How is the job market in GA???

[mastermind090987]

Hi,
I am planning to move to GA since my husband has go relocate to Atlanta. How is the job market in Georgia??
I thought the state has 3 pharmacy schools and it’s a big state, so didn’t think it was that saturated but I am not seeing any openings on Indeed....
Help!!!!!!

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[AC3_PharmD]

It is VERY saturated. Very.

Mercer dominates the metro area and has a lot of new grads. There is also South Pharmacy School, UGA, PCOM, etc.
I had a co-resident who's SO moved with her to GA, and it took him >8 months to find a job. That's also similar situation with a friend of mine who currently lives here. She's employed and experienced but has trying to switch jobs for the past year and it hasn't happened.

Are you a new grad or starting pharmacy school?

 

[Marzapan]

Hi,
I am planning to move to GA since my husband has go relocate to Atlanta. How is the job market in Georgia??
I thought the state has 3 pharmacy schools and it’s a big state, so didn’t think it was that saturated but I am not seeing any openings on Indeed....
Help!!!!!!

"There are only 3 schools so it shouldn't be that saturated" - Do you not think any of the new grads from surrounding states, or all the new grads in the country who are being told by the professors "you will get a job, you just might need to move," or all the hospital pharmacists who have been furloughed due to covid, or all the retail pharmacists who have been laid off, or any pharmacist who is underemployed, are not applying for jobs in this state?

 

[AC3_PharmD]

I will say as a new residency grad who just got a job outside of GA, applying in the state was very hard. Granted, I didn't limit myself to only GA and I wasn't even really focusing in on the metro area, but I went to a challenging well known residency program and I still struggled to find a job here. That's especially true if you're looking for something hospital focused. Again, I had a friend who's SO was a new grad and he had to go far out of the metro area and it took him over 8 months to find a community position.

 

[mastermind090987]

It is VERY saturated. Very.

Mercer dominates the metro area and has a lot of new grads. There is also South Pharmacy School, UGA, PCOM, etc.
I had a co-resident who's SO moved with her to GA, and it took him >8 months to find a job. That's also similar situation with a friend of mine who currently lives here. She's employed and experienced but has trying to switch jobs for the past year and it hasn't happened.

Are you a new grad or starting pharmacy school?

Thank you for your response! I've been practicing 10+ years at the hospital....Is it hard to get into places like Emory then?

 

[Hedgehog32]

Thank you for your response! I've been practicing 10+ years at the hospital....Is it hard to get into places like Emory then?

Definitely; getting an inpatient job with a well-known hospital system like Emory is going to require having either completed a residency or many years of experience (which you have). Unfortunately, though, some hospitals are now even starting to only consider candidates who have completed residencies, regardless of how many years of work experience they have. Not sure if that is the case with Emory, though.

I'm a c/o 2020 graduate and worked as an inpatient hospital pharmacy intern during pharmacy school for one of the most prominent hospital systems in GA. I worked at a few of their hospitals located ~2 hrs outside of ATL, one of which also has a residency program. The program graduates 10-12 pharmacists every year, and I know that as of January 2020, only 1 or 2 of the pharmacists in the 2019 cohort (finished the program in June 2019) had jobs. One of them was offered a part-time job working second shift for one of the local hospitals, and the other one ended up taking a retail staff pharmacist position with Walmart in December. Not sure what's happened with the rest of the 2019 residency program cohort since January.

One of the other interns I used to work with had worked for the hospital system for 10 yrs prior to going to pharmacy school, and they wouldn't even offer her a PRN job. The DOP basically said that with the number of apps they receive from residency-trained/highly-experienced pharmacists alone, they really can't justify considering new grads or retail pharmacists for any jobs at all. She described it essentially as a mentality of "it's just business," "we're obligated to hire the most qualified candidates," and so on.

I also just talked the other week with a pharmacist I know who graduated from Mercer in 2012, worked two years locally in an inpatient position, and then got a DOP job at a specialty hospital in ATL with a clinical focus. She was fired back in early February (not related to performance/disciplinary issues) and it took her until just a few weeks ago to find two PRN jobs: one with a CVS in a rural GA town, and one with a small hospital in another rural GA town a few hours away from the CVS job.

