Independent pharmacy salary

Started by ZakMeister
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msweph said:
Don't independent typically pay lower? I got offered a job at an independent for 80K I'm 2010... With the option for partial ownership of the 3 store chain. I didn't go too much into the details but the guy was in his 70s and wanting to retire/sell the store and stop working.

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Which state/region is that? 80k is really low anywhere in the US. But I guess the partial ownership makes up for it


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I really caution my PharmD graduates that they need to have very good business contract transaction lawyers (probably two) go over any "sweat equity" partnership offer, because I've seen a bunch of honest grads get cheated by the old owners (there's pharmacies that we yanked from the rotation list once that got out). Many of them have exit clauses that are really disadvantageous to the junior partner and are easy to invoke by the senior partner.
 
I just took 47/hr as a new grad at an independent in the northeast. 100-150 scripts a day maybe 10 are controls 99% of which are for adhd and there's a decent amount of overtime available. 90k seems a tad low but if you're happy with it then who cares
 
Claydoe said:
I just took 47/hr as a new grad at an independent in the northeast. 100-150 scripts a day maybe 10 are controls 99% of which are for adhd and there's a decent amount of overtime available. 90k seems a tad low but if you're happy with it then who cares
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With $47/hr I am gonna assume you make about $97k with 40hrs a week worth of work. Am I correct? I am not happy with $90k lol might have to ask for a bit higher.


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Claydoe said:
I just took 47/hr as a new grad at an independent in the northeast. 100-150 scripts a day maybe 10 are controls 99% of which are for adhd and there's a decent amount of overtime available. 90k seems a tad low but if you're happy with it then who cares
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Wow, more power to you for making that decision but after taxes, 401k and health insurance you're looking at roughly 50-55k. Again, more power to you seems like a super chill job but not many would do that.
 
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ZakMeister said:
With $47/hr I am gonna assume you make about $97k with 40hrs a week worth of work. Am I correct? I am not happy with $90k lol might have to ask for a bit higher.
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A little over 97k yeah but I'll usually come in 830 to type everything and leave at 530 because there's long term care scripts that get checked at the end of the day and that ends up being an extra 1k/month take home pay for the ~20hrs OT more if I pick up am extra day here and there. I'm sure I could make more for less hours somewhere else but it's a very chill place to work no immunizations and it being located in a Jewish community I'm free to take off Christmas/easter pretty easily since there's no competition for those days. I would draw up a budget that fits your needs/lifestyle goals and ask for something that meets those criteria. I'm pretty simple so 97k is more than enough in my book but everyone's different

6GodPharm said:
Wow, more power to you for making that decision but after taxes, 401k and health insurance you're looking at roughly 50-55k. Again, more power to you seems like a super chill job but not many would do that.
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It ends up being 110-115k with a bit of overtime and it's super chill. At the end of the day I'm okay with putting in the extra hours to make that extra 15k because of the low stress environment.
 
ZakMeister said:
Is $90k too low a starting salary for a new pharmacy grad working for an independent in the Northeast?


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In the Northeast I know a pharmacist making 100k, ~40 hours a week (might be a little less), at an independent. They have been there for 8 years. They fill like 200 a day and the owner is also there most of the time helping too, and they are closed on Sunday. It's great because they can run to McDonalds during their shift, or if things are slow can leave an hour early and take it out of their vacation. Dream job so I think it justifies the lower pay. 90k is pretty low but might be worth it if it's a good owner and a stable job, I'd still try for 100k. The downside is the computer system looks like it's out of the 1970s and at an indi a lot more is expected in terms of customer service vs a chain.

Still though, the difference between 90k and 120k is not something to overlook and you also have to consider stability. It just depends on your priorities.
 
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For those of you writing about independents, what benefits are you generally getting? About 2 years ago I looked into an independent offering me 52/hour ( I was making about 63 at the time) but had absolutely zero benefits: no vacation, no sick, no holiday, 401k match, nothing. When I figured out that I would be making 50k+ per year less, the decision was pretty simple even though the job would have been much easier.
 
