Pharmacy Salary Growth

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bsmith7777

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I've always wondered about this... One of the best benefits about being a pharmacist is the high starting salary... around 80-100K per year. However, I've heard that the salary growth from then on is VERY minimal... that it is merely adjusted for inflation and growing living costs. Why don't pharmacists (unlike doctors, dentists, etc.) ever get bonuses and increases in salary?
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You can improve it. Get a MBA. PhD. 1-2 year residency.
 
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Pharmacists' pay can be tricky. Basically, if there's a shortage geographically, then the pay for new hires and grads will increase in that area. If not, then it will not increase.
Not too long ago, new grads were starting at higher rates than pharmacists who were already working for certain chains (not Walgreens - they pay everyone the same in a given district), because they were needed due to shortage. The raises that existing pharmacists were making couldn't catch them up with the new grads starting pay.
I knew a pharamcist who left CVS, went to Walgreens, and then came back to CVS and had his service bridged and pay matched to what they were paying at Walgreens.
 
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I'm happy with my hourly rate, small bonus, benefits, and schedule, but I'm not happy about a surplus of pharmacists. The thought of being locked into a job or geographical area with the financial grim reaper (a home's worth of student loans) is concerning. One of the benefits of pharmacy, the ability "to go anywhere", is now fleeting :(
 
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bsmith7777 said:
I've always wondered about this... One of the best benefits about being a pharmacist is the high starting salary... around 80-100K per year. However, I've heard that the salary growth from then on is VERY minimal... that it is merely adjusted for inflation and growing living costs. Why don't pharmacists (unlike doctors, dentists, etc.) ever get bonuses and increases in salary?
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you don't actually produce anything, you provide a service; pharmacy is more of a cost center, as opposed to say, finance, where you get a bonus dependent on how much profit/business you bring your company. generally, it's not the type of career where you get a raise + 5-10% bonus every year. this differs for independent pharmacy owners and management type things, of course.
 
ApothecaryTales said:
expect a 1-3% raise every year not much more after that
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to be fair, 3% raise on 100k is an extra 3k a year. That's an extra 250 bucks a month, which is a lot better than what others get. If 250 bucks showed up each month for me I'd be thrilled. Yeah yeah, it's all relative but whatever. That's still food for a few weeks for some people.
 
As a retail pharmacist expect your pay to pretty much be capped in the 130k/year range. It's tough to break that barrier. I mean, you could hypothetically do 80 hours a week and work every weekend and make 200k a year but you'd just be killing yourself at that point. a big PRO of pharmacy is the high starting salary, the big con of pharmacy is the low salary growth. unless you get an MBA and go into corporate, or do business and investment outside of pharmacy, it's pretty tough to get past the 130k/year ceiling. I know many members here post about opening up one's own pharmacy and making 200k a year, but it's pretty tough to do when you're competing with Walgreens, CVS, Target, Meijer, Jewel, etc...You see 10 independent pharmacies close down for every one you see open up. competing with their prices and services in an urban or near an urban area is pretty much impossible. there aren't many independent pharmacies left in Chicago.
 
psychoandy said:
you don't actually produce anything, you provide a service; pharmacy is more of a cost center, as opposed to say, finance, where you get a bonus dependent on how much profit/business you bring your company. generally, it's not the type of career where you get a raise + 5-10% bonus every year. this differs for independent pharmacy owners and management type things, of course.
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You could not be any more wrong. What are you producing in the finance field?

You get a bonus in retail pharmacy for the same reason you get a bonus any where else. Increase in sales, managing inventory, meeting certain performace metrics ect.
 
You people have yet to understand how salary jobs work in north america... They DONT make you rich >99.9% of the time. They could open the door to being rich thorugh investments and such.. but by the time taxes.. fees.. insurance.. mortgage... etc etc take tears out of your pay check... you're not left with much to actually live in great luxury...


Something else people here dont realize... your typical business graduate will NOT be making as much as a pharmacist... EVER.

Number of business grads = record setting
Number of jobs offering 100k and opportunity for huge bonuses/salary growth = Not many

Good luck to anyone who thinks otherwise...

And I find it funny at how anyone would rather... start at 40k a year... climb by 3-4k a year (being generous with that) up to 100k and then continue growing from there on and make more than a pharmacist does in their late 40s/early 50s... lolz...

Meanwhile.. a 24 year old pharmacist could have bought a house very early.. gotten into some smart investments... profited from their real estate investment... and made a lot more than just their 120k/year...

