Pay Rate for Pharmacy Interns

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Vanessa

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What is the current pay rate for interns with the local chain stores?
Also, must you be licensed?
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Rite aid pays 10.50 py1, 12.50 py2, 14.50 py3, and 17.50 py4 before you graduate. Thats here in KY though, I'm sure it varies quite a bit.
 
I think Walmart's rate is the highest compare to the other chains.

Yeah...you have to have your intern license.
 
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12-15 here in West By God. Hella more in California...where rent for a small apartment is equivalent to the GNP of a few small African nations. But usually, they are competitive with each other.
 
How do you get the intern license? Can you work as an inten without it?
 
You have to apply for an intern license through the state board of pharmacy. The requirements and procedures will vary from state to state.
 
p1 at cvs its $10.50 or $11.50 if you are certified thats in tennessee
 
Vanessa said:
How do you get the intern license? Can you work as an inten without it?
Click to expand...


Depending on your state, you have to have been admitted to a professional Pharmacy School or have finished your first year of Professional Program. Then you just fill out an application and turn it into board of pharmacy to get your intern license. If you have not been accepted don't worry about it. No, you can not work as an intern without a license.

In NW:
P1 @ Safeway $17
P1 @ Fred Meyer $20
P1 @ Walgreens $15-16
P1 @ Kaiser $30
 
Idesiretosling said:
Depending on your state, you have to have been admitted to a professional Pharmacy School or have finished your first year of Professional Program. Then you just fill out an application and turn it into board of pharmacy to get your intern license. If you have not been accepted don't worry about it. No, you can not work as an intern without a license.

In NW:
P1 @ Safeway $17
P1 @ Fred Meyer $20
P1 @ Walgreens $15-16
P1 @ Kaiser $30
Click to expand...

I can't believe the pay rate is so high in that area...im guessing NW means north west?? thats crazyyy I would love to make $30 per hour haha!
 
$30/hr as a p1 at Kaiser? No way, seriously? Thats a little more than double what I'm making now at walgreens :eek:.
 
I get about $20 an hour as a P1.
 
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I know that the pay rate is gonna be higher out west...but does anybody know any high paying rates for more centrally located states???!!!???
 
In Chicago, Illinois, the rate is between $15-$19, and it is about $1-$2 lower downstate.
 
we just got a raise to $14.70 (plus shift differentials) at our hospital. we were at $11.65 before that.

I know Wal Mart makes $15 for 3rd years here, but as you all see, it varies a lot by locale.
 
do you think that if you went to a variety of different pharmacies (to do research) and asked what they pay p1 interns they would tell you??
 
collegegirl247 said:
do you think that if you went to a variety of different pharmacies (to do research) and asked what they pay p1 interns they would tell you??
Click to expand...

something I've noticed in pharmacy is that no one seems shy about telling you what they make.

can't hurt to ask.
 
I tried looking up contact information online for different stores but its really hard to find the contact information of a pharmacy supervisor or director of internship that would be able to help me!!
 
collegegirl247 said:
I tried looking up contact information online for different stores but its really hard to find the contact information of a pharmacy supervisor or director of internship that would be able to help me!!
Click to expand...

a) never heard of a director of internship.
b)when you start school there many be an intern "campus liason" that is an employee of the company in charge of recruiting interns from the school (we have them for walgreens and walmart) but no one in any official capacity.

store managers probably change regularly - walk into a store and ask for the name of the district manager. they'll know what stores need help.
 
I don't know about other stores..but I know that cvs has a director of interns- they deal with everything intern from placement to recruitment to intern social activities...
 
I think in general, interns working for hospital just get paid more than retail interns. I make $13 for a P-2 at Walgreens and my classmate made $17 or so when she started out last year. She probably got a raise by now. I also agree it depends on your area.
 
Idesiretosling said:
Depending on your state, you have to have been admitted to a professional Pharmacy School or have finished your first year of Professional Program. Then you just fill out an application and turn it into board of pharmacy to get your intern license. If you have not been accepted don't worry about it. No, you can not work as an intern without a license.

In NW:
P1 @ Safeway $17
P1 @ Fred Meyer $20
P1 @ Walgreens $15-16
P1 @ Kaiser $30
Click to expand...

Where in the NW are you? Oregon or Washington? I'm in Seattle and I know people interning for Safeway and Fred Meyer and they make around $16-17 as p1
 
tigger7222 said:
Where in the NW are you? Oregon or Washington? I'm in Seattle and I know people interning for Safeway and Fred Meyer and they make around $16-17 as p1
Click to expand...

