experience? What kind of work do you do?

Any inputs are really appreciated!

I am in business analytics. And how I got the fellowship... the same as everyone - I applied. As far as getting a real job - that works the same. CV, interview, offer. No one is born with years of industry experience (though people who go to East Coast schools with strong industry ties, such as USP and Rutgers, who can do multiple rotations at different industry sites have a bit of an advantage). Application process is the same everywhere (though with the acute shortage of pharmacists, we have grown lazy and don't really experience the rigorous job search the way other majors do). Write a good cover letter (amazing how many people neglect it...), tell WHY you want to be there and WHAT can you bring to the company. Then interview - and interview techniques are described in any number of sources. Also, to get a job in the industry if you aren't from an East-Coast school, it's good to do a summer internship (or a fellowship, which may be one or two years, as I am doing). If you have specific questions, please go here.

 

[cdpiano27]

Yes, from my experience, in the stat world. Sometimes only that first intern may lead to many other things. So I think that yes, going to the Philadelphia college of pharmacy or rutgers, or UNC puts you at an advantage. This is because the fellowships (pharmaceutical industry ones) are managed by the Mario School of pharmacy at Rutgers in the first place!!!

So going to Rutgers would place you at a big advantage.

And of course USP is the first pharmacy school in the nation and Eli Lilly went there or something like that.

By the way, there is a USP graduate in the company that I am interning at, who did a BS of pharmacy in 1995, then did clinical for a while, then marketing at Astra-Zeneca, and now he is a contract SAS programmer. So yes, the PharmD is very flexible, in what you can do.

 

[smartboy84]

Hey. Going along with this discussion, I was wondering what a pharmacist does after completing a fellowship. Also, what kinda of salary (approximate number) can one expect to make once having completed a 2 year fellowship in pharmacy. I am currently a pharmacy student who is trying to decide whether it is worth my time and energy (also I have lots of loans) to pursue a fellowship or just go into community pharmacy ie walgreens. I like aspects of each profession so maybe further insight into the fellowship career path may be helpful. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

This is because the fellowships (pharmaceutical industry ones) are managed by the Mario School of pharmacy at Rutgers in the first place!!!

So going to Rutgers would place you at a big advantage.

Not necessarily. There are usually more people from Rutgers in the fellowship program, than, say, University of North Dakota, but it's because that's where the program is best known and most applications come from there.

Going to Rutgers is not necessarily an advantage. It's advantage is that it allows you to explore different aspects of industry on rotations, when most schools have two, one or no industry rotations. However, as my department director confided, midwestern graduates have better work ethics and are often better prepared and more well-rounded. You decide. I went to a small midwestern school, where the only industry rotation available was in phase I and II clinical research at a company that contracted with big pharma to run those studies for them (I had to set up my own industry rotation - which is actually helpful, it shows that you are being proactive).

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Hey. Going along with this discussion, I was wondering what a pharmacist does after completing a fellowship.

Why, anything! I know of people who decided industry isn't for them after all and went into retail & hospital. I know of people who founded their own pharmaceutical companies or became VPs at established ones. I know of people working in clinical research, regulatory, marketing, sales... you name it. It's even not necessarily related to what they did during their fellowship.

Also, what kinda of salary (approximate number) can one expect to make once having completed a 2 year fellowship in pharmacy. I am currently a pharmacy student who is trying to decide whether it is worth my time and energy (also I have lots of loans) to pursue a fellowship or just go into community pharmacy ie walgreens. I like aspects of each profession so maybe further insight into the fellowship career path may be helpful. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.

Between 70,000 and 110,000 is the typical starting pay, depending on the position. Industry pharmacists typically start out significantly lower than retail. It's the potential there - in retail, after first three years, your salary will only grow with the consumer index, unless you develop some unique skills/programs/own you own pharmacy/etc. In industry, if you are competent, it grows significantly over time, and doesn't stop. I would suggest you decide what you want to do, not what amount of money you want to make, in making your decision. Besides, I will be honest, fellowships are so competitive, unless you show that it is what you really, really want to do, you will not be accepted.