think twice before becoming a pharmacist

[jimmyjimmy02453]

just got a msg from my employer walgreens that they will freeze pharmacist's raise this year because the supply is way too much than demand. As a pharmacy professor said at school that contraception of pharmacy education failed

if you try to go to pharmacy school, think twice.

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[Lnsean]

people won't stop going to pharmacy school. what will happen is the the profession will start to appeal less to those that are more capable and ambitious and the new class profile will be from sub-par applicants. the caliber of future pharmacists will decrease dramatically and this will also push salary and working conditions lower (think law degrees and probably alot of nursing programs these days).

 

[CountBy5s]

Our DMs presented this freeze as more of a local issue than a national issue. I understand that this is a national freeze, correct?

What about the restructuring of store tier ranks? Not counting controls into scripts volume etc? How will this effect rph/ tech hour caps? I see it as a way to reduce payroll and expect the same level of metrics with less man power.

Today I reviewed and verified/bagged over 300 RX's as a single pharmacist, 15 immunizations and countless other distractions. This leaves me to ask. How many scripts is too many for one pharmacist/shift?

 

[steveysmith54]

Majority of this forum are pharmacists. You are preaching to the quire... having said that, this is a major tangible indication of saturation that's very hard to spin even for Deans of pharmacy schools

 

[quickpic007]

Our DMs presented this freeze as more of a local issue than a national issue. I understand that this is a national freeze, correct?

What about the restructuring of store tier ranks? Not counting controls into scripts volume etc? How will this effect rph/ tech hour caps? I see it as a way to reduce payroll and expect the same level of metrics with less man power.

Today I reviewed and verified/bagged over 300 RX's as a single pharmacist, 15 immunizations and countless other distractions. This leaves me to ask. How many scripts is too many for one pharmacist/shift?

not being a full-on jerk but 300 in a solo 12 or 13 hour shift at cvs is like a pipe dream. day shift open spots when i quit 400 Minimum per day...

 

[Abby Atwood]

This forum shows that there are places with high volume and very little help; however, my experience in pharmacy as an intern had one pharmacist filling about 100-150 scripts in 8-10 hours. (less for independents)

I don't work in retail anymore, but I can't imagine that much has changed in less than a year.

Addendum: I rotated with, worked at, or completed IPPE visits at Walmart, Walgreens, Safeway, and an independent

 

[297point1]

Majority of this forum are pharmacists. You are preaching to the quire...

Quire? No need to resort to name calling

 

[Amphetamine Salts]

don't go to pharmacy school. you will not become a millionaire or make bank doing this profession. you will go into debt. making money comes with having a brain and innovation. not a little star and thumbs up next to your name on a piece of a paper that says PHARMD

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

don't go to pharmacy school. you will not become a millionaire or make bank doing this profession. you will go into debt. making money comes with having a brain and innovation. not a little star and thumbs up next to your name on a piece of a paper that says PHARMD

... uhh... if you're making 6 figures from your mid 20s until your 70s and you don't end up being worth at least $1mil, you did something horribly wrong.

 

[WisNeuro]

... uhh... if you're making 6 figures from your mid 20s until your 70s and you don't end up being worth at least $1mil, you did something horribly wrong.

Heck, if you don't get there by some time in your 50's, you did something very wrong.

 

[Amphetamine Salts]

... uhh... if you're making 6 figures from your mid 20s until your 70s and you don't end up being worth at least $1mil, you did something horribly wrong.

sure, that would take about 50 years of working full time as a pharmacist. it's possible to generate a net worth of at least 1 mil by your 30s if you're persistent in whatever you're doing. from real estate, making an app, investing, marketing on the internet, etc. there's tons of ways to make a million bucks besides slave away at cvs for 50 years lol come on man

 

[WisNeuro]

sure, that would take about 50 years of working full time as a pharmacist. it's possible to generate a net worth of at least 1 mil by your 30s if you're persistent in whatever you're doing. from real estate, making an app, investing, marketing on the internet, etc. there's tons of way to make a million bucks besides slave away at cvs for 50 years lol come on man

I think Ceti was more hinting at that if you just participate in a 401k plan, maybe contribute to your own IRA, you don't really have to do anything to get to a million. Average market returns will do it for you. simple investments will make you a millionaire, if you want to retire early and be fairly wealthy, you'll need to go the extra mile. But, the only thing keeping someone with a six figure income from being a millionaire is poor financial decisions and/or inaction.

 

[Amphetamine Salts]

i haven't thought about that, thanks for that clarification

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I think Ceti was more hinting at that if you just participate in a 401k plan, maybe contribute to your own IRA, you don't really have to do anything to get to a million. Average market returns will do it for you. simple investments will make you a millionaire, if you want to retire early and be fairly wealthy, you'll need to go the extra mile. But, the only thing keeping someone with a six figure income from being a millionaire is poor financial decisions and/or inaction.

Precisely. The math is waaayy off in Amph.Salt's post

 

[DrVader]

just got a msg from my employer walgreens that they will freeze pharmacist's raise this year because the supply is way too much than demand. As a pharmacy professor said at school that contraception of pharmacy education failed

if you try to go to pharmacy school, think twice.

This is the beginning of your journey to the dark side. Soon the chains will start offering lower wages. 120k for a starting salary for 6 years is too good of a deal to pass up. I once told a pre-pharmacy student that some studies show that unemployment among graduates in 2018 will be 20%. His response? He will be in the 80%. Their is a lot of cutting to do before people are turned off from pharmacy. I could easily see the wage dropping to 80k to 90k in 5 years. If the chains continue to merge then they can pay whatever they want. Colleges sell students a dream, whether it turns out to be truth is a matter of chance.

 

[gwarm01]

i haven't thought about that, thanks for that clarification

By maxing your 401k you could break 1 million at 24 years with a 7% return, 20 years with a 10% return. Still be in your 40s and in decent health if you took care of yourself! Put more money away and you'll be doing even better.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Majority of this forum are pharmacists. You are preaching to the quire... having said that, this is a major tangible indication of saturation that's very hard to spin even for Deans of pharmacy schools

Agree. This should have been posted in the pre-pharm forum.

 

[Michael_Scott]

Bound to happen.
This angers me soooo much!!
And schools like chapman who are getting duped students...yea OP please post in pre-pharm to save the future gen!