market condition in atlanta

[All4MyDaughter]

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I didn't say rural was bad, I like my hometown and plan to go back after graduation. But most of GA is a little too rural for me. I like paved roads for instance.

I dunno. Now that I look at it, I don't think Georgia is OVERLY rural. There are five cities with populations over 100K and an additional 10 with populations over 50K.

My own state only has three major metropolitan areas (over 100K) and an additional two over 50K. But while I think my state is pretty rural, it's not totally backwoods. I'd imagine Georgia is the same.

 

[owlegrad]

I dunno. Now that I look at it, I don't think Georgia is OVERLY rural. There are five cities with populations over 100K and an additional 10 with populations over 50K.

My own state only has three major metropolitan areas (over 100K) and an additional two over 50K. But while I think my state is pretty rural, it's not totally backwoods. I'd imagine Georgia is the same.

This may be a perception vs. reality thing, but every time I visit GA (I have family outside Savanna) I am struck by how rural it is. Lots of dirt roads, trucks, trailers, hillbillies, rednecks, etc. Even the big cities do not have a particularly big city feel. And the people walk/talk so slow! It's agonizing. It's fine to visit but I wouldn't want to live their. I do like Matlock though.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

This may be a perception vs. reality thing, but every time I visit GA (I have family outside Savanna) I am struck by how rural it is. Lots of dirt roads, trucks, trailers, hillbillies, rednecks, etc. Even the big cities do not have a particularly big city feel. And the people walk/talk so slow! It's agonizing. It's fine to visit but I wouldn't want to live their. I do like Matlock though.

Haha! Don't come visit here, in that case. Even people in larger cities/towns sound a bit like country bumpkins.

 

[R2pharmD2]

haha! Don't come visit here, in that case. Even people in larger cities/towns sound a bit like country bumpkins.

qft

 

[owlegrad]

Haha! Don't come visit here, in that case. Even people in larger cities/towns sound a bit like country bumpkins.

Accents don't both me, except that part of the southern accent seems to be to deliberately talk slower than anyone reasonably should.

 

[tashka]

1) is it actually in Atlanta GA? Or some rural place in the woods?

2) if it is in Atlanta what kind of connections does he have? I got a summer internship at Walmart, but that is thru connections. If I didn't have this connection there would be NO way in hell I would have gotten this job! LOL...they recieve over 300 applications per job. If your classmate's father is the head director of the hospital or something like that then that explains it too.

Basically you either have very strong connections (father is a CEO or head director) or you will have to move out of Atlanta. It's that simple.

No, it was not in Atlanta. Another southern state. And the area is rural, but not quite in the sticks. I am sure there were some kind of connections involved. Nothing is impossible with connections.

 

[UNMorBUST]

My own state only has three major metropolitan areas (over 100K) and an additional two over 50K. But while I think my state is pretty rural, it's not totally backwoods. I'd imagine Georgia is the same.

Sounds alot like NM. Except only 1 city has over 100k. I 😍 small towns though.

 

[rph3664]

Everyone knows that market conditions for pharmacy have changed.

I'm not sure how to interpret this other than "people do residencies because there are no jobs." Maybe SOME people are doing them for that reason, but I think that more of us chose them because of the TYPES of jobs they qualify us for.

I've been told more than once that this is indeed the reason so many people are doing residencies.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I've been told more than once that this is indeed the reason so many people are doing residencies.

Like I said... could be true for some people. But the people I know who are ACTUAL STUDENTS DOING RESIDENCIES are, by and large, interested in the types of jobs that one needs a residency for or jobs that residencies are at least helpful in acquiring. A few even turned down actual job offers to do residency.

 

[CynicalIntern]

My preceptor either said there was only one job opening with Walmart/Sam's Club and it went to a very qualified individual for the class of 2010 or there are only one retail job opening for the class of 2010. He mention the market is poor as we all know and that your resume must be stellar to land a job etc. He also mention that a lot of retail chains are at a hiring freeze and aren't hiring at all.

What he said was for the CLASS OF 2010 (I thought I made that clear already). CynicalIntern might be talking about the overall picture from a few years ago or the class of 2009 or class of 2008 etc. I don't know. There might have been more openings in the class of 2009 or before.

Have you been to GA? The entire state is very rural beside Atlanta and 2-4 cities beside of it. The entire state is very RURAL, trust me on this one. I had to drive to Rome one time and got lost b/c the state was so rural.

Since our reading comprehension skills are obviously pretty poor, let me outline a few points for you.

