Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the pharmacy world in Texas. I am a student in Boston and have lived in NJ my whole life. I am interested in moving out to Texas (Austin in particular) and know nothing about it. My two career paths I can see myself doing is either Government related or working in and Independant. I want to eventually open my own pharmacy. Is Texas a good place to accomplish these goals? What is the Independant landscape like? Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Pharmacy In Texas
Started by murphyy12
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Let me tell you this: independents in Texas are NOT dying, don't believe any of the chain rhetoric. There are many independent pharmacies in Texas and they are thriving with Wal-Mart as their competition. Texans tend to get very impatient so what Wal-Mart doesn't offer many independents do.
By the way, UT-Austin has a pharmacy school so it would probably be hard to find a really ideal job there. Austin is a great city and many grads don't want to leave.
There are independent pharmacy opportunities in Texas. One of our UT professors is preparing to open an independent in Austin. There are a handful of independents in the city. If you want to work with one, I'd start contacting them ASAP...build a relationship. You'll almost definitely be taking less pay than with retail...but you'll still be close to hospital pay. And you'll almost definitely be working part-time at first.
The retail pharmacy market in Texas is heavily saturated. There are few if any openings. Mostly floater positions unless you want to drive (30-45 minutes) to outlying areas.
The closest IHS I've heard about is Oklahoma.
The retail pharmacy market in Texas is heavily saturated. There are few if any openings. Mostly floater positions unless you want to drive (30-45 minutes) to outlying areas.
The closest IHS I've heard about is Oklahoma.
It's been a while, so I'm not sure if you're going to read this, but I'll answer anyway. If you want to work in or around Austin, expect to be paid significantly less than you would be elsewhere in the state. Average pay is around $50/hr. In contrast, the average pay in say, East Texas, is around 60-65.
What is a IHS job?
Please do not post the same question in multiple threads.
I would check out Live Oak Pharmacy
http://www.liveoakrx.com/
It is located in Austin and opened in 2010. I met one of the owners and he was very friendly and knowledgeable, also said he does consulting. I would go and check it out and talk to them.
http://www.liveoakrx.com/
It is located in Austin and opened in 2010. I met one of the owners and he was very friendly and knowledgeable, also said he does consulting. I would go and check it out and talk to them.
Actually the professor you mention is one of the partners in the pharmacy I mentioned above. I did not meet him, I met his partner who is not a pharmacist.
If you are looking at IHS, maybe you should also consider VA. There are opening all over Texas. The thing is it's mostly primary/ambulatory care. But if you are into that, opportunities are plenty. My fellow resident took a positions in a small town in west Texas for $120K + $10K sign on bonus for 2 years commitment. Right now, there is still a demand over there, job is cushy and they are willing to take someone with just PGY-1 or couple of years of experience. But I can see that as the market increasingly becomes saturated PGY-2 will be the requirement before too long.
