Texas job market

[Mphuynh]

Good morning all. I just moved to Northern Texas (Fort Worth) from Florida and have been trying to find a Pharmacist position for a couple of weeks now with no luck. The only resources I have used are internet search engines along with Indeed and other job searching websites. I have applied to a few opened positions for companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, Costco, and CVS. Then I would walk in to the Pharmacies to follow up, only to be told that the job postings are posted by mistake. It's hard to believe there are ZERO openings at any major companies. Is anyone on here that may provide me with some guidance as I am not familiar with this market. Thank you in advance.

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[gwarm01]

DFW is a hard nut to crack. Stay diligent and apply to jobs you otherwise might not. Who knows, maybe a hospital will bring you on PRN? I would make it an absolute priority to secure a job before the 2018 class graduates.

If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to move to a new city without having a job lined up? That's risky in the best of times, but as a pharmacist in this market.. yikes.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Good morning all. I just moved to Northern Texas (Fort Worth) from Florida and have been trying to find a Pharmacist position for a couple of weeks now with no luck. The only resources I have used are internet search engines along with Indeed and other job searching websites. I have applied to a few opened positions for companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, Costco, and CVS. Then I would walk in to the Pharmacies to follow up, only to be told that the job postings are posted by mistake. It's hard to believe there are ZERO openings at any major companies. Is anyone on here that may provide me with some guidance as I am not familiar with this market. Thank you in advance.

You're probably going to have to drive to a nearby town for work.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Good morning all. I just moved to Northern Texas (Fort Worth) from Florida and have been trying to find a Pharmacist position for a couple of weeks now with no luck. The only resources I have used are internet search engines along with Indeed and other job searching websites. I have applied to a few opened positions for companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, Costco, and CVS. Then I would walk in to the Pharmacies to follow up, only to be told that the job postings are posted by mistake. It's hard to believe there are ZERO openings at any major companies. Is anyone on here that may provide me with some guidance as I am not familiar with this market. Thank you in advance.

It doesn't help having one of the newer schools of pharmacy being located right in Fort Worth. Keep searching the Web, there are openings there!!

 

[Kevin.Mero]

You're probably going to have to drive to a nearby town for work.

While that is always an option, as the market has gotten tighter, employers have gotten wise to applicants doing this. Be prepared for an employer to ask if you have any ties to the area. If you do not have any ties they are going to figure on you bolting as soon as something opens up closer to where you want to really be.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

While that is always an option, as the market has gotten tighter, employers have gotten wise to applicants doing this. Be prepared for an employer to ask if you have any ties to the area. If you do not have any ties they are going to figure on you bolting as soon as something opens up closer to where you want to really be.

Do the employers you work with not look at the contact info for applicants?

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Do the employers you work with not look at the contact info for applicants?

I'm guessing HR might but not sure about pharmacy, one would hope. But your current address would be a dead giveaway if your goal is a daily commute. The normal rule of thumb is to live within a reasonable commute of their location, so a max of maybe a 30 min drive. Anything beyond that just expect the employer to ask if you're planning to move to the area. If they see any red flags their not going to make the offer, they have been burned too may times before.

 

[Mphuynh]

DFW is a hard nut to crack. Stay diligent and apply to jobs you otherwise might not. Who knows, maybe a hospital will bring you on PRN? I would make it an absolute priority to secure a job before the 2018 class graduates.

If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to move to a new city without having a job lined up? That's risky in the best of times, but as a pharmacist in this market.. yikes.

My mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which prompted me to give up my CVS offer in Florida. I figured since I didn't have a difficult time finding a job in Florida, with the assumption that Texas is a much larger state with fewer Pharmacy schools than Florida, I would not have any problems finding a job over here. However, it appears that who you know trumps past experiences from my recent job hunt. None the less, I will continue the search and hopefully land something.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

My mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which prompted me to give up my CVS offer in Florida. I figured since I didn't have a difficult time finding a job in Florida, with the assumption that Texas is a much larger state with fewer Pharmacy schools than Florida, I would not have any problems finding a job over here. However, it appears that who you know trumps past experiences from my recent job hunt. None the less, I will continue the search and hopefully land something.

