Pharmacist Salary Thread

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hreiss said:
I am a proponent of a single payer system like medicare, not technically socialized medicine. The reason being the Doctors and other professionals don't technically work for the government as they would in a socialized system. They still work for themselves, they just get payed fee-for service based on a usual cost just like insurance reimbursement today. The difference is that they usually don't take 90 days to pay you like private insurance. And the cost of administration according to the GAO would be like comperable to medicare at about 3-4 % instead of the current 20-30% of private insurance. And I am a proponent for stem cell research and I am for the most part pro-choice. However, I don't think that choice should extend past a point where the fetus is viable on it's own.
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I'm definitely against a single payer system. Managed competition all the way. A single-payer system is just asking for corruption. Heck, look at the new Medicare. Pharmaceutical companies were lobbying their pants off to make it so Medicare couldn't bargain with the pharmas for lower prices.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml

End result: Government officials who worked on the bill got cushy new positions at the pharmaceutical companies within 3 months; public screwed out of cheaper drugs.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Honestly though, our entire economy is based on the fact that we are floating around a **** ton of money that has no intrinsic value, but gains its value from its high demand. You know, other countries need it to buy oil and ****. Our economy isn't socialist or communist. It's feudalistic. Our serfs are third world labor. We produce nothing and feed of the sweat of outside labor. As long as the dollar has a hegemonous role in the international economy, we could honestly be as socialistic or fascist as we please because we will always be able to exploit everyone else. We could tax the citizenry 90% and we'd still pull in goods from China in exchange for worthless little green pieces of paper with our collective name on them.
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Ehhh...you finally admit to what I taught you 2 years ago...:meanie:
 
VeraShield said:
I'm definitely against a single payer system. Managed competition all the way. A single-payer system is just asking for corruption. Heck, look at the new Medicare. Pharmaceutical companies were lobbying their pants off to make it so Medicare couldn't bargain with the pharmas for lower prices.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml

End result: Government officials who worked on the bill got cushy new positions at the pharmaceutical companies within 3 months; public screwed out of cheaper drugs.
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The public gets ripped off because they are dumb enough to keep voting the same people in over and over that are giving into the lobbiest.

Competition is not the answer everytime. Look what happened after the deregulation of utlities in California.

plus there is currently competition and prices are on the rise.
 
fmbzp5 said:
Competition is not the answer everytime. Look what happened after the deregulation of utlities in California.
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This would only be a fair comparison if they intended to let wholesalers name their price and retailers get reimbursed at a fixed price not associated with their wholesale cost. You'd also have to make the cost of entering the market prohibitive enough by requiring leasebacks, guaranteed volumes, and pull-out penalties that any upstart is almost guaranteed either not to get enough capital or choke under the constraints of the deregulated system.
 
recently i decided to leave the retail world and take a pharmacy resident position at a local VA. i know what my stipend is for a resident but does anyone know what a typical pharmacist in VA's make for salary (clinical or staff)? i am familiar with non-VA salaries in hospitals but i assume the VA would pay less. is this correct?
 
TotalKayOs said:
recently i decided to leave the retail world and take a pharmacy resident position at a local VA. i know what my stipend is for a resident but does anyone know what a typical pharmacist in VA's make for salary (clinical or staff)? i am familiar with non-VA salaries in hospitals but i assume the VA would pay less. is this correct?
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Yes - you take a cut in pay. I think the entry pharmacist at the Palo Alto VA is about a GS 12 or 13 ($99 - $127 or so). There is a differential for nights, weekends, holidays & you can go up in grade, depending on what you do, if you publish, teach, etc....

You make up for the pay difference in benefits, which are beyond anything offered thru non VA hospitals. It only benefits you if you stay for a career though.
 
Anyone knows what the starting salary for pharmd/master in health care admin is?
 
tlnbtb said:
Anyone knows what the starting salary for pharmd/master in health care admin is?
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Location, location, location......

What position are you thinking about??? PharmD/MSA - are you thinking dop??? Hmmm a starting dop will have years of experience, some clinical & some as an assitant dop.

So....lets say all those things are equal - a starting dop in a community hospital in Fargo, ND will make far different from a starting dop at SF General.

See the difference??? Its about location, what experience you bring, what opportunities you've had & the networking you've done....

Sounds ambigious, but it really is - the is no "one" starting salary for an administrative position.
 
I am starting pharm school this year but already have a m.s. in health care management. I just want to know if it wil be faster for me to climb that ladder once i get out.
 
tlnbtb said:
I am starting pharm school this year but already have a m.s. in health care management. I just want to know if it wil be faster for me to climb that ladder once i get out.
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Yes and No.

MHA allows you enroute to COO, CEO route. PharmD doesn't. But you may have a better chance of getting into pharmacy administration with your MS.
 