Those rates are for Oregon. I think the West Coast in general pays more but the cost of living is greater.
 
genesis09 said:
In Chicago, Illinois, the rate is between $15-$19, and it is about $1-$2 lower downstate.
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Hi genesis09, I also work in Chicago. Which pharmacy do you work for? I wonder if we will get paid a few dollars more every year that we spend with the company we work for? Should I talk to the store manager, pharmacy manager, or district supervisor?
 
In Chicago, it depends on the pharmacy, but in general, P1s $14-$15, P-2s $15-$16, P-3s $16.50-$17.50, and P-4s close to $19. You cannot in Illinois be considered a Pharmacy Intern until the first day of pharmacy school. When that occurs, normally you talk with the pharmacy/store manager and they'll change your title. Each company has their own policy. Start with the pharmacy manager, and hopefully, he/she will tell you who to contact. I worked for Walgreens, and there you just talk with the store manager.
 
genesis09 said:
In Chicago, it depends on the pharmacy, but in general, P1s $14-$15, P-2s $15-$16, P-3s $16.50-$17.50, and P-4s close to $19. You cannot in Illinois be considered a Pharmacy Intern until the first day of pharmacy school. When that occurs, normally you talk with the pharmacy/store manager and they'll change your title. Each company has their own policy. Start with the pharmacy manager, and hopefully, he/she will tell you who to contact. I worked for Walgreens, and there you just talk with the store manager.
Click to expand...

Hi. I always wonder how they distinguish us pharmacy students from pharmacy technicians when IL Board of Pharmacy does not issue an pharmacy intern license but we have to use the pharmacy technician license. Do you know?

I will be starting school this fall at Midwestern CCP. Thank you for your information.
 
Idesiretosling said:
Depending on your state, you have to have been admitted to a professional Pharmacy School or have finished your first year of Professional Program. Then you just fill out an application and turn it into board of pharmacy to get your intern license. If you have not been accepted don't worry about it. No, you can not work as an intern without a license.

In NW:
P1 @ Safeway $17
P1 @ Fred Meyer $20
P1 @ Walgreens $15-16
P1 @ Kaiser $30
Click to expand...

Kaiser does not pay 30 as a p1. They pay grad interns and pharmd's doing residencies, 30 dollars an hour, but not p1's. Someone is pulling your leg
 
mrblah said:
Kaiser does not pay 30 as a p1. They pay grad interns and pharmd's doing residencies, 30 dollars an hour, but not p1's. Someone is pulling your leg
Click to expand...

I didn't believe it until I saw the check - but if you have been a prior employee, and then transition into an intern with them - you can make that kind of money. We have one girl in my class who has just started making 30 an hour...

~above~
 
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Illinois defines a student pharmacist as someone who is currently enrolled in an accredited school of pharmacy. So, you can't technically be an intern until you have your first class. You'll have to get a Tech license. As long as your employer defines you as a student pharmacist, you are fine. Most of them will take your word for it, but some will require you show some proof like a current schedule, etc. The big difference between a Tech and student pharmacist in Illinois is that the student can counsel and give immunizations, if trained. The issue is that the requirements for the Tech license has just changed. They are trying to get students waived out of this new requirement. It requires that all Techs be certified within two years of receiving the license. The IL BOP has been very slow in writing the new rules, so we are currently in between pharmacy practice acts, 1987 and 2007.
This year the state is supposedly going to rewrite the Illinois Controlled Substance Act as well. APNs were just given the right in their practice act to write C-2s, however, the IL CSA doesn't allow them to do so. The DEA just changed a rule to allow prescribers to write serial prescriptions, up to 3 months, for C-2s, but the IL CSA doesn't allow it. There are a lot of things which have to be cleared up in it.
 
aboveliquidice said:
I didn't believe it until I saw the check - but if you have been a prior employee, and then transition into an intern with them - you can make that kind of money. We have one girl in my class who has just started making 30 an hour...

~above~
Click to expand...

My brother worked for kaiser since he was 18, as a pharmacy assistant, through undergrad, through pharmacy school, as a pharmacist, and now as a supervisor in Palto Alto, CA for Kaiser. He says it doesn't work that way. Kaiser is a union employer. Your pay rate starts over every time you change job titles, it doesn't accrue with seniority.

Anyway, it might be different in oregon.
 
whats the pay rate for Kroger?? anybody know?? thanks!
 
I'll add the data I have from my job to the mix.

Hospital in MO:

P1 - $11.50
P2 - $14.50
P3 - $19.00 (maybe $19.50)
P4 - $28.00

That 11.50 is less than what the techs make, but I guess the incentive is to stick around for that P3 or P4 wage. And I am technically an "intern" as designated by the hospital, but in MO I can't get my intern license until I finish my P1 year (or 30 hours of pharmacy school), so I work under a tech license for now.
 