1) The 13 spots were for this past year. AKA, the CLASS OF 2010
2) The 13 spots were for one district of Walgreens. Atlanta is split up between two districts. Let's be generous on your side and say that there were 20 spots to fill in the Atlanta area. Assuming that there are 250 pharmacy students graduating this year (because we're not worried at PCOM yet, nor should we be - they aren't graduating a class until after we're gone), that means that Walgreens can fit 1 out of 23 people into the greater Atlanta area. Now, let's continue doing some math here. Let's say that 3 out of 23 people want to go and work in Winder. or Dahlonega. or one of the other rural areas of the state. I don't know why they would want to do this, but year after year people do. Let's also assume that 5 out of 23 students are gearing for a hospital job, or a residency, or anything besides retail pharmacy. I think those are both pretty conservative estimates. That leaves us with 14 out of 23, or about 55% of the student base, who is just S.O.L., because they have the limited options of trying to find a job between CVS, Rite Aid, Sams, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, Ingles, KMart, Target, Costco, Piggly Wiggly, every independent in the greater Atlanta area, or whatever other retail pharmacy might be hiring. Are the odds great? No. But the difference between this and "my lack of understanding of this anecdote is leading me to believe that there is only one position in the entire state OMG" is incredibly marked. If every pharmacy that I listed could handle 1 out of every 46 graduates, that means we've accounted for 15 out of every 23 student, and we haven't left the greater Atlanta area yet.
3) Here's a hint on what rural means: If the MARTA can reach it, it's probably not rural. It's not necessarily nice, but calling it country is absurd, unless you're basing it entirely on the proximity of a southern accent to you. Dunwoody is a fine place to live, though it's slightly yuppie. Suburbia is obviously beneath you, as is everybody who's parents don't buy them everything they've ever wanted and refused to make them have to work for everything (Oh, I'm sorry, let me rephrase: Our parents just didn't love us enough), but hey, everyone has to start somewhere.
4) The fact is, if you don't put the time and effort into making yourself valuable to a company before you graduate, then you DO NOT DESERVE TO GET A SPOT THE NICER SPOTS IN ATLANTA. They owe you NOTHING. And if you try to justify to a district manager that you didn't work because you wanted to keep your grades up, they will care even less than I do. Maybe if you had stayed with Walgreens when you got accepted to pharmacy school and worked once a month, you could be choosy. Maybe if you had stayed with Target after the summer you worked before pharmacy school, you could be choosy. But you're now on your third retail chain, and I get the impression that neither of the previous two are going to have any sort of glowing recommendation for you, so I get the feeling that you're interpreting "there are no spots available for me" as "there are not spots available for anyone," and this is simply not the case.

I may have gone over the top here. I really couldn't care less.

 

[owlegrad]

Are you really cynical enough to have that in your name? I mean you blast SHC something fierce, but your message seems to be one of hope for future grads, which leads me to scratch my head. I haven't got you figured out yet. Cool posts though. 👍

 

[CynicalIntern]

Are you really cynical enough to have that in your name? I mean you blast SHC something fierce, but your message seems to be one of hope for future grads, which leads me to scratch my head. I haven't got you figured out yet. Cool posts though. 👍

I'm cynical about corporate pharmacy, patients who are more concerned about why their copays went up .50 than why their blood pressure went up 30 points, the entire insurance industry and big pharma, and pretty much the state of the profession in general, but I'm a realist at heart. The fact that my stance can be portrayed as optimism is how ludicrous her stance is - I know that jobs aren't in abundance, and I know the shortage is over. But we're still a tier below surplus, and based on the number of good friends I have who went into fields like journalism, I think the job market is the last thing we need to be concerned with right now. Also, I'm Cynical about everything that SHC posts, so that counts, right?

I would have registered under the name *Smackyouacrosstheheadbecauseyou'reanabsolutemoronIntern*, but it didn't fit into the field. Also, I think Mikey would have registered it five or six years ago if it had.

 

[owlegrad]

I'm cynical about corporate pharmacy, patients who are more concerned about why their copays went up .50 than why their blood pressure went up 30 points, the entire insurance industry and big pharma, and pretty much the state of the profession in general, but I'm a realist at heart. The fact that my stance can be portrayed as optimism is how ludicrous her stance is - I know that jobs aren't in abundance, and I know the shortage is over. But we're still a tier below surplus, and based on the number of good friends I have who went into fields like journalism, I think the job market is the last thing we need to be concerned with right now. Also, I'm Cynical about everything that SHC posts, so that counts, right?

I would have registered under the name *Smackyouacrosstheheadbecauseyou'reanabsolutemoronIntern*, but it didn't fit into the field. Also, I think Mikey would have registered it five or six years ago if it had.

You crack me up.


You should register 4891CHS though, considering your posting history.

 

[MrsAppleseed]

Have you been to GA? The entire state is very rural beside Atlanta and 2-4 cities beside of it. The entire state is very RURAL, trust me on this one. I had to drive to Rome one time and got lost b/c the state was so rural.

As someone who has lived in metro Atlanta nearly her entire life, this offends me. I'm from one of the snootiest areas in this town, and even I'm not this closed minded. This kind of talk gives the area a bad name. Jump off your high horse and venture down a road that doesn't have "Peachtree" in its name.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

As someone who has lived in metro Atlanta nearly her entire life, this offends me. I'm from one of the snootiest areas in this town, and even I'm not this closed minded. This kind of talk gives the area a bad name. Jump off your high horse and venture down a road that doesn't have "Peachtree" in its name.

👍👍👍

 

[Ilikechemicals]

As someone who has lived in metro Atlanta nearly her entire life, this offends me. I'm from one of the snootiest areas in this town, and even I'm not this closed minded. This kind of talk gives the area a bad name. Jump off your high horse and venture down a road that doesn't have "Peachtree" in its name.

So Deliverance wasnt a true story?

 

[Its Z]

Well, there's a lot of truth in America being "rural."

Aside from major/minor metropolitan cities in the US, it's rural. If you don't like SHC, then say you don't like her and her postings. But c'mon.. in between cities, it's rural.

 

[Its Z]

To prove it to y'all, since I'll be in Atlanta and surrounding cities in May...I'll be sure to take pictures and post them here...

 

[R2pharmD2]

As someone who has lived in metro Atlanta nearly her entire life, this offends me. I'm from one of the snootiest areas in this town, and even I'm not this closed minded. This kind of talk gives the area a bad name. Jump off your high horse and venture down a road that doesn't have "Peachtree" in its name.