Sorry to hear about your mom, hope she gets well soon! Is there anyway to ask your CVS recruiter in FL to intervene in TX on your behalf? As you have already been offered a job with CVS maybe they can forego some of the preliminary steps. Assuming you're a new grad and were hired thru campus recruiting you can unfortunately assume that the TX schools are applying as much pressure on employers such as CVS to hire their new grads. Wish you well!!

 

[BenJammin]

Fort Worth used to prime real estate but that dried up when UNT graduated its first class. The entire metroplex is even more saturated than it was when I graduated.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Fort Worth used to prime real estate but that dried up when UNT graduated its first class. The entire metroplex is even more saturated than it was when I graduated.

The Pharmacist job market for new grads pretty much everywhere is going to continue to soften for at least the next 3-5 years. Unless you have a PGY1 or are graduating from a top 10 school.

 

[BenJammin]

Nobody really takes those rankings seriously. We turn down grads from "top 10 schools" all the time.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Nobody really takes those rankings seriously. We turn down grads from "top 10 schools" all the time.

I don't doubt you're turning down new grads from top 10 schools but I've been watching schools that previously had very high placement rates (in the high 90%) now down below 70%. I speak with new grads who are coming up on a year of looking for work and still not working. I'm aware of people who are very high up in the ranks of the pharmacy profession who are trying to get into the mainstream pharmacy press that new grads are having no difficulty finding jobs. Again these new grads not having difficulty are from the better schools but this group of people want to control the questions and the message. They want everyone to think that there are no problems finding work if you're a new grad. The problem is their data is is heavily biased and based on a very controlled group and not a cross-section of the real world. I'm also speaking with employers who are discouraging new grads from applying because they don't have jobs and don't want to reject them. The bottom line is that by the year 2020, any remaining shortage of pharmacists that was predicted back in the year 2000 will be met. The US generates approx. 9900 new pharmacist jobs annually yet we graduated 14,500+ new grad PharmD's in 2016. Add to that approx. 5k PGY1/2's, +/- 2K H1B Visa holders, and maybe 1% of Techs (3k) taking jobs that should be going to new grad PharmD's and you're looking at a total of nearly 25K each year, and rising, for 9900 jobs. That is the crux of the problem!!

 

[Momus]

I don't doubt you're turning down new grads from top 10 schools but I've been watching schools that previously had very high placement rates (in the high 90%) now down below 70%. I speak with new grads who are coming up on a year of looking for work and still not working. I'm aware of people who are very high up in the ranks of the pharmacy profession who are trying to get into the mainstream pharmacy press that new grads are having no difficulty finding jobs. Again these new grads not having difficulty are from the better schools but this group of people want to control the questions and the message. They want everyone to think that there are no problems finding work if you're a new grad. The problem is their data is is heavily biased and based on a very controlled group and not a cross-section of the real world. I'm also speaking with employers who are discouraging new grads from applying because they don't have jobs and don't want to reject them. The bottom line is that by the year 2020, any remaining shortage of pharmacists that was predicted back in the year 2000 will be met. The US generates approx. 9900 new pharmacist jobs annually yet we graduated 14,500+ new grad PharmD's in 2016. Add to that approx. 5k PGY1/2's, +/- 2K H1B Visa holders, and maybe 1% of Techs (3k) taking jobs that should be going to new grad PharmD's and you're looking at a total of nearly 25K each year, and rising, for 9900 jobs. That is the crux of the problem!!

It's OK everyone is guaranteed 6 sigure salaries after they graduate. This is an awesome profession. Never before they need pharmacists this bad. Tell all your tech, kids, and neighbours to go to pharmacy schools too. They are hiring as long as you have a pulse.





















































In Zimbabweans dollars 🙂

 

[Kevin.Mero]

It's OK everyone is guaranteed 6 sigure salaries after they graduate. This is an awesome profession. Never before they need pharmacists this bad. Tell all your tech, kids, and neighbours to go to pharmacy schools too. They are hiring as long as you have a pulse.
In Zimbabweans dollars 🙂

