How bad is the job market in your area?

[AlwaysContrary]

Look at the bright side. I only wasted a year of time/money in pharmacy school, and it was a good opportunity to raise my GPA. I would've spent the last year taking classes at a local university anyways. I think the experience has been good for me, because now that that I have had a glimpse of how bad my future would've been in pharmacy (and seeing how close I came to making that future my reality), I am much more appreciative of what careers such as AA/CRNA have to offer and have more motivation than I've ever had before to succeed in AA school. I think it took witnessing just how hard some people work/will work for such a lousy ROI to make me realize what a tremendous opportunity it will be to return to AA school, regardless of where I have to go. Hopefully other pre-pharms will realize they're making a mistake before they even start pharmacy school.

On a related note to this thread, check out the link below. There is literally only a handful of pharmacist positions open in the entire state of GA for CVS, and almost all of them are in BFE locations and a single ghetto Atlanta store (only the first 2 pages have pharmacist job listings):

Search our Job Opportunities at CVS Health

You know the job market sucks when even CVS is getting saturated. Enjoy!

You seem just a disillusioned as the pre-pharmers you put down. Looks like there is a going to be a 62% oversupply above projected demand for nurses.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/...rimary-care-national-projections2013-2025.pdf

Looks like even nurses are starting to get saturated. Enjoy!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[confettiflyer]

We stopped hiring new grad nurses because there were an abundance of 1-2 year experienced RN's applying


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[BMBiology]

Look at the bright side. I only wasted a year of time/money in pharmacy school, and it was a good opportunity to raise my GPA. I would've spent the last year taking classes at a local university anyways. I think the experience has been good for me, because now that that I have had a glimpse of how bad my future would've been in pharmacy (and seeing how close I came to making that future my reality), I am much more appreciative of what careers such as AA/CRNA have to offer and have more motivation than I've ever had before to succeed in AA school. I think it took witnessing just how hard some people work/will work for such a lousy ROI to make me realize what a tremendous opportunity it will be to return to AA school, regardless of where I have to go. Hopefully other pre-pharms will realize they're making a mistake before they even start pharmacy school.

On a related note to this thread, check out the link below. There is literally only a handful of pharmacist positions open in the entire state of GA for CVS, and almost all of them are in BFE locations and a single ghetto Atlanta store (only the first 2 pages have pharmacist job listings):

Search our Job Opportunities at CVS Health

You know the job market sucks when even CVS is getting saturated. Enjoy!

This is your problem:

High admission standards = easy job market
Low admission standards = difficult job market

Let's be frank here....because of your past failures, you are not going to get accepted to a profession that has high admission standards. So your only option is to go into a profession with low admission standards which means everyone and their mom will get accepted and therefore, you will face a difficult job market when you graduate regardless of what profession you go into.


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[steveysmith54]

This is your problem:

High admission standards = easy job market
Low admission standards = difficult job market

Let's be frank here....because of your past failures, you are not going to get accepted to a profession that has high admission standards. So your only option is to go into a profession with low admission standards which means everyone and their mom will get accepted and therefore, you will face a difficult job market when you graduate regardless of what profession you go into.


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i still remember the days when we had 4 pharmacy schools in CA, a lot of these current pharmacy graduates would not have a chance of gaining admission based on what I read in the prepharm forum. It was not uncommon to see students with bachelors from a top UC apply 2-3 times before getting in. Also, now i am seeing lot of students applying with barely 3.0 GPA who wouldn't even waste their money on applying back in the days. The mindset is, hey i have minimum prereqs, i have a pulse, i am gona go get that doctorate make over 100K and live it up. Oh yeah, I also like "medicine", like to help people, I don't really want to be a pharmacist but I hear your can do a lot with a pharm.D., and that clinical pharmacy/provider status is going to conquer the world. Now, give me that white coat and sign me up for REPAYE.

 

[PAtoPharm]

This is your problem:

High admission standards = easy job market
Low admission standards = difficult job market

Let's be frank here....because of your past failures, you are not going to get accepted to a profession that has high admission standards. So your only option is to go into a profession with low admission standards which means everyone and their mom will get accepted and therefore, you will face a difficult job market when you graduate regardless of what profession you go into.


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You are absolutely right. That is why I'm not even bothering with applying to any hyper-competitive "moonshot" programs like dental schools. Fortunately for me, AA program admissions is in something of a paradox right now. On the basis of the general standards that make a program competitive (e.g., salary, benefits, PTO, job market), the AA schools should be MUCH more difficult to gain acceptance to.

