Working at the FDA as a Pharmacist

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newdoctorintown

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I am interested in one day working at the FDA as a pharmacist and I just wanted to know how much will I start with coming out of school? Also is there room to increase my salary? Also what do I need to do in order to get a job there? Please any pharmacists who work at the FDA's answers will be greatly appreciated. I am just trying to get some insight concerning this!! Thanks in advance!!

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Since you'd be a federal employee, i think it's a standardized pay scale similar to the military pay scales for officers. I'm not sure whether FDA would be considered a uniformed officer position, but either way it's a fixed govt pay scale. I've gotten pharmacist pay scales from other non-military government agencies, and I believe it's around 70-80k with location-dependent bonuses and other fringe benefits.

In terms of future money, if you were in certain areas like, say, regulatory affairs for a couple years, I'm fairly certain you can get a job at big pharma for big money. Or you could work for them for 20 years, get a sick pension + health insurance, and do per diem at CVS or something for play money. One of my coworkers worked with them, but did more medical device related work.

AFAIK, FDA is actually pretty competitive, at least judging by competition for rotations and that it seems helpful for a transition to industry.
 
I would assume that the starting pay would be lower compared to the private sector, however the benefits would be better and you could possibly have weekends off and a decent amount of vacation days. Two programs with good "connections" to the FDA seem to be Uni of Maryland and Howard, probably due to their location in and around Wash D.C.
 
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I am interested in one day working at the FDA as a pharmacist and I just wanted to know how much will I start with coming out of school? Also is there room to increase my salary? Also what do I need to do in order to get a job there? Please any pharmacists who work at the FDA's answers will be greatly appreciated. I am just trying to get some insight concerning this!! Thanks in advance!!

There are (2) routes I know of to get a pharmacist role with the FDA. The first is the public health services. The PHS has several pharmacist positions with the FDA. The pay is based upon the military pay scale, and varies based upon experience and time in service. The second method is direct hire via USAJOBS.gov - Jobs listed as Health & Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the ones you are looking for. Direct hire uses a civilian pay scale from the government (GS ranks).

Great info can be found here: LINK
 
factoring all the benefits, on average, you'll earn 1/3 less than your private sector peers on all forms of compensation combined.

the upside is the vacation time, QoL as a federal employee, and stability/pension (ie not freaking out everytime the market takes a nose dive).

anyone asking for numbers...they don't tell the whole story, you need to find a way to convert a necessary 401k balance vs. getting a pension and calculate that into your costs. also, a chunk of a PHS pharmacist's pay is not subject to federal income tax, taxes due also need to be thrown in.

I spent a good hour doing all of this and my hazy voodoo math says 1/3 less is a good generalization.
 
factoring all the benefits, on average, you'll earn 1/3 less than your private sector peers on all forms of compensation combined.

the upside is the vacation time, QoL as a federal employee, and stability/pension (ie not freaking out everytime the market takes a nose dive).

anyone asking for numbers...they don't tell the whole story, you need to find a way to convert a necessary 401k balance vs. getting a pension and calculate that into your costs. also, a chunk of a PHS pharmacist's pay is not subject to federal income tax, taxes due also need to be thrown in.

I spent a good hour doing all of this and my hazy voodoo math says 1/3 less is a good generalization.

ok, but does anyone know the exact salary they start those coming out of pharmacy with?
 
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this is how much a person at fda as a pharmacist gets paid that is hard to believe...
If you go thru the commissioned officer route, that is how much the pharmacist gets paid a year in annual salary. It´s set up exactly the same for the military. That number does not include things like BAH (living allowance), BAS (food allowance), annual bonus (15K), and no payments for health insurance. So if you factor everything in, figure around 70 to 80K.
 
If you go thru the commissioned officer route, that is how much the pharmacist gets paid a year in annual salary. It´s set up exactly the same for the military. That number does not include things like BAH (living allowance), BAS (food allowance), annual bonus (15K), and no payments for health insurance. So if you factor everything in, figure around 70 to 80K.

Please if anyone works at the FDA just message me!!
 
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Ok I am not planning to go the military route at all; I am just trying to obtain a job at the FDA the regular way. So that's the pay and process I am referring to.

Oh My God. There is no "regular" way. That's what everyone is trying to get through to you.
 
O.K. so going through the commisioner fellowship program is the best. Thanks and have a beautiful rest of the day!!