I've been watching those 6 figure salaries (in the US) begin to turn down a few years ago. Not only are we beginning to see new grad Pharmacist pay dropping to approx $80K annually (not widespread tho), some employers are keeping the hourly rate at $46 per hour but the work week is just 32 hours. I had one employer tell me they were considering laying off all of their pharmacists and re-hiring new ones at up to 20% less. They just didn't want to keep any of their former staff around who would poison the well.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I don't doubt you're turning down new grads from top 10 schools but I've been watching schools that previously had very high placement rates (in the high 90%) now down below 70%. I speak with new grads who are coming up on a year of looking for work and still not working. I'm aware of people who are very high up in the ranks of the pharmacy profession who are trying to get into the mainstream pharmacy press that new grads are having no difficulty finding jobs. Again these new grads not having difficulty are from the better schools but this group of people want to control the questions and the message. They want everyone to think that there are no problems finding work if you're a new grad. The problem is their data is is heavily biased and based on a very controlled group and not a cross-section of the real world. I'm also speaking with employers who are discouraging new grads from applying because they don't have jobs and don't want to reject them. The bottom line is that by the year 2020, any remaining shortage of pharmacists that was predicted back in the year 2000 will be met. The US generates approx. 9900 new pharmacist jobs annually yet we graduated 14,500+ new grad PharmD's in 2016. Add to that approx. 5k PGY1/2's, +/- 2K H1B Visa holders, and maybe 1% of Techs (3k) taking jobs that should be going to new grad PharmD's and you're looking at a total of nearly 25K each year, and rising, for 9900 jobs. That is the crux of the problem!!

Perhaps the reason is that "Top 10" schools used to attract higher quality applicants and therefore produced better & more competitive job seekers.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Perhaps the reason is that "Top 10" schools used to attract higher quality applicants and therefore produced better & more competitive job seekers.

Over all of the years I have been in the pharmacy employment biz I would agree with that. It seems that the more difficult the school to get accept too the higher the placement rate. Schools like the Univ of WI, Univ of MN, Univ of Houston all come to mind.

 

[aoselby]

Good morning all. I just moved to Northern Texas (Fort Worth) from Florida and have been trying to find a Pharmacist position for a couple of weeks now with no luck. The only resources I have used are internet search engines along with Indeed and other job searching websites. I have applied to a few opened positions for companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, Costco, and CVS. Then I would walk in to the Pharmacies to follow up, only to be told that the job postings are posted by mistake. It's hard to believe there are ZERO openings at any major companies. Is anyone on here that may provide me with some guidance as I am not familiar with this market. Thank you in advance.

I live in the Dallas area and I have been applying to all sorts of jobs throughout Texas in the last couple weeks and have had no luck so far considering moving to AZ,CO, or WA. Can’t stayed unemployed forever. Every pharmacist I talk to down here tells me how saturated it is. I do know someone who is looking for a couple pharmacists to work in Wichita Falls but I don’t know anything about that area?

 

[Kevin.Mero]

I live in the Dallas area and I have been applying to all sorts of jobs throughout Texas in the last couple weeks and have had no luck so far considering moving to AZ,CO, or WA. Can’t stayed unemployed forever. Every pharmacist I talk to down here tells me how saturated it is. I do know someone who is looking for a couple pharmacists to work in Wichita Falls but I don’t know anything about that area?

Unfortunately as someone who is in the pharmacy employment space I can assure you that moving to AZ, CO or WA will be no better. In fact AZ & CO will be worse, stay where you have contacts and expand your search. Getting a job in Wichita Falls will do you far more good than leaving the State and moving to where you have zero contacts and don't know the geography. Just my opinion!

 

[quickpic007]

Unfortunately as someone who is in the pharmacy employment space I can assure you that moving to AZ, CO or WA will be no better. In fact AZ & CO will be worse, stay where you have contacts and expand your search. Getting a job in Wichita Falls will do you far more good than leaving the State and moving to where you have zero contacts and don't know the geography. Just my opinion!

How is breaking in to hospital in TX and AZ? is iv certification helpful for a 5 year retail rph or just work connections ?

 

[Kevin.Mero]

How is breaking in to hospital in TX and AZ? is iv certification helpful for a 5 year retail rph or just work connections ?