Also, business grads nowadays who are hoping to be making 100k at any time... will be working harder than any pharmacist does to get there...

I havent factored in student loans... but here in Canada.. tuition is 12-13k per year :) and if parents pay a good amount + education funds... Well then 20-30k student loans.. big whoop


Moral of the story: If you'd gone into business, you would never become a CEO. lol
 
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druggeek said:
You people have yet to understand how salary jobs work in north america... They DONT make you rich >99.9% of the time. They could open the door to being rich thorugh investments and such.. but by the time taxes.. fees.. insurance.. mortgage... etc etc take tears out of your pay check... you're not left with much to actually live in great luxury...


Something else people here dont realize... your typical business graduate will NOT be making as much as a pharmacist... EVER.

Number of business grads = record setting
Number of jobs offering 100k and opportunity for huge bonuses/salary growth = Not many

Good luck to anyone who thinks otherwise...

And I find it funny at how anyone would rather... start at 40k a year... climb by 3-4k a year (being generous with that) up to 100k and then continue growing from there on and make more than a pharmacist does in their late 40s/early 50s... lolz...

Meanwhile.. a 24 year old pharmacist could have bought a house very early.. gotten into some smart investments... profited from their real estate investment... and made a lot more than just their 120k/year...

Also, business grads nowadays who are hoping to be making 100k at any time... will be working harder than any pharmacist does to get there...

I havent factored in student loans... but here in Canada.. tuition is 12-13k per year :) and if parents pay a good amount + education funds... Well then 20-30k student loans.. big whoop


Moral of the story: If you'd gone into business, you would never become a CEO. lol
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I don't want to live in luxury. I would like status, such as a fancy house, but wasting money is pointless. Let celebrities waste money and file for bankruptsey down the road.
Oh, and pharmacists' pay can very depending on how much you work, overtime, being a manager or director, having 2 jobs, etc., which makes pharmacy more lucrative than it seems and less cut and dry.
 
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PharmDstudent said:
I don't want to live in luxury. I would like status, such as a fancy house, but wasting money is pointless. Let celebrities waste money and file for bankruptsey down the road.
Oh, and pharmacists' pay can very depending on how much you work, overtime, being a manager or director, having 2 jobs, etc., which makes pharmacy more lucrative than it seems and less cut and dry.
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Ya I agree, I'm just coparing pharmacy to other things. People on here seem to think a lot that they would have gotten into med school... became CEOs... became derms... top surgeons... etc etc :laugh:

Very large percentage of business grads wont be making more in their life than a pharmacist will (or even close to).

And large percentage of doctors wont have great job quality, it will be optimal/good at best and rarely be great.
 
druggeek said:
Ya I agree, I'm just coparing pharmacy to other things. People on here seem to think a lot that they would have gotten into med school... became CEOs... became derms... top surgeons... etc etc :laugh:

Very large percentage of business grads wont be making more in their life than a pharmacist will (or even close to).

And large percentage of doctors wont have great job quality, it will be optimal/good at best and rarely be great.
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I've done salary calculations before, and they're mind boggling. If I were to go to med school, I would need to work for a long time in order to offset lost, fulltime income. And with this 2nd job that I'll be starting this week, I don't think that it would pay in the long run to lose 4 or more years of income and then a reduced salary for 4 years of residency.
So you're right. The earlier, the better (in most cases). Lost income is too hard to get back!
 
Quality of life while being a pharmacist and making 100K a year >>>> 8 years of hell in med school/residency to make 200-300K+. Besides, if you work in a hospital such as the one I work for, you get raises and eventually surpass most retail pharmacist salaries. Plus there are additional benefits and investments. 100K-130K is more than enough for me, even with student loans. That's a lot of money, IMO- depending on where you live.
 
rxlea said:
Quality of life while being a pharmacist and making 100K a year >>>> 8 years of hell in med school/residency to make 200-300K+. Besides, if you work in a hospital such as the one I work for, you get raises and eventually surpass most retail pharmacist salaries. Plus there are additional benefits and investments. 100K-130K is more than enough for me, even with student loans. That's a lot of money, IMO- depending on where you live.
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You forgot 4 years of hell in undergrad studying more than pre pharms, volunteering a ton of hours, doing tons of ECs.. etc etc

Here in Canada, a family doctor starts the same as an american pharmacist does... they work up quickly but it's not like at age of 29 or whatever they'll be swimming in their 300k salary.... more like 100-130...
 
