Highest paid pharmacist

Started by korndoctor
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korndoctor

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I was just wondering in your opinion or statistics, what are the highest paid type of pharmacists? Which type of pharmacists gets paid the highest? I saw many pharmacists when i look in the pfizer guide to pharm careers. Does retail get paid more than a pharmacists doing clinical trials?
 
The highest paid pharmacists are nuclear pharmacists. Retail comes after that.

Pharmacists doing clinical trials get paid OK, but not as much I believe. And a clinical trials job is very hard to get (you'd most likely be working for a CRO). This is what I want to do, and someone told me that there are only 2 fellowships in the whole country geared toward something like that (Rutgers and UNC).
 
DOP or a very successful, independent, entrepreneurial pharmacist.

Although, you shouldn't give a rat's about who makes the most. Pharmacists do well, nuff said.
 
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do nuclear pharmacists usually work in a hospital, near radiology department, doing chemo stuff etc?

yeah i figure clinical pharm doesnt make much and is very competitive to get. research is hard in terms of budgeting and grants
 
korndoctor said:
do nuclear pharmacists usually work in a hospital, near radiology department, doing chemo stuff etc?

yeah i figure clinical pharm doesnt make much and is very competitive to get. research is hard in terms of budgeting and grants
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Ask SpirivaSunrise, nicely of course. 🙂 I think she might be able to help you with that question.
 
what industry? do you mean pfizer, johnson & johnson etc?
what would your job title be in industry? and what qualifications/credentials like residency, etc do i need?
 
Nuclear pharmacists used to be same payscale as retail but not anymore. Many of the retail chains try to keep their pharmacists so the salary is adjusted every year or so. Not true with nuclear pharmacy. Plus the odd hours are a killer, if you have trouble sleeping for the graveyard shift..not for everyone.
 
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The answer is:

39.jpg

Tom Ryan, R.Ph
CEO of CVS Caremark
Annual Compensation: $18,000,000.00 Not bad for a guy who started out on the bench at CVS. We should all aspire to that good.....
 
Beav@Hilo said:
Let's play Jeopardy...

The question to his answer is "What is selling your soul?"
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Are you serious. This is the guy who has more than doubled my salary (120% over 7 years), increased my time off, paid to have me trained to give immunizations, makes me work less weekends and unlike when I worked for independent pharmacies, has never (nor has anyone at the company) reprimanded me for counseling patients in the manner I see fit.

So with your vast pharmacy school experience you know that he and everyone who works for his company, all 145,000 of them have sold their souls. A little presumptuous even for someone of your vast experience.

Maybe the Jeopardy question should be:

"Who has never practiced pharmacy, but knows the soul of everyone who does?"
 
Old Timer said:
Are you serious. This is the guy who has more than doubled my salary (120% over 7 years), increased my time off, paid to have me trained to give immunizations, makes me work less weekends and unlike when I worked for independent pharmacies, has never (nor has anyone at the company) reprimanded me for counseling patients in the manner I see fit.

So with your vast pharmacy school experience you know that he and everyone who works for his company, all 145,000 of them have sold their souls. A little presumptuous even for someone of your vast experience.

Maybe the Jeopardy question should be:

"Who has never practiced pharmacy, but knows the soul of everyone who does?"
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Ehhh but then again, are you going to tell me that if he can pay you 1 penny less, he wont? These wages are necessary for CVS to retain the pharmacists that they need. Anything less and people will go to a cushy hospital job with the luxary of an hour lunch break.
 
Personally, I wish he'd donate a little of his chump change to get rid of the current COMPUTER SYSTEM and replace it with something more state of the art!!!!!
 
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Aznfarmerboi said:
Ehhh but then again, are you going to tell me that if he can pay you 1 penny less, he wont? These wages are necessary for CVS to retain the pharmacists that they need. Anything less and people will go to a cushy hospital job with the luxary of an hour lunch break.
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You don't think your hospital employer would do the same thing. If CVS hadn't driven up the costs of pharmacists, would you would be receiving the same salary you are now?


loo said:
Personally, I wish he'd donate a little of his chump change to get rid of the current COMPUTER SYSTEM and replace it with something more state of the art!!!!!
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They are, coming to store near you in the fall of 08.....
 
KARM12 said:
Industry the most. Academia the least.
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Does academia really pay the least? I looked up some professors from pharmacy schools; they all seem to have 2 year residencies and many are also pharmacists for the pharmacy school (like at St. Louis, in the VA hospital) in addition to teaching.
I personally wouldn't want that job because I don't want to do 2 years residency and then have to spend all of that time preparing lectures, etc. but I thought the pay must be outstanding.
Why do people pick those jobs then? They just prefer a classroom setting?
 
