Working outside US with a US PharmD?

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radio frequency

radio frequency

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Have any of you looked into international options for using your PharmD? Last time I looked into it the pickings looked pretty slim. I’m curious if there are any new opportunities I’m unaware of. Getting out of the US and into somewhere with more stability and better childhood education would be the goal. I’m open to learning languages.
 
radio frequency said:
Have any of you looked into international options for using your PharmD? Last time I looked into it the pickings looked pretty slim. I’m curious if there are any new opportunities I’m unaware of. Getting out of the US and into somewhere with more stability and better childhood education would be the goal. I’m open to learning languages.
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Guam?
 
www.theguardian.com

How Boots went rogue | Aditya Chakrabortty

The Long Read: Britain’s biggest pharmacy used to be a family business, dedicated to serving society. Now, many of the company’s own staff believe that its relentless drive for profit is putting the public at risk.
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

And

Boots increases mental health support after pharmacist suicide | Chemist+Druggist

Boots has increased its company-wide mental health support following the “tragic loss” of one of its pharmacists in 2015, C+D has learned.
www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk

The UK is also a delightful place to be a capitalist. I can also say from direct personal experience that Manitoba (Canada) is like the worst aspects of the VA and Walgreens combined dealing with the provincial health authority with Coutu/Rexall, and made me miss Minneapolis after a week into a three month exchange. The Nordic Council and ANZAC countries while nice on paper, live a hand to mouth existence. Ireland, don't get me started. You would not pass the French or the German exams. The US outpays and out competes other countries for healthcare labor.
 
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I have heard of consultant positions for health insurances. They hire a wide range of employees including PharmDs. This positions would require the employee to occasionally travel out of the country to ensure the facility there is meeting whatever standards the insurance company has set forth. A majority of the time you work from home, utilize email, or video calls.

I can't give much more info because these positions are extremely rare, if they even do exist nowadays.
 
MilknCheerios said:
I have heard of consultant positions for health insurances. They hire a wide range of employees including PharmDs. This positions would require the employee to occasionally travel out of the country to ensure the facility there is meeting whatever standards the insurance company has set forth. A majority of the time you work from home, utilize email, or video calls.

I can't give much more info because these positions are extremely rare, if they even do exist nowadays.
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They do exist, but this is outsourced to management consulting. Only Optum does it in house for Blue Cross. They are usually insider positions and require that you have significant background experience and a High Risk Public Trust designation to interact with JC or NCQA.
 
JustFillIt said:
If I could go anywhere in the world it would be Japan.
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I think you mostly have to own your own store there as a pharmacist. I imagine they have significant barriers to owning a phamacy for non-Japanese, though maybe this is changing with their lack of young people? It would be pretty sweet to run a pharmacy in greater Tokyo or Osaka mostly catering to the gaijin crowd. Generally Japan would be a great place to raise kids. Likely less so if you aren’t Japanese though.
 
Saudi Arabia is always looking for pharmacists (for obvious reasons), US Pharm D's welcome to apply.

I'm not sure what you mean by stability. Job stability? US pharmacists are the highest paid in the world, you will be trading your salary for stability. Which maybe you are OK with, just be aware of it. Many countries pay half as much salary, and many more less than half as much, as what you would make in the US.

As for "better childhood education"....in the US, childhood education can be quite variable depending on locale. You can choose to live in an area with an excellent school district, or you could just pay for a private school (expensive? sure, but you would still likely be financially ahead compared to taking a massive pay cut to live in a country with a "better" education system.)

There are good reasons why someone might want to work outside of the US, but I don't think the reasons you have elucidated qualify.
 
BidingMyTime said:
Saudi Arabia is always looking for pharmacists (for obvious reasons), US Pharm D's welcome to apply.

I'm not sure what you mean by stability. Job stability? US pharmacists are the highest paid in the world, you will be trading your salary for stability. Which maybe you are OK with, just be aware of it. Many countries pay half as much salary, and many more less than half as much, as what you would make in the US.

As for "better childhood education"....in the US, childhood education can be quite variable depending on locale. You can choose to live in an area with an excellent school district, or you could just pay for a private school (expensive? sure, but you would still likely be financially ahead compared to taking a massive pay cut to live in a country with a "better" education system.)

There are good reasons why someone might want to work outside of the US, but I don't think the reasons you have elucidated qualify.
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I know what I’m trading. It’s not just about the stability of the job; more about the social fabric of the country and the safety net they have in place to support families. All places have problems. But some problems are better to have than others.
 
radio frequency said:
I know what I’m trading. It’s not just about the stability of the job; more about the social fabric of the country and the safety net they have in place to support families. All places have problems. But some problems are better to have than others.
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Do you live in the South as well? :joyful:😢
 
radio frequency said:
I know what I’m trading. It’s not just about the stability of the job; more about the social fabric of the country and the safety net they have in place to support families. All places have problems. But some problems are better to have than others.
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Alright, let’s open a can of worms.. what’s so bad about the USA?
 
JustFillIt said:
Alright, let’s open a can of worms.. what’s so bad about the USA?
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There is a huge lack of a safety net. One illness or injury combined with an untimely job loss and your family can end up on the streets. Perhaps you don’t end up on the streets; only in a bad school district because of the way our schools are funded (wealthy neighborhoods pay more in tax and get better schools). Still a potentially bad outcome for your family. The only cushion is your savings, which would have to be substantial to cover many health issues. I’ve seen too many patients fall through gaps. I don’t like the odds. There are other reasons as well, but this is a big one for me.
 
I’ve taken a cursory glance at the possibility of working as an expat. The few places I’ve considered specifically state that they require fluency in the native language for licensure, even if it’s a country where most are also fluent in English. True fluency is much more than the “where’s the bathroom” mastery one obtained from sites like Duolingo.

For monolingual English speakers, that pretty much leaves the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and such. Although I suspect that some Caribbean destinations might be possibilities as well.
 
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