Eh, undergrad was not hell for me. I guess it can be depending on the person, their lifestyle, and their major.
 
druggeek said:
Here in Canada, a family doctor starts the same as an american pharmacist does... they work up quickly but it's not like at age of 29 or whatever they'll be swimming in their 300k salary.... more like 100-130...
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You wonder why USA has the highest health care cost with less life expectancy compare to europe, canada, japan... We have to have the biggest CAT scan, $300k doctor salary, pricey drugs.
 
Staff pharmacist salary will be stagnant for a forseeable future. I doubt it will even meet the cost of living index increase. But this doesn't mean your salary will be stagnant. It can go either way. It can go down if your employer decides to cut work week to 32 hours or outright decrease your salary rate.

Or you can climb the ladder and get paid more. I still see director of pharmacy jobs paying $120K to $180K per year and the average I see is around $140K+ for a medium size hospital. Add 25% to the total compensation package including benefits and another 5 to 10% for bonus.

Ultimately, your financial success depends on you. If you're willing to pay the price now, you'll be rewarded later... Everyone wants a better outcome and do better but not many are willing to pay the price by going through the preparation.

Ultimately, your own pharmacy business, be it independent, DME, Home Infusion, or consulting, your income potential will be much higher as self employed along with the risk.
 
Its Z said:
Staff pharmacist salary will be stagnant for a forseeable future. I doubt it will even meet the cost of living index increase. But this doesn't mean your salary will be stagnant. It can go either way. It can go down if your employer decides to cut work week to 32 hours or outright decrease your salary rate.

Or you can climb the ladder and get paid more. I still see director of pharmacy jobs paying $120K to $180K per year and the average I see is around $140K+ for a medium size hospital. Add 25% to the total compensation package including benefits and another 5 to 10% for bonus.

Ultimately, your financial success depends on you. If you're willing to pay the price now, you'll be rewarded later... Everyone wants a better outcome and do better but not many are willing to pay the price by going through the preparation.

Ultimately, your own pharmacy business, be it independent, DME, Home Infusion, or consulting, your income potential will be much higher as self employed along with the risk.
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Chit, you really are bored. Your posts are becoming more and more meaningful and relevant.
 
cycloketocaine said:
Chit, you really are bored. Your posts are becoming more and more meaningful and relevant.
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Well, I've been saying the same thing for the past 3+ years... saturation is coming...saturation is coming...saturation is coming...prepare...prepare...prepare... broken record.

Then idiots started to throw around "baby boomers..increased rx volume... retiring pharmacists... pharmacist manpower study..."

Well.. today, I can thump my chest and say.. "I told you so..."
 
So I felt the need to buy and use photo equipment older than me..so I found this old leather camera bag...believed to be 50+ years old and "Made in USA" so I've been eyeing this bag on Ebay for the past 3 days..and it sat at like $6.... well, minute before the auction expired, I put in $20... thought it would be safe...then thought..heck, I'll put in $32...no idiot would pay that much. Well, some idiot bid $25.99 and I ended up winning at $26.99. Dang it. But worth it...I can't wait to do some leather work on this! It's quintessential old America... love it!

:smuggrin:

bagru.jpg


baginside.jpg
 
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MountainPharmD said:
Tell me exactly how an MBA, PhD and 1 to 2 years of residency will improve your salary as a pharmacist?
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At one of my managed care rotations, the company would pay for your MBA/MHA...the opportunities for advancement into higher supervisor/director/vice president of dept/clinical coordinator all offer salary growth. This area of pharmacy does allow for salary growth and starting salaries are within 10% of retail
 
i got no raise 2 years ago, and a 0.8% raise last year. yeah. rolling in the dough now
 
DAW2 said:
i got no raise 2 years ago, and a 0.8% raise last year. yeah. rolling in the dough now
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And if you only made $52,000 (median household income for America[that's combined not per capita so that's more like 21,500 b/c most HH in America have 2x income]) then maybe you could complain.

I just don't see how any of us have the right to bitch and moan and bellyache about our state of affairs when, if we invest correctly, manage our resources efficiently and most importantly, live like students in school and not pharmacists. I can already see it happening... my fellow students go out for drinks almost every night after class (Easy to run a 75$ bar tab up...), go on nice weekend trips often, eat out every single day (Sometimes bfast & lunch), throw back $10 in Sbux every day, etc... and they will be screwed with debt later on maybe.

