Saturation in South Florida.. worse than expected

Started by ancienbon
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ancienbon

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Two friends of mine have been unable to land a job in south Florida. They have been looking for almost 2 years . The market is really tough! Most pharmacists that i spoke to fear that if they ever lose their job, it would be difficult to find another one . The chains know how bad the market it. Having floated for a month, i have seen how common it is to see rphs stay late over ( 2 hours) to help improve metrics. I know one pic who comes to her store every day!
I feel like there is a gathering storm looming over the horizon.It is getting worse. I am definitely thinking about others careers .
 
Saturation is bad, but if you can differentiate yourself you can find a job pretty quick. SoFl is a unique area because of the lg amt of ppl that speak spanish. If you can speak spanish, you'll find a job in no time. If not tough luck, might as well move far far away.
 
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The hospital market is frightening in South Florida. A handful of entities own the vast majority of hospitals. I once worked with a pharmacist who was worried because of new management who made vaguely threatening comments to the entire staff. If she lost her job, there were no other hospitals in the area that weren't under the same flag.

Imagine a boss who will smile as they enthusiastically tell the entire staff that their jobs may someday be jeopardized if they don't get board certified.
 
It’s been horrid since 2011. In 2014 I applied to a chain and that DM suggested I speak with so n so because they moved to Harlingen, TX from Miami. Come to find out it was my old preceptor who used to work in a Miami hospital(I forget which one).
 
They should make a thread of places that are NOT saturated. That would be far more helpful..
 
Mambo#5 said:
Alaska
Northern California
Upstate New York
North Dakota
South Dakota
Puerto Rico
Mexico Beach, Florida
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I don't think Mexico Beach needs pharmacists cause their ain't nobody or anything left. Really want to put an LOL at the end of this but I know all the snowflakes on here will get their underwear in a wad.
 
ancienbon said:
I feel like there is a gathering storm looming over the horizon.It is getting worse. I am definitely thinking about others careers .
Click to expand...
Many pharmacists are talking about doing something else or talking about switching careers. But most can’t put their money where there mouth is because they’re trying to pay off their loans.

Also, they don’t seem to be too swift, or have many critical thinking skills. I mean why does it take two or more years to come to the conclusion that if you can’t find a pharmacist position you must move to get a position or just do something else (i.e. develop a plan to do something else (also requires critical thinking)).

And, if you have loans. Suck it up and move to Barrow, AK a few years (watch for the next opening to be coming soon). Lol
 
ancienbon said:
Two friends of mine have been unable to land a job in south Florida. They have been looking for almost 2 years . The market is really tough! Most pharmacists that i spoke to fear that if they ever lose their job, it would be difficult to find another one . The chains know how bad the market it. Having floated for a month, i have seen how common it is to see rphs stay late over ( 2 hours) to help improve metrics. I know one pic who comes to her store every day!
I feel like there is a gathering storm looming over the horizon.It is getting worse. I am definitely thinking about others careers .
Click to expand...

Staying put in one area for 2 years with no luck seems idiotic with any career...

With winter around the corner they should apply near the Canadian border n alaska.
 
Chrish said:
They should make a thread of places that are NOT saturated. That would be far more helpful..
Click to expand...
This too requires critical thinking on how to figure this out. All you have to do is search the retail employment openings. Guess what.... the areas that have a ton of listings in retail....
1. Could possibly be areas in need of retail.
2. Have a high turn over rate. In most cases this is due to poor staffing a not such a great work environment.

So what do you do? You get 1 or 2 or 3 different state licenses. After you get them you prepare for the job.

The first type of job (1.) will most likely be remote. To prepare yourself cut off cable as well as your cell phone. Practice staying inside most of the time and finding something to do.

The second type of job (2.) will probably be very physical and stressful. To fully prepare work out at the gym. Practice running long distances on the treadmill, start power lifting and eating right. On the side take up yoga and learn to meditate. Develop several strategies for what to do when asked to do 5 things at the same time. Develop stress relieving techniques such as deep breathing.

