What are the current unemployment and underemployment rates for pharmacists? What percentage of phar

[Judgment Dragon]

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What are the current unemployment and underemployment rates for pharmacists? What percentage of pharmacy school student loan borrowers have student loans that are currently in default? I tried searching on Google, but I found no answers. Also my cousin who has a Pharmacy degree from Feik School of Pharmacy - University of the Incarnate Word and found a pharmacist job in San Jose, California that only paid $130K with 70 hours per week of work. This is $35 an hour.

 

[wagrxm2000]

Same answer as always, if you are willing to move then you will find a job

 

[Digsbe]

Knowing California I doubt they work 70 hours a week and can't get OT for it, Is it a 7 on 7 off type job? If they work 70 hours a week and aren't given OT they can take that to court as I believe California made pharmacists non-exempt employees where you must be given a lunch break and paid time and a half for OT.

 

[Eichhoernchen]

I don't know but I have no classmates/friends that are without a job/residency.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Agreed, there is NO way someone in CA is making $35/hr as a pharmacist. Is your cousin actually doing a residency ($35/hr is a bit on the low side for residencies, but more believable than a pharmacist making that salary.) Either that or they are working 7 on/7 off (most likely), of they are in some type of management position (in which case they company can't dictate they work 70 hrs/week, but if they are going into a mess, its possible they may need to put in that many hours at the beginning to get the department/store cleaned up.)

Edited to add....I'm bad at math in my head, $35/hr for a resident would actually be right in line for a resident's salary.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Agreed, there is NO way someone in CA is making $35/hr as a pharmacist. Is your cousin actually doing a residency ($35/hr is a bit on the low side for residencies, but more believable than a pharmacist making that salary.) Either that or they are working 7 on/7 off (most likely), of they are in some type of management position (in which case they company can't dictate they work 70 hrs/week, but if they are going into a mess, its possible they may need to put in that many hours at the beginning to get the department/store cleaned up.)

Edited to add....I'm bad at math in my head, $35/hr for a resident would actually be right in line for a resident's salary.

Residents make 35$/hr? That's 73k a year. I thought they made like 40kish 😵

 

[PharmtoCS]

I have heard of a clinical pharmacist in California who is considered exempt and has to put in as many as 80 hours/week and is paid about as much as a retail pharmacist. I don't think the possibility of $130k for 70 hours/week is too far-fetched.

 

[trailerpark]

I have heard of a clinical pharmacist in California who is considered exempt and has to put in as many as 80 hours/week and is paid about as much as a retail pharmacist. I don't think the possibility of $130k for 70 hours/week is too far-fetched.

Once she hits 40 hours she should leave and tell everyone she'll be back next week.

 

[deleted158872]

Residents make 35$/hr? That's 73k a year. I thought they made like 40kish 😵

yes, ~$40k is typical resident salary.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Residents make 35$/hr? That's 73k a year. I thought they made like 40kish 😵

yes, ~$40k is typical resident salary.

You guys are right of course.....I need a calculator to do math.

 

[confettiflyer]

This thread is all sorts of fail. I'll answer it when I finish my breakfast.

 

[confettiflyer]

Okay here we go, in no particular order.

1) PGY-1 residents in California make between $~40,000/yr and $60,000/yr; however, the work requirements might vary, so you can't compare programs in that way.

That $40k/yr one might just be your base, and if you pick up staffing shifts as extra, those could be paid at standard pharmacy pay, that $60k/yr position could have staffing hours built in, subject to the 80 hr/week maximum resident cap (same as medical residents) AND California OT laws. That means, the site could say "confettiflyer, I want you to work 32 hours this week on resident stuff but on Friday you're going to work the PM staffing shift, for a total of 40 hours this week, all at your standard resident hourly rate."

2) The $35/hr quote in San Jose is highly suspect. Given that the median household income in Santa Clara County is $93,500/yr, this phantom pharmacist makes >$20,000/yr less than the median. There are underserved hospitals < 1hr away commute distance that will easily double that salary. Either this person is incredibly stupid, really hates to drive, or a combination of both.

The lowest confirmed hourly rate that I can attest to is CCRMC in Martinez, CA at $46.43/hr. The caveat being that this is a government job with a pension, and notice the position says "continuous recruitment" meaning...they're always looking.

EDIT: I just noticed this, the OP said his friend makes:

"only paid $130K with 70 hours per week of work. This is $35 an hour."

He probably means 70 hours per two weeks (biweekly pay). Due to mandatory OT laws in California - your friend would probably be making in excess of $150k/yr working 70 hours a week, even at $35/hr. So let's cut the **** and call this a typo on the OP's part.

First, this "friend" graduated straight from pharmacy school and landed an inpatient job in Silicon Valley, California? It's definitely a night shift, given that fact and the "70 hours/2 weeks" you're probably stating. No way an out of state new grad could even touch a standard day shift clinical position in that area.

So let's parse it out, he makes $130k for 35 hours/week average so that's 1820 hours per year meaning $130,000/1820 = $71.42 hr which sounds exactly like the starting pay at most hospitals in the Bay Area for inpatient/acute care (my ballpark range is between $66-$74/hr).

I'd actually say this is low for overnight...most overnight differentials will get you closer to $80/hr, so this hospital is probably paying closer to $65 for base and differential bumps it up to $71.42. Who knows if the $130k figure is correct to begin with, though.
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3) California mandates all non-management pharmacists (and nurses) be paid hourly. Extremely strict requirement, no "highly compensated" exemption, no way to contract out and 1099 your pharmacists, either. Anything over 8hrs/day is OT (except if you're on an alternative work schedule, aka 10 or 12 hour days), at which point all hours over 40 = OT rate of 1.5x.

All hours over 12 in a day are 2x OT rate, all hours worked on the 7th consecutive day and beyond are supposed to be 1.5x, I only know the University of California system has this in place formally. I once knew a technician that worked 28 days straight and days 7-28 were entirely 1.5x OT.


That's all. Questions?