We are in a great place fiscally. Are we Steve Jobs? No. But we're not Joe Six Pack either. You guys want to bitch about not getting a 3% raise every year? Every year, countless Americans (the employed ones) get either no raise and no bonus, or bonuses don't even exist for their job and they get no damn raise.

Yeah, I get it, we have debt and we have a lot of responsibility in our line of work, and so we are paid for that difference (i.e., we make >$100k/year pretty much right off the bat). But this sense of entitlement is purely sickening.

If you want to be rich and go lead the P. Daddy life, then go invent something and sell it to Google or whatever, or make an iPhone app and sell 20 million copies of it @ $2 a pop. Meanwhile, I'll be "slummin' it" with my $50/hr+ employment.
 
druggeek said:
You forgot 4 years of hell in undergrad studying more than pre pharms, volunteering a ton of hours, doing tons of ECs.. etc etc

Here in Canada, a family doctor starts the same as an american pharmacist does... they work up quickly but it's not like at age of 29 or whatever they'll be swimming in their 300k salary.... more like 100-130...
Click to expand...

And that's why nobody wants to be a doctor in canada. Most physicans who work at typical 50 hour week in the US, if not in a saturated urban market, have no excuse to not make 300k..And i'm including family practice physicians in that. It's not easy money, all of them work hard, and even those that put in 40 hours a week are working their tails off.
 
Momus said:
You wonder why USA has the highest health care cost with less life expectancy compare to europe, canada, japan... We have to have the biggest CAT scan, $300k doctor salary, pricey drugs.
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300k doctor salary too much? what would you like us to make, 200? 150? sure, 6-8 years of training and 100k+ more in loans we deal with shouldn't offset that...It's absolutely fair that we should only make 30-40k post tax as a pharmacist. Give me a break. Physician salary is the last reason health care costs are low. If you cut a specialists salary under 300k watch how fast you have a shortage.
 
PharmDstudent said:
I've done salary calculations before, and they're mind boggling. If I were to go to med school, I would need to work for a long time in order to offset lost, fulltime income. And with this 2nd job that I'll be starting this week, I don't think that it would pay in the long run to lose 4 or more years of income and then a reduced salary for 4 years of residency.
So you're right. The earlier, the better (in most cases). Lost income is too hard to get back!
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A lot of these salary calculations are skewed, they broke down our salary , loans, cost of living, etc the first year we started med school. At an average internist or emergency med doc ( 75% of our school does one of those two ) salary of 280-350k, and an average post-residency age of 31, I still don't see how it's not worth it. Most pharmacists start earning at 24-26 and have a 5 year head start to earn 500-600k pretax income. If a doc is 600k behind at the age of 31, by the time he's 35 he's covered his losses and is ahead of the game, and will continue to earn at a rate of 3X + salary for the next 30 years. how is that not worth it financially. Again, speaking strictly financially here..lifestyle, hours worked, patient care wise is all a different story.

i'm only commenting on this because there are studies and calculators out there that say that being a physician is financially a poorer choice than making 60k out of college and 100k/year after 30..there's one comparing it to pharmacy salary, dentistry salary, even a UPS worker salary, stating that medicine is a financial blackhole for income...it's just silly how facts and figures are manipulated to make any random point. Half the time physicians push this image of the 'broke doctor' themselves - they don't want to deal with angst from co-workers who think they make too much. it's dumb. noone should be afraid to make money - we all work hard for it.
 
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karizma098 said:
At an average internist or emergency med doc ( 75% of our school does one of those two ) salary of 280-350k,
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I don't know... average Hospitalist (internal medicine) start at $500 to $600 per day for a local Hospitalist group. My family practice buddies who own their own take home about $150,000 per year after expenses (complained that their PA makes more sometimes).. and Internal Med and ID specialist friends make around $200,000. And employed ED physician had an average salary of $220K or so. Now..anesthesiologists around $300K was normal.. chit..maybe I need to tell these guys to go practice where you are.
 