That’s it. Your good as gold. Oh and one last thing. Take a class on or read up on goal setting. Write a few goals down on paper and learn to work towards them. You will need that skill in this field.
 
Mambo#5 said:
This too requires critical thinking on how to figure this out. All you have to do is search the retail employment openings. Guess what.... the areas that have a ton of listings in retail....
1. Could possibly be areas in need of retail.
2. Have a high turn over rate. In most cases this is due to poor staffing a not such a great work environment.

So what do you do? You get 1 or 2 or 3 different state licenses. After you get them you prepare for the job.

The first type of job (1.) will most likely be remote. To prepare yourself cut off cable as well as your cell phone. Practice staying inside most of the time and finding something to do.

The second type of job (2.) will probably be very physical and stressful. To fully prepare work out at the gym. Practice running long distances on the treadmill, start power lifting and eating right. On the side take up yoga and learn to meditate. Develop several strategies for what to do when asked to do 5 things at the same time. Develop stress relieving techniques such as deep breathing.

That’s it. Your good as gold. Oh and one last thing. Take a class on or read up on goal setting. Write a few goals down on paper and learn to work towards them. You will need that skill in this field.
Click to expand...

Work to live or live to work, that is the question
 
ancienbon said:
Two friends of mine have been unable to land a job in south Florida. They have been looking for almost 2 years .
Click to expand...

Have they been completely unemployed all this time, or have they worked in another job? After 2 years (even before then), even if someone did want to hire them as a pharmacist, they wouldn't, because they would be leery about why they hadn't worked for 2 years. The hiring person will assume there must be a problem why nobody else would hire them.

Always be doing something, either go back to school or work a job, any job. 3 - 6 months is fine...maybe 9 months tops. The longer someone is out of work, the less likely they will be to find employment (this is true of all fields.)
 
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Just out of curiosity I took a look at Florida pharmacist job listings on Employ Florida. Although I realize job listings can be misleading, I quickly found over 50 pharmacist job listings posted in the past 90 days that seem worth looking at more closely. @ancienbon, how many jobs did your two friends actually apply to? Did they consider contract/temp/floater/prn/part-time pharmacist jobs, or did they only focus on full-time? Did they look at retail only, or did they consider applying to jobs in other sectors? Are they US citizens, and if so, did they consider working for the government (either state or federal) or military? Was there a minimum salary they were aiming for, or were they willing to take a pharmacist job that paid in the 70k-80k range? Did either of them apply to residency or fellowship programs?

Undoubtedly, there is a glut of pharmacists and getting a pharmacist job is hard. It requires applying to several jobs and compromising (on location, salary, and work conditions). Working conditions and salaries are only going to get worse before they get better, if they ever do get better, especially for entry-level positions. Getting postgraduate training is highly recommended in order to expand job opportunities in pharmacy. Nonetheless, what exactly does it mean that you have two friends who were looking for jobs for two years and couldn't find a job? I think if you could provide some more details on their process it would be helpful to the folks on this board.
 
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beautifulrobot said:
Just out of curiosity I took a look at Florida pharmacist job listings on ***REDACTED BY MODS*** Although I realize job listings can be misleading, I quickly found over 50 pharmacist job listings posted in the past 90 days that seem worth looking at more closely. @ancienbon, how many jobs did your two friends actually apply to? Did they consider contract/temp/floater/prn/part-time pharmacist jobs, or did they only focus on full-time? Did they look at retail only, or did they consider applying to jobs in other sectors? Are they US citizens, and if so, did they consider working for the government (either state or federal) or military? Was there a minimum salary they were aiming for, or were they willing to take a pharmacist job that paid in the 70k-80k range? Did either of them apply to residency or fellowship programs?

