Pharmacist Salary Thread

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Glycerin said:
You have to be a licensed pharmacist to do a residency, so all residents are either PharmD's or RPh's (if the non-PharmD types go back for a residency).

The salaries for each residency are listed on the Online Residency Directory at www.ashp.org and also on www.accp.com.
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I don't think that's what the original question meant. I think he meant what are the possible salary differences if you have just a PharmD compared to a PharmD plus a PGY1 or a PGY2. Like... how much more can you earn if you go on to have a residency after you complete your PharmD. This is information I would like to know as well... if anyone out there knows! 🙂
 
DoctorRx1986 said:
Give me a break. A six-figure salary of about $100k per year is not going to permit a comfortable life and allow for future retirement? This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a while. Following the logic that $100k per year is not sufficient to cover all of the above expenses, this means ALMOST NO ONE working in the United States will ever be able to see retirement and will live on scraps most of their working lives. Why? Well, guess what...the average American employee makes about $30,000 a year. Yet many of these people can support themselves and their families at least moderately well. What makes you think a person making 3-4 times that salary ($100k-120k) per year will have a difficult time? If that is the case, then almost everyone in America is doomed. Keep in mind that pharmacists' salaries are in the top 15%. As pharmacists, we will make more money than the great majority of the working citizens of this country. We will be fine.
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can you verify/confirm that?
 
At the hospital I did my rotation, it was about $5000 more starting out. So it's not that much more, but the staff pharmacists there seem to be really jealous of the clinical pharmacists. One of them in particular kept saying that everybody wants to do clinical now, and the staff pharmacists are doing the "dirty" job, but they're all gonna die off soon and nobody is going to do the "dirty" work for us (future pharmacists). I did not like talking to that pharmacist at all, too bitter.
 
StallionRx said:
Just sold my viper based on this info.

Thanks for the heads up!
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That's why I live in a single-wide and drive a '96 Ford Taurus with about 160,000 miles on it to work and back. I know I can't afford any of these luxuries. The biweekly paycheck I got yesterday for $3700 is clearly not enough to live on. My monthly expenses are almost $1000, $2000 including loan payments. Clearly I don't have enough to live on. Best cut back, son. Sell my Taurus and downgrade to a Contour.
 
Oh, and in WV and W PA, hourly rates are about $41-$44 starting out. Of course, you can buy a house for $50,000 and fresh, cheap t-bone steaks from the butcher down the street whose brother owns a cow farm, so it all kinda evens out.

I feel hosed at first hearing about people making $55 an hour.....but then I realize they live where a townhouse isn't $119k...it's, like, $270k....
 
It depends on the institution. Where I work, 1 year of residency counts as 3 years experience and impacts pay that way.
 
Allure said:
At the hospital I did my rotation, it was about $5000 more starting out. So it's not that much more, but the staff pharmacists there seem to be really jealous of the clinical pharmacists. One of them in particular kept saying that everybody wants to do clinical now, and the staff pharmacists are doing the "dirty" job, but they're all gonna die off soon and nobody is going to do the "dirty" work for us (future pharmacists). I did not like talking to that pharmacist at all, too bitter.
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A little off topic, but I think techs and/or automation will be able to do most of the dispensing in the future so that the pharmacists can have a more clinical role in healthcare. At least that is what our professors tell us.
 
mike36 said:
A little off topic, but I think techs and/or automation will be able to do most of the dispensing in the future so that the pharmacists can have a more clinical role in healthcare. At least that is what our professors tell us.
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But then again, most professors who says that havent been practicing for a while. I cant think of a setting where the employer doesnt max out on techs first to make their pharmacists are as productive as they can be.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
And even then, there's the Festiva....yikes...
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or the Pinto
pintofire.jpg
 
What's the diff between a clinical and retail pharmacist and how much do they make salary wise (in difference I mean).
 
mortpes said:
Ready for a shocker? Consider the typical mortgage in the area for a 3 bedroom, add car payment, add normal typical expenses, add cost of supporting a family of 3, add the cost of social security, federal tax, health and additional insurance, etc. Now add to this cost of retirement as indicated by any of the investment firms. Shocker = the average salary will not cover all of the expenses. Another shocker = free and very low cost prescription programs will drive salaries down in this flooded field. You will have to be a very smart operator to come out ahead or even in the long term.
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Has anyone noticed his status is "School Admin"???? I'm guessing he's not a Pharmacy School Admin sent here to recruit! Or maybe he's using reverse logic!?!
 