I have a friend in winter park, FL that make 128k a year and he just turned 27
 
Hi,

I was offered a job at a Pharmacy at $55/hour in Southern California. However, I heard that this was considered at the low end and Pharmacists in the area should be making at least 130k a year.

In addition, I heard that in other areas of California, pharmacistsa re making 150ka year.

I just need to know if I should negotiate? Can someone give me examples of what they're being offered and in what part of california
 
I think $55 is about right for S CA & actually, that seems a bit high, but I haven't checked down there for a bit.

Many of S CA pharmacists are unionized which is not the case where I am in N CA. The pay here is the same, however, many of us who do some time in retail don't work straight 8 hours. We often will work 10, 11 or 12. That ends up with time & 1/2 for those hours after 8, which conforms with CA labor laws.

However, the union rules will dominate your hours which then dominates your pay.

But, I'd say, if you're offered $55 its pretty good on the surface. Don't take a job, however, until you look at the whole package. What are the benefits? How much do you pay toward your insurance? What about vacation? Have you inquired how they cover vacation? Have you asked others in that chain (I'm assuming its a chain) how easy it is to take a vacation? There's no point in earning vacation time if you can't take it! What about scheduling? Will you have a life or are you going to have to work every other day?

There are more things to think about than pay....and if you have no experience, you have no place to negotiate from.

Good luck!
 
jasmine0211 said:
Hi,

I was offered a job at a Pharmacy at $55/hour in Southern California. However, I heard that this was considered at the low end and Pharmacists in the area should be making at least 130k a year.

In addition, I heard that in other areas of California, pharmacistsa re making 150ka year.

I just need to know if I should negotiate? Can someone give me examples of what they're being offered and in what part of california
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That's in line with most of the jobs I've seen posted down here. CSUSB, LLU, and a few hospitals. Keeping in mind mine has been casual since I'm not to that part of the process yet.
 
Walgreen offers 55 too(LA county).I heared Kaiser is 58.
It is normal for assistant pharmacy manager or pharmacy manager to earn 130K since they always work overtime.
 
starting salary at my walgreens in FL is $108,000.
 
jmkraus said:
starting salary at my walgreens in FL is $108,000.
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Walgreens just gave another increase the Tampa area. I haven't gotten my first pharmacist paycheck and don't know the increase amount. So, what I posted earlier ($102,440) is no longer correct for the Tampa Bay area.
 
dgroulx said:
Walgreens just gave another increase the Tampa area. I haven't gotten my first pharmacist paycheck and don't know the increase amount. So, what I posted earlier ($102,440) is no longer correct for the Tampa Bay area.
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I agree there should be a premium associated with living with all those Bucs fans...and the Busch Gardens tourists. 😀
 
$54/hr in CT for Brooks (now part of Rite-Aid), I also got a 20G sign on bonus! 🙂
 
I was hired in AZ for $120.000 per year as pharmacy manager.
 
WAGS in NYC is $51.50 an hour or 106,000/year. CVS was slightly less.
 
My first pharmacist job in 1995 paid $19.75 per hour.👍
 
why do pharmacists only make 100k for year for the massive amounts of knowledge they must learn, retain, and use on a daily basis. considering the amount of liability that a pharmacist can have on for dispensing the wrong drug or missing a drug interaction because your too busy filling 500 scripts a day? Why do MD's get paid triple than pharmacists in hospital settings considering how heavily they rely upon them?
 
nikei3ball said:
why do pharmacists only make 100k for year for the massive amounts of knowledge they must learn, retain, and use on a daily basis. considering the amount of liability that a pharmacist can have on for dispensing the wrong drug or missing a drug interaction because your too busy filling 500 scripts a day? Why do MD's get paid triple than pharmacists in hospital settings considering how heavily they rely upon them?
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One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money if you ask me. However, I know several pharmacists in retail and hospital settings that make much more than this; in fact, I know several who make more than double the figure you quote.

MD's make more because in the end, if things go wrong, they are the professionals that will be held liable.

Not much more complicated than that if you ask me.
 
Market forces have no logic or sense of who deserves what. Believe me, if CVS or some random hospital could get away with paying their pharmacists $30,000 a year, they would.
 
Priapism321 said:
One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money if you ask me. However, I know several pharmacists in retail and hospital settings that make much more than this; in fact, I know several who make more than double the figure you quote.

MD's make more because in the end, if things go wrong, they are the professionals that will be held liable.

Not much more complicated than that if you ask me.
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want to share how they made double that?
 
100k is quite a bit. At least, compared to everyone I know with 4 year english degrees who are working at Starbucks :laugh: Isn't the average household income in the US something like $40k?

