Retail Grocery Chain to Hospital Transition - Need some advice on career choice

[sav411]

Need some advice since I'm struggling with this decision. So I just got offered a full time (40 hrs/wk) staff pharmacist position at the grocery store that I currently work part time at (~20 hrs/wk). I also got offered a part time hospital job (with benefits) that I am currently working prn at. The hospital job will be guaranteed 30 hrs/wk but the director said there will be a decent amount of opportunities to get 40 hrs since I will be helping to cover PTO for the other pharmacists and random project days as well. For me the pay cut will probably come out to about ~40k/yr (or approx. $19-$20/hr) after factoring in everything like bonuses for retail and shift differentials for hospital. This is also under the assumption that I will get 40 hrs/wk at the hospital, which most likely will not happen every week so the pay cut will probably be even more than that. I don't have an official offer from the hospital yet but I asked some of the other hospital pharmacists in my area who have a similar background as me what their pay is. I have been in retail for almost 5 years now (graduated in 2016) though I cut down to about 20 hrs/wk at the beginning of last year when I started the prn hospital job. The retail pharmacy is extremely busy and does about 4700-4900 scripts/week but overall the techs are pretty decent most of the time and efficient. It does, however, get stressful at times and like any retail pharmacy I do occasionally encounter problem pts but it's not that often. The retail grocery chain is a really good company, however, and financially stable so I feel pretty confident that my hours would not be cut in the future especially since I am at a busier store. For the hospital job, I would be rotating through all of the different shifts at the hospital (staff RPh shifts of 6-16:30 and 11:30-2200, ICU 7-17:30 and ED 1330-midnight) but primarily would be staffing since they have a dedicated ICU pharmacist and 2 ED pharmacists who rotate shifts. It is a pretty small hospital with only about 75-80 beds. I would also be working every other weekend. My retail job would be 10 hour shifts and the latest I would get done is 8 pm on weekdays.

How much of a pay cut do you think is acceptable for making this type of switch from retail to hospital and would this be considered a good decision or no? Do you think it would be worth taking this much of a pay cut to leave retail in the hopes of better future career opportunities in the hospital/clinic sectors? Should I continue to work prn at the hospital until I find a better opportunity (40 hrs/wk guaranteed/better pay) before making the transition from retail to hospital?

Also I know my career opportunities will be extremely limited if I stay in retail vs. more potential job opportunities if I go the hospital route so how much does this factor into the equation of taking the pay cut?

I am not in debt/no student loans so that definitely helps as well.

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[M0df]

As we have seen recently, retail is pushing wages down. Walgreens fires/rehires for less. CVS is not much better. Of course you can maintain what you have now (minimal raises if any). You can do your own math but I bet your total income from hospital will catch up and surpass retail within 3-5 years.

I wish I had your choices to make. I would take the hospital job.

Also, just as an example, 'guaranteed' hours in retail are not guaranteed. Your retail store gets a new budget every year? I have seen stores lose 10+ hours a week for rph during new year. So all of a sudden you drop from 40 to low 30s because your PIC takes higher base.

 

[rxdawg21]

Need some advice since I'm struggling with this decision. So I just got offered a full time (40 hrs/wk) staff pharmacist position at the grocery store that I currently work part time at (~20 hrs/wk). I also got offered a part time hospital job (with benefits) that I am currently working prn at. The hospital job will be guaranteed 30 hrs/wk but the director said there will be a decent amount of opportunities to get 40 hrs since I will be helping to cover PTO for the other pharmacists and random project days as well. For me the pay cut will probably come out to about ~40k/yr (or approx. $19-$20/hr) after factoring in everything like bonuses for retail and shift differentials for hospital. This is also under the assumption that I will get 40 hrs/wk at the hospital, which most likely will not happen every week so the pay cut will probably be even more than that. I don't have an official offer from the hospital yet but I asked some of the other hospital pharmacists in my area who have a similar background as me what their pay is. I have been in retail for almost 5 years now (graduated in 2016) though I cut down to about 20 hrs/wk at the beginning of last year when I started the prn hospital job. The retail pharmacy is extremely busy and does about 4700-4900 scripts/week but overall the techs are pretty decent most of the time and efficient. It does, however, get stressful at times and like any retail pharmacy I do occasionally encounter problem pts but it's not that often. The retail grocery chain is a really good company, however, and financially stable so I feel pretty confident that my hours would not be cut in the future especially since I am at a busier store. For the hospital job, I would be rotating through all of the different shifts at the hospital (staff RPh shifts of 6-16:30 and 11:30-2200, ICU 7-17:30 and ED 1330-midnight) but primarily would be staffing since they have a dedicated ICU pharmacist and 2 ED pharmacists who rotate shifts. It is a pretty small hospital with only about 75-80 beds. I would also be working every other weekend. My retail job would be 10 hour shifts and the latest I would get done is 8 pm on weekdays.

