No Recession in South Texas

Started by pharma1985
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pharma1985

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I have been reading people complaining about the decline of Pharmacists. But in South Texas (Mcallen- Harlingen, TX area) the pharmacists salary are booming. A friend of mine( who just graduated) got a job in CVS for ~150K a year. Hes telling me that pharmacists are in huge demand over here. A couple of CVS stores are gonna open in 2-3 months.

So for new graduates who are looking, apply in that area. Just searching online I found a staff phamacists position in HEB paying ~147K.

Hope it helps to new graduates.
 
of course, it's geographic...we've been saying that for years. there will always be a demand for (insert any job here) in rural/generally less desirable areas.
 
confettiflyer said:
of course, it's geographic...we've been saying that for years. there will always be a demand for (insert any job here) in rural/generally less desirable areas.
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I wouldnt call Mcallen-Harlingen area rural. The 3 cities metro has a cumulative population of around 500K which would be comparable to a small-medium city. But not rural.

Also Corpus Christi is only 100 miles away and Houston 200 mile, so it is not in the middle of nowhere like some places in the Great plains (Dakotas,Wyoming).
 
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But there is a lovely set of socioeconomic issues special to that area that might make some shy away.
 
pharma1985 said:
I have been reading people complaining about the decline of Pharmacists. But in South Texas (Mcallen- Harlingen, TX area) the pharmacists salary are booming. A friend of mine( who just graduated) got a job in CVS for ~150K a year. Hes telling me that pharmacists are in huge demand over here. A couple of CVS stores are gonna open in 2-3 months.

So for new graduates who are looking, apply in that area. Just searching online I found a staff phamacists position in HEB paying ~147K.

Hope it helps to new graduates.
Click to expand...


This isn't entirely true. Hospital jobs were plentiful there before and they were desperate for pharmacists. Many pharmacists in Dallas and Houston would fly there and work week on week off making $160K per year.. That's all dried up as you'll see there aren't any hospital positions. There's not a huge demand for pharmacists as you put it.
 
pharma1985 said:
I have been reading people complaining about the decline of Pharmacists. But in South Texas (Mcallen- Harlingen, TX area) the pharmacists salary are booming. A friend of mine( who just graduated) got a job in CVS for ~150K a year. Hes telling me that pharmacists are in huge demand over here. A couple of CVS stores are gonna open in 2-3 months.

So for new graduates who are looking, apply in that area. Just searching online I found a staff phamacists position in HEB paying ~147K.

Hope it helps to new graduates.
Click to expand...

Okay.....nothing new here. Undesirable places still have a need for Pharmacists...big deal. East and West Texas still have sign on bonuses.

Do you realize what a **** hole South Texas is? There is a reason they are paying that much....
 
njac said:
But there is a lovely set of socioeconomic issues special to that area that might make some shy away.
Click to expand...

Please elaborate on which "socioeconomic" issues. I live in Houston and grew up in NE, but I definitely would prefer like living here in Texas. Real estate is cheap, friendly people, NO STATE INCOME TAX, more places to go if you are young.
About Mcallen-Harlingen, from what my friend says, it is very developed and people are very friendly. And hes a MINORITY.


Its Z said:
This isn't entirely true. Hospital jobs were plentiful there before and they were desperate for pharmacists. Many pharmacists in Dallas and Houston would fly there and work week on week off making $160K per year.. That's all dried up as you'll see there aren't any hospital positions. There's not a huge demand for pharmacists as you put it.
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From what I know, there is good demand of pharmacists down in South texas than anywhere in country.

MountainPharmD said:
Okay.....nothing new here. Undesirable places still have a need for Pharmacists...big deal. East and West Texas still have sign on bonuses.

Do you realize what a **** hole South Texas is? There is a reason they are paying that much....
Click to expand...

No one is forcing u to apply. If u r fine working for less in your "fine" place, just be there.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is be only for people who wants to pay off their loans soon bcuz this boom in South Texas wont last long. Eventually with supply going up, pharmacists salaries regardless of location would decline substantially.
 
pharma1985 said:
About Mcallen-Harlingen, from what my friend says, it is very developed and people are very friendly. And hes a MINORITY.
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Well, hmmm...that's such a relative term. I was there for a 1-month rotation as a P4. Is it livable? Well, sure. Would it make the Top 100 places in the US I'd want to move to? Not exactly. And I don't see what your point is by emphasizing your friend's a MINORITY...what difference does that make?
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Well, hmmm...that's such a relative term. I was there for a 1-month rotation as a P4. Is it livable? Well, sure. Would it make the Top 100 places in the US I'd want to move to? Not exactly. And I don't see what your point is by emphasizing your friend's a MINORITY...what difference does that make?
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So...he's non-hispanic then.
 
pharma1985 said:
This is be only for people who wants to pay off their loans soon bcuz this boom in South Texas wont last long. Eventually with supply going up, pharmacists salaries regardless of location would decline substantially.
Click to expand...

I always love to hear the uniformed and confused answer this question. So tell me how is the salary of a pharmacist going to decline substantially?

$147,000 a year to work in McAllen? Not even close to being enough.

