Newly Grad. Important Decision to Make!

[DennyCrane MD]

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Hello,

I will be graduating from pharmacy school in May 2016. I have gotten two offers so far.

1) CVS as a staff pharmacist position. 125k salary based on 40 hour/week work.
Pro's:
- Allows me to find home that is close to the store, thus convenient commute.
- As long as the co-workers are not too crazy, it can be nice to build rapport with the same group of co-workers. Work environment will also become predictable.
- 5k more in salary.
- Some say Walgreens and CVS are not that different. They are both retail pharmacy with financial incentives.
Con's:
- Some say CVS is easily the worst retail pharmacy to work for. link.
- Some say, at CVS, one will be more stressed, over-worked, under-staffed, and scrutinized with numbers, compared to Walgreens.
- Some say one is more likely to develop depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, panic attack and PTSD at CVS as a pharmacist, along with GERD.
- Could be stuck with bad apples as co-workers.

2) Walgreen floater position. 120k salary based on 40 hour/ week. The floater position covers a relatively large area. One end to the other is about 60 miles.
Pro's:
- Relative to CVS, one may be less likely to be stressed, over-worked, under-staffed, and scrutinized.
- Less likely to be stuck with bad apples as co-workers, since floating around different locations
- Can potentially become staff pharmacist at a favorable location in the future.
Con's:
- 5k less in salary
- May be pain in the butt to commute potentially, taking 2-4 hours of commute in round trip in traffic.
- Day to day can be more unpredictable, due to floating.

Which job offer would you pick, if you were in my situation?

Thank you all so much!

 

[mikejones123]

stay far away from cvs.....cvs is the worst company to work for. Take the walgreens offer and don't look back.

 

[BMBiology]

Right now you should be looking for stability. Wag just purchased Rite Aid so there will be changes in the near future including store closure. What is Wag going to do with all of these Rite Aid pharmacist is the elephant in the room and how will this affect you as a floater.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Both companies suck. That's terrible those are your choices. It's a lose lose situation either way, but take Walgreens.

 

[Lnsean]

both are ****ty companies to work for...but I'd take CVS....you're guaranteed a staff position and a higher salary. That floater position for wags could be iffy with the rite aid deal and such going on.

 

[Digsbe]

Check the benefits too, 5k higher salary may be nice but if it means less benefits you may come out with less. Staffing hours can also be important, one may staff 8 hrs vs 12-14. I could take working for a more stresfull company if it meant 12+ hour days and more days "off" especially if that means on short weeks I can use vacation days to go on multiple week-long trips per year.

 

[Wheresmyaricept]

Walgreens would never lay off floaters unless their performance reviews were below a certain point and they did not improve. They would just not hire extra floaters the next graduation season. Plus with the rite aid buyouts coming, they will need extra Walgreens staff to go into these stores and train them. The last few buyouts I did I made great money in overtime. Plus that's at least a year or two away. You could be a staff pharmacist by then.


But honestly I would just go to the store that's nearby and has good pay. The floating might not be worth it. Long hours, crappy stores. If you know the store you staff at is crappy but it's a short commute that's at least a positive. Both suck, whoever sucks the least is a matter of personal opinion. My opinion is that having done a rotation at CVS, they have ridiculous metrics and the stupid phone calls drove me insane. Walgreens has improved over the last year or so. Is it the magical golden era of pharmacy? No but it doesn't suck like it did with the previous overlords.

 

[a student]

Starting off floating might not be a bad thing. You gain more experience (different prescriptions, different patient populations, and different doctors) and build more connections while floating.

 

[Lexington2012]

Look for another option.

 

[apex8]

if strictly choosing between these two options, I'd have to go with CVS.

What you hear about CVS metrics and all is definitely true, but unless you are PIC you don't necessarily have to worry so much about it. It's staff pharmacist position vs floater. closer to home which means hours saved on commute which is priceless after long shifts and if you have a family/wife to go home to. With the current walgreens/RA purchase, your job stability is a bit iffy as well.

just my 2 cents

 

[Sine Cura]

It seems pretty hard to fire people from cvs because people quit left and right. If your boss wants to get rid of you they will find a way but just don't do anything that warrants immediate termination. For me close to home and non-ghetto store would be on the same level as far from home but good store.

 

[RPh Who]

Take serious stock of your options and current events (RAD sale vs cutting overnight staff at CVS). I've been with CVS for two years and it has only been getting more difficult. I gave my two week notice last week to take a manager position at walmart. My new store will have 52 more rph hours and 20 more tech/clerk hours per week while doing 30% less volume. I'm not saying WM is the way to go for you, just keep your options open and remember to place a value on quality of life.