I'm not sure why you take so much offense to your state being called rural. Being rural isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not everyone's cup of tea (there are LOTS of places in KY that aren't my cup of tea, let me tell you...) but it's silly to take it as an insult.

 

[MrsAppleseed]

I'm not sure why you take so much offense to your state being called rural. Being rural isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not everyone's cup of tea (there are LOTS of places in KY that aren't my cup of tea, let me tell you...) but it's silly to take it as an insult.

It's not the claim of GA being rural, it's was more this quote:

Well, Buckhead is pretty much the only nice area to live in the entire state of GA. Alpharetta is pretty nice too, but other then that I can't really think of anywhere else to live in this state.

As the PP mentioned, the vast majority of America is rural, and the rural bit doesn't offend me in the slightest. However, with metro Atlanta's 9 million something people, and being comprised of 8,500 square miles, there are plenty of nice places in the area to live. I apologize for my overly sensitive approach, I just have very little tolerance for that kind of attitude.

FWIW, I usually don't mind SHC's posts.

 

[rxlea]

I like rural communities... Friendlier people, usually. I def would not take it as an insult. It is factual- some states are more "rural" than others and when you think about the US as a whole (compared to the EU), it is pretty damn "rural" overall. It is particularly noticeable when you are driving through Iowa at 3am on your way to Chicago after 15 hours of driving already

 

[R2pharmD2]

It's not the claim of GA being rural, it's was more this quote:

As the PP mentioned, the vast majority of America is rural, and the rural bit doesn't offend me in the slightest. However, with metro Atlanta's 9 million something people, and being comprised of 8,500 square miles, there are plenty of nice places in the area to live. I apologize for my overly sensitive approach, I just have very little tolerance for that kind of attitude.

FWIW, I usually don't mind SHC's posts.

Gotcha 👍

That makes a bit more sense. And you're not the first one to be offended by one of SHC's posts, I assure you She certainly isn't afraid to speak her mind, for better or for worse.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I'm not sure why you take so much offense to your state being called rural. Being rural isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not everyone's cup of tea (there are LOTS of places in KY that aren't my cup of tea, let me tell you...) but it's silly to take it as an insult.

I think she was picking up on the fact that SHC uses rural as a perjorative.

SHC has a common theme about this subject and it goes a little something like this, "There are NO jobs in Atlanta. My preceptor tell me that there was ONE job for the class of 2010. Everyone WILL have to move out of Atlanta. If you have to move out of Atlanta and you WILL because there are NO jobs and 99.999999999999999999% of grads will have to move then you are screw because everything else in Georgia is rural. I would rather DIE than live in the country with cows."

I didn't make any of that up. I think it's that attitude that Mrs. Appleseed was offended by. It is a pretty darn ignorant perspective.

 

[p-rog]

Ok, SHC is an idiot, I think that's been clear for a while. But to be fair, most of GA is VERY rural and country. There are only a handful of cities (probably < 10) that I would consider a decent place to live... but it isn't just Buckhead and alpharetta. And the job market is incredibly competitive in Atlanta right now and will only get worse as PCOM graduates their new classes in a few years. In fact, that's what we've been saying about the entire pharmacy market around the country for the last 3 years. Metro areas and desirable cities are getting saturated and most people have to move to smaller cities to get a job. It's nothing new really.

 

[VCU07]

Ok, SHC is an idiot, I think that's been clear for a while. But to be fair, most of GA is VERY rural and country. There are only a handful of cities (probably < 10) that I would consider a decent place to live... but it isn't just Buckhead and alpharetta. And the job market is incredibly competitive in Atlanta right now and will only get worse as PCOM graduates their new classes in a few years. In fact, that's what we've been saying about the entire pharmacy market around the country for the last 3 years. Metro areas and desirable cities are getting saturated and most people have to move to smaller cities to get a job. It's nothing new really.

Its not incredibly difficult, its almost impossible. I had almost four years experience in both retail and hospital, including "clinical" pharmacy and searched for months before I got an interview. I was very, very lucky I got a position...I was on the verge of applying to positions in Macon, which I don't even want to talk about. If I didn't have a home in Kennesaw, I would have moved back to Richmond.

 

[SHC1984]

Since our reading comprehension skills are obviously pretty poor, let me outline a few points for you.