Its Z said:
I don't know... average Hospitalist (internal medicine) start at $500 to $600 per day for a local Hospitalist group. My family practice buddies who own their own take home about $150,000 per year after expenses (complained that their PA makes more sometimes).. and Internal Med and ID specialist friends make around $200,000. And employed ED physician had an average salary of $220K or so. Now..anesthesiologists around $300K was normal.. chit..maybe I need to tell these guys to go practice where you are.
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150k/ year for fam practice is low..But it depends on an individuals practice. in a community setting with mostly insured patients, putting in 5 days a week, and doing procedures in the office, 300k is easy. If they are only doing physicals, immunizations, and basic stuff, making 150-200 is probably about right. Internal Medicine is about 200k if you are working cush hours..Again, those that are putting in 50 hours or so are making an easy 300k in our region of the midwest. Hospitalists in chicago make 180k or so for 7 days on, 7 days off, 10 hour shifts. that's roughly 35 hours a week - but many of them throw in an extra 15-25 hours in their off week and are 250+ easy. Plus, no call, no patient follow up, etc, not a bad gig.

anesthesia, 300-350 is about right in a non-urban area. much more with a fellowship..

Do you guys deal with the same salary crap as docs? in terms of crappy location = high pay?
IE, if you choose to work in downtown chicago an anesthesia doc will make 270, if he wants to work in milwaukee, wisconsin, he'll make 400k for the same job.
 
karizma098 said:
but many of them throw in an extra 15-25 hours in their off week and are 250+ easy. Plus, no call, no patient follow up, etc, not a bad gig.
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I wouldn't call hospitalist work neither cushy nor "easy." They work their ass off ...and you're right, I don't know of very many that work 40 hours per week really... once they're out of the hospiatal, they're not on call..but while they're in the facility during their shift, their beeper better be on.
 
karizma098 said:
Do you guys deal with the same salary crap as docs? in terms of crappy location = high pay?
IE, if you choose to work in downtown chicago an anesthesia doc will make 270, if he wants to work in milwaukee, wisconsin, he'll make 400k for the same job.
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You've never heard of Alaska Pharmacist contract of $1mil for 3 years???


:smuggrin:
 
Its Z said:
I wouldn't call hospitalist work neither cushy nor "easy." They work their ass off ...and you're right, I don't know of very many that work 40 hours per week really... once they're out of the hospiatal, they're not on call..but while they're in the facility during their shift, their beeper better be on.
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yeah, i did a 2 month hospitalist internal med rotation at a mid level hospital this past summer, it's a joke. it's essentially reading old charts, checking on the patient, and maintaining status quo for physicains after they go home / before they come in / if they're on post-call days. if **** hits the fan, you page the cardiologist/pulmonologist/nephrologist/whatever-ologist is on call, and move on. As long as you understand basic medicine/pathology/pharmacology you should be coasting. Not saying that it doesn't get busy, but it's far from hard work.

it's like emergency medicine with not as much thinking and 1/10th of the stress.

'working their ass off' is a term i reserve for OB docs, general surgeons, ER docs, etc.
 
Momus said:
You wonder why USA has the highest health care cost with less life expectancy compare to europe, canada, japan... We have to have the biggest CAT scan, $300k doctor salary, pricey drugs.
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Be happy doctors make a lot here, otherwise you'd be at CVS making $60k. There's no chance in hell the CVS/Walgreens management would pay pharmacists more than the median physician salary. In Germany doctors make about 80k euros and pharmacists make about 65-70k euros.

And unlike other countries, we also have tuition, and most of our terminal professional degrees come after college.
 
karizma098 said:
A lot of these salary calculations are skewed, they broke down our salary , loans, cost of living, etc the first year we started med school. At an average internist or emergency med doc ( 75% of our school does one of those two ) salary of 280-350k, and an average post-residency age of 31, I still don't see how it's not worth it. Most pharmacists start earning at 24-26 and have a 5 year head start to earn 500-600k pretax income. If a doc is 600k behind at the age of 31, by the time he's 35 he's covered his losses and is ahead of the game, and will continue to earn at a rate of 3X + salary for the next 30 years. how is that not worth it financially. Again, speaking strictly financially here..lifestyle, hours worked, patient care wise is all a different story.

i'm only commenting on this because there are studies and calculators out there that say that being a physician is financially a poorer choice than making 60k out of college and 100k/year after 30..there's one comparing it to pharmacy salary, dentistry salary, even a UPS worker salary, stating that medicine is a financial blackhole for income...it's just silly how facts and figures are manipulated to make any random point. Half the time physicians push this image of the 'broke doctor' themselves - they don't want to deal with angst from co-workers who think they make too much. it's dumb. noone should be afraid to make money - we all work hard for it.
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Well... not so much in Canada here :D
 
