Questions for current/past Walmart Pharmacist (2015)

[rlin656]

Hi, I am currently a P3 student and also currently interning at a Walmart pharmacy.

I would like to work for Walmart in the future, but would really like to know certain things about what Walmart offers pharmacist compared to others.

Amount of years currently worked at Walmart?
City/State/Region you are located in?
Job prospect in your area?
Average salary?
Vacation time?
Benefits?
Job satisfaction?
Number of scripts per day at your store?
Work hours?
Balanced family life?
How negotiations work with Walmart?

Thank you in advance for your responses

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Sine Cura]

- Sacramento Valley.

- Not many openings available to external applicants except harder-to-staff rural areas. Walmart > Neighborhood Market > Sam's Club based on ease of getting in (also the order of ****tiness of customer base)

- At least $60/hour nominally but there is a meal premium at $25 a day (required to take lunch at Walmart) that increases compensation an extra ~$3.

- 2 paid weeks a year for first 7 years, 3 weeks after 7 years, 4 weeks after 15 years.

- Benefits: High-deductible plans with HRA or HSA (go with HSA since that money is yours to keep), at least in this area. There may be other options. You get a 10% discount card for Walmart associates (at 91 days of employment). You can contribute to 401(k) without having to wait but Walmart starts matching up to 6% starting at 1 year of employment. Stock purchase plan where Walmart matches up to 15% on the first $1,800/year of payroll deductions for SPP.

- Job satisfaction... if you work at a slow store it is easy street. If you work at a busier or more ghetto store it is far less satisfying because the workflow scales poorly to busier volumes unlike CVS (I am not saying CVS is good but you can get stuff out faster). For example at Walmart all e-scripts and faxes are due in 45 minutes (well faxes are due 45 minutes after you "send to input"), whereas at CVS e-scripts and faxes are timed based on the type of script (15 minutes for MinuteClinic Rx, 30 minutes total for "acute," even your ****ty Norco 10/325 #180 for the last 3 years type of scripts, 120 minutes for not-acute. These times start after they show up for input). Verification is also more time consuming at Walmart, and there is actually a queue for bagging orders that IMO is a huge waste of time but is kind of necessary based on current WM workflow because it serves as an (imperfect) accuracy scan (using CVS terminology) and bag receipts and med guides print at the very end, not when you print out labels for filling like at CVS.

- Some stores do 150-200 fills on weekdays, some do 500 fills a weekday, some even do more than that (if rural). Hours are always 9-9. So I would imagine the busy rural stores are fairly unpleasant because Walmart.

- 8 hour days in CA with 1-hour unpaid meal period.

- Hard to have a good schedule actually (like consecutive days off) because of required overlap and especially if you float

- LOL. Maybe ask for match on 401(k) immediately if you are already matching at another company.

 

[Dr Wario]

Wow a well written post that gives an honest analysis...

 

[farmadiazepine]

Agreed, good post.

 

[tongiecc]

Though I only fill in on days off from the hospital, I can try to help you out with what I know. (Again, I only work PRN for WMT so may not be fully representative of reality)
City/State you are located in?
SouthEast (sorry don't like sharing in open posts, PM me if you need to know this)
Job prospect in your area?
Similar to others, in that large urban areas in desirable suburbs are hardest followed by urban low income areas, followed by rural/long commute areas likely being the most open for new hires
Average salary?
was low 60's but I believe it is now high 50's (58) for new grads
Vacation time?
I can't give you a good answer on this d/t my PRN status (though of note is that even with PRN you supposedly get vacation accrual and need to take it each year, so keep that in mind, as I didn't realize this)
Benefits?
I think now you can get dental/life/vision/etc without a minimum amount of hours, health insurance will require some minimum number of hours though. From what I saw the benefits were about the same if not a little better than the hospital I'm at (at least for premiums on Dent/Vision)
Job satisfaction?
I think most like their job, and typically varies from store to store with Sams>NH Mkt>WMT, this will vary widely on: 1. What day you ask them (ie is there only a temporary staffing issue that is affecting them, etc). 2. Store location and Volume (some actually like a little higher volume, but as others indicated the connexus system doesn't scale to high volume well/efficiently, not saying it can't be done but its probably harder to do 300+)
Number of scripts per day at your store?
I work at various stores and only a few times per month, but a snapshot would be anywhere from around 100 for a new-ish NH Mkt, to 500-700 for busier supercenters
Work hours?
9-9, I think most do at least every 3rd weekend, if not every other
Balanced family life?
Yes, I think so, even the PIC's I see seem to have a decent work life balance (though slightly less so than staff rph's)
How negotiations work with Walmart?
I would get advice from someone that has applied FT on this. I gather that there isn't much negotiation now on pay or even vacation for most stores, but if they put you or ask to put you in a less desirable store or location (inner city or smaller community a decent drive outside a metro) you might give it a try, but be reasonable and respectful, since I'm pretty sure its an employers market in most areas.
Sorry I couldn't provide you with better details, but still hope this helps!

 

[cj98]

City/State you are located in?
-Rural area of California

Job prospect in your area?
-There seems to be a shortage in other chains around here, but WMT in this area is currently overstaffed.

Average salary?
-Starting salaries are higher in the boonies lol. You'd start in the mid-high 60's hourly + the $25 meal premium Sine Cura mentioned

Vacation time? Same as what Sine Cura said
Benefits? " "

Job satisfaction?
-Coming from other chains, I am personally very satisfied with my decision to work at Walmart. I feel like the metrics are not as extreme and reasonable (ie goal of 4 immunizations a day). I also like the Connexus system and the workflow. Even though the prescription process takes longer compared to other places because of the extra verification processes/only being allowed to do one task at a time, there is a culture focused on safety and accuracy. The customer base is...uh...unique...but the store that I am at does a good job of explaining to them that we can't get their scripts out in <15 mins and they seem to understand or are okay with going elsewhere. Of course, everything depends on whether or not you have a good PIC.

Number of scripts per day at your store?
-About ~400-500 daily

Work hours?
-Hours are 9am-9pm on weekdays. Since I'm a new grad, I get stuck with most of the closing shifts and work every other weekend.

How negotiations work with Walmart?
-I haven't tried haha...