I don’t if this is the same for all government hospitals (whether IHS, military, or VA), but personally and generally the pay is good over time. The GS system is fair and the yearly federal employee wage raises for inflation have averaged about 2-3% in the last decade. With that being said, depending on the market, lowest pharmacist salaries range from $90K-$140K as base pay. And fortunately, differential pay is 10-35% depending if its a weekday night, weekend day shift, or weekend night shift. OT is 1.5x and holiday pay is 2x the hourly rate. I interned at a Kroger in pharmacy school 10 years ago and hated it and wanted to work in a VA or governmental hospital. And today I am happy where I work. I work the night shift and get on average 21% differential pay a week and get offered overtime occasionally, the benefits are great. And I have so much less stress than those miserable days interning at Kroger Pharmacy manning the drive-thru. If any of you guys are not liking retail, I would highly recommend a government hospital pharmacist position.