Hell you can get $130,000 to $140,000 as a PIC in Dallas.
 
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SpirivaSunrise said:
There was a Whataburger in Gainesville?? Where?

And I have no idea...I wasn't blown away though.
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yeah there was one at 36th st and university but it closed down. whataburger was by far the best option at 4AM in my undergrad days (>>>>mcdonalds). are you a UF pharm alum?
 
five guys is overrated and overpriced. in n out is coming to dallas. cant wait. and no...wendys aint that good.
 
Its Z said:
five guys is overrated and overpriced. in n out is coming to dallas. cant wait. and no...wendys aint that good.
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they are building a meat processing plant for in-n-out in dallas so hopefully they will eventually expand south to houston (praying)
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Well, hmmm...that's such a relative term. I was there for a 1-month rotation as a P4. Is it livable? Well, sure. Would it make the Top 100 places in the US I'd want to move to? Not exactly. And I don't see what your point is by emphasizing your friend's a MINORITY...what difference does that make?
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Minority in South texas makes a difference if you are only asian looking person in the whole town.
 
pharma1985 said:
I wouldnt call Mcallen-Harlingen area rural. The 3 cities metro has a cumulative population of around 500K which would be comparable to a small-medium city. But not rural.

Also Corpus Christi is only 100 miles away and Houston 200 mile, so it is not in the middle of nowhere like some places in the Great plains (Dakotas,Wyoming).
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I had a similiar offer to work in that area, the valley. One weekend a couple of friends and I took a trip to Progresso and on the way we passed through some of those towns and cities...McAllen, Alice, Harlingen, Brownsville.. Having seen the area I decided against accepting the offer. It wasn't a place I could see myself living at for the long term. Corpus Christi may have been ok. A person considering an offer in that area should definitely plan a trip there before making a final decision.

Btw, I was surprised to find that Progresso had literally a pharmacy every two stores down the streets. It was whack :laugh:
 
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pharma1985 said:
Kingsville doesnt have pharmacy school
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Really? OMG... did the hurricane take out the school???? 😱

What happened to Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy in Kingsville????😱


Earthquake? Tornado?? Tsunami???

It's gone??????
 
Its Z said:
You just need to find you a sugar daddy.
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That would be nice, but I still prefer working ~15 hours a week and using that extra money on more shoes.

So where is the best state to get a pharmacy job? what do you recommend? or are they all saturated?
 
SHC1984 said:
That would be nice, but I still prefer working ~15 hours a week and using that extra money on more shoes.

So where is the best state to get a pharmacy job? what do you recommend? or are they all saturated?
Click to expand...


Mississippi and Louisiana still have jobs....I wouldn't quite say shortage...but there are jobs primarily because these states didn't add any new pharmacy schools.

You can still find jobs in remote parts of Texas.. and some in remote cities of Arizona.
 
Its Z said:
Mississippi and Louisiana still have jobs....I wouldn't quite say shortage...but there are jobs primarily because these states didn't add any new pharmacy schools.

You can still find jobs in remote parts of Texas.. and some in remote cities of Arizona.
Click to expand...

Do you think these jobs will still be available in 2013? 🙂
 
SHC1984 said:
Do you think these jobs will still be available in 2013? 🙂
Click to expand...

You have to understand that just because an area doesn't have shortage, it doesn't mean you won't find a job. Pharmacist positions open up and if you're at the right place at the right time and qualified for the job, you'll get it. No sense in worrying about it today.
 
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Its Z said:
You have to understand that just because an area doesn't have shortage, it doesn't mean you won't find a job. Pharmacist positions open up and if you're at the right place at the right time and qualified for the job, you'll get it. No sense in worrying about it today.
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But I thought the sky was falling... No, I am certain, without doubt, that there may be no jobs in the next 15 years. Probably.
 
Some things you haven't considered about South Texas. You must know spanish to get by. Otherwise, your customers will never bond with you. At some pharmacies, more than 60% of the patients are spanish-speaking only. Also, there is nothing to do in that area. It is an underprivelaged and very poor place. It's also next to the border where there is a war going on with drugs. I have no idea why someone would take the higher salary at the expense of all these other factors. No wonder they pay more. It's because no one wants to be in such a desolate place. Houston and Dallas pay a little bit less but more than make up for it with what they have to offer.
 
RxMTM said:
Some things you haven't considered about South Texas. You must know spanish to get by. Otherwise, your customers will never bond with you. At some pharmacies, more than 60% of the patients are spanish-speaking only. Also, there is nothing to do in that area. It is an underprivelaged and very poor place. It's also next to the border where there is a war going on with drugs. I have no idea why someone would take the higher salary at the expense of all these other factors. No wonder they pay more. It's because no one wants to be in such a desolate place. Houston and Dallas pay a little bit less but more than make up for it with what they have to offer.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have a friend who keeps telling me I should consider working down there for just a year to make some really good money. I would much rather work in Austin, Houston, or Dallas if I can find something when I graduate, and I am pretty confident I can find at least one pharmacy employer in one of those three cities to hire me. I would have to be pretty desperate to work way down South.
 
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