You should be happy with the 90k. North east independent stores anywhere between $35-45 an hour
 
navrx said:
You should be happy with the 90k. North east independent stores anywhere between $35-45 an hour
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Three posts on your account and they are all today and are about how you pay $35-45/hr. Is this PAtoPharm's alt trying to justify his recent change in tone?!

Claydoe said:
A little over 97k yeah but I'll usually come in 830 to type everything and leave at 530 because there's long term care scripts that get checked at the end of the day and that ends up being an extra 1k/month take home pay for the ~20hrs OT more if I pick up am extra day here and there. I'm sure I could make more for less hours somewhere else but it's a very chill place to work no immunizations and it being located in a Jewish community I'm free to take off Christmas/easter pretty easily since there's no competition for those days. I would draw up a budget that fits your needs/lifestyle goals and ask for something that meets those criteria. I'm pretty simple so 97k is more than enough in my book but everyone's different

It ends up being 110-115k with a bit of overtime and it's super chill. At the end of the day I'm okay with putting in the extra hours to make that extra 15k because of the low stress environment.
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That actually sounds like a pretty decent job. 97k is a higher salary than most people will ever achieve, and it sounds like you have a great work environment. The extra OT is just icing on the cake. The difference between 100k/year and 120k/year is barely noticeable. The average person in America makes around 30-40k, maybe 50-60k if they have a good education. Pharmacists tend to forget that because we are always comparing ourselves to surgeons.
 
gwarm01 said:
Three posts on your account and they are all today and are about how you pay $35-45/hr. Is this PAtoPharm's alt trying to justify his recent change in tone?!



That actually sounds like a pretty decent job. 97k is a higher salary than most people will ever achieve, and it sounds like you have a great work environment. The extra OT is just icing on the cake. The difference between 100k/year and 120k/year is barely noticeable. The average person in America makes around 30-40k, maybe 50-60k if they have a good education. Pharmacists tend to forget that because we are always comparing ourselves to surgeons.
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Gwarm01, let navrx go. Here's the deal. If you offer beneath what is widely known as the market rates for your area, that's ..."ok"... if there's something meaningful in the compensation package to offset it. I'll dox someone to make the argument.

This guy, Steve Simonson, has a bunch of pharmacies in the area that Garrison Keillor grew up in as a stereotypical Lake Wobegon Minnesotan community:
https://goodrichpharmacy.com/staff/steve-simenson
https://goodrichpharmacy.com/pharmacists.html

openly and without embarrassment says he pays below market rates compared with retail in MN. Steve, Willie, and Wendy's real well-known around the area for being an upstanding people who really run a small-town pharmacy, and the likelihood of a position coming open is really only when he opens a new location. I'm "advertising" for him in the same way that his reputation works in the area. Basically, everyone who is both UMP and Allina covered uses that pharmacy, and the pharmacists there get to do some ambulatory care as well as the normal dispensing. So, instead of working straight chain, you take less $ for an easier practice and maybe a more fulfilling one. Works so far. Chains don't have a problem with him and vice-versa as their clientele are completely different.

But, if you don't offer market rates and don't have any particular offset for that (even with improved customers), you just dug yourself a huge liability hole in the sense that one surly pharmacist can blow up a lot of business for an independent pharmacy. There's a Dworkin and Revco story for those who don't remember how that sort of screwjob works out.

I'd work exactly the same hours as him, but I pity the miserly attitude as he can't afford that in the normal situation. Again, I'll place good money that when the times get tough, even for a market like this where it is employer (not employee) advantageous, everyone has it in for an independent pharmacist that wants to out-CVS CVS.
 
gwarm01 said:
Three posts on your account and they are all today and are about how you pay $35-45/hr. Is this PAtoPharm's alt trying to justify his recent change in tone?!
Click to expand...

Nope, he is the real deal! And I don't know anything about the northeast anyways
 
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