I almost wonder though if the income will increase at all as schools move towards requiring BAs. More schooling means less students will be interested means higher demand, yes? Then again, it's not like the current BA-requiring colleges are having trouble filling up their seats 😀
 
There will always be people to fill seats in pharmacy schools as long as salaries start at six figs in today's money. Requiring a BS will just make everyone pay more money in the long run for school, really. If you want to keep wages up, start trying to figure out a way to stop all of these me-too pharmacy schools from opening up.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
There will always be people to fill seats in pharmacy schools as long as salaries start at six figs in today's money. Requiring a BS will just make everyone pay more money in the long run for school, really. If you want to keep wages up, start trying to figure out a way to stop all of these me-too pharmacy schools from opening up.
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The new versions of the NAPLEX will help with the job outlook and retain the shortage, at least for a few years.
 
MD's make 3x that much? Last I checked, avg salaries were moderately above pharmacists.

Stop comparing a 50 year old neurosurgeon/chair of a prestigious school's department with a 26 year old starting pharmacist. Your question is like asking a bunch of MD's why they only make $xxx when CEO's and CFO's make seven figures. The world isn't set up so that the most educated get the most money. PhD's fresh out of school make less than, say, BSN's fresh out of school (on average, massive generalization on my part).

Also, remember MD's must go through a longer residency period and a much harder licensing exam. Pharmacists take a comparably easier test and ramp up to six figures much sooner (assuming a PharmD grad doesn't go into a residency).
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Market forces have no logic or sense of who deserves what. Believe me, if CVS or some random hospital could get away with paying their pharmacists $30,000 a year, they would.
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Market forces have complete logic. The reason CVS does not pay their pharmacists $30,000.00 per year is the market will not let them.

Deserve is the problematic word in your statement. It depends on what you mean by deserve. In a capitalistic system, if the employer is willing to pay you a certain amount of money, you deserve it. Is A-Rod worth 20 million dollars per year? and is Tome Cruise worth 20 million dollars per movie, while a policeman is paid $50,000.00 per year? The answer is yes they are. That statement may be a reflection of the values or lack their of in our society, but is truth from an economic point of view.

At the present moment, there is a shortage of pharmacists. The number of pharmacies that are opening and the number of prescriptions being filled is rising and will continue to rise. The demand for pharmacists is high and the supply is low. This is why pharmacists are paid what they are. Will this last forever? I don't think so. Can I foresee a time in the future when pharmacists are forced to take pay cuts, I do. Since I do not own a crystal ball, I can't predict if this time is 10, 20, 30 or 50 years away.
 
Old Timer said:
Market forces have complete logic. The reason CVS does not pay their pharmacists $30,000.00 per year is the market will not let them.

Deserve is the problematic word in your statement. It depends on what you mean by deserve. In a capitalistic system, if the employer is willing to pay you a certain amount of money, you deserve it. Is A-Rod worth 20 million dollars per year? and is Tome Cruise worth 20 million dollars per movie, while a policeman is paid $50,000.00 per year? The answer is yes they are. That statement may be a reflection of the values or lack their of in our society, but is truth from an economic point of view.

At the present moment, there is a shortage of pharmacists. The number of pharmacies that are opening and the number of prescriptions being filled is rising and will continue to rise. The demand for pharmacists is high and the supply is low. This is why pharmacists are paid what they are. Will this last forever? I don't think so. Can I foresee a time in the future when pharmacists are forced to take pay cuts, I do. Since I do not own a crystal ball, I can't predict if this time is 10, 20, 30 or 50 years away.
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Forced to take paycuts? isnt that like a little, tiny , bit drastic??? Will school be sending out so many pharmacist that employers can actually even mention a paycut??
I think that the demand for pharmacist will exceed the supply , considering the amount of drugs that get in the market every year and the number of people that reach an age where a coctel of drugs is their everyday. Yes robots can speed up processing time, but pharmacist by law need to be there, then you probably will get a lot more pharmacies. Another thing, by the time that the number of pharmacist get close to level the shortage of them , the salaries probably will be about 20-40% higher than what it is today (95 000).
However, old timer you know a lot more abou the pharmacy business, i may be entirely wrong, but never heard about paycuts in this type of business.
 
I imagine that when he says pay cuts he is indicating that raises will stop occuring to keep pay in line or exceeding inflation. Effectively if you stop giving someone raises each year you are cutting their pay simply due to inflationary pressures.
 