Great question, thanks for asking! I would need more info to really help you but IMO your best bet is to try to get into the hospital outpatient side first then work your way in to the inpatient side. Merely having your IV Certification is not going to help you if you have spent the last 5 years only working in traditional retail. The job market for hospital outpatient is pretty hot so that's your best bet. What we're seeing on the old "bench" pharmacist inpatient jobs is as those people are retiring the vast majority of hospitals are choosing to hire well-trained Techs instead of new grad or experienced Pharmacists. Not in all cases but that is the trend line we're seeing. It's also why we're seeing the very high demand and rising Tech pay too!!

 

[Mphuynh]

The Pharmacist job market for new grads pretty much everywhere is going to continue to soften for at least the next 3-5 years. Unless you have a PGY1 or are graduating from a top 10 school.

I think the "top ten" list is helpful for landing a job while you're still in school and almost graduating. Which was what I felt help me land the jobs I did during school and Post grad as a grad intern. However, I find it has little influence when you're applying online and not face to face at career days.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

I think the "top ten" list is helpful for landing a job while you're still in school and almost graduating. Which was what I felt help me land the jobs I did during school and Post grad as a grad intern. However, I find it has little influence when you're applying online and not face to face at career days.

You raise a very good point and one I haven't given much thought too! As a new grad or attending a career fair, employers obviously know which school you're going to. But once out in the real world and/or after you land that first job, all employers seem to require in the job req is for you to have a BS, PharmD or be a Resident. I can't think of a job req that comes to mind that specify's an employer wanting a Pharmacist from a certain school. When I had my head hunting biz we would bring that fact to the attention of the recruiter (assuming the Pharmacist was coming from a Top 10 school) and definitely to the Pharmacy Director, but if you're applying thru the black-hole of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) unless the employer has added "schools desired" to the req it's never going to be known ... unless you go out of your way to "sell" that point in your cover letter. In today's crowded job market I would definitely recommend doing so!!

 

[ImmunoglobulinE]

So does anybody knows anywhere specifically rural area, suburban or urban area, where there is still a shortage of pharmacist. I know people will say rural area, but can we give specific examples it will be really helpful.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

So does anybody knows anywhere specifically rural area, suburban or urban area, where there is still a shortage of pharmacist. I know people will say rural area, but can we give specific examples it will be really helpful.

Without knowing more about the type of Pharmacist you are and what kind of job you are looking for, in general the greatest over supply of Pharmacists is in the northeast followed by the southeast. Generally speaking as you move west there are more open jobs. However it again depends upon what you are looking for such as the setting, what your experience has been and where was it gained, etc. I don't feel in today's job market you can just simply make the broad statement that the jobs are in the rural, suburban, or urban settings. Jobs are everywhere, but are you a match for the jobs that are open?

 

[ImmunoglobulinE]

Without knowing more about the type of Pharmacist you are and what kind of job you are looking for, in general the greatest over supply of Pharmacists is in the northeast followed by the southeast. Generally speaking as you move west there are more open jobs. However it again depends upon what you are looking for such as the setting, what your experience has been and where was it gained, etc. I don't feel in today's job market you can just simply make the broad statement that the jobs are in the rural, suburban, or urban settings. Jobs are everywhere, but are you a match for the jobs that are open?

I am specifically looking for staff pharmacist jobs in a hospital setting / home infusion setting. I am currently still in my last year of pharmacy school, but if I don't get a residency, I'm willing to move to anywhere I can get hired into an inpatient setting coming straight from school. I know this time last year Northern California had a decent amount of job opening both retail and hospital setting but I do not know if that is the case this year.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

I am specifically looking for staff pharmacist jobs in a hospital setting / home infusion setting. I am currently still in my last year of pharmacy school, but if I don't get a residency, I'm willing to move to anywhere I can get hired into an inpatient setting coming straight from school. I know this time last year Northern California had a decent amount of job opening both retail and hospital setting but I do not know if that is the case this year.