Undoubtedly, there is a glut of pharmacists and getting a pharmacist job is hard. It requires applying to several jobs and compromising (on location, salary, and work conditions). Working conditions and salaries are only going to get worse before they get better, if they ever do get better, especially for entry-level positions. Getting postgraduate training is highly recommended in order to expand job opportunities in pharmacy. Nonetheless, what exactly does it mean that you have two friends who were looking for jobs for two years and couldn't find a job? I think if you could provide some more details on their process it would be helpful to the folks on this board.
Click to expand...
It’s unbelievably bad. Those job postings are misleading. Many of the postings have been there for years. Also recently I noticed one chain posted a slew of jobs. I believe they’re part time or as needed, or just a listing. I applied to about 300 in 2011. And Walgreens in Orlando at that time had a waiting list for pharmacists when you called district to inquire. You don’t understand just how bad it is until you yourself start applying.
 
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If you're a new grad still looking for work after a year or someone who was on hiatus for a lengthy period of time (like raising kids), you're ****ed for any RPH job no matter where you're looking. There is zero incentive for any hiring manager to look at those who've been out of work regardless of career.
 
Mambo#5 said:
It’s unbelievably bad. Those job postings are misleading. Many of the postings have been there for years. Also recently I noticed one chain posted a slew of jobs. I believe they’re part time or as needed, or just a listing. I applied to about 300 in 2011. And Walgreens in Orlando at that time had a waiting list for pharmacists when you called district to inquire. You don’t understand just how bad it is until you yourself start applying.
Click to expand...

I see. I was just trying to get a better idea of just how hard it is to find a job, and what resources people are utilizing to find a job. I agree if you don't have a job lined up before graduating or within three months of graduating/getting licensed, you are going to have a much steeper hill to climb in terms of getting a job at all. It's better to at least be with a contracting / temp staffing company than to be completely unemployed, and I was wondering how hard it is to get work with companies like RxRelief or Pharmstaff these days, and in Florida specifically. It's also a good reason to consider doing residency, since it at least buys you some more time to look for jobs while already licensed and while currently employed.

Again, not questioning that saturation exists, just trying to get a better picture of what failed attempts at finding a job look like.
 
beautifulrobot said:
Just out of curiosity I took a look at Florida pharmacist job listings on ***REDACTED BY MODS***Although I realize job listings can be misleading, I quickly found over 50 pharmacist job listings posted in the past 90 days that seem worth looking at more closely. @ancienbon, how many jobs did your two friends actually apply to? Did they consider contract/temp/floater/prn/part-time pharmacist jobs, or did they only focus on full-time? Did they look at retail only, or did they consider applying to jobs in other sectors? Are they US citizens, and if so, did they consider working for the government (either state or federal) or military? Was there a minimum salary they were aiming for, or were they willing to take a pharmacist job that paid in the 70k-80k range? Did either of them apply to residency or fellowship programs?

Undoubtedly, there is a glut of pharmacists and getting a pharmacist job is hard. It requires applying to several jobs and compromising (on location, salary, and work conditions). Working conditions and salaries are only going to get worse before they get better, if they ever do get better, especially for entry-level positions. Getting postgraduate training is highly recommended in order to expand job opportunities in pharmacy. Nonetheless, what exactly does it mean that you have two friends who were looking for jobs for two years and couldn't find a job? I think if you could provide some more details on their process it would be helpful to the folks on this board.
Click to expand...

You think even 80% of those job posting are real postings and havn't been filled already? come on man. don't be naive.
 
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Put a fork in retail it is done. If you are employed for 10+ years you are in the last job you will ever have working the bench and will be forced out in the next 2 years. New grads will be counting the days until their loans are paid and until they are "free" (indentured servitude?) But hey who can you get mad at? It was awesome and I got mutha F N paid while I did it for the last 20 yrs! Good luck to all
 