 

[mentos]

If it matters to you, ask how many base hours you will actually get (your supervisor probably won't know right now though). CVS considers 30 hours per week full time, so even though your salary is based on 40 hours per week that does not mean you will get 40 base hours. It just means that you will be paid at the hourly rate of 125k for 40 hours ($60.09). I expected to work 40 hours per week when I started, but only got 30 base. So if you get 30 hours at CVS and 40 at Wags then you wouldn't be making $5k more at CVS. Anyway, even if you get 40 hours at both - $5k after taxes is negligible. It's only around $65 more per week. Benefits are much more important.

I ended up preferring 30 hours because working 40 hours per week at CVS sucks. I value time off over pay due to how stressful CVS is. You can always pick up extra shifts at other stores or even your own when your coworkers use vacation time. I did this a few times when I started, but working 5 or 6 days per week wasn't worth the extra money to me. I would personally take any staff position over floating because I hate driving and I like having a set schedule. It's easier to plan my vacations, social events, etc. Plus you have to take into account lost time in commuting, gas money, wear and tear on your car, etc. An hour commute twice per day adds up to many extra hours of your life gone, that is certainly not worth an extra $5k pretax to me. You would have to pay me like $20k more for me to give up my staff position for a floating one but to each their own.

 

[Judgment Dragon]

CVS. You stay in 1 place.

 

[DennyCrane MD]

Thank you so much for your answers guys! It's awesome to see that SDN for pharmacy can be really active! I really found your advice to be helpful, especially the ones with specific details.

I'm leaning toward CVS right now, after reading your comments. I'll look in to the base hours and benefits. And I will look in to the people working at the particular CVS store, once I know which one.

In the mean while, I'll try to see if I can get any other options, independent pharmacy, Walmart, Target, etc. While a premature me thinks that I can probably handle 40 hours weekly work, without becoming psychotic and develop peptic ulcer, I definitely haven't experienced the work yet. And I definitely value quality of life!

Wish me luck!

 

[PharmaSex]

Take the CVS gig. Being a floater gets old after a few months. The traveling takes a toll on your soul with the traffic and having to find a new store every day. You'll be earning less in salary and spending a ton on gas a car maintenance as a floater. it sucks having to get used to the workflow of multiple stores and dealing with tech unpredictability. CVS pay gets much better overtime as well. There are store managers out there that earn 150K is busy stores. And that is just base salary

 

[veyep]

Hello,

I will be graduating from pharmacy school in May 2016. I have gotten two offers so far.

1) CVS as a staff pharmacist position. 125k salary based on 40 hour/week work.
Pro's:
- Allows me to find home that is close to the store, thus convenient commute.
- As long as the co-workers are not too crazy, it can be nice to build rapport with the same group of co-workers. Work environment will also become predictable.
- 5k more in salary.
- Some say Walgreens and CVS are not that different. They are both retail pharmacy with financial incentives.
Con's:
- Some say CVS is easily the worst retail pharmacy to work for. link.
- Some say, at CVS, one will be more stressed, over-worked, under-staffed, and scrutinized with numbers, compared to Walgreens.
- Some say one is more likely to develop depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, panic attack and PTSD at CVS as a pharmacist, along with GERD.
- Could be stuck with bad apples as co-workers.

2) Walgreen floater position. 120k salary based on 40 hour/ week. The floater position covers a relatively large area. One end to the other is about 60 miles.
Pro's:
- Relative to CVS, one may be less likely to be stressed, over-worked, under-staffed, and scrutinized.
- Less likely to be stuck with bad apples as co-workers, since floating around different locations
- Can potentially become staff pharmacist at a favorable location in the future.
Con's:
- 5k less in salary
- May be pain in the butt to commute potentially, taking 2-4 hours of commute in round trip in traffic.
- Day to day can be more unpredictable, due to floating.

Which job offer would you pick, if you were in my situation?

Thank you all so much!

From what I hear both CVS and walgreens only give 32hrs/wk to their floaters. 32 hours is considered full time.

 

[tryingtomakeit]

CVS gig 100%. The commute factor is soo important. Besides that, CVS staff for a few years will make it easier to acquire a different retail gig down the line versus as a WAG floater, because every manager respects the grind that is CVS.

 

[Rukn]

Take CVS

I heard they don't care about your metrics too much in the beginning

Just make as much money as you can from CVS

Walgreens floater sucks ass. The area that you have to cover these days can be enormous and you are often thrown into the dark in terms of stores. The driving gets old quick and they review you on how well you did, like you are underneath them or something. The scheduling can be wack too, you can have overnights in the middle of a week full of day shifts.

 

[Lnsean]

The scheduling can be wack too, you can have overnights in the middle of a week full of day shifts.

fuk that sht

 

[pillpharmer14]

Props on including a citation for your claim that CVS is the worst pharmacy to work for (it is).

That being said, I would pick CVS because floating sounds like a nightmare. You'll probably be overworked and understaffed either way, might as well not add a commute and **** schedule.