karizma098 said:
As a retail pharmacist expect your pay to pretty much be capped in the 130k/year range. It's tough to break that barrier. I mean, you could hypothetically do 80 hours a week and work every weekend and make 200k a year but you'd just be killing yourself at that point. a big PRO of pharmacy is the high starting salary, the big con of pharmacy is the low salary growth. unless you get an MBA and go into corporate, or do business and investment outside of pharmacy, it's pretty tough to get past the 130k/year ceiling. I know many members here post about opening up one's own pharmacy and making 200k a year, but it's pretty tough to do when you're competing with Walgreens, CVS, Target, Meijer, Jewel, etc...You see 10 independent pharmacies close down for every one you see open up. competing with their prices and services in an urban or near an urban area is pretty much impossible. there aren't many independent pharmacies left in Chicago.
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My base salary is >130k... and I broke 150k last year without much overtime. It didnt took me much effort to break that barrier ;) I am looking at a bonus of 7-10k this year... and hopefully at least a 3 percent raise (standard in my area). Then my base would be >140k!
 
confettiflyer said:
Here's that blog:

http://benbrownmd.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/informedconsent/

and mr. canada is back telling us how much better it is in the great white north, haha... i don't think anyone down here cares, it's kind of like saying "hey it's 80 degrees year round in hawaii."
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Actually, I was saying how much worse it is for doctors in Canada...

And you are aware half your country is as cold as south east canada... where the most dense population place is.
 
do pharmacists get paid by the hour or do they have a regular monthly salary...i'm wondering if pharmacists have to punch in or out?
 
bsmith7777 said:
I've always wondered about this... One of the best benefits about being a pharmacist is the high starting salary... around 80-100K per year. However, I've heard that the salary growth from then on is VERY minimal... that it is merely adjusted for inflation and growing living costs. Why don't pharmacists (unlike doctors, dentists, etc.) ever get bonuses and increases in salary?
Click to expand...

I can tell you dont work at a pharmacy. Pharmacists actually do get bonuses. I know this one pharmacy manager (Walgreens) gets 17,000 bonus. And honestly, other fields dont even make it up to 100,000 after yearly raises/bonuses while pharmacists start there.

And most doctors and dentists practice for themselves. If an independent pharmacy can manage 300 scripts per day then they'll be racking up the $$$
 
karizma098 said:
A lot of these salary calculations are skewed, they broke down our salary , loans, cost of living, etc the first year we started med school. At an average internist or emergency med doc ( 75% of our school does one of those two ) salary of 280-350k, and an average post-residency age of 31, I still don't see how it's not worth it. Most pharmacists start earning at 24-26 and have a 5 year head start to earn 500-600k pretax income. If a doc is 600k behind at the age of 31, by the time he's 35 he's covered his losses and is ahead of the game, and will continue to earn at a rate of 3X + salary for the next 30 years. how is that not worth it financially. Again, speaking strictly financially here..lifestyle, hours worked, patient care wise is all a different story.
.
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The bolded is crap. The median outpatient internal med (median = mid career, starting will be less) makes ~160k. The median for hospitalists is more like 200k, while EM docs are probably around 220k. Hospitalists especially, while they often have what sounds like a great 7 days on (12 hr days) 7 days off schedule are worked like dogs when they're on shift and have a very high burnout rate.

Most docs earn more then pharmacists and deserve to do so IMO as it is a more difficult path and includes foregone residency income and more student loans (compared to direct pharmacy programs). Docs like orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, dermatologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists and other surgical subspecialists do make more around the 300k range, but those are either: extremely long residency (neurosurg and surgical subspecialties), involve working lots of hours even after residency (any kind of surgery), are expected to have rapidly declining salaries due to midlevel encroachment (anesthesiology) or are extremely difficult to get a residency in (all of the above except anesthesiology).

While for a long career, a non PCP doctor will make more money, that comes with a lot more work and a lot less money when you're younger (when you can have more fun spending it). Pharmacy is a great gig, though over-saturation for the future is a major concern. Though for my money, I'd go the nurse anesthetist route if i didn't want to become a doc.
 
Its Z said:
Well, I've been saying the same thing for the past 3+ years... saturation is coming...saturation is coming...saturation is coming...prepare...prepare...prepare... broken record.

Then idiots started to throw around "baby boomers..increased rx volume... retiring pharmacists... pharmacist manpower study..."

Well.. today, I can thump my chest and say.. "I told you so..."
Click to expand...

So is the only way to specialize? Is there no other way?

this is a serious question. I'm still recently graduated and often consider attempting a recidency/hospital to avoid the death of retail.
 
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