How much of a pay cut do you think is acceptable for making this type of switch from retail to hospital and would this be considered a good decision or no? Do you think it would be worth taking this much of a pay cut to leave retail in the hopes of better future career opportunities in the hospital/clinic sectors? Should I continue to work prn at the hospital until I find a better opportunity (40 hrs/wk guaranteed/better pay) before making the transition from retail to hospital?

Also I know my career opportunities will be extremely limited if I stay in retail vs. more potential job opportunities if I go the hospital route so how much does this factor into the equation of taking the pay cut?

I am not in debt/no student loans so that definitely helps as well.

It honestly depends on the situation. Each hospital is different. If you work for a private grocer like Publix then the odds of your job getting exponentially worse is low. If you work for a publicly traded company it’s a matter of when not if. Unless a major change in current reimbursement model.

I went to the va and took a 35k pay cut. 5 years later I’ve been promoted and make ~4K more had I not gotten any raises in retail.

I also now get 12 weeks paid family leave thanks to Congress.

I wouldn’t go back for anything at this point. I stayed part time for a while

 

[rxkrafted]

I know many pharmacists that were in your position. Every single one of them made the switch to part-time hospital position and picked up PRN shifts in retail as a floater. The longer you work as a part-timer in the hospital, it'll give you more leverage to transition into a full-time position once it opens up (granted you have a good relationship with administration there). Don't miss out on this opportunity if you are really trying to escape retail.

Doing 10-hour shifts is also a big benefit to you because it will give flexibility to pick up shifts on your days off.

 

[Dred Pirate]

that seems to be a huge pay cut - what is your hospital offering? (location?) - I work hospital and it is opposite that here - (I make that much more than what retail is offering) - now experience obviously makes difference.

I am guessing most hospitals provide annual raises vs most retails I know have been stagnant. To put things in comparison - I was making $50/hr retail and took the hospital job at $43. After 3 years I was back even (before shift dif) and now I am at $70 (12 years later) It is a huge difference, but depending on how many years left working you have, you have to look ask yourself where you want to be in 5-10-15 years down the road.

Can you live the way you want at the lower salary? (loans, etc)

Also, what type of hospital job? (operations, clinical, etc) - What will you be happy with, etc

 

[sav411]

As we have seen recently, retail is pushing wages down. Walgreens fires/rehires for less. CVS is not much better. Of course you can maintain what you have now (minimal raises if any). You can do your own math but I bet your total income from hospital will catch up and surpass retail within 3-5 years.

I wish I had your choices to make. I would take the hospital job.

Also, just as an example, 'guaranteed' hours in retail are not guaranteed. Your retail store gets a new budget every year? I have seen stores lose 10+ hours a week for rph during new year. So all of a sudden you drop from 40 to low 30s because your PIC takes higher base.

I just did the math and assuming I don’t get any raises from my retail job and I get a 2.5% raise every year which is the standard at the hospital job it will take me 13 years to get to my current retail rate. My retail company has been giving a standard 2.5-3% raise every year so far so it’s essentially going to take quite a bit of time for me to even get to my current rate in retail

Also the store I’m at is actually very likely to gain pharmacist hours since we are currently operating under our allocated pharmacy budget and still increasing script volume so I don’t see that as a potential issue in the near future.

 

[sav411]

that seems to be a huge pay cut - what is your hospital offering? (location?) - I work hospital and it is opposite that here - (I make that much more than what retail is offering) - now experience obviously makes difference.

I am guessing most hospitals provide annual raises vs most retails I know have been stagnant. To put things in comparison - I was making $50/hr retail and took the hospital job at $43. After 3 years I was back even (before shift dif) and now I am at $70 (12 years later) It is a huge difference, but depending on how many years left working you have, you have to look ask yourself where you want to be in 5-10-15 years down the road.

Can you live the way you want at the lower salary? (loans, etc)

Also, what type of hospital job? (operations, clinical, etc) - What will you be happy with, etc

I am in TX and my retail rate is higher than what most new grads are getting because I’ve been with the company for almost 5 years now so I’ve gotten a 2.5-3% annual raise from my original rate when I first started which also wasn’t as low as what new grads are getting now.

