As usual, SHC is trying to extrapolate the one anecdote she heard from someone who was probably not as in-touch as they thought they were into an all-inclusive statement, and was completely wrong.
Is the job market great? No. Are companies still, for the most part, protecting their interns? Yes.
Walgreens had spots for 13 interns to receive jobs in our district (1 of 4 in the state, we're the one that's generally more Atlanta proper). 1 of them, a good friend of mine, actually got the fabled 9-5 M-F job (she has to split between two stores, but still). The 13th of those interns failed the NAPLEX twice before finally passing. His spot was still there. They're not going to hand you a staff position straight out of school, but guess what, you probably don't deserve one.
Outside of my company, I know of one student who graduated and was offered a staff spot at a compounding pharmacy which, again, not open nights and weekends. They are there.
You claim to be a realist, but in the same breath you expect a Buckhead store to want to hire you to work 9-5 M-F. That just doesn't happen for anybody. But as long as A) You have a company that has invested time and money into you as an intern, B) You don't completely suck as a person, and C) You aren't naive enough to expect your dream job straight out of school, you should be fine.
If you're moving into the state for the first time, that might be a different story.