Old Timer said:
Market forces have complete logic. The reason CVS does not pay their pharmacists $30,000.00 per year is the market will not let them.
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By logic I meant who should be compensated what by what they deserve. The market is very illogical. It's all based on power, not merit. Of course, I guess it depends on how you look at it.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
By logic I meant who should be compensated what by what they deserve. The market is very illogical. It's all based on power, not merit. Of course, I guess it depends on how you look at it.
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You will have to define merit. The market is 100% logical. Capitalism has no values except profit. Individuals have values (or at least they should) but I don't want to get into the whole God thing as that word usuallyt causes the whole place to go a twitter. Please tell what is illogical about the market. Be specific so I can understand you.

hyperioncu said:
Forced to take paycuts? isnt that like a little, tiny , bit drastic??? Will school be sending out so many pharmacist that employers can actually even mention a paycut??
Click to expand...

This is NOT going to happen tomorrow. It may not happen for 50 years. But at some point after CVS and Walgreens run out of places to put new stores and schools keep pumping out graduates this will stop. Look at air line pilots. They have taken drastic pay cuts over the last 10 years. That's why it's key to get into some kind of MTM or non dispensing aspect of pharmacy practice even if you practice in the community setting.
 
Old Timer said:
You will have to define merit. The market is 100% logical. Capitalism has no values except profit. Individuals have values (or at least they should) but I don't want to get into the whole God thing as that word usuallyt causes the whole place to go a twitter. Please tell what is illogical about the market. Be specific so I can understand you.



This is NOT going to happen tomorrow. It may not happen for 50 years. But at some point after CVS and Walgreens run out of places to put new stores and schools keep pumping out graduates this will stop. Look at air line pilots. They have taken drastic pay cuts over the last 10 years. That's why it's key to get into some kind of MTM or non dispensing aspect of pharmacy practice even if you practice in the community setting.
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i think that BCPS and MTM is the survival of the everyday pharmacist. the more you know the more you stand out in the anonymous crowd.
 
i'm asking this around for myself and those who are in the same shoes as mine. what i got so far is:

1. my friend, just got hired, = $47-49 in chain pharmacy in CA
2. hospital = $40s in MA

what do you think? more inputs = more greatly appreciate🙂
 
kbv said:
i'm asking this around for myself and those who are in the same shoes as mine. what i got so far is:

1. my friend, just got hired, = $47-49 in chain pharmacy in CA
2. hospital = $40s in MA

what do you think? more inputs = more greatly appreciate🙂
Click to expand...


Remember, hospital pharmacy has differentials for different shifts....afternoon, evening, night, and weekends.

Look at the benefits and vacation days also. Mid $40's for hospital, which I think is little low...but if you can find a nice job, should work well.

The chain pharmacy in CA seems extremely low... my old hospital in Northern Cal is paying $60 per hour for hospital staff pharmacist.
 
New grads in the Philadelphia area chain stores are about $50.00 per hour.

The rate is not important. Listen to what Epic is telling. My mother always told me that rich or poor it's nice to have money. But that saying only goes so far. It's more important to find a job you like. If you hate going to work each day, the extra money won't mean anything. If you love going to work each day, you won't miss the extra money....
 
kbv said:
i'm asking this around for myself and those who are in the same shoes as mine. what i got so far is:

1. my friend, just got hired, = $47-49 in chain pharmacy in CA
2. hospital = $40s in MA

what do you think? more inputs = more greatly appreciate🙂
Click to expand...

It's going to vary greatly by region. I talked to a pharmacist from South Florida who was going to relocate to Tampa. She didn't realize that she'd have to cut her pay down to $52 per hour. Hospitals in Tampa pay about $45 per hour.
 
That figure for CA is low, even for S CA which is lower than N CA. I don't have a clue about MA.

Rule of thumb is, benefits will be about 30% of your salary (not taken out by 30%, they are equivalent to 30% of your salary) if you're full time.

If you're per-diem, you should be paid about 10-12% higher than a full time person.

Every pharmacist in CA has overtime if >8hr/day or 40/wk (unless you have a signed agreement for 10 hr days - like OR, ICU, etc. Then you might have "other" arrangements - work for 15 days/month & get paid 16 or other variations).

Retail doesn't usually have differentials unless you work graveyard. Each & every graveyard pharmacist I know gets HUGE differentials & they deserve them!!!

In N CA, weekend diffs have gone away for the most part. But, you still get evening diff.

Benefits are a big, big thing - some only provide HMOs or just the physicians on the staff of the hospital you work - bad idea, IMO. You should look around for better choices.

Hospitals in N CA also provide anywhere from $1K - 1.5K in CE benefits/yr. This doesn't normally exist in retail. We used to get our memberships paid, thats gone away too.

I'm sure there's other stuff, this is just off the top of my head right now.
 
A Walgreens pharmacist told me they're starting people at $114k in Phoenix, AZ.
 
UCIMC in Orange, CA is hiring inpatient pharmacists per diem @ $62.75/hr, one yr clinical experience requirement is listed. Full staff positions @ $52.40/hr w/ full state benefits (one of the most generous packages in the US).
 
$54 and change here for staff retail positions.
 
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