So yeah, it's pretty bad. One "constant" have noticed is that all the pharmacists I know who have managed to get jobs within the past few years have gotten positions located in rural southeast/southwest GA (think Waycross, Moultrie, small towns outside of Tifton, etc.), so you might want to consider applying for jobs in those smaller towns. Not sure if it's the same situation with the rural north GA mountain towns.

 

[rxdawg21]

My how quickly the market has changed. It still baffles me that I personally have had residents that choose to go do a pgy2 in x speciality when their pgy1 will offer them a job in said specialty. All to be closer to family(but still within 2 hours).

 

[AC3_PharmD]

To counter this, 2 people in my residency class got jobs immediately with the residency hospital system. But otherwise, I haven't heard of my hospital system hiring pharmacists outside. I know Emory specifically was on a major hiring freeze and had laid quite a few people off because of COVID.

 

[Hedgehog32]

To counter this, 2 people in my residency class got jobs immediately with the residency hospital system. But otherwise, I haven't heard of my hospital system hiring pharmacists outside. I know Emory specifically was on a major hiring freeze and had laid quite a few people off because of COVID.

Just out of curiosity, do you know what the graduates from your residency cohort who weren't offered jobs with your hospital system ended up doing? Did some of them end up taking retail jobs?

 

[AC3_PharmD]

Just out of curiosity, do you know what the graduates from your residency cohort who weren't offered jobs with your hospital system ended up doing? Did some of them end up taking retail jobs?

No one in my residency cohort out of the pgy2s came out without a job. A few had offers in March/April, some were very specific and had to compromise. All of them were in a hospital system/clinical. One took a fellowship cause that's what they wanted to do but they had made that decision in December.

So 2 went the clinical/amb care route with the hospital (IM + am care), the rest went clinical/crit care with other hospitals, and one fellowship with a large AMC.

The most likely candidate who probably would have come out with nothing should have been me. I didn't match for a pgy2 so I started looking mid April. Thankfully I never was at a point where something wasn't in the wings. I was applying daily, putting in applications and networking consistently throughout. By the end of my residency I had about 4-5 really good offers on the table and I went with what suited me best --> crit care/em pharmacist full time albeit in a different state

 

[Hedgehog32]

Congratulations on lining up a specialized clinical position. Are most of the spots at your hospital for PGY-2 positions? I'm always curious to hear how residency graduates of other programs in the southeast are fairing in the job market relative to those who graduate from the program offered by the hospital I used to work at. The vast majority of the spots they offer (at least 10 of the 12) are for PGY-1 positions. When I first started working there in 2018, I was surprised when I was told they hadn't hired any of their own program graduates in 3 or 4 years. Then there's another hospital about 30 minutes away with a residency program that graduates 4 or 5 every year, which I guess doesn't help matters.

 

[AC3_PharmD]

Congratulations on lining up a specialized clinical position. Are most of the spots at your hospital for PGY-2 positions? I'm always curious to hear how residency graduates of other programs in the southeast are fairing in the job market relative to those who graduate from the program offered by the hospital I used to work at. The vast majority of the spots they offer (at least 10 of the 12) are for PGY-1 positions. When I first started working there in 2018, I was surprised when I was told they hadn't hired any of their own program graduates in 3 or 4 years. Then there's another hospital about 30 minutes away with a residency program that graduates 4 or 5 every year, which I guess doesn't help matters.

Hmm that depends. I think if you're looking for something amb care related it falls a bit under a different umbrella so a lot of those pharmacists only have a pgy1. Some have a pgy2, some don't.

Most of the inpatient clinical pharmacists are are pgy2 trained in some area except the older ones who have been there for a while but almost all of those individuals have done a residency.

 

[Hedgehog32]

Hmm that depends. I think if you're looking for something amb care related it falls a bit under a different umbrella so a lot of those pharmacists only have a pgy1. Some have a pgy2, some don't.

Most of the inpatient clinical pharmacists are are pgy2 trained in some area except the older ones who have been there for a while but almost all of those individuals have done a residency.

