Salaries

[cosmicstarr]

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I know a lot of people don't like to talk about salaries, but I'm sure it is a major consideration when people decide to enter this field, whether they like to admit it or not.

Do many years of experience as a pharamacist yield a much higher salary? From some of the salary data, it appears that a pharmacist with a few years (maybe 3-5 years) of experience makes roughly the same as one who has many years (15+) of experience. Is this the case?

I'm curious to see how accurate are the salary surveys. It appears that a pharamcy manager may not make that much more than a regular pharmacist. Does anyone have any insight they would like to add?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[museabuse]

Do many years of experience as a pharamacist yield a much higher salary? From some of the salary data, it appears that a pharmacist with a few years (maybe 3-5 years) of experience makes roughly the same as one who has many years (15+) of experience. Is this the case?

I'm curious to see how accurate are the salary surveys. It appears that a pharamcy manager may not make that much more than a regular pharmacist. Does anyone have any insight they would like to add?

Thanks in advanced.

I can speak for Osco but i think most retail chains are similar. All staff pharmacists make the same amount regardless of how long you have been with company. Same thing with managers and I think being a manager you get about 5,000 more a year. The benefit with being a manager is you get more of a bonus. I would perfer to be staff and not deal with some of the paper work and responsibilities.

The benefit with staying with a company is not so much the salary but the benefits of the matching of the 401k and being "vested". I think for Osco it is 7 or 5 years and then everything the company has matched is yours. THis is sometimes reffered to as "golden handcuffs".

If you don't care about your retirement then there is nothing really holding you back from getting a sign on bonus at another chain. THis happens frequently... every three years you get a new sign on bonus at a new chain.

 

[cosmicstarr]

I can speak for Osco but i think most retail chains are similar. All staff pharmacists make the same amount regardless of how long you have been with company. Same thing with managers and I think being a manager you get about 5,000 more a year. The benefit with being a manager is you get more of a bonus. I would perfer to be staff and not deal with some of the paper work and responsibilities.

The benefit with staying with a company is not so much the salary but the benefits of the matching of the 401k and being "vested". I think for Osco it is 7 or 5 years and then everything the company has matched is yours. THis is sometimes reffered to as "golden handcuffs".

If you don't care about your retirement then there is nothing really holding you back from getting a sign on bonus at another chain. THis happens frequently... every three years you get a new sign on bonus at a new chain.

Thanks for the insight, Muse. So do you get annual raises in retail pharmacies? In many other industries, seniority usually accounts for a higher salary than one just entering the field. I guess it is much different for retail pharmacists? How do you advance pay wise or is there a market ceiling on the salaries?

Thanks.

 

[aaron31981]

Thanks for the insight, Muse. So do you get annual raises in retail pharmacies? In many other industries, seniority usually accounts for a higher salary than one just entering the field. I guess it is much different for retail pharmacists? How do you advance pay wise or is there a market ceiling on the salaries?

Thanks.

Another benefit to staying with the same company is the amount of vacation time. The longer you stay with the company, the more time off you get.

Pay increases occur based on the market. If the competition gives a raise, most employers will match or beat it. But it really depends on whether or not the companies think they can remain profitable.

 

[elmoz]

From what I've read, yes there is a ceiling.

 

[tlh908]

Work experience means very little in pharmacy. I just graduated and got licensed this week and I am making more money than my former preceptor did in Erie, PA. And he has over 20 years experience and is the manager of a 24 hour store. Of course, market location has a lot to do with salary also.....

 

[ultracet]

i don't think you get raises.... but a lot of chains offer bonuses

 

[cosmicstarr]

i don't think you get raises.... but a lot of chains offer bonuses

Wouldn't there be at least a cost of living/inflation adjustment per year?

 

[aaron31981]

Wouldn't there be at least a cost of living/inflation adjustment per year?

Only if the market allows. Nothing in your contract states that you will be given a COLA.

I am pretty new to this board, but if you have taken your econ, you should realize that market forces always dictate pay in the private sector. Better be thankful for this since the government thinks pharmacists make too much money.

 

[Dental08?09]

Only if the market allows. Nothing in your contract states that you will be given a COLA.