1) The 13 spots were for this past year. AKA, the CLASS OF 2010
2) The 13 spots were for one district of Walgreens. Atlanta is split up between two districts. Let's be generous on your side and say that there were 20 spots to fill in the Atlanta area. Assuming that there are 250 pharmacy students graduating this year (because we're not worried at PCOM yet, nor should we be - they aren't graduating a class until after we're gone), that means that Walgreens can fit 1 out of 23 people into the greater Atlanta area. Now, let's continue doing some math here. Let's say that 3 out of 23 people want to go and work in Winder. or Dahlonega. or one of the other rural areas of the state. I don't know why they would want to do this, but year after year people do. Let's also assume that 5 out of 23 students are gearing for a hospital job, or a residency, or anything besides retail pharmacy. I think those are both pretty conservative estimates. That leaves us with 14 out of 23, or about 55% of the student base, who is just S.O.L., because they have the limited options of trying to find a job between CVS, Rite Aid, Sams, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, Ingles, KMart, Target, Costco, Piggly Wiggly, every independent in the greater Atlanta area, or whatever other retail pharmacy might be hiring. Are the odds great? No. But the difference between this and "my lack of understanding of this anecdote is leading me to believe that there is only one position in the entire state OMG" is incredibly marked. If every pharmacy that I listed could handle 1 out of every 46 graduates, that means we've accounted for 15 out of every 23 student, and we haven't left the greater Atlanta area yet.
3) Here's a hint on what rural means: If the MARTA can reach it, it's probably not rural. It's not necessarily nice, but calling it country is absurd, unless you're basing it entirely on the proximity of a southern accent to you. Dunwoody is a fine place to live, though it's slightly yuppie. Suburbia is obviously beneath you, as is everybody who's parents don't buy them everything they've ever wanted and refused to make them have to work for everything (Oh, I'm sorry, let me rephrase: Our parents just didn't love us enough), but hey, everyone has to start somewhere.
4) The fact is, if you don't put the time and effort into making yourself valuable to a company before you graduate, then you DO NOT DESERVE TO GET A SPOT THE NICER SPOTS IN ATLANTA. They owe you NOTHING. And if you try to justify to a district manager that you didn't work because you wanted to keep your grades up, they will care even less than I do. Maybe if you had stayed with Walgreens when you got accepted to pharmacy school and worked once a month, you could be choosy. Maybe if you had stayed with Target after the summer you worked before pharmacy school, you could be choosy. But you're now on your third retail chain, and I get the impression that neither of the previous two are going to have any sort of glowing recommendation for you, so I get the feeling that you're interpreting "there are no spots available for me" as "there are not spots available for anyone," and this is simply not the case.

I may have gone over the top here. I really couldn't care less.

You never mention it being the class of 2010. Was I suppose to read your mind? 🙄

So we pretty much agree that 1) the job market is terrible in Atlanta and 2) most of the people that graduate from Mercer,UGA etc. will have to move out of Atlanta to find a job. The numbers might vary from what you say and what I say, but the point is the vast majority of people will have to move out of Atlanta to find a job.

Just 250? you wish. Between Mercer and UGA there will already be more than 250 graduates per year. You are also not counting people moving to Atlanta from out of state AND forgien exchange students etc. There are much more than 250 people you are competing with.

You could be right in that I should have kept my jobs at Walgreen and Target etc. But I have also heard people say that just because you intern at a retail chain it doesn't guarantee you a spot as a pharmacist. I have also heard several people say that just b/c you do a residency doesn't mean you will get a job when you graduate. So I don't know. R you trying to say that if you work as an intern for a chain for a few years that you are almost certain to land a job in Atlanta??? R you sure about that? R you offered a job in Buckhead? Like I say you could be right in that I should have kept my jobs from before...but I am not even sure if that will give me a job upon graduation in Atlanta GA. R you sure about that? or is that YOUR guess?

I know nothing about Martas or any form of public transportation. I am okay with moving out of Atlanta. Buckhead is the nicest place to live at in GA but I def don't mind moving out of state. If I could live anywhere it will most likely be NYC or something like that.

Lastly we could argue about numbers here all day long, but no one knows for certain the exact number of people that move out of state, the exact number of students that got jobs in Buckhead, and the exact number of students that did this or that. But the point is and I think we agree on it is that 1) the job market sucks in Atlanta and 2) most people will have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs. Any other comment? feel free to throw more numbers around, but I know a ton of people that have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs.

 

[SHC1984]

Ok, SHC is an idiot, I think that's been clear for a while. But to be fair, most of GA is VERY rural and country. There are only a handful of cities (probably < 10) that I would consider a decent place to live... but it isn't just Buckhead and alpharetta. And the job market is incredibly competitive in Atlanta right now and will only get worse as PCOM graduates their new classes in a few years. In fact, that's what we've been saying about the entire pharmacy market around the country for the last 3 years. Metro areas and desirable cities are getting saturated and most people have to move to smaller cities to get a job. It's nothing new really.

I am an idiot yet you stated everything that I pretty much said on here. 🙄

I think she was picking up on the fact that SHC uses rural as a perjorative.

SHC has a common theme about this subject and it goes a little something like this, "There are NO jobs in Atlanta. My preceptor tell me that there was ONE job for the class of 2010. Everyone WILL have to move out of Atlanta. If you have to move out of Atlanta and you WILL because there are NO jobs and 99.999999999999999999% of grads will have to move then you are screw because everything else in Georgia is rural. I would rather DIE than live in the country with cows."

I didn't make any of that up. I think it's that attitude that Mrs. Appleseed was offended by. It is a pretty darn ignorant perspective.

What I said is the truth, anyone from Atlanta knows that Buckhead is the nicest area to live at. Alpharetta is also nice, it's a nice place to start a family for sure. That's the truth, that's why those places are saturated.

However, I should have said those were the only places that I want to live at if I wanted to stay in GA. I never say any of the other places were bad. They are just not for me. I do not know why this would be offensive. 😕

 

[SHC1984]

Its not incredibly difficult, its almost impossible. I had almost four years experience in both retail and hospital, including "clinical" pharmacy and searched for months before I got an interview. I was very, very lucky I got a position...I was on the verge of applying to positions in Macon, which I don't even want to talk about. If I didn't have a home in Kennesaw, I would have moved back to Richmond.

I think we all know now that the market in Atlanta is terrible and that unless you have strong connections you will have to move out of Atlanta. If people on here want to make themselves feel better by throwing around numbers all day long, thats fine with me. But in the end nothing will change, MOST people will have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs. I think the OP has his answer now!