Appreciate the info. Just out of curiosity, do you know if your hospital has implemented the policy of only considering residency-trained pharmacists even for inpatient staffing (I.e., non-clinical/non-specialist) jobs, regardless of how many years of work experience they may actually have as inpatient staff pharmacists? I've heard that AMCs (and now apparently smaller hospitals as well) throughout GA and AL have started to implement this hiring policy, so I was just curious if your hospital had done so as well or was moving in that direction

 

[AC3_PharmD]

Appreciate the info. Just out of curiosity, do you know if your hospital has implemented the policy of only considering residency-trained pharmacists even for inpatient staffing (I.e., non-clinical/non-specialist) jobs, regardless of how many years of work experience they may actually have as inpatient staff pharmacists? I've heard that AMCs (and now apparently smaller hospitals as well) throughout GA and AL have started to implement this hiring policy, so I was just curious if your hospital had done so as well or was moving in that direction

To my knowledge we have not. The last crop of inpatient pharmacists to come through 2 were residency trained and one was not, although she wasn't a new grad. As far as I know that's not part of the criteria at my previous hospital and most of the pharmacists in inpatient are not residency trained.

Also...I'm really not sure where this report of GA and AL only hiring residency trained pharmds is coming from. I'm not saying it's easy to get a job at a hospital as a staff/inpatient pharmacist as a non residency trained pharmacist but it is definitely possible in both of the states you mentioned. I had a friend recently who graduated who did it - no connections just applied actively, was willing to do the work and was a great fit. I really think it's about how you apply yourself. I know plenty of pharmacists on our outpatient side who are technically members of the clinical system who are young, new grads and NOT residency trained. It's all about hungry/determined you are, your grit and what job you're willing to do.

 

[Ladyg228]

Hi,
I am planning to move to GA since my husband has go relocate to Atlanta. How is the job market in Georgia??
I thought the state has 3 pharmacy schools and it’s a big state, so didn’t think it was that saturated but I am not seeing any openings on Indeed....
Help!!!!!!

There is saturation in states that only has 1 pharmacy school. Saturation is everywhere, almost 15,000 pharmD graduates in 2020, there will never be enough jobs for the sheer number of graduates.

 

[Hedgehog32]

To my knowledge we have not. The last crop of inpatient pharmacists to come through 2 were residency trained and one was not, although she wasn't a new grad. As far as I know that's not part of the criteria at my previous hospital and most of the pharmacists in inpatient are not residency trained.

Also...I'm really not sure where this report of GA and AL only hiring residency trained pharmds is coming from. I'm not saying it's easy to get a job at a hospital as a staff/inpatient pharmacist as a non residency trained pharmacist but it is definitely possible in both of the states you mentioned. I had a friend recently who graduated who did it - no connections just applied actively, was willing to do the work and was a great fit. I really think it's about how you apply yourself. I know plenty of pharmacists on our outpatient side who are technically members of the clinical system who are young, new grads and NOT residency trained. It's all about hungry/determined you are, your grit and what job you're willing to do.

Do you mind if I ask what city the hospital is located in at which the new grad was hired for the inpatient job?

*hospital system details removed*

 

[AC3_PharmD]

Do you mind if I ask what city the hospital is located in at which the new grad was hired for the inpatient job?

BTW, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the other hospital systems in GA, but I worked as an intern for the system that is located southwest of ATL and northwest of Albany (and which was recently bought out by a much larger system), which is probably enough information to give you an idea of which one I'm referring to. They were originally going to hire me for a PT weekend pharmacist position upon my graduation, but late last year they basically instituted a policy of hiring only residency-trained pharmacists, even for PRN positions. The DOP basically made the point that if the job market is too saturated for them to hire even their own residency program graduates, then they definitely can't justify hiring non-residency-trained pharmacists. The pharmacy department within the hospital network is overwhelmingly negative, to put it simply. Of course, a lot of folks say that the reason they take on 12 residents every year is so that they won't have to hire any new pharmacists in the first place.

Atlanta, she got into the metro area. But she also got licensed very quickly and put herself out there in terms of the hiring process.