So why aren't they? It basically boils down to the fact that AAs cannot get licensed to work in states like NY, CA, MA, PA, and other nursing "stronghold" states, and so the competitiveness of AA admissions has been artificially suppressed thus far. That works out well for someone like myself who has no interest in living or working in any of those states because it means that I don't have to compete against the most competitive students from the most heavily populated states. In fact, as others on here pointed out to me recently, one AA program even had to extend their admissions deadline during the most recent admissions cycle.

BTW, I'm not sure what you mean by past "failures" in the plural sense. Yeah, my first AA school attempt was a failed one, but I'm leaving pharmacy school with damn near close to a 4.0 GPA.

 

[pharmasaurusRex17]

Two words: Work hard.

... Geez, I don't understand what the problem is and everyone bashing on the market. Sure it's saturated, but you can still get full time jobs and what not. No one is going to spoon feed you or hand you stuff on a silver platter like they did back then. I personally do not feel sorry at all for those who don't work hard and actually try to do things and make those connections. I know too many pharmacists who act entitled and don't deserve their positions, and yet they sit and complain about how they hate their job and how the job market is and blah blah.

If you hate your job, then quit lol. For someone who actually wants to do the job. >_>.

 

[wagrxm2000]

You are absolutely right. That is why I'm not even bothering with applying to any hyper-competitive "moonshot" programs like dental schools. Fortunately for me, AA program admissions is in something of a paradox right now. On the basis of the general standards that make a program competitive (e.g., salary, benefits, PTO, job market), the AA schools should be MUCH more difficult to gain acceptance to.

So why aren't they? It basically boils down to the fact that AAs cannot get licensed to work in states like NY, CA, MA, PA, and other nursing "stronghold" states, and so the competitiveness of AA admissions has been artificially suppressed thus far. That works out well for someone like myself who has no interest in living or working in any of those states because it means that I don't have to compete against the most competitive students from the most heavily populated states. In fact, as others on here pointed out to me recently, one AA program even had to extend their admissions deadline during the most recent admissions cycle.

BTW, I'm not sure what you mean by past "failures" in the plural sense. Yeah, my first AA school attempt was a failed one, but I'm leaving pharmacy school with damn near close to a 4.0 GPA.

Man for some reason I really want to fast forward through time to see what happens to this kid.

I still have no idea why he's on this forum when he wants nothing to do with pharmacy.

 

[PharmDHelpPls]

Sure. I'm no longer working in retail, but recently enough that my I feel my experience is still applicable. I made the transition to inpatient pharmacy about 2 years ago. Before that, I worked for a big chain at several stores that most retail Rph's would consider medium-high volume. The hospital I transitioned to is a large university medical center, I guess you could consider it the retail equivalent of "high-volume". I say this to illustrate another posters point that not all "retail" gigs and "hospital" gigs are the same, but my experience is with the bigger, busier variety.

Comparing the two, I would say the main difference for me were the types of stress. In retail, days frequently involved mental, physical and emotional stress all bound together. Most of these due to the fact that you can't take a 5min breather for coffee if its been a rough day, and are frequently deprived of food and bathroom breaks. Add the long hours of standing on top of that and it can start to suck the life out of you pretty quick. The only stress I endure at my current position is mostly mental due to complex problems/time constraints of STAT orders. But without the physical aspect of skipping meals and bathroom breaks, it pails in comparison. I would say I have one "stressful" shift about every 2 months. When considering quality of life between the two, ponder this question for a second. Would you rather have daily interactions with pharmacists, nurses and physicians? Or pharmacy technicians, clerks and MAs? Easy choice for me.

I'm not saying you should base your career off any of the above cause different people value different things. I understand your original point about retail pharmacist seeming to have a cake job because I remember feeling the same way as an intern. I was gung-ho sold on doing retail and I got a pretty rude awakening. I assumed everyone who bitched about it was just lazy, but the kicker is that hard work gets you nowhere. Just a higher bar, challenge stores, ****ty partners because "you can handle it" and you're their pawn. Of course there's the management route if you can survive long enough to get there.

Do you mind sharing how your transition was into hospital from retail? Were you in retail for a long time before? How difficult was it for you to get a hospital to hire you, if at all?

 

[BenJammin]

The great thing about the glut of students flooding into the DFW area is that salaries are going to decline pretty rapidly. Texas Tech is about to put in a 4 year campus in Dallas, UNT just graduated their first class, UT Tyler is 2-3 years away from their first class, and UTEP is on their way to accepting their first class. I'll probably be looking to hire another pharmacist for my side consulting gig in a year or two but I definitely won't be offering six figures lol

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

The great thing about the glut of students flooding into the DFW area is that salaries are going to decline pretty rapidly. Texas Tech is about to put in a 4 year campus in Dallas, UNT just graduated their first class, UT Tyler is 2-3 years away from their first class, and UTEP is on their way to accepting their first class. I'll probably be looking to hire another pharmacist for my side consulting gig in a year or two but I definitely won't be offering six figures lol

That'll make 10 schools in Texas?