HaleyRX said:
Does academia really pay the least? I looked up some professors from pharmacy schools; they all seem to have 2 year residencies and many are also pharmacists for the pharmacy school (like at St. Louis, in the VA hospital) in addition to teaching.
I personally wouldn't want that job because I don't want to do 2 years residency and then have to spend all of that time preparing lectures, etc. but I thought the pay must be outstanding.
Why do people pick those jobs then? They just prefer a classroom setting?
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Nah, there are professors at WVU that make $130k+. Starting out they get about $90k. The tenured folk get bank. I know this because you can look it up online...hehe...
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
Nah, there are professors at WVU that make $130k+. Starting out they get about $90k. The tenured folk get bank. I know this because you can look it up online...hehe...
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When I was at UW one of the assoc profs who taught half time told us she made 40K/year as a 0.5 FTE. So, there are lower paying classroom-only spots out there.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Nah, there are professors at WVU that make $130k+. Starting out they get about $90k. The tenured folk get bank. I know this because you can look it up online...hehe...
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I will just second this notion that academia is not close to being paid the least, and once again, I know this because it is public record. A few professors at my institution make near $200k as a base salary, which means they probably make even more than that.
 
Old Timer said:
We should all aspire to that good.....
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I've never seen the guy in a pharmacy setting and I doubt he was promoted for his clinical skills, so I don't think we should "all" aspire to be "that good." I suppose the ones that want to line their pockets would want to.

That's not to say he's not in a position to do a lot for the profession, nor that I think he's necessarily as money grubbing as everyone seems to think he is. He's just not what I aspire to be as a pharmacist.
 
Farmercyst said:
I've never seen the guy in a pharmacy setting and I doubt he was promoted for his clinical skills, so I don't think we should "all" aspire to be "that good." I suppose the ones that want to line their pockets would want to.

That's not to say he's not in a position to do a lot for the profession, nor that I think he's necessarily as money grubbing as everyone seems to think he is. He's just not what I aspire to be as a pharmacist.
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I want you emulate him, not imitate him. That means you should have the intelligence, drive, determination and luck to rise to the top of your professional world. There are just not that many CEO positions available at pharmacy related Fortune 20 companies.

No matter how small or large your professional circle is, there is always room at the top. That's what we all should aspire to become.....
 
Old Timer said:
You don't think your hospital employer would do the same thing. If CVS hadn't driven up the costs of pharmacists, would you would be receiving the same salary you are now?




They are, coming to store near you in the fall of 08.....
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True, but then again who needs us more. . . it was only a few years ago that CVS's profit was hurting while wags was making the big money because they didnt have enough pharmacists. I do give heavy props that CVS learned from their mistakes asap and thats why I buy cvs stocks and not rite aid.

In the end, its an equal relationship.
 
bacillus1 said:
The highest paid pharmacists are nuclear pharmacists. Retail comes after that.
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Well, if this is true...it's news to me! 😛 But then again, I work for the lower paying of the three amigos.

In all seriousness...from my experience, nuclear and retail pay very similar. Do NOT however, choose to specialize based on pay rates...you'll be miserable.

To the OP: take the time to find out what truly interests you...what your skills are...and where you can excel in providing pharm care.
 
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Love it! I saved the image and printed it. Tomorrow is my last day at Wags. Maybe I can stuff them in everyone's mailbox before leaving.
 
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korndoctor said:
I was just wondering in your opinion or statistics, what are the highest paid type of pharmacists? Which type of pharmacists gets paid the highest? I saw many pharmacists when i look in the pfizer guide to pharm careers. Does retail get paid more than a pharmacists doing clinical trials?
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Marry another pharmacist
 
I would presume it's pharmacists who own their own independent pharmacy. I think they average around $250,000/yr. It's the reason why the chains are so willing to pay us a decent salary -- there's more earning potential if we don't work for them. I know of several independent pharmacy owners in the Baltimore area that make over $1 million/year.
 
Sosumi said:
I would presume it's pharmacists who own their own independent pharmacy. I think they average around $250,000/yr. It's the reason why the chains are so willing to pay us a decent salary -- there's more earning potential if we don't work for them. I know of several independent pharmacy owners in the Baltimore area that make over $1 million/year.
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+1

One of the guys that co-owns the store I work at owns a few others and banks 500k+ a year.
 
korndoctor said:
what industry? do you mean pfizer, johnson & johnson etc?
what would your job title be in industry? and what qualifications/credentials like residency, etc do i need?
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Mr Ian C Read
President, Divisional/Senior VP at
Pfizer, Incorporated
Salary$944,083
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Bonus$990,000
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O
T
H
E
R Latest FY other short-term comp.$0
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Latest FY other long-term comp.$350,760
spacer_bluegrey.gif
Latest FY long-term incentive payout$0 Total$2,284,843
 
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