Listen, this is an anonymous forum. It is highly possible we simply don't have an FDA pharmacist here. Never fear, in the multitude of links provided, you should be able to locate contact information. This should include contacts for both the FDA and several programs associated with the FDA. Send off some emails and see what comes back.

You are aspiring to be a pharmacist - This is a good lesson in being resourceful (rather than continuing to seek freely given information). Being resourceful is one of the major skills every pharmacist requires.
 
If you go thru the commissioned officer route, that is how much the pharmacist gets paid a year in annual salary. It´s set up exactly the same for the military. That number does not include things like BAH (living allowance), BAS (food allowance), annual bonus (15K), and no payments for health insurance. So if you factor everything in, figure around 70 to 80K.

this is correct. right now they also have the accession bonus of 30K, but if you do the CACP program then you don't get the bonus, only specialty pay (15K). Also, people at the FDA do not usually get the 15K retention bonus. Usually thats reserved for IHS or BOP. For perspective, I know people that have worked as a Commissioned Corps officer for 10+ years and easily take home 10K/month. This is AFTER Federal taxes, retirement contribution of 15% (with no match), and associated costs for life insurance, social security, etc. It helps to be from an military income tax free state (such as texas, georgia, fl). If you live in the DC area, considering state taxes, your take home is about the same as retail. QoL is MUCH better. also, if you decide to take the PHS route (much easier than civilian/GS-scale) then you would have to obtain medical clearance.
 
Please anyone know somebody and how much they are making?

There is no way to put an exact number down because the government has a complicated system based on years of previous service, location, and training. The base pay estimate of $42,000 is based on rank. That number will go up with you specialty pay, and location (BAS,BAH). There is a good PHS vs. Private sector pay comparison on the PHS web site if you care to look. If not, you will have to call a recruiter or HR for the FDA to get more info.
 
There is no way to put an exact number down because the government has a complicated system based on years of previous service, location, and training. The base pay estimate of $42,000 is based on rank. That number will go up with you specialty pay, and location (BAS,BAH). There is a good PHS vs. Private sector pay comparison on the PHS web site if you care to look. If not, you will have to call a recruiter or HR for the FDA to get more info.

we tried explaining this fact but he didn't care, he just wanted salary...so i gave it, and he freaked out. :laugh:
 
something tells me if he has to ask these questions, he doesnt have what it takes to get there. seems like a career position that requires the ability to think for yourself , and be proactive and plan ahead.. in fact, i suspect most pharmacy jobs will become like this in the future. (As far as attaining them i mean)
 
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something tells me if he has to ask these questions, he doesnt have what it takes to get there. seems like a career position that requires the ability to think for yourself , and be proactive and plan ahead.. in fact, i suspect most pharmacy jobs will become like this in the future. (As far as attaining them i mean)


Ok I can see that asking this question has caused a problem and it also seem alot of you do not work at the FDA. I also see that you believe I do not have what it takes, but I am going to let you continue believing that. For all the answers to my question, I thank you all kindly and ask that God may bless you. For everyone else, may God bless you as well for some of the smart remarks. It just lets me be aware of those kind of people in the future. My question has been answered by a pharmacist that currently works at the FDA and you can attain a direct hire position from USA Jobs but it may be better to do so, after gaining enough connections through the Student Experiential program. I will be posting the rest of the information acquired later today. Thank you all again and stay blessed!!
 
and it also seem alot of you do not work at the FDA.

Duh!

99.9% of pharmacists do NOT work for the FDA....! :bang:

Do you find that "hard to believe" too? :smuggrin:

I am an ass...I know but honestly what do you expect when all of this info is just a mouse click away through google, USPHS website, and the FDA site...learn to swim or drown. For better or for worse, one thing this forum seems to hate above all else are people who do not know how to research information for themselves or are just too lazy to do it. You want to be a pharmacist for heaven's sake, learn to think and find info on your own first!
 
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Duh!

99.9% of pharmacists do NOT work for the FDA....! :bang:

Do you find that "hard to believe" too? :smuggrin:

I am an ass...I know but honestly what do you expect when all of this info is just a mouse click away through google, USPHS website, and the FDA site...learn to swim or drown. For better or for worse, one thing this forum seems to hate above all else are people who do not know how to research information for themselves or are just too lazy to do it. You want to be a pharmacist for heaven's sake, learn to think and find info on your own first!

i know right...it's all public info. AND we warned the OP up front that the salary is artificially deflated before doing him a favor and posting it. Guess what happened...he ignored that bit of advice and freaked out! what a *******...and he goes on and tells us to have a blessed day and all that bag of ****, hahaha. he's still dumb as rocks...:smuggrin:
 
i know right...it's all public info. AND we warned the OP up front that the salary is artificially deflated before doing him a favor and posting it. Guess what happened...he ignored that bit of advice and freaked out! what a *******...and he goes on and tells us to have a blessed day and all that bag of ****, hahaha. he's still dumb as rocks...:smuggrin:

Although I appreciate you and the other posters comments about finding information on his own and being resourceful, but I think you guys should decide if you would have said this directly to his face. Just because this is an internet forum and relatively anonymous doesn't excuse rude behavior.

