Pharmacist living in Manhattan

[fsupharm]

Anybody here working as pharmacist in Manhattan? How is your pay, how is your rent? Any money left over to have a comfortable lifestyle? I'm looking to move there for a couple years after school. Thanks!

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[UNMorBUST]

All i know is Cost-of-living is sky high.

 

[fsupharm]

haha, i know that much...

 

[UNMorBUST]

Did you look at www.bls.com or www.salary.com for earning in manhattan?

 

[Sparda29]

I wouldn't do it, if you want to be close to the city(Manhattan), you're better off getting an apartment in Astoria, Queens.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Anybody here working as pharmacist in Manhattan? How is your pay, how is your rent? Any money left over to have a comfortable lifestyle? I'm looking to move there for a couple years after school. Thanks!

Let me start off with that Manhattan market is extremly saturated. You will most likely be working in the Bronx, unwanted stores doing 1000+ scripts by yourself, or in a hospital with high turnover in Brooklyn if those jobs are not taken in a few years. Even then, you may not get a 40 hour work week.

With that being said, starting pay is about 56 an hour. Rent is what Sparda say. Unless you have roommates or a spouse that is also bringing home money, you will most likely be renting in other parts of the city.

Comfortable lifestyle is subjective and depends on how you handle your finances. A drink at a party can cost you about 10 dollars not including tip or cover. Food can be cheap or expensive but averages out to about 20 a meal. All in all, you will be considered "middle income" compare to upper class middle income in other areas.

Just wondering, is there any reason why you want to move to Manhattan?

 

[genesis09]

CVS says there is a several year wait list to work in Manhattan.

 

[Sparda29]

Manhattan is extremely overrated. Best place to live in NYC is Queens. What I hate the most about Manhattan is the anti-car culture.

 

[UNMorBUST]

Manhattan is extremely overrated. Best place to live in NYC is Queens. What I hate the most about Manhattan is the anti-car culture.

I could not live without a car.

 

[fsupharm]

Thanks for the replies. I would want to work in a hospital before CVS. So its really saturated? I saw a lot of openings online... I thought it would be a fun experience for a year or two.

 

[NYC to LA]

Anybody here working as pharmacist in Manhattan? How is your pay, how is your rent? Any money left over to have a comfortable lifestyle? I'm looking to move there for a couple years after school. Thanks!

I lived and worked in Manhattan for five years. 2003 to 2008 and just moved to LA. Manhattan is a great place to be when you're young and looking for an exciting lifestyle. You just have to remember that in order to keep up with that lifestyle, you sacrifice a lot in terms of savings.

When I first moved to Manhattan I worked at an independent pharmacy. It was a crappy place and my commute sucked. The pharmacy was all the way up by Columbia University and I wasted a ton of money on cabs since I hated public transportation. I roommed with two other girls in midtown in a two bedroom that was converted into three and my rent was about 1+ 1/2 weeks worth of my paycheck. However, I learned to make some adjustments quickly...I found another job at a union pharmacy in midtown, learned to walk (everywhere) instead of cab, met my boyfriend (now my husband), and saved money for shopping by not going out so much. It's an experience worth trying if you know that five years down the line you won't regret not having any savings. If you want to live in a nice apt (we're not talking luxury loft here) you have to expect to dish out 40% of your paycheck. Cost of living is high, but that's because you have everything at your fingertips. I'm probably not doing a good job of conveying it to you, but seriously, there is no other place like NYC. You see more on a daily basis than most people see in one year...and there is ALWAYS something to do.

Lastly, there ARE pharmacy jobs in Manhattan. You just have to make yourself available. The pay is in the low 50's per hour (unless you work at Duane Reade). There are lots of great hospitals...NY Presbyterian, Weill Cornell, NYU Med (not called that anymore), Sloan-Kettering, Mt. Sinai, etc. Don't forget to put money in your 401k, don't overindulge, and you will not go broke. It's do-able if you really want to go for the experience. Also, don't be boring and live off the island. All of the excitement happens in Manhattan!

 

[dougwell]

Much better to live in Jersey and commute to NYC. Places like Jersey City, Hoboken, etc are closer to Manhattan than are Brooklyn and Queens. Yet the cost of living is much cheaper.

 

[fsupharm]

thanks for the info! nyc to la your the only one on my side, haha. I'm looking to spend around $2000 a month for rent, either by myself in a studio or my half with a roommate. I like UWS and UES. They say your salary should be atleast 40* one months rent. Don't we fit that category? If I can't survive after a year then I'll leave.