 

[ucrx]

I think we all know now that the market in Atlanta is terrible and that unless you have strong connections you will have to move out of Atlanta. If people on here want to make themselves feel better by throwing around numbers all day long, thats fine with me. But in the end nothing will change, MOST people will have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs. I think the OP has his answer now!

It's probably the same in every other city in the US. NYC and Boston have been that way for a few years now. The market is tough everywhere, and nothing guarantees you a job.

Hasn't this been said a million times? Why would Atlanta be different?

 

[p-rog]

I am an idiot yet you stated everything that I pretty much said :

Yep, pretty much the same thing you said minus the inane hysterical bull****.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Yep, pretty much the same thing you said minus the inane hysterical bull****.

Yeah, I don't think anyone's really disputing the point about the job market. I just find the manner of delivery stupid and annoying.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Target and publix are offering jobs but mostly not in Atl (I do have a friend who got a target float job in atlanta though, but know several others who got target jobs in VA, OR, and FL).

There's a few Publix stores in Atlanta that have hired new techs and interns in the past 9 months. I also know pharmacist positions have opened up, but not sure if they filled them from within the company or not.

I wonder how anyone will be able to find any jobs in the coming years! I have already come to the fact that there is no way in hell I can stay in Atlanta (no one can...if you think you can you are dreaming!). I am okay with moving...where? I have no idea...other places are suffering just as bad I am sure. 🙄

There are a lot of people in our classes who aren't from Georgia at all and plan to move home after graduation, so that spreads out some of the graduates right there.

I mean will any of your classmates want to do a residency if there were tons of jobs around? Especially jobs that offer 120K a year? People most likely take residencies b/c there are no other option. I am now scared to do one b/c again a residency does NOT equal a job...you could end up unemployeed after a residency.

If I matched at a residency, particularly at once that offered some kind of geriatric specialty, I would do it. I'm happy living off of practically no salary as it is, so I think any increase upwards would be okay. Supposedly it's hard for some people to go back to do a residency after you live in the corporate world for a few years and have to go back into the "student" role opposed to being the supervisor.

if it is in Atlanta what kind of connections does he have? I got a summer internship at Walmart, but that is thru connections. If I didn't have this connection there would be NO way in hell I would have gotten this job! LOL...they recieve over 300 applications per job. If your classmate's father is the head director of the hospital or something like that then that explains it too.

Basically you either have very strong connections (father is a CEO or head director) or you will have to move out of Atlanta. It's that simple.

I had zero problem getting an internship when I started school here and I don't know anyone in Georgia at all.

Well, Buckhead is pretty much the only nice area to live in the entire state of GA. Alpharetta is pretty nice too, but other then that I can't really think of anywhere else to live in this state.

I work in Buckhead and would never ever in a million years want to live there. It's nice to visit if you want to go out on the weekend, or eat at a good restaurant, but that's about the only reason I ever want to go there.

Yes I've been to Georgia and I'm from a state that is mostly rural. There is more to Georgia than Atlanta. I'd love to live in Savannah.

I love Savannah. 😍

I have to backup SHC on GA being rural. I hear it isn't as bad as it used to be though, almost all homes have indoor plumbing now and cell phones have made running phone lines to people's homes unnecessary anyway. But if you think wheels are a classy addition to any home, Georgia is the state for you!

Northern/Central Florida is just as bad. Have you ever been to Homosassa Springs, Crystal River, Inverness, etc? lol

Accents don't both me, except that part of the southern accent seems to be to deliberately talk slower than anyone reasonably should.

I'm from south Florida and people here tell me I talk slow (I do talk slow). lol

 

[owlegrad]

Northern/Central Florida is just as bad. Have you ever been to Homosassa Springs, Crystal River, Inverness, etc? lol



I'm from south Florida and people here tell me I talk slow (I do talk slow). lol

Touche'.

I maintain my stance though, FL>>GA in terms of ruralness and talking pace. GA is just so laid back, people mossy instead of walk and drawl instead of talk. Parts of FL are nearly as bad as GA, but on the whole we win. My uncle in GA loves to say, "You can't go further south than GA, once you do you are back up north."

 

[CynicalIntern]

You never mention it being the class of 2010. Was I suppose to read your mind? 🙄

I'll be sure to spell things out for you next time. I was actually citing numbers from 1997 when I was referring to something Walgreens just recently did. That was when there was a shortage even, so if you extrapolate them to now...****, maybe you're right, maybe there's only one job, not only in Atlanta, but the entire southeast! We're DOOMED.

So we pretty much agree that 1) the job market is terrible in Atlanta and 2) most of the people that graduate from Mercer,UGA etc. will have to move out of Atlanta to find a job. The numbers might vary from what you say and what I say, but the point is the vast majority of people will have to move out of Atlanta to find a job.

No, we're not really in agreement here at all. I wouldn't say the job market is GOOD in Atlanta, but in comparison to a major metropolitan areas, it's certainly not bad. I feel like we may have a slight misunderstanding here: If I want to live in Buckhead, and raise a family there, and Walgreens offers me a job right now where I have to drive to Duluth every day, then I take it, because it's a job. If they offer me a floating spot where I have to drive to Dunwoody, to Roswell, or to Smyrna every day, I take it too, because that's not unreasonable at all. Are you saying that the job market inside the Buckhead city limits is terrible? Because in that case, then sure. I'm sure there's a pharmacy next to Turner Field that's constantly looking for employees, though, and that's definitely Atlanta. I'm defining the city a lot less strictly than you are.