WestTXisGr8 said:
Has anyone noticed his status is "School Admin"???? I'm guessing he's not a Pharmacy School Admin sent here to recruit! Or maybe he's using reverse logic!?!
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Just ignore comments from school administrators, unless it is about the typical salary and day in the life of a school administrator with a strange side interest in pooping in the cheerios of pharmacy students/pharmacists.
 
whyteout said:
The U.S. Census Bureau says that in 2006 approx. 19.09% of household incomes were over $100,000. That would put a pharmacist's salary pretty dang close to the top 15%.

http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032007/hhinc/new06_000.htm
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yes that is true as far as taxed income goes. There are a lot of entrepreneurs, CEOs, investment bankers, real estate developers, etc. that don't reveal all of their income to the gov't. If they did and even though they would pay a lot of money into taxes, they would still knock the doctors, lawyers, pharmacists (even in a sense they are doctors also), CRNAs, and other middle class professions down some ranks. That's why on some websites, they say that the average income of surgeons are not too far from CEOs'. Does that make sense to you? Not to me.
 
Last edited:
anyone answer my question please
 
mass said:
anyone answer my question please
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Retail pharmacists usually makes a lot more (20k average difference). However a retail pharmacist peaks out while opportunities for a clinical pharmacist (such as advancing to director of pharmacy, consulting, etc) is a lot better.

For example, a retail pharmacist can expect to make 120k. . . . with a 3-4 percent salary increase for the rest of his life.

On the other hand, a clinical pharmacist can expect to make anywhere from 80k to 100k, but become a director of pharmacy in 3 to 5 years and make 150 to 200k+.

Money isnt everything. . I would gladly give up 10k a year just to get that 1 hour lunch break. Its a luxary in the retail world. . . 😍
 
Aznfarmerboi said:
Retail pharmacists usually makes a lot more (20k average difference). However a retail pharmacist peaks out while opportunities for a clinical pharmacist (such as advancing to director of pharmacy, consulting, etc) is a lot better.

For example, a retail pharmacist can expect to make 120k. . . . with a 3-4 percent salary increase for the rest of his life.

On the other hand, a clinical pharmacist can expect to make anywhere from 80k to 100k, but become a director of pharmacy in 3 to 5 years and make 150 to 200k+.

Money isnt everything. . I would gladly give up 10k a year just to get that 1 hour lunch break. Its a luxary in the retail world. . . 😍
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no no it wasn't the money I wanted to know about. I wanted to know about the roles of both, what is the difference in the job between retail and clinical.
 
mass said:
no no it wasn't the money I wanted to know about. I wanted to know about the roles of both, what is the difference in the job between retail and clinical.
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Totally new questions should be asked in a new thread - that's commonly known message board etiquette. However, I suspect that this is something you may be able to find using the search function. It's asked pretty often in the pre-pharm area.
 
Hi - How different is the salary between a retail pharmacist and a clinical pharmacist?

Is clinical always M-F 9-5?

Thanks!
 
Jill9007 said:
Hi - How different is the salary between a retail pharmacist and a clinical pharmacist?

Is clinical always M-F 9-5?

Thanks!
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1. What exactly are you winking at?

2. Retail pharmacists are not typically paid on salary.

3. Absolutely not.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
A real internal medicine "clinical" job is more like 7-5 M-F.
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Yup this sounds about right. At my institution, the clinical specialists work long hours and are on call once every few weeks (where they come in on the weekends to write TPNs with the resident on call as well as answer questions from other pharmacists throughout the week). I think the salary is around 88K.
 
Clinical pharmacists seem happier.
 
i've done couple rotations with int med pharmacists

longs hours but time flies by b/c they have lots of pointless meetings and such
 
Trancelucent1 said:
Yup this sounds about right. At my institution, the clinical specialists work long hours and are on call once every few weeks (where they come in on the weekends to write TPNs with the resident on call as well as answer questions from other pharmacists throughout the week). I think the salary is around 88K.
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It's regional but that's way way too low. It should be $95,000 to $115,000.
 
ItsOverZyvox said:
It's regional but that's way way too low. It should be $95,000 to $115,000.
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All of the assistant profs that work as clinical specialists at WVU hospitals start out at $90k. You can look it up on the WV Secretary of State's website if you happened to know some of their names.
 
Pharmacists at the San Antonio VA start out at 100k. Clinical pharmacist, that is residency trained with an assigned position to use specialty, start out around 105k.
 