My old pharmacy manager who is now a district supervisor for another district told me to tell my district manager to increase my pay rate to intern year 1. All these posts are very intriguing in their own right. I work for Walgreens, have been for almost 6 years now. I've been a certified tech for 4 years, I make $12.62 now, so it's probably die laughing if they change my pay code to intern 1 and I get a decrease in pay to $12 an hour. :eek:
 
mrblah said:
My brother worked for kaiser since he was 18, as a pharmacy assistant, through undergrad, through pharmacy school, as a pharmacist, and now as a supervisor in Palto Alto, CA for Kaiser. He says it doesn't work that way. Kaiser is a union employer. Your pay rate starts over every time you change job titles, it doesn't accrue with seniority.

Anyway, it might be different in oregon.
Click to expand...

Well my big brother is bigger than your big brother... and he knows nothing about pharmacy... so what cha think about that? :D

I'm just playing... In truth - this post is only to get ballpark estimates of what is getting paid out there - I really cannot comment on what your brother has said - I do not work for Kaiser...

Good luck on the cash thing - I like selling iPhones - make $50 an hour, and I am my own boss.

~above~
 
pharmacist5870 said:
My old pharmacy manager who is now a district supervisor for another district told me to tell my district manager to increase my pay rate to intern year 1. All these posts are very intriguing in their own right. I work for Walgreens, have been for almost 6 years now. I've been a certified tech for 4 years, I make $12.62 now, so it's probably die laughing if they change my pay code to intern 1 and I get a decrease in pay to $12 an hour. :eek:
Click to expand...

I would be pretty upset if someone with zero experience with a company can come in and make 0.62 less than me. With six years experience, they need to be paying for your loyalty. Your in demand - make the company you are working for know they need to work to retain you.

~above~
 
aboveliquidice said:
I would be pretty upset if someone with zero experience with a company can come in and make 0.62 less than me. With six years experience, they need to be paying for your loyalty. Your in demand - make the company you are working for know they need to work to retain you.

~above~
Click to expand...


Yea, it seems new techs that come in make 10 dollars/hr, and new certified techs make 12 dollars/hr. So I'm guessing P1 students will be making a dollar or two more than that. But since I've been there almost 6 years, I should get more, but I doubt that will happen.
 
So I just found out its 12.50/hr for P1, 13.50/hr for P2..etc.

So since I'm making more than a P1, it is most likely I won't be getting a raise.

ummm wtf
 
I started at Kaiser for $30/hr in oregon and bumped to $34 an hour. The second best place to work is at Fred Meyer as they start at $20+. Once you graduate though everything is pretty much comparable.
 
pharmacist5870 said:
So I just found out its 12.50/hr for P1, 13.50/hr for P2..etc.

So since I'm making more than a P1, it is most likely I won't be getting a raise.

ummm wtf
Click to expand...

Why don't you go talk to another pharmacy in town and see what they will pay - if they are willing to pay more - explain this to your pharmacy supervisor, in a professional manner of course. If they are not willing to match, then I am sure they understand why you left the company. It will not hurt you in the long run. Loyalty is one thing, being under paid is something else entirely. As a 1st time tech, with only 3 months volunteer experience, I made 11.75 starting. With differential, it was in the 13.xx range, as a non certified technician - which if you think about it, is utter non-sense for you... Get a pay raise, or jump ship.

~above~
 
Does anyone know what Graduate interns are making in retail. It used to
be !/2 pharmacist salary until passing the NABPLEX ?
 
iceclmbr said:
Does anyone know what Graduate interns are making in retail. It used to
be !/2 pharmacist salary until passing the NABPLEX ?
Click to expand...

grad intern salaries are very comparable to the pharmacist at my store at Walgreens. Very high pay, but they won't let you stay a grad intern for long.:p
 
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I applied for a job at a hospital, and the hiring recruiter said that they don't even recognize pharmacy interns. Interns get paid just as much as the technicians. It sucks!!!

Has anyone ever encountered a similar problem?
 
guest0147 said:
I applied for a job at a hospital, and the hiring recruiter said that they don't even recognize pharmacy interns. Interns get paid just as much as the technicians. It sucks!!!

Has anyone ever encountered a similar problem?
Click to expand...

until last summer, interns at our hospital made less than all of the techs.

Now we make more than the lowest paid ones (went from $11.65 to 14.70).
 
does anyone know if P1's can get an intern license and work in Texas (without being a certified tech)?
 
any idea whats the pay-rate for walgreens/cvs in northern nj for 3rd year and 4 year students..?
 
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