You can find a whole lot of information on the internet....do you suppose we should just send our patients there? I cannot imagine you having this type of conversation with a future patient.... "I am sorry sir, you are an idiot, you can find information about that drug and its interactions on the internet....... stop bothering me....."

If you don't have anything useful to say, it's probably best to not say anything......
 
Although I appreciate you and the other posters comments about finding information on his own and being resourceful, but I think you guys should decide if you would have said this directly to his face. Just because this is an internet forum and relatively anonymous doesn't excuse rude behavior.

I probably would, but then again most of my friends say I can be an a****** at times.

You can find a whole lot of information on the internet....do you suppose we should just send our patients there? I cannot imagine you having this type of conversation with a future patient.... "I am sorry sir, you are an idiot, you can find information about that drug and its interactions on the internet....... stop bothering me....."
Lol using the pharmacist/patient analogy is completely horrible. First of all, when dealing with patients as pharmacist, that is our DUTY. However, as to being members on an internet forum, its not our duty to find info for people, its really that simple. Besides, plenty of members pointed him/her/it in the right direction, however he/she didn't want to take the time to do some simple research and then have the audacity to tell those same members that they are wrong/clueless on the given topic. So in short, if you lack common sense and gratitude then you deserve what you get.
 
Although I appreciate you and the other posters comments about finding information on his own and being resourceful, but I think you guys should decide if you would have said this directly to his face. Just because this is an internet forum and relatively anonymous doesn't excuse rude behavior.

You can find a whole lot of information on the internet....do you suppose we should just send our patients there? I cannot imagine you having this type of conversation with a future patient.... "I am sorry sir, you are an idiot, you can find information about that drug and its interactions on the internet....... stop bothering me....."

If you don't have anything useful to say, it's probably best to not say anything......

oh shut up pre-pharm, i'm here to entertain.


are-you-not-entertained.jpg

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!? ARE YOU NOT...ENTERTAINED!?
 
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boo

Only gladiators you have to worry about LOL
 
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A

If you don't have anything useful to say, it's probably best to not say anything......

besides, pre-pharm...i did say something useful, the OP was an idiot and ignored it, and when presented with information subset #2 (the raw salary info he could have easily looked up), he freaked out. Had he been literate enough to comprehend what we were alluding to (above the line compensation), he wouldn't have.

so...we called him out on it.

then you come riding in and say we should all hold hands and sing kumbaya bringing left-field arguments about patient care into the fray...psshhh, it's ideas like that that ruin kids today. if you're dumb, you need to be called out on it...or you end up condoning/enabling that dumbness in perpetuity.
 
Hey, I have a question that's not related to forum etiquette.

How competitive is the PHS for pharmacists? I have the sense that they are trying to recruit, but is it relatively easy to enter or are there a lot of applicants?

And I assume one specifically joins the PHS prior to landing a job with IHS, BOP, FDA, or anywhere else?
Edit-- found this one, you apply to PHS and various eligible positions simultaneously.
 
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yeah, you apply at the same time, but they won't give you a commission without securing a job first. basically until an agency is willing to hire you your application remains in limbo. traditionally, competition for jobs depends on the agency. BOP and IHS are easier to find positions because they need pharmacists. CDC, NIH, and FDA might be harder to secure a job since you have PHS and civilians applying for positions. There are issues right now with the PHS where there's a hiring freeze because they're still sorting out language about changes to the corps.
 
I have also thought about working with the FDA and am trying to get a 4th year rotation with them. Just as a suggestion I would also look into a Master's of Public Health it might help working in government. At least that's what I'm currently doing. Mostly I would hop working for the FDA or pharmacy for that matter is not solely about the financial benefits (we all know there have been numerous threads about that). Plus there are numerous offices and divisions within the FDA worth researching. Just an FYI.
 
I am a big fan of dual degrees - they save time and money - but if you don't already have an MPH when you start working, FDA pays for it.
 
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