Techs are in demand for the same reason nurses are in demand, the job is so ****ty that companies cannot retain talent. In my area, up untill recently, you could make just as much working at the local car wash as you could a tech. 8-11 dollars per hour is minimum wage.
Some independents pay their techs $28-30/hr, no bene. This is in CA, LA areas. Google CVS pharmacy tech union UFCW 2017-2021. It's also more than $20/hr. You can also look up pharmacist contract, they all get the same pay if they are in the union. Public knowledge.
Thank god. Tech's deserve it. Now if only PharmD pay would go down closer to Tech's pay. IMO pharmacists are over compensated. We should be earning around 40 USD an hour MAX. Hopefully with Tech's checking Tech's we have less errors.
I serve on the steering cmte of the largest pharmacy comp survey in the US. I was on our annual call earlier this month and learned that the median hourly pay for a retail tech is $13 ph. The median hourly pay for a hospital tech is $20 ph. While I agree that you will see the highest starting wages in CA for pretty much all professions, I am personally aware of an ad for the VA in Boston paying $20+ ph for new grad techs. We're seeing some techs on the West Coast getting $37+ ph with as little as 3 years of experience. From everything I know, it's not unusual for a new grad tech to find hospital/health-system jobs starting at $20 ph ... and it's only going to go higher!!
It doesn't make sense for tech's to get paid more though because pharmDs have to go to school longer.
$13 ph for a retail tech has pretty much become the starting wage. After the tax bill was signed every major retail chain bumped wages from $11 ph to $13, a 19% increase! I recently heard that since the tax bill was signed, 1,000+ companies have either increased pay, given bonuses, etc. to their employees. All great news!!
You bring up a great point about the Tech hours being cut. I have been asking and trying to get to heart of why this is happening. I'm being told too of employers, primarily chain retail, cutting Tech hours. At the same time I'm hearing from their HR and field people that they will hire all of the Techs they can get and are not getting anywhere near enough. This doesn't jibe, why the disconnect?
You’ve got to be joking. Who would go through all the years of school and debt and stress and come to work at Wags/CVS for less? It just wouldn’t be worth it when you compare other opportunities in the marketplace.
By "compared to other opportunities in the marketplace" are you still referring to pharmacy or something altogether outside of pharmacy? One of the things I have heard over the years is that the PharmD in and of itself is a very narrow degree. If you have a PharmD pretty much everything you're going to be able to do professionally revolves around the delivery of drugs. Thx!!
Outside pharmacy. Having a PharmD doesn’t preclude you from having other degrees, experience, or knowledge. But my bigger point is that nobody will want to get a PharmD if the end result is crushing debt, lack of opportunities, and awful wages. Right now we only have two out of three.
Thank you, I understand what you are saying, however we are seeing wages going up due to the shortage of labor. I can see it's more than trickling down to Techs but know the retail tech is definitely paid less than their hospital counterpart, 54% less actually. With the US at near full employment in that typical tech demo of 18-24, and with the US experiencing its smallest cohort in modern history something will have to change. That or employers are going to get into a wage war then everyone in that $10-$15 ph range is going to win. Thanks again!!
Assuming you do not pursue a PharmD but pick something altogether different I agree with you! However there are not many professions you can graduate even a 5 year program from and earn six-figures (that aren't already getting crowded). That was true with pharmacy but now that may be changing. We're watching the wages and are now seeing new grad staff pharmacist in retail beginning to trend down. It may just be a dot, only time will tell if it's the start of a trend.
My deceased father often told me, "you meet the same people on the way down the ladder that you met on the way up." Best to be kind to everyone up and down the food chain, you never know when someone could end up being your boss!
It’s very unusual today to only do five years for a PharmD. And don’t forget, that would include all summers.
It's obvious you know you're being underpaid but it sounds like you enjoy who you work with and that's worth something. I know the major retail chains all raised their pay 20%+ after January 1 to min of $13 ph. But it's not worth making the change if you like where you are. As you're pre-pharmacy, are you at all afraid of what may be coming from an employment standpoint?
Not really, of course I would rather there be more openings. But I feel like I will still be able to find work if I look in the right places. I don't see myself to be someone who turns their nose up at retail or whatnot. I plan on completing a residency to help as much as possible. I have made a few connections so far, although I don't want to bank on that. I am also willing to relocate, if need be. I feel like if someone enjoys what they're doing they shouldn't change paths just because of over saturation. I know what I'm getting into, at the very least.
How are these accelerated programs like Larkin completing the PharmD in just 3 years then? I don't disagree that other degree programs can lead to a six figure income but I'm at a loss to think of any that will get you there right out of the box (IT maybe?). Although today a new grad PharmD working less than full-time, as many are, is not reaching even $100K much less $115K+ if full-time.
I sure hope you're right! No doubt completing a Residency is all but going to be a requirement to put the odds in your favor of having multiple options. This pharmacy employment market is moving so quickly I'm personally very concerned about the next 3-5 years. I'm a gambler, I take chances but feel they are calculated. Most people I deal with in healthcare are not gamblers, esp with their careers and debt. Every indication tells me the next few years will be tumultuous for new grads. If you have the Residency that helps. If you can get into a hospital, probably better than retail, grocery or mail order. To put the odds in your favor I highly recommend you get out of the setting you are in and get some solid experience outside of your IPPE/APPE's in a hospital. Most any hospital pharmacist can work in a retail store, however most retail pharmacists have a very difficult time making that transition to a hospital. It can be done but we see new grad PharmD's who have no practical experience in a hospital or health-system on their resumes, and if they don't get picked-up by the employer they are interning at the odds of them getting what and where they want are diminished. Just my opinion though and wish you well!!
The 3 year accelerated program was probably a good idea when a new grad could get a job without even needing a resume, but the way the job market has turned, having no real-world experience on a resume could very well hurt a new grad now. I'll stay in touch with the Larkin program and see how their students fair. I know there are other accelerated programs already operating. I'll go over the AACP list and see which ones they are. Potentially Larkin's timing couldn't be worse given they are graduating 60 students next year then 120 the following year. Thanks for explaining too!!
That's strong pay for your Lead Tech, no doubt it will just continue to go up! Here is what we have seen since January 1st. Walmart boosted US wages and provided a one-time bonus to 1M+ employees. In February, CVS raised employee wages effectively matching raises by Walmart and Target. In March, US job openings soared to a record high of 6.3M, competition is fierce! Also in March, Walgreens boosted hourly workers pay by $100M per year. In April, Kroger announced it's going to grow its employee base by 11K and increase employee benefits. Costco just announced on June 1st it's raising its minimum wage to $14 an hour.
Thank you! I left a message with the ACPE to see if they can send a current list. I searched and found the following list, not sure if it's complete or current
Yes, sorry, I saw that dup after I sent the list. The original text said Albany College but the link went to Appalachia so I changed it. I tried to see if Albany had a 3 year program but I couldn't tell for sure. Hopefully when I hear from the ACPE I'll be able to post a current and complete list. I can see how the accelerated 3 year program had its day but after recently interviewing several out-of-work new grad PharmD's who all attended 3 year programs they universally cited the lack of real-world experience as being one big problem. What the heck is Larkin going to do graduating 180 over the next two years into an already soft job market? I don't expect you to have the answer, lol, just asking rhetorically!!
@owlegrad you finna take that?!
Honestly, what can I say? He is right. Ouch.
Although I certainly hope that people realize I am not proud of making techs cry. On the contrary, I am horrified. I do sometimes joke about it but I never meant to come across as proud. Perhaps my sense of humor has painted me in a light I didn't mean it to.
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