And I'm sorry to hear that about your current circumstance with the hospital system. I think maybe a few of our grads wanted to stay but given the circumstances they moved on. I'm not sure what hospital system this is with the buyout. We also have a total of 12 residents we take every year; I think my program was very dedicated though to finding the resources and working with the residents to help us find jobs. From the top down people were working for me and on my behalf as long as I was showing I was working for myself too. It really expanded my network. I know if I hadn't had a job or prospects coming out a number of the preceptors there would still be actively putting out feelers on my behalf, which is nice . Can't speak to other programs though.

Are you licensed in the state/looking for a job currently? I feel that's always the biggest thing holding people back unfortunately and not expanding the network.

 

[rxdawg21]

Do you mind if I ask what city the hospital is located in at which the new grad was hired for the inpatient job?

BTW, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the other hospital systems in GA, but I worked as an intern for the system that is located southwest of ATL and northwest of Albany (and which was recently bought out by a much larger system), which is probably enough information to give you an idea of which one I'm referring to. They were originally going to hire me for a PT weekend pharmacist position upon my graduation, but late last year they basically instituted a policy of hiring only residency-trained pharmacists, even for PRN positions. The DOP basically made the point that if the job market is too saturated for them to hire even their own residency program graduates, then they definitely can't justify hiring non-residency-trained pharmacists. The pharmacy department within the hospital network is overwhelmingly negative, to put it simply. Of course, a lot of folks say that the reason they take on 12 residents every year is so that they won't have to hire any new pharmacists in the first place.

That has to be Columbus Georgia as that fits the locale and no way way other city in that locale would have that many residents. Columbus has been uppity for some time

 

[Gombrich12]

Do you mind if I ask what city the hospital is located in at which the new grad was hired for the inpatient job?

BTW, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the other hospital systems in GA, but I worked as an intern for the system that is located southwest of ATL and northwest of Albany (and which was recently bought out by a much larger system), which is probably enough information to give you an idea of which one I'm referring to. They were originally going to hire me for a PT weekend pharmacist position upon my graduation, but late last year they basically instituted a policy of hiring only residency-trained pharmacists, even for PRN positions. The DOP basically made the point that if the job market is too saturated for them to hire even their own residency program graduates, then they definitely can't justify hiring non-residency-trained pharmacists. The pharmacy department within the hospital network is overwhelmingly negative, to put it simply. Of course, a lot of folks say that the reason they take on 12 residents every year is so that they won't have to hire any new pharmacists in the first place.

Your intimate knowledge of georgia hospitals reminds me of a previous poster.

 

[Hedgehog32]

Atlanta, she got into the metro area. But she also got licensed very quickly and put herself out there in terms of the hiring process.

And I'm sorry to hear that about your current circumstance with the hospital system. I think maybe a few of our grads wanted to stay but given the circumstances they moved on. I'm not sure what hospital system this is with the buyout. We also have a total of 12 residents we take every year; I think my program was very dedicated though to finding the resources and working with the residents to help us find jobs. From the top down people were working for me and on my behalf as long as I was showing I was working for myself too. It really expanded my network. I know if I hadn't had a job or prospects coming out a number of the preceptors there would still be actively putting out feelers on my behalf, which is nice . Can't speak to other programs though.

Are you licensed in the state/looking for a job currently? I feel that's always the biggest thing holding people back unfortunately and not expanding the network.

It's good to hear that your program is at least supportive of its graduates in the job hunt. As to your question, I'm not licensed and had actually been looking into going back to school to pursue something with more demand.

 

[Hedgehog32]

That has to be Columbus Georgia as that fits the locale and no way way other city in that locale would have that many residents. Columbus has been uppity for some time

Would prefer not to confirm... or deny . "Uppity" is a pretty on-the-nose term though, haha

Your intimate knowledge of georgia hospitals reminds me of a previous poster.

Technically this is one of the largest hospital systems in the southeast so there is a very good chance that other online pharmacy forum members (not just here on SDN but Reddit and others as well) have worked and/or rotated there. Probably a good idea to edit details in the original post just to be safe (it's already been quoted but oh well).