In which states can I get a retail pharmacist job easily?

[RxBlueDevils]

There seems to be few retail job openings here in Missouri because I have not received any responses from the jobs that I have applied for. For those who are in other states, where can I get a retail pharmacist job easily?

I was thinking about California, but you need 1500 intern hours? Is that correct? What is the definition of "intern hours"?

Does Texas have a lot of job openings right now?

Please help!

Also, a quick question: Does reciprocating a license mean moving your license from one state to another or does it mean that you can keep the license in the current state and also move the license to another state?

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[macaron]

I would like to know about this too!

I'm living in California, and at least where I am, I wouldn't recommend coming here. We have great weather 😀 but my doctor knows two pharmacists who could only find jobs at Longs Drugs for two years before being laid off. They haven't been able to find work since.

 

[RxBlueDevils]

I would like to know about this too!

I'm living in California, and at least where I am, I wouldn't recommend coming here. We have great weather 😀 but my doctor knows two pharmacists who could only find jobs at Longs Drugs for two years before being laid off. They haven't been able to find work since.

Are you a pharmacist? Are there really no retail jobs at all in the whole state?!

 

[Priapism321]

Are you a pharmacist? Are there really no retail jobs at all in the whole state?!

That is correct, zero job openings in the entire state of California. You should consider going back to nursing school or just moving out of country.

 

[RxBlueDevils]

That is correct, zero job openings in the entire state of California. You should consider going back to nursing school or just moving out of country.

Thank you for contributing to this thread.

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

Thank you for contributing to this thread.

Pointing out stupid questions, is a contribution.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

Pointing out stupid questions, is a contribution.

👍

 

[RxBlueDevils]

Pointing out stupid questions, is a contribution.

Obviously, you and the guy above me didn't see the sarcasm in that post.

 

[RX CARE]

Are you a pharmacist? Are there really no retail jobs at all in the whole state?!

Are there really no retail jobs at all in the entire state of Missouri?!

 

[Momus]

Are you kidding me...? what kind of question is that?

Any job would have at least an opening in 1 entire state lol... besides it's still so easy to get a job in a rural area.

"Hey, I have a Pharm. D degree"
"Can you start tomorrow?"

If you want to go where everyone and their mom live in the city then prepare to not have a job for a while, float or work part time because full time position are really limited (i.e Orange County).

 

[MustLoveDrugs]

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Pharmacist&l=missouri

RxBlueDevils, just "because I have not received any responses from the jobs that I have applied for" does not mean that no jobs exist. How long ago did you apply for these jobs? Have you followed up since? Are you sure you contacted the right person? Have you interviewed yet? If so, did you ask them what their hiring timeline looks like?

Do you want to relocate? Are you set on staying in retail pharmacy? I know how stressful it can be when it seems like everyone around you has their lives figured out. Do things at your own pace, and make sure the job you take is the right job for YOU. There are plenty of people who wait to accept jobs until closer to graduation. I'm not saying you should bite your nails until the bitter end, but be patient and look around before you decide to cut your losses and move out-of-state (unless that's really what you want to do).

As for your question of reciprocity, I suggest speaking directly to the board of pharmacy in your state about that. To the best of my knowledge though, reciprocating your license means that you are only licensed in 1 state, like Missouri. After 1 year of an active Missouri pharmacist license, you could reciprocate your license to Texas. What that means is that the status of your Texas license is contingent upon your Missouri license remaining current.

On the other hand, what you would probably be looking at this year is a score transfer. You pay a small fee to have your NAPLEX scores transferred from Missouri to Texas, then you would just have to take the law exam in both states. In that case, you would have primary licenses in both Missouri and Texas. So, if you do a score transfer, get licensed in Missouri and Texas, then decide to stay in Texas forever and want to let your Missouri license expire, you can. However, if you wait for reciprocity, you would always have to stay licensed in Missouri in order to be licensed in Texas, unless down the road you decide to retake the board exams and count them toward Texas. If that doesn't make sense, talk to your state board. They deal with this stuff all the time. Plus, it's probably easier to have a phone conversation about it anyway.

 

[rxlynn]

You might consider TN. I know that the Nashville area in particular seems to be hiring right now, partially because Publix is doing a big expansion in that area and therefore will need pharmacists for the new stores. I don't think TN requires intern hours either - somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[type b pharmD]

Wisconsin. Still 20k bonuses available in some areas. Also i hear rural california has jobs.

 

[southpharm]

You might consider TN. I know that the Nashville area in particular seems to be hiring right now, partially because Publix is doing a big expansion in that area and therefore will need pharmacists for the new stores. I don't think TN requires intern hours either - somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Not really true. Publix has a couple floater positions open right now. Also, we just went from 1 pharmacy school statewide to 5, so it's about to get worse. TN requires 1500 intern hours. Unfortunately, job prospects aren't so good here.

 

[type b pharmD]

Well one thing ya gotta consider is this is the time of year when the fewest positions will be open, cause all the new grads have been snapping up jobs for a few months now

 

[that1guy]

Texas: I did a management rotation with CVS, and from my time there I can tell you that there are few jobs to be had on the I-35 corridor between Dallas and Laredo (including Austin, San Antonio, etc.). What few there are will be gone very soon with new grads from the two new pharmacy schools here. However, the good news is you can still find plenty of work in East Texas (swamp), West Texas (desert), and South Texas (que?).

From what I hear from other pharmacy students, "location" cities, the places you really want to live, are filled or are filling fast everywhere in the US. If you want to live in one of these cities, you'll probably be floating and you may have to put together a couple of part-time jobs (retail, hospital, independent).

 

[IshDiandra]

There are jobs still in California. I was talking to a Target rep at a RxExpo at my school and they need pharmacists in Bakersfield and the like.

 

[chimericdryad]

I believe Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia need pharmacists.

The definition of intern hours all depend on the states where you want to get licensed. In KY, all of our 1500 required intern hours are incorporated into our curriculum. If you come from a school outside the state, you just have to complete 1500 hours and provide them to the Board. I'm not positive, but I believe that TN is a state that requires at least 500 hours to be completed outside of school, and the other 1000 can be acquired in or out of school. I think Georgia has some funny intern hour requirements, also, but I'm not sure what they are. Some states require that you get a certain number of intern hours within that state before becoming licensed - I think Georgia is one of these.

As far as reciprocation, I think you can reciprocate after a year to another state and drop your original license, but if you do that you will have to re-take the NAPLEX if you are ever going to get licensed in a different state. You can't reciprocate off a reciprocated license. I think it would always be a good idea to keep the license in the state where you are exam licensed, just in case you ever want to move anywhere else. And it is definitely a good idea to check with the Board of Pharmacy or read the pharmacy law book to see what their specific state laws are before doing anything.

If you are going to get exam licensed in more than one state, it is also a good idea to check on what you have to do or pay to keep those licenses active. TN has a lot of fees associated with pharmacy licenses, so if you are getting it just because you might/will move there in the future, it might be better to reciprocate. I'm not sure how many other states have extra fees and CE requirements, I just know people from TN who have told me about that particular state.