Pharmcdc said:
Pharmacists at the San Antonio VA start out at 100k. Clinical pharmacist, that is residency trained with an assigned position to use specialty, start out around 105k.
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And beautiful San Antonio is one of the cheapest areas in the Country to live... housing is insanely low... 👍
 
Clinical pharmacist in the ER. My hours are 3pm-11pm, M-F. Another pharmacist covers 7am-3pm.

That may change, I may have to start taking some weekends.

Everything depends on the position, hours and pay varies. Pay is often slightly lower that retail, but still good. University positions probably pay less than hospital-based positions.
 
okcpharmd said:
Clinical pharmacist in the ER. My hours are 3pm-11pm, M-F. Another pharmacist covers 7am-3pm.

That may change, I may have to start taking some weekends.

Everything depends on the position, hours and pay varies. Pay is often slightly lower that retail, but still good. University positions probably pay less than hospital-based positions.
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do you all have a weekend ER pharmacist? Friday and Saturday nights tend to be insane in ours (Level 1 trauma center) - there is a pharmacist scheduled until at least 0130 every day, but they often end up staying later.
 
It would make sense for the ER, but we don't currently cover nights or weekends. We will be adding another pharmacist within a year or so and will probably expand to later hours and weekends.

I think the day shift got covered first because that is when the directors and the physician supervisor are there.

I am scheduled to leave at 11pm, but often stay til midnight. You just never know what will come through the door.

(Off subject- njac, I sure wish they sold some good green chile here in OK. I will be heading to Santa Fe next month to get my chile fix)
 
okcpharmd said:
Clinical pharmacist in the ER. My hours are 3pm-11pm, M-F.
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I NEED to know what you specialized in. I want to become a clinical specialist but want a 2nd shift job b/c I'm a pure night owl.

Also, are all residencies from 7am-5pm? Are there any residencies that start later than usual? Thanks in advance.
 
Trancelucent1 said:
Yup this sounds about right. At my institution, the clinical specialists work long hours and are on call once every few weeks (where they come in on the weekends to write TPNs with the resident on call as well as answer questions from other pharmacists throughout the week). I think the salary is around 88K.
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i know a CP in orlando making about 100,000. Just thought I would throw that out there. Some salaries may be lower but many give "funded" talks as well. $1000 a talk x4 per month x 12 months = a nice bonus. Now some people look down on that....Priapism
 
Pharmacy Kid said:
I NEED to know what you specialized in. I want to become a clinical specialist but want a 2nd shift job b/c I'm a pure night owl.

Also, are all residencies from 7am-5pm? Are there any residencies that start later than usual? Thanks in advance.
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ER and possibly critical care. I do know an ID guy who would come in around noon and stay till like 9pm doing his thing. Think about it. No one really rounds at night.
 
Most clinical positions and residencies would all be M-F day shift. Like bigpharmD said, most rounding occurs first thing in the morning.

At my hospital, I am the only clinical pharmacist there outside the day time hours. We have 8 clinical pharmacists (in different specialties) and one resident during the day.

For late nights and weekends, ER is probably the best bet.
 
Hey guys, I don't really post much, but I wanted to start a thread on different rates from retail pharmacies. I'm involved in a few organizations from my school, so I've been talking to DMs and pharmacy supervisors for the past few months. I got the sense that it's pretty difficult to negotiate on the base hourly rate, unless it's in an area of need. Anyway, here is what I have so far.

CVS:

Houston: $52.25/hr
Dallas: $55
San Antonio: $56.5
Beaumont: $54

Walgreens:

Dallas: $54
Tyler: $62

I've decided to work in Houston, so if anybody know rates for other companies, or have received a different offer/rate, please post. Thanks.
 
CVS:
Northern Virginia: $50.44/hr

Safeway:
Northern Virginia: $53/hr
 
phoenix wags 56
grocery chains(Bashas, Frys) 52
 
Remember,

Texas does not have state income tax.
 
what is the salary of a retail pharmacist after all taxes taking out?
 
PumpkinSmasher said:
Lazy and stupid....that is no way to go through life. Hopefully you are at least good looking!
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Wow a bit harsh. I agree this is a horrible question but tone it down this <--> much. dmd go online find a net salary calculator, plug in all the numbers and find out.
 
I am going to stick with lazy and stupid. Harsh...maybe but if the shoe fits...
 
UNMorBUST said:
Wow a bit harsh. I agree this is a horrible question but tone it down this <--> much. dmd go online find a net salary calculator, plug in all the numbers and find out.
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Why can't you just do it for the OP?
 
They make about $200 a week after tax, stick with dentistry, there is no money in pharmacy.
 
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