My finance teacher in high school taught us that every college/university is just one huge business. Never really thought about that until I considered pharmacy.

 

[egyptianmau121]

The great thing about the glut of students flooding into the DFW area is that salaries are going to decline pretty rapidly. Texas Tech is about to put in a 4 year campus in Dallas, UNT just graduated their first class, UT Tyler is 2-3 years away from their first class, and UTEP is on their way to accepting their first class. I'll probably be looking to hire another pharmacist for my side consulting gig in a year or two but I definitely won't be offering six figures lol

My goodness, I can't believe all these school are opening up here. There needs to be a stop to all this


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[confettiflyer]

My goodness, I can't believe all these school are opening up here. There needs to be a stop to all this


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If you convert to a command/communist society, the Central Party can put a stop to all this nonsense.

They can probably put half the people posting on SDN in jail too.


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[beautifulrobot]

My goodness, I can't believe all these school are opening up here. There needs to be a stop to all this

If you convert to a command/communist society, the Central Party can put a stop to all this nonsense.

They can probably put half the people posting on SDN in jail too.

Don't worry, the invisible hand will take care of it all.

 

[ACE Rx]

The great thing about the glut of students flooding into the DFW area is that salaries are going to decline pretty rapidly. Texas Tech is about to put in a 4 year campus in Dallas, UNT just graduated their first class, UT Tyler is 2-3 years away from their first class, and UTEP is on their way to accepting their first class. I'll probably be looking to hire another pharmacist for my side consulting gig in a year or two but I definitely won't be offering six figures lol

Pharmacy schools have now become like a huge cancer. Texas Tech wants to open a school in DFW to compete with UNT as they are getting less quality students who likely never wanted to go to Amarillo/Abilene to begin with. So much for Tech wanting to cater to their rural population. Its basically a business now. Maybe we should open an SDN School of Pharmacy?

 

[738177]

You are absolutely right. That is why I'm not even bothering with applying to any hyper-competitive "moonshot" programs like dental schools. Fortunately for me, AA program admissions is in something of a paradox right now. On the basis of the general standards that make a program competitive (e.g., salary, benefits, PTO, job market), the AA schools should be MUCH more difficult to gain acceptance to.

BTW, I'm not sure what you mean by past "failures" in the plural sense. Yeah, my first AA school attempt was a failed one, but I'm leaving pharmacy school with damn near close to a 4.0 GPA.

Jumping to random health professions with no intentions of sticking to it counts as a "failure" in the eyes of adcoms for MD/DO/DDS. Failure doesn't equal grades only.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Jumping to random health professions with no intentions of sticking to it counts as a "failure" in the eyes of adcoms for MD/DO/DDS. Failure doesn't equal grades only.

Still would prefer to risk applying and not getting accepted to AA school over taking my chances with pharmacy

 

[Z-Qualizer]

Still would prefer to risk applying and not getting accepted to AA school over taking my chances with pharmacy

We're all rooting for you!! How is the application cycle going so far??

 

[VA77]

I know you can't stop a pharmacy school from opening but ACPE does control how many students they can enroll. I wonder if they will decrease class sizes or let the schools fight it out between each other?

 

[aoselby]

Job market in Dallas is great if you know people.

I am having a hard time finding jobs in the Dallas area any recommendations? I take my boards in the next couple weeks I've talked to a couple retail places who tell me their not hiring and look on indeed but don't see much. Definitely stressed out cause I have 3 kids and need a job as soon as I'm licensed

 

[AlwaysContrary]

Still would prefer to risk applying and not getting accepted to AA school over taking my chances with pharmacy

I already told you that Nurses are more saturated than pharmacy. Nurses are 62% above projected demand while pharmacy is only 16%. Pharmacy is bad but nearly as bad as what you are getting into. I don't know why you lurk around here in the first place and I also don't know why you ignore actual data and still decide to put down this profession.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/...rimary-care-national-projections2013-2025.pdf

 

[PAtoPharm]

I already told you that Nurses are more saturated than pharmacy. Nurses are 62% above projected demand while pharmacy is only 16%. Pharmacy is bad but nearly as bad as what you are getting into. I don't know why you lurk around here in the first place and I also don't know why you ignore actual data and still decide to put down this profession.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/...rimary-care-national-projections2013-2025.pdf

Where/how do you get "nursing" out of me saying that I'm applying to AA school? AA stands for "anesthesiologist assistant." They are basically PAs who work exclusively in anesthesiology. Many practices that hire them also hire CRNAs interchangeably. Yes, CRNAs are also projected to have a job market oversupply, but by 10k-12k more CRNAs than jobs, not 50k+ like the pharmacy profession. And even if the CRNA/AA job market becomes saturated, it's still a better deal than becoming a pharmacist because even the worst AA/CRNA job still offers better working conditions and benefits than the best retail pharmacist jobs.