I think saturation is bad everywhere. My friend has been looking for a clinical position since December of last year after her 2 years of residency yet couldn't find anything so decided to look into what ever she can find at this point. The problem is no one is willing to hire her at retail since they know she's going to bolt as soon as she finds a clinical position... sucks.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
I think saturation is bad everywhere. My friend has been looking for a clinical position since December of last year after her 2 years of residency yet couldn't find anything so decided to look into what ever she can find at this point. The problem is no one is willing to hire her at retail since they know she's going to bolt as soon as she finds a clinical position... sucks.
Click to expand...
Exactly. MOST (not all) hiring managers in big retail are POS as far as workplace environments go so anyone with options is deemed unmanageable. Better to leave off the residency and seem more desperate. Sad but true.
 
beautifulrobot said:
Just out of curiosity I took a look at Florida pharmacist job listings on***REDACTED BY MODS***Although I realize job listings can be misleading, I quickly found over 50 pharmacist job listings posted in the past 90 days that seem worth looking at more closely. @ancienbon, how many jobs did your two friends actually apply to? Did they consider contract/temp/floater/prn/part-time pharmacist jobs, or did they only focus on full-time? Did they look at retail only, or did they consider applying to jobs in other sectors? Are they US citizens, and if so, did they consider working for the government (either state or federal) or military? Was there a minimum salary they were aiming for, or were they willing to take a pharmacist job that paid in the 70k-80k range? Did either of them apply to residency or fellowship programs?

Undoubtedly, there is a glut of pharmacists and getting a pharmacist job is hard. It requires applying to several jobs and compromising (on location, salary, and work conditions). Working conditions and salaries are only going to get worse before they get better, if they ever do get better, especially for entry-level positions. Getting postgraduate training is highly recommended in order to expand job opportunities in pharmacy. Nonetheless, what exactly does it mean that you have two friends who were looking for jobs for two years and couldn't find a job? I think if you could provide some more details on their process it would be helpful to the folks on this board.
Click to expand...

You're such a sweet summer child
 
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VA77 said:
I don't think Mexico Beach needs pharmacists cause their ain't nobody or anything left. Really want to put an LOL at the end of this but I know all the snowflakes on here will get their underwear in a wad.
Click to expand...
not to make light of the situation. mexico beach will need pharmacist. There was a memo i think about 6 months ago. some key west pharmacy was offering a 10K bonus plus moving expenses for any pharmacist willing to relocate there to work after Irma.
10k offer is pretty good considering the saturation.
 
VictorOfHungerGames said:
I think saturation is bad everywhere. My friend has been looking for a clinical position since December of last year after her 2 years of residency yet couldn't find anything so decided to look into what ever she can find at this point. The problem is no one is willing to hire her at retail since they know she's going to bolt as soon as she finds a clinical position... sucks.
Click to expand...
So she is 2 years post school and still no job? did she default on her loans or is her parents paying the loan payments or is she like working fast food or something?

thanks (asking for a friend)
 
Bubba98 said:
Put a fork in retail it is done. If you are employed for 10+ years you are in the last job you will ever have working the bench and will be forced out in the next 2 years. New grads will be counting the days until their loans are paid and until they are "free" (indentured servitude?) But hey who can you get mad at? It was awesome and I got mutha F N paid while I did it for the last 20 yrs! Good luck to all
Click to expand...
glad to hear someone that won the game! there r gonna be a lot of losers in the next decade. I was thinking about going into the custom coffin biz. Going to make a lot of custom coffins with PharmD stuff on them like pills logos and stuff to sell to parents of suicided pharmDs. Or is that black humor going to far?
 
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gwarm01 said:
Imagine a boss who will smile as they enthusiastically tell the entire staff that their jobs may someday be jeopardized if they don't get board certified.
Click to expand...

I heard they did that at one of the Memorials down here, and that was like in 2011. You either had a residency or got board certified or else you were out.

VictorOfHungerGames said:
I think saturation is bad everywhere. My friend has been looking for a clinical position since December of last year after her 2 years of residency yet couldn't find anything so decided to look into what ever she can find at this point. The problem is no one is willing to hire her at retail since they know she's going to bolt as soon as she finds a clinical position... sucks.
Click to expand...