I just did the math and assuming I don’t get any raises from my retail job which is unlikely and I get a 2.5% raise every year which is the standard at the hospital job it will take me about 13 years to get to my current retail rate. Not sure if this would be a wise financial decision. Plus I’m also confident that I’ll still be getting a raise with my retail job since it’s not one of the major public chains and it’s a private grocery company.

I still have quite a bit of time left that I will be working since I’m only 5 years out from school (graduated in 2016). It’s a small hospital so it’s mainly staffing with some clinical mixed in since all the pharmacists do clinical stuff like vanc dosing, antibiotic renal dose adjustment, electrolyte replacements, etc. Kind of like a hybrid role essentially. I do enjoy it more than retail but it definitely has its drawbacks like the schedule is kind of crappy with a really early morning start for the AM shift since it starts at 6 am and the PM shift you’re basically at work almost the entire day since it’s 11:30-2200. All the other benefits are pretty much a draw since I get the same amount of PTO and 401k match with both.

I’m just torn as to whether I would be making a mistake passing up the full time 40 hrs/wk guaranteed retail job that is essentially going to stay at 40 hrs/wk since it’s a growing store that also pays 40k/yr more for something that’s a bit more uncertain in that smaller hospitals could easily downsize the pharmacy dept if the administration wanted to make cuts. When Covid hit the hospital administration forced all the pharmacists to cut down to 30 hrs/wk whereas my retail store wasn’t affected in any way in terms of hours being cut for pharmacists. Just something to think about for long term job security

I can definitely live off the lower salary but long term it would be nice to have the extra income to invest/put into retirement fund plus once I decide to have kids it’ll definitely help out with expenses. Right now I’m not married and don’t have kids so my expenses are relatively low.

Another option is I can still continue to work prn at the hospital and look for other hospital opportunities where maybe the paycut isn’t as drastic and has more to offer like guaranteed 40 hrs/wk.

 

[M0df]

Hey, if you can convince yourself to keep working for CVS when you have another option, you have a better psychiatrist than I do.

 

[sav411]

Hey, if you can convince yourself to keep working for CVS when you have another option, you have a better psychiatrist than I do.

Lol except I never said I worked for CVS and I never will either

 

[M0df]

Sorry. I guess I mistook this for another thread.

So same logic applies here. You can take hospital job and keep looking for a better hospital job. Sounds like you are happy enough with retail though. How long have you been at that hospital as prn to get offered part time? Have you had other interviews with other hospitals? To me, the question is if you will get good opportunities in the future.

As far as Covid cuts. I feel that hospitals should be busy until vaccine kicks in. It is not like April when they shut down down preemptively in anticipation of Covid admissions.

 

[HouTX]

If he’s in Texas and he’s working for a grocery store that is paying that high, it’s a small regional grocery chain that is expanding like crazy. They are eating Kroger’s lunch and pay quite high plus quarterly bonuses. Very desirable company to work for, would be right under Costco in the retail space! I would stay and find another hospital without such a high discrepancy

 

[Dred Pirate]

I just did the math and assuming I don’t get any raises from my retail job and I get a 2.5% raise every year which is the standard at the hospital job it will take me 13 years to get to my current retail rate. My retail company has been giving a standard 2.5-3% raise every year so far so it’s essentially going to take quite a bit of time for me to even get to my current rate in retail

Also the store I’m at is actually very likely to gain pharmacist hours since we are currently operating under our allocated pharmacy budget and still increasing script volume so I don’t see that as a potential issue in the near future.

It sounds like your retail job is the exception to what I hear from most people - if you like it, go for it - the more people that want retail, the less downward pressure on my salary and future job opportunities (FWIW I have only had one year without a raise, and that was the 2010 great recession) - heck this year I got a 3% bonus and 2.5% raise (my lowest other than the year with zero).

I would have a hard time giving up that much money - 12 hour shifts are not for everybody- I did it for 5 years, now I do 10 hour shifts - which I think is perfect - it is nice having the extra days off.

For me personally, now that loans are paid off, and I have a cheap mortgage, I would take a cut 40k cut (160 to 120k) for a job that I enjoyed more, and worked better with my life, and was a more desirable location for me (not saying that the hospital job would do that for you). But honestly I really like my job, and I got lucky - but I would never go to any retail for 40k more than I make now - honestly, if you doubled it, i MIGHT consider it, but even then I would only do it if I was close to retirement and needed the money to FIRE in a couple of years.