Just 250? you wish. Between Mercer and UGA there will already be more than 250 graduates per year. You are also not counting people moving to Atlanta from out of state AND forgien exchange students etc. There are much more than 250 people you are competing with.

1) I know I explicity stated that if you're moving into the city for the first time, you may have problems, but I didn't know.
2) Tink already responded to this, but the number of students moving out of state, or at least out of Atlanta, is pretty much equal to those moving in, or coming in from South. I'm not concerned about PCOM, because they graduate after I do, so I'll have my spot. And, unless you have some absolutely phenomenal connections, a fresh grad who a DM knows is going to have priority over a fresh grad the DM does not know. Unless you suck. Which brings me to...
3) I know that in our class, we're at 133 students right now. I anticipate losing at least 8 more next year, based on how this year has gone. I don't know how many students UGA traditionally graduates, but I would imagine it's about the same. I don't think 250 between the two schools is unreasonable.

. But I have also heard people say that just because you intern at a retail chain it doesn't guarantee you a spot as a pharmacist. I have also heard several people say that just b/c you do a residency doesn't mean you will get a job when you graduate. So I don't know. R you trying to say that if you work as an intern for a chain for a few years that you are almost certain to land a job in Atlanta??? R you sure about that? R you offered a job in Buckhead? Like I say you could be right in that I should have kept my jobs from before...but I am not even sure if that will give me a job upon graduation in Atlanta GA. R you sure about that? or is that YOUR guess?

I'm guaranteeing nothing. I'm no fool. But what I AM saying is that, if you've worked for a company for three or four years through pharmacy school, they've invested a lot of time, and potentially a lot of money into you. So as long as 1) You don't suck, 2) You're not unreasonable with your demands, 3) You're not in an extremely unlucky position (Re: A lot of Target's are of incredibly high demand, because so many of them are more laid back. Or whatever pharmacy it is up north that NEVER hires new pharmacists, because they actually do counseling on every script and the patients like it. This is unlikely to happen in Atlanta, because we're not THAT competitive yet, not for retail), and 4) Really, you don't suck. this is key.

Lastly we could argue about numbers here all day long, but no one knows for certain the exact number of people that move out of state, the exact number of students that got jobs in Buckhead, and the exact number of students that did this or that. But the point is and I think we agree on it is that 1) the job market sucks in Atlanta and 2) most people will have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs. Any other comment? feel free to throw more numbers around, but I know a ton of people that have to move out of Atlanta to find jobs.

How did you interpret that from what I said? I gave some pretty basic stats that said that, assuming every chain can afford to hire 1 student per 43 grads, most people would not have to leave Atlanta. The job market isn't great, but the job market isn't great anywhere. And I still think that you're confusing Atlanta as being = Buckhead. It's not, and if that's what you're looking for, then you might as well ask for a 9-5 spot in L.A., because that's not happening.

 

[SHC1984]

I work in Buckhead and would never ever in a million years want to live there. It's nice to visit if you want to go out on the weekend, or eat at a good restaurant, but that's about the only reason I ever want to go there.

I thought you told me when we first met that you wanted to live in Buckhead?

It's nice if you are young to live there, but to start a family I wouldn't live there! lol...

 

[SHC1984]

I'll be sure to spell things out for you next time. I was actually citing numbers from 1997 when I was referring to something Walgreens just recently did. That was when there was a shortage even, so if you extrapolate them to now...****, maybe you're right, maybe there's only one job, not only in Atlanta, but the entire southeast! We're DOOMED.



No, we're not really in agreement here at all. I wouldn't say the job market is GOOD in Atlanta, but in comparison to a major metropolitan areas, it's certainly not bad. I feel like we may have a slight misunderstanding here: If I want to live in Buckhead, and raise a family there, and Walgreens offers me a job right now where I have to drive to Duluth every day, then I take it, because it's a job. If they offer me a floating spot where I have to drive to Dunwoody, to Roswell, or to Smyrna every day, I take it too, because that's not unreasonable at all. Are you saying that the job market inside the Buckhead city limits is terrible? Because in that case, then sure. I'm sure there's a pharmacy next to Turner Field that's constantly looking for employees, though, and that's definitely Atlanta. I'm defining the city a lot less strictly than you are.



1) I know I explicity stated that if you're moving into the city for the first time, you may have problems, but I didn't know.
2) Tink already responded to this, but the number of students moving out of state, or at least out of Atlanta, is pretty much equal to those moving in, or coming in from South. I'm not concerned about PCOM, because they graduate after I do, so I'll have my spot. And, unless you have some absolutely phenomenal connections, a fresh grad who a DM knows is going to have priority over a fresh grad the DM does not know. Unless you suck. Which brings me to...
3) I know that in our class, we're at 133 students right now. I anticipate losing at least 8 more next year, based on how this year has gone. I don't know how many students UGA traditionally graduates, but I would imagine it's about the same. I don't think 250 between the two schools is unreasonable.



I'm guaranteeing nothing. I'm no fool. But what I AM saying is that, if you've worked for a company for three or four years through pharmacy school, they've invested a lot of time, and potentially a lot of money into you. So as long as 1) You don't suck, 2) You're not unreasonable with your demands, 3) You're not in an extremely unlucky position (Re: A lot of Target's are of incredibly high demand, because so many of them are more laid back. Or whatever pharmacy it is up north that NEVER hires new pharmacists, because they actually do counseling on every script and the patients like it. This is unlikely to happen in Atlanta, because we're not THAT competitive yet, not for retail), and 4) Really, you don't suck. this is key.