What was her PGY2 in? I heard of PGY1 who cannot land a job but never PGY2 (not necessarily the kind of jobs they wanted but they all got something)
 
2 years?

Reminds me of that one chick who's relationships keep failing. It comes to a point where the problem is simply you. Either put out, lower your standards, or find a different career path.
 
Modest_anteater said:
So she is 2 years post school and still no job? did she default on her loans or is her parents paying the loan payments or is she like working fast food or something?

thanks (asking for a friend)
Click to expand...
This is common. Everytime you hear about new grad, it's followed by Do you know where he/she can get a job?
BTW love the stats. Pharmacy school should have that stat on the applications.
 
Lnsean said:
You're such a sweet summer child
Click to expand...

Hah, maybe. I realize online job postings are more miss than hit. Nonetheless, I just find it hard to believe that someone would earnestly be looking for a job for 2 years and unable to find one. They either aren't looking hard enough or are limiting themselves too much.

Eta: or just terrible at writing resumes and interviewing - but there are ways to fix that if youre determined enough.
 
beautifulrobot said:
Hah, maybe. I realize online job postings are more miss than hit. Nonetheless, I just find it hard to believe that someone would earnestly be looking for a job for 2 years and unable to find one. They either aren't looking hard enough or are limiting themselves too much.

Eta: or just terrible at writing resumes and interviewing - but there are ways to fix that if youre determined enough.
Click to expand...

I agree. I'm in the camp that thinks this whole doom and gloom thing is overblown. Yes working conditions have deteriorated, but everyone I know has a job.
 
beautifulrobot said:
Just out of curiosity I took a look at Florida pharmacist job listings on Employ Florida. Although I realize job listings can be misleading, I quickly found over 50 pharmacist job listings posted in the past 90 days that seem worth looking at more closely. @ancienbon, how many jobs did your two friends actually apply to? Did they consider contract/temp/floater/prn/part-time pharmacist jobs, or did they only focus on full-time? Did they look at retail only, or did they consider applying to jobs in other sectors? Are they US citizens, and if so, did they consider working for the government (either state or federal) or military? Was there a minimum salary they were aiming for, or were they willing to take a pharmacist job that paid in the 70k-80k range? Did either of them apply to residency or fellowship programs?

Undoubtedly, there is a glut of pharmacists and getting a pharmacist job is hard. It requires applying to several jobs and compromising (on location, salary, and work conditions). Working conditions and salaries are only going to get worse before they get better, if they ever do get better, especially for entry-level positions. Getting postgraduate training is highly recommended in order to expand job opportunities in pharmacy. Nonetheless, what exactly does it mean that you have two friends who were looking for jobs for two years and couldn't find a job? I think if you could provide some more details on their process it would be helpful to the folks on this board.
Click to expand...

One of them is currently working for Walgreens as a part timer./prn. He is not getting hours. He has over 10 years of experience as a pharmacist. He has a kid, and bought a house 4 years ago. He does not want to move.
 
beautifulrobot said:
Hah, maybe. I realize online job postings are more miss than hit. Nonetheless, I just find it hard to believe that someone would earnestly be looking for a job for 2 years and unable to find one. They either aren't looking hard enough or are limiting themselves too much.

Eta: or just terrible at writing resumes and interviewing - but there are ways to fix that if youre determined enough.
Click to expand...

I have two friends who are also looking for jobs for the past 2.5 years since graduation. It’s not all about interview skills, luck plays an important role. I spent 1.5 years applying to 60+ Jobs on LinkedIn, finally landed a new pharmacist position. So lucky, right? 😛
 
ancienbon said:
Two friends of mine have been unable to land a job in south Florida. They have been looking for almost 2 years . The market is really tough! Most pharmacists that i spoke to fear that if they ever lose their job, it would be difficult to find another one . The chains know how bad the market it. Having floated for a month, i have seen how common it is to see rphs stay late over ( 2 hours) to help improve metrics. I know one pic who comes to her store every day!
I feel like there is a gathering storm looming over the horizon.It is getting worse. I am definitely thinking about others careers .
Click to expand...