I am pretty new to this board, but if you have taken your econ, you should realize that market forces always dictate pay in the private sector. Better be thankful for this since the government thinks pharmacists make too much money.

The gov't thinks everyone but welfare takers make too much money. If you live above poverty and I mean by $1, then you make too much and need to give back to society.

Thats why you have to find tax shelters 😀

 

[philic1013]

Does anyone have any comment as to salaries/experiences with research pharmacy as opposed to retail?

 

[imperial frog]

Do many years of experience as a pharamacist yield a much higher salary? From some of the salary data, it appears that a pharmacist with a few years (maybe 3-5 years) of experience makes roughly the same as one who has many years (15+) of experience. Is this the case?

As long as the starting salaries continue to increase at a faster rate than other professions there really isn't a sound reason for giving longevity increases as well. Once this slows down, I would expect to see salary rates increase for longevity to compensate.

 

[ZpackSux]

I know a lot of people don't like to talk about salaries, but I'm sure it is a major consideration when people decide to enter this field, whether they like to admit it or not.

Do many years of experience as a pharamacist yield a much higher salary? From some of the salary data, it appears that a pharmacist with a few years (maybe 3-5 years) of experience makes roughly the same as one who has many years (15+) of experience. Is this the case?

I'm curious to see how accurate are the salary surveys. It appears that a pharamcy manager may not make that much more than a regular pharmacist. Does anyone have any insight they would like to add?

Thanks in advanced.

Why do you ask.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Thanks for the insight, Muse. So do you get annual raises in retail pharmacies? In many other industries, seniority usually accounts for a higher salary than one just entering the field. I guess it is much different for retail pharmacists? How do you advance pay wise or is there a market ceiling on the salaries?

Thanks.

At Walgreens you could count on about 11% per year plus a nice bonus. My last year there was $3500.00. At many hospitals I have worked the annual merit raise was more like 4-6% which was reasonable since the working conditions, on the whole, were so very nice.

At Rite Aid the one year I worked there the corperation splurged and gave their pharmacists an across the board raise of $0.25 USD per hour or 0.55%
Then they really amazed me with a two hundred dollar bonus. I was tempted to donate it back because they obviously needed it more than I did.

Your position in society is fixed forever unless you open your own business
and you must be wary of new grads hiring in at a higher rate than you are making.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Only if the market allows. Nothing in your contract states that you will be given a COLA.

I am pretty new to this board, but if you have taken your econ, you should realize that market forces always dictate pay in the private sector. Better be thankful for this since the government thinks pharmacists make too much money.

My current position is courtesy of the Department of Defense and I took a 14,000 dollar cut in pay for the right to work there. Believe me, it was worth every penny. Breaks, Lunch, 18 days vacation days a year. All government holidays off. Dress code is jeans and sport shirts. Low stress environment in the fastest paced retail operation you could possibly imagine -- these folks fill 4,000 prescriptions daily. The possibility of travel worldwide. One of my coworkers spent two years in Germany and worked with a fellow who had been there for twenty years. Life is tough and the practice is actually "clinical"

 

[vafcarrot]

and you must be wary of new grads hiring in at a higher rate than you are making.

What do you do if they do get hired on at a higher rate? Complain? That would drive me crazy but it seems like management could pull one of those "it's none of your business what other people make. Get back to work." My bosses are like that and I think it's sort of shady. We even have a paragraph in our employee manual that says that we could get in trouble for even questioning a coworker on their pay rate.

 

[baggywrinkle]

What do you do if they do get hired on at a higher rate? Complain? .

You always have the power to vote with your feet. Don't ever get too comfortable and never be afraid to walk.

 

[Sustiva]

Does anyone have any comment as to salaries/experiences with research pharmacy as opposed to retail?

In research, if a PharmD is the Principal Investigator, they usually make a salary comparable to MDs who are Principal Investigators. It all really depends on the company and the trial.

 

[bananaface]

At Rite Aid the one year I worked there the corperation splurged and gave their pharmacists an across the board raise of $0.25 USD per hour or 0.55%

Now you can start calling them "Wrong Aid". 😛