How did you interpret that from what I said? I gave some pretty basic stats that said that, assuming every chain can afford to hire 1 student per 43 grads, most people would not have to leave Atlanta. The job market isn't great, but the job market isn't great anywhere. And I still think that you're confusing Atlanta as being = Buckhead. It's not, and if that's what you're looking for, then you might as well ask for a 9-5 spot in L.A., because that's not happening.

I see where you are coming from. I am worried about the job market in Atlanta, but I am also willing to move too.

The pharmacist that I got my information from works at the Sam's Club in Duluth. His name is M. Patel....very nice guy, 40yo Mercer grad, owns a few hotels as a side job and was suppose to retire last year but b/c of the bad economy he is working a few more years. He is very knowledgeable. He was the one that told me that Walmart/Sam's Club in Atlanta only had one opening for the class of 2010. He told me that Walmart is like the richest company in the world (which it is) and even they are only hiring one person. He can't imagine it being any better anywhere else, could be the only retail position available. He mentioned Walgreens having a hiring freeze and several other places...so maybe that was why I thought there was only 1 job in Atlanta. He also told me a residency does NOT guarantee a job anymore...there are plenty of people that do residencies and can't find jobs. He told me he is going to get his son to go into optometry or dentistry and AVOID pharmacy! If you want you can go to Sam's and talk to him yourself. He is a very nice guy.

Its Z the member ^. I have also PM a few times about the job market and he told me it is very unpromising. He would be the FIRST PERSON I listen to b/c he is pretty much in charge of all the hospitals in the country. Even he told me the profession is doing bad. If you want you can PM him. He even mentioned in one post that currently there is no hospital positions opened in the entire country. I am not sure how it is now, but he mention that a few months ago.

I try to land a summer internship at Walgreens and Target, but the positions are so competitive and so few are available! If you landed one you are lucky! I applied to a few hospital jobs and NO response.

It's hard to not feel that the market is bad with all this information. There are a few reputable people on here that I would listen to about the job market and they all don't have anything "great" to say about it.

I also know people from the Class of 2009 and 2010 that had to move out of state to get jobs.

I guess all that combine has me believing the job market is beyond terrible here!

You are right that I should have kept my jobs in the past....Target wanted me to work 16 hours a week...they told me it's a mini requirement. Walmart told me the same thing....I don't know about Walgreens but a lot of places want you to work a min of 15 to 16 hrs a week!!! How can you do that and still be a second year pharmacy student. I can't do it!

But you are right in that I should have gotten a job at a place that I really want and so it would increase my chances of getting a job upon graduation. That I agree with...I am just not very good at juggling school and work. I never had to work in school.

 

[ucrx]

I see where you are coming from. I am worried about the job market in Atlanta, but I am also willing to move too.

The pharmacist that I got my information from works at the Sam's Club in Duluth. His name is M. Patel....very nice guy, 40yo Mercer grad, owns a few hotels as a side job and was suppose to retire last year but b/c of the bad economy he is working a few more years. He is very knowledgeable. He was the one that told me that Walmart/Sam's Club in Atlanta only had one opening for the class of 2010. He told me that Walmart is like the richest company in the world (which it is) and even they are only hiring one person. He can't imagine it being any better anywhere else, could be the only retail position available. He mentioned Walgreens having a hiring freeze and several other places...so maybe that was why I thought there was only 1 job in Atlanta. He also told me a residency does NOT guarantee a job anymore...there are plenty of people that do residencies and can't find jobs. He told me he is going to get his son to go into optometry or dentistry and AVOID pharmacy! If you want you can go to Sam's and talk to him yourself. He is a very nice guy.

Its Z the member ^. I have also PM a few times about the job market and he told me it is very unpromising. He would be the FIRST PERSON I listen to b/c he is pretty much in charge of all the hospitals in the country. Even he told me the profession is doing bad. If you want you can PM him. He even mentioned in one post that currently there is no hospital positions opened in the entire country. I am not sure how it is now, but he mention that a few months ago.

I try to land a summer internship at Walgreens and Target, but the positions are so competitive and so few are available! If you landed one you are lucky! I applied to a few hospital jobs and NO response.

It's hard to not feel that the market is bad with all this information. There are a few reputable people on here that I would listen to about the job market and they all don't have anything "great" to say about it.

I also know people from the Class of 2009 and 2010 that had to move out of state to get jobs.

I guess all that combine has me believing the job market is beyond terrible here!

You are right that I should have kept my jobs in the past....Target wanted me to work 16 hours a week...they told me it's a mini requirement. Walmart told me the same thing....I don't know about Walgreens but a lot of places want you to work a min of 15 to 16 hrs a week!!! How can you do that and still be a second year pharmacy student. I can't do it!

But you are right in that I should have gotten a job at a place that I really want and so it would increase my chances of getting a job upon graduation. That I agree with...I am just not very good at juggling school and work. I never had to work in school.

1. It has been said many times residency doesn't guarantee a job at the end.

2. My hospital is currently hiring 2 pharmacists. There are pharmacists who have been posting about interviews for months now, although they haven't turned into jobs for everyone.

3. 15-16 hours really isn't a whole lot if you're good with time management. Work a weekend shift and 2 evening (4 hour shifts)- there you go! If you aren't good at juggling school and work, then that is a negative for you. Companies prefer to hire people with experience even if it isn't at their company.