 

[NYC to LA]

fsupharm:
That's the spirit! People shouldn't talk so much trash about Manhattan unless they've actually lived there.
$2000 will get you a pretty decent studio...and I wouldn't worry about the 40x yearly salary...brokers try to get you to guarantee that but you don't need them. Save some money by finding a few people to room with and go directly to leasing offices or even go onto craigslist.
UES sounds better than UWS, although I always lived in Midtown West. If I were back in my 20's and moving there for the first time, I would go for Union Square or West Village. (The Lower East Side is also growing very popular.) It doesn't matter what you choose initially, once you get there, you'll figure out where you fit in most. Don't let other people (especially ones who have never lived there!) tell you otherwise.

 

[fsupharm]

what did you mean about duane reade? they pay less?

 

[spacecowgirl]

With that being said, starting pay is about 56 an hour.

That's what the pay is here and here are a few local rentals:

2 bed lower level duplex $395/mo

If you'd rather have a house: 3 bd, 1 1/2 ba, appliances, fireplace, several built-ins, central air. $800/mo


Man, for those prices I should have rented instead.

 

[fsupharm]

it says you live in an igloo... i would pay more not to live there haha.

 

[spacecowgirl]

it says you live in an igloo... i would pay more not to live there haha.

It's only an igloo part of the time But yeah, we're the city that never sleeps...past 6am - gotta get up and milk the cows.

 

[NYC to LA]

what did you mean about duane reade? they pay less?

Duane Reade pays more. But, if you don't want to work at CVS, you def don't want to work at Duane Reade.

 

[BMBiology]

How do you like LA compared to NYC?

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Duane Reade pays more. But, if you don't want to work at CVS, you def don't want to work at Duane Reade.

Duane reade pays a lot but it has a lot of cons.

1. Duane reade is run by business men from India who has no concept of how to run a pharmacy.

2. They are so much in debt and not profitable so career stability is bad.

3. Back then, their business plan is to surrond other pharmacies with a bunch of theirs hence stealing their business. However real estate is too expensive so they are actually closing down quite a few stores and consolidating thus reducing the need for pharmacists.

4. In fact a lot of their interns graduating this year still has not gotten any early early offers for employment.

5. There pay is high only by 2-3 dollars but their benefit sucks compare to CVS or WAGs. Do they even have a 401k match?

 

[DrugDealer]

5. There pay is high only by 2-3 dollars

And what is $2-3 more per hour after taxes? Basically nothing!

I called a doctor's office this week for refills and the greeting on the prescription line said "If you are calling from Duane Reade, do not leave a message. We will not call in prescriptions to Duane Reade. If you are a patient and go to Duane Reade, you need to find another pharmacy and then call us back." So that gives you an idea....

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

And what is $2-3 more per hour after taxes? Basically nothing!

I called a doctor's office this week for refills and the greeting on the prescription line said "If you are calling from Duane Reade, do not leave a message. We will not call in prescriptions to Duane Reade. If you are a patient and go to Duane Reade, you need to find another pharmacy and then call us back." So that gives you an idea....

Exactly, that is why I stress the benefits part. I hate Duane Reade. Have you ever tried getting a transfer from them? After going through their whole entire automatic voicemail (its about 1-2 minutes long and cant be bypassed), I have sometimes dealt with pharmacy technicians who think they are pharmacists. Heck, I was trying to fill in the legit documentation needed to transfer out a prescription so I asked for the pharmacists name (I suspect the guy wasnt a pharmacist). Instead, he gave me a first name only without a last. I was like. . . . uhm, I need your entire name to complete this transfer but he hung up on me after saying no, you just dont want to transfer it because you are losing business.

After that, I was more than welcome to go out of my way to transfer any Duane reade rx in, and always put them on hold if they try to transfer out.

I even got one guy coming in after they open up a new store and telling me that they were going to run us out of business. I just kindly chuckled and said good for you, i am already shaking. . .

 

[octopus]

i am a relatively new grad and i live & work in manhattan. i live in a 1br with my husband and our rent is just under $2,000/month. however it is convenient to everything and in a great neighborhood.

i don't work retail f/t but i did interview everywhere initially to see what my options were. duane pays $110+ or so but you might not have a tech or cashier and you might have to work 13 hour shifts alone. i think cvs and wags are well staffed in manhattan at least. i'm against chains, but they say 50% of retail pharmacies are independent. i see ads for independent rph's all the time on craigslist. if you can swing an under-the-table job it's around $40/hr cash.

please note that there are high taxes, so you are only taking home about 2/3 of your salary. there are plenty of hospitals but you might have to do weird shifts. they pay in the low-to-mid 90's.

if you are young and into going out and enjoying life, i say go for it. i managed to save about 40k a year because i am cheap but now i am looking to move away and buy a house.
if you have more questions you can pm me.