When did you get your first pharmacist position?

[Amphetamine Salts]

i'm a 6th year pharmacy student going on APPEs in 2 weeks. I've done some networking and have heard stories of pharmacists who received job offers during their rotations and being able to secure something after graduation while they were still in school. about what month did you accept your first position and when did you actually start working?

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[Rouelle]

Started working P1 year, slid into pharmacist role upon being licensed. (Officially accepted post graduate employment offer with them around October of P4 year)

 

[Niosh]

I accepted my first position during my final APPE rotation and started working 1 week after graduation. I was a grad intern until I passed boards and was promoted to pharmacist the day I passed.

 

[Amphetamine Salts]

Started working P1 year, slid into pharmacist role upon being licensed. (Officially accepted post graduate employment offer with them around October of P4 year)

and i assume this is retail? i work at cvs currently, once a week and have been here for almost 3 years. i may get offered a position at cvs, but i don't think i'd want to work there

I accepted my first position during my final APPE rotation and started working 1 week after graduation. I was a grad intern until I passed boards and was promoted to pharmacist the day I passed.

it was agreed they would take you on as a grad intern after graduation? does this mean you were working 40 hour weeks after graduation as an intern, then when you became licensed your pay rate increased? also, around what month is the earliest to take the naplex and law exam? thanks for posting

 

[Rouelle]

and i assume this is retail? i work at cvs currently, once a week and have been here for almost 3 years. i may get offered a position at cvs, but i don't think i'd want to work there

That is correct. I started with a big retail chain. But starting there doesn't mean that you'll retire there. I have since moved on and practice in a different setting. I still pick up retail shifts per diem (same chain), but enjoy my other gig as well.

 

[Niosh]

it was agreed they would take you on as a grad intern after graduation? does this mean you were working 40 hour weeks after graduation as an intern, then when you became licensed your pay rate increased? also, around what month is the earliest to take the naplex and law exam? thanks for posting

Yes. Yes. I think June-time is the earliest around here based on the time it takes for the board, the school, and the testing centers to exchange all the info they need. Exam slots fill up fast around here too, so even though I had my ATT, it was still 4-6 weeks out before there was an open slot at a testing center. If you want to test as early as possible make sure you have everything in order well in advance. I dragged my feet a little and that's why I got a later time than I wanted.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

June...and July...

 

[Dred Pirate]

accepted my first position during december of my last year - in february - turned them down, and took a different job - ended my rotations on a friday - started my new job on a monday

 

[minzhen27510]

October I received offer from retail pharmacy. I turned them down and accepted another retail position at a different state in April. In June I received the third offer to work in a hospital, which I accepted.

 

[BidingMyTime]

I'm so old I can't even remember for sure if I had my first job offer before or after I graduated. Either way, the job offer was very close to the time I graduated, like a couple of weeks before or a couple of weeks after. I started working right away at just a bit less than the pharmacists salary, took my test in June (back then, the test was only offered 3 times a year), passed and got bumped up to the full pharmacist pay.

 

[gwarm01]

September after a May graduation. That was a rough few months, but I moved out of state for my wife's job and just applied to every open hospital position within driving distance (furthest interview was about 1.5 hours away).

I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Rx4life2018]

October I received offer from retail pharmacy. I turned them down and accepted another retail position at a different state in April. In June I received the third offer to work in a hospital, which I accepted.

so did you burn any bridges by rejecting your first job you accepted?? did you sign any contract with them? how did you switch between 3jobs withing months??

 

[Dred Pirate]

so did you burn any bridges by rejecting your first job you accepted?? did you sign any contract with them? how did you switch between 3jobs withing months??

it was a different time - I am guessing this was back in the early to mid 2000's - I accepted and then turned down two jobs at different times