 

[njac]

I wouldn't say there are zero jobs.

I just had an offer for a phone interview about an hour outside Atlanta.

Hospital. Clinical Specialist position.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

LOLWUT? Its Z is in charge of ALL of the hospitals in the country and there are NO hospital positions open in the ENTIRE country? SERIOUSLY?!?! Neither of those things is true...

Just give it up, SHC.

 

[SHC1984]

LOLWUT? Its Z is in charge of ALL of the hospitals in the country and there are NO hospital positions open in the ENTIRE country? SERIOUSLY?!?! Neither of those things is true...

Just give it up, SHC.

He is a user on here. You are welcome to PM him or go back and look at his older posts. There were no jobs at one point a few months back. Now I do not know. You are welcome to believe whatever you want to believe in. If you want to think jobs are in abundance, that's fine with me.

Here the post were he mentioned he is in charge of hospitals across the entire country. He mentioned it several times, this is just one example. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=769622

 

[njac]

Z tends to joke/exaggerate a lot.

The market has tightened up, but at no point were there truly "Zero Hospital Jobs in the country"

 

[Tinkerbell22]

I thought you told me when we first met that you wanted to live in Buckhead?

It's nice if you are young to live there, but to start a family I wouldn't live there! lol...

I wanted to work there because the store is similar to the one I was at before, and I like the area itself... but I don't really like the traffic or how it feels more crammed in than other places. I've never really liked being too close to downtown in any of the cities I've lived in.

It's completely random that I got a job at that particular store though. I never actually applied there, but the manager happened to be looking for an intern and most of my classmates were already working so they let me know about it... it just happened to be in that area.

 

[CynicalIntern]

I've always kind of assumed that Z has the same job Barney Stinson does.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

He is a user on here. You are welcome to PM him or go back and look at his older posts. There were no jobs at one point a few months back. Now I do not know. You are welcome to believe whatever you want to believe in. If you want to think jobs are in abundance, that's fine with me.

Here the post were he mentioned he is in charge of hospitals across the entire country. He mentioned it several times, this is just one example. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=769622

He is not "in charge" of all the hospitals in the country. There is no ONE person in charge of all the hospitals in the entire country. Surely you cannot be this uninformed?

Where did I say that jobs are in abundance? I didn't...

I just said that it isn't true that there were NO jobs. There are jobs. How many? I don't know. But your claim that there are NO jobs is false.

Are you really this dense? Or do we have a reading comprehension problem? I'm really at a loss here.

 

[ucrx]

He is a user on here. You are welcome to PM him or go back and look at his older posts. There were no jobs at one point a few months back. Now I do not know. You are welcome to believe whatever you want to believe in. If you want to think jobs are in abundance, that's fine with me.

Here the post were he mentioned he is in charge of hospitals across the entire country. He mentioned it several times, this is just one example. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=769622

I didn't think Z was in charge of hospitals... nevermind "pretty much in charge of all hospitals" as you said in your previous post.

 

[SHC1984]

He is not "in charge" of all the hospitals in the country. There is no ONE person in charge of all the hospitals in the entire country. Surely you cannot be this uninformed?

Where did I say that jobs are in abundance? I didn't...

I just said that it isn't true that there were NO jobs. There are jobs. How many? I don't know. But your claim that there are NO jobs is false.

Are you really this dense? Or do we have a reading comprehension problem? I'm really at a loss here.

I never say there were no jobs period. I think you have the reading problem. I say Its Z mention at one point there were no hospitals hiring in the country. AT ONE POINT. When did I ever say there were no jobs period?

Z tends to joke/exaggerate a lot.

The market has tightened up, but at no point were there truly "Zero Hospital Jobs in the country"

I take his words very seriously b/c he is in charge of a ton of hospitals. WVU takes his words very seriously too. I would look for that post again, but I have to leave here in a second. I just remember the topic was about WVU complaining about not being able to find a job. He ask Z to hire him. Z say that a few years ago, he would have love to hire him, but at this time no hospitals are hiring.

 

[ucrx]

I never say there were no jobs period. I think you have the reading problem. I say Its Z mention at one point there were no hospitals hiring in the country. AT ONE POINT. When did I ever say there were no jobs period?



I take his words very seriously b/c he is in charge of a ton of hospitals. WVU takes his words very seriously too. I would look for that post again, but I have to leave here in a second. I just remember the topic was about WVU complaining about not being able to find a job. He ask Z to hire him. Z say that a few years ago, he would have love to hire him, but at this time no hospitals are hiring.

I'm gonna guess that was an exaggeration. And it isn't true, considering my hospital has been interviewing pharmacists for an open position since last August and had several new pharmacists starting at various points earlier in the year.

 

[Its Z]

My ears were ringing...

Of course I'm not in charge of all hospitals in the US...but I am responsible for operations of over 20+ hospital pharmacies but I don't really do the staff level hiring... just DOP and Clinical Managers some.. but in over 250 facilities, we have 2 full time clinical/staff pharmacist positions open. Take that for what it's worth.

Sure we have more DOP, clinical manager, informatics pharmacist, assistant DOP positions and none of those will go to a new grad, I can promise you.

There are about 10 prn staff pharmacist positions.

 

[Its Z]

Z tends to joke/exaggerate a lot.

I may joke a lot...but exaggerate?

 

[Its Z]

But I can tell you there aint no jobs in ATL area for my hospitals..