CA is an odd market. I have been asking many ppl what is going in your State due to the high # of jobs and I'm getting mixed responses. Aside from that I would do everything you can to match on a Residency ... everything you can! Assuming you don't match, and assuming you have good inpatient hospital/home infusion experience outside of your IPPE/APPE's and can't get hired on at one of your internship sites, then look to big employers like Sutter, Dignity, St Joseph, Sharp, Adventist, or the UC system hospitals. I would also focus on that San Joaquin River Valley. Everything from Stockton on Hwy 99 south to Bakersfield. Possibly north of Sacramento like Susanville, Redding, Eureka too. The Napa area usually has a difficult time filling openings but after the recent fires housing is in worse supply and the cost of living is very high. Hope this helps!

 

[Wickett]

How is breaking in to hospital in TX and AZ? is iv certification helpful for a 5 year retail rph or just work connections ?

In Texas I know several people that went from retail to hospital. One had a connection/family friend. The others started with positions hard to staff (prn night shift type openings). One of those people already transitioned to a full time day shift when an opening came up. It can still be done, but a lot of times you'll have to start out in a crappy position/shift and prove yourself to get something more solid.

 

[lord999]

Over all of the years I have been in the pharmacy employment biz I would agree with that. It seems that the more difficult the school to get accept too the higher the placement rate. Schools like the Univ of WI, Univ of MN, Univ of Houston all come to mind.

Let's just say though in the cases of the Big 10 (especially Wisc and UMN and I'd personally put NDSU and Purdue in that category), there's strong informal networks involved as well that I personally benefited from (and benefit) in terms of placement. It's not something that's as big a factor in retail (except for NDSU who makes it a point to keep relations with the Big 3), but for institutional and graduate school placement, they are genuinely interested in continuing to put in resources to career placement even despite the budget situations and there's "all things being equal" favortism for it. Also, not only are the schools more selective, we generally have a better cohort in application than some other schools which alongside the usual attitude that those schools are favored by the applicants (Wisc, UMN, and Purdue are rarely beneath the second choice for the applicants and many consider that their first or reach school), it's a situation of the haves. Of the Big 10, I personally respect Purdue the most for producing even-keeled graduates, and for specialties, Wisc and UMN do a good job.

And since some of those high up people happen to be UMN graduates, let me also say that there's no better school at talking up the Minnesota Nice picture despite it approaching subzero from the cooling pharmacist market...

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Let's just say though in the cases of the Big 10 (especially Wisc and UMN and I'd personally put NDSU and Purdue in that category), there's strong informal networks involved as well that I personally benefited from (and benefit) in terms of placement. It's not something that's as big a factor in retail (except for NDSU who makes it a point to keep relations with the Big 3), but for institutional and graduate school placement, they are genuinely interested in continuing to put in resources to career placement even despite the budget situations and there's "all things being equal" favortism for it. Also, not only are the schools more selective, we generally have a better cohort in application than some other schools which alongside the usual attitude that those schools are favored by the applicants (Wisc, UMN, and Purdue are rarely beneath the second choice for the applicants and many consider that their first or reach school), it's a situation of the haves. Of the Big 10, I personally respect Purdue the most for producing even-keeled graduates, and for specialties, Wisc and UMN do a good job.

And since some of those high up people happen to be UMN graduates, let me also say that there's no better school at talking up the Minnesota Nice picture despite it approaching subzero from the cooling pharmacist market...

Please forgive me, how could I have left out NDSU, Purdue and of course the Univ of MI, all great schools, great NAPLEX scores too! Re your last comment "... Minnesota Nice picture despite it approaching subzero from the cooling pharmacist market... " I hate to assume but are you saying that the employment prospects for UMN grads is cooling, or there is a cooling in general for Pharmacists in the Twin Cities and/or the US as a whole? Thanks much!!

 

[MV777]

Anyone have an idea how the Houston area is for pharmacists right now?

 

[ImmunoglobulinE]

Anyone have an idea how the Houston area is for pharmacists right now?

Terrible don’t come here unless you already have an offer

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Anyone have an idea how the Houston area is for pharmacists right now?

Any area in Texas with a population over 50,000 is going to be next to impossible to get into unless you want to do relief work or work in the cartel zone.

 

[Zynx]

Search Baylor Scott & White's website for pharmacist job openings within Texas.