Don’t ever forget: if you do land a job in South Florida you will be treated like $&@“......lack of ethics and certain cozy relationships (google it) means that very soon after being hired you may (probably will) be forced to actions which put your integrity and your license at risk.... (my opinion, I know nothing, no accusations, never saw nor heard nor smelled any such thing....probably will never nor could ever happen, paranoid delusions maybe....)
 
ancienbon said:
Two friends of mine have been unable to land a job in south Florida. They have been looking for almost 2 years . The market is really tough! Most pharmacists that i spoke to fear that if they ever lose their job, it would be difficult to find another one . The chains know how bad the market it. Having floated for a month, i have seen how common it is to see rphs stay late over ( 2 hours) to help improve metrics. I know one pic who comes to her store every day!
I feel like there is a gathering storm looming over the horizon.It is getting worse. I am definitely thinking about others careers .
Click to expand...

I left South Florida early 2017. I couldn't stand working for a certain grocery chain and just threw in the towel after 4 years! I looked for 3 months, realized it was a joke and got licensed in Colorado, found a job with WM fast. As soon as i moved here, they began restructuring!! LMAO... the very reason i bailed Florida. That said, I would say south Florida is the WORST place to try and land a job. Regardless of what language you speak. There are like 7-10 schools in Florida. Just get licensed immediately in a rural state and get out. You MAY have a chance, but even by me its getting saturated....I think its over. lol
 
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UCSF2021 said:
Saturation is bad, but if you can differentiate yourself you can find a job pretty quick. SoFl is a unique area because of the lg amt of ppl that speak spanish. If you can speak spanish, you'll find a job in no time. If not tough luck, might as well move far far away.
Click to expand...

This is wrong, dont listen. Just get out to another state more rural. I did, it worked. May not be perfect, but you need to do what you need to do. There are plenty of Spanish speaking pharmacists to take care of south Florida...its practically all Spanish down there man!
 
Mambo#5 said:
It’s unbelievably bad. Those job postings are misleading. Many of the postings have been there for years. Also recently I noticed one chain posted a slew of jobs. I believe they’re part time or as needed, or just a listing. I applied to about 300 in 2011. And Walgreens in Orlando at that time had a waiting list for pharmacists when you called district to inquire. You don’t understand just how bad it is until you yourself start applying.
Click to expand...

He's got a point, I did this routine for 3 months in Florida, gave up, left for Colorado, found something,. you gotta know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run..lol
 
Bubba98 said:
Put a fork in retail it is done. If you are employed for 10+ years you are in the last job you will ever have working the bench and will be forced out in the next 2 years. New grads will be counting the days until their loans are paid and until they are "free" (indentured servitude?) But hey who can you get mad at? It was awesome and I got mutha F N paid while I did it for the last 20 yrs! Good luck to all
Click to expand...

Good for you Bubba , really, you guys got lucky. that said, i say don't take these loans too seriously. They want income based repayment? teach them a lesson so they stop loaning money to every kid who wants to be a pharmacist. Work what you can, keep it light, survive, enjoy life, and give them their little 150 bucks once monthly for your 250,000 loan...LMAO...Pay what you can, do what you can, quality of life is more important. They wont put you in jail man, your paying right? lol
 
ancienbon said:
One of them is currently working for Walgreens as a part timer./prn. He is not getting hours. He has over 10 years of experience as a pharmacist. He has a kid, and bought a house 4 years ago. He does not want to move.
Click to expand...

See now that just stinks....i had a guy move here to colorado from Florida and within 3 months they cut his hours from 72 to 48/2 weeks.....he just closed on a house with his wife and kid. Personally, My wife and I take it a day at a time and SAVE everything. I landed a manager gig at WM a while back, and have just been stockpiling money until i get pushed out, or pushed so hard i quit. We will head back to Florida and buy a house and figure things out after that. Probably never work in this arena again.
 
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