 

[PAtoPharm]

We're all rooting for you!! How is the application cycle going so far??

Working on getting an anesthesia tech job before I officially submit my applications; I really think that is going to be a make-it-or-break-it factor for me. Someone else who was kicked out of an AA program was only able to get re-accepted to his AA school after he showed that he was working as an anesthesia tech.

 

[smercer]

Where/how do you get "nursing" out of me saying that I'm applying to AA school? AA stands for "anesthesiologist assistant." They are basically PAs who work exclusively in anesthesiology. Many practices that hire them also hire CRNAs interchangeably. Yes, CRNAs are also projected to have a job market oversupply, but by 10k-12k more CRNAs than jobs, not 50k+ like the pharmacy profession. And even if the CRNA/AA job market becomes saturated, it's still a better deal than becoming a pharmacist because even the worst AA/CRNA job still offers better working conditions and benefits than the best retail pharmacist jobs.

The issue of comparing 10-12k to 50k is in the number of jobs available. I would be interested to know how many actual positions are available for CRNAs vs Pharmacists, as I would be very surprised if there were not 3-4x as many pharmacist positions, which would make the disparity in the numbers null.

 

[wagrxm2000]

I'm learning so much about this field. Just read some info from a crna who warns the profession is reaching the saturation point and salaries are becoming saturated. Sounds familiar don't it?

He went on to say schools are very competitive which is obviously the opposite of pharmacy.

Finally he recommended experienced nurses in icu to consider going back since that is what hospitals are looking for, experience.

 

[AlwaysContrary]

Where/how do you get "nursing" out of me saying that I'm applying to AA school? AA stands for "anesthesiologist assistant." They are basically PAs who work exclusively in anesthesiology. Many practices that hire them also hire CRNAs interchangeably. Yes, CRNAs are also projected to have a job market oversupply, but by 10k-12k more CRNAs than jobs, not 50k+ like the pharmacy profession. And even if the CRNA/AA job market becomes saturated, it's still a better deal than becoming a pharmacist because even the worst AA/CRNA job still offers better working conditions and benefits than the best retail pharmacist jobs.

Well, if AA is compared PA, PA's are actually worse off than nurses right now. They have a projected to be 66% above projected demand as opposed to the nurses 62%. Yes, pharmacy will have about a 50K over supply of pharmacists, but that is only 16% above projected demand. Bringing up working conditions is a slippery slope as there will always be jobs that have terrible working conditions, but there will also be jobs within the same field that have amazing working conditions. I work at Kroger and the working conditions are great. We get breaks, lunches, on busy days there will be 3 pharmacists working along with plenty of techs, and so on.

The people of this forum are just sick of you coming onto these threads putting down pharmacy than making it out that you are so much smarter because you decided to move onto another field that is just as bad, if not worse off, than pharmacy. It's absolutely ridiculous.

 

[quickpic007]

I am having a hard time finding jobs in the Dallas area any recommendations? I take my boards in the next couple weeks I've talked to a couple retail places who tell me their not hiring and look on indeed but don't see much. Definitely stressed out cause I have 3 kids and need a job as soon as I'm licensed

Just call individual DMs at CVS, I hear they are easier to get in DFW compared to WG. Maybe Waco, Tyler, or Wichita falls is in your future.

I already told you that Nurses are more saturated than pharmacy. Nurses are 62% above projected demand while pharmacy is only 16%. Pharmacy is bad but nearly as bad as what you are getting into. I don't know why you lurk around here in the first place and I also don't know why you ignore actual data and still decide to put down this profession.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/...rimary-care-national-projections2013-2025.pdf

This statement is patently wrong in a nearby trade area. Nurses can sign on with easy 15K-25K sign on for 3 years exp plus. Rph sign on is now a joke 10K.

 

[Apples2Oranges]

Nursing really depends on the location. Where I live, it's hard to receive a full time position for nurses, especially new grads.

 

[Richard O'Mally]

Pharmacist job openings in AZ are few and far between.

However, pharmacy techs are still in demand.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

However, pharmacy techs are still in demand.

You mean you can't pay people slightly above minimum wage to be worked to exhaustion every day?

 

[quickpic007]

Pharmacist job openings in AZ are few and far between.

However, pharmacy techs are still in demand.

This is also what I have been hearing thru the grapevine. If PHX and Tucson actually fill up my retirement plans may be shattered!!! I was thinking doing 1 day a week at major chain when I get old (~45)

 

[Richard O'Mally]

You mean you can't pay people slightly above minimum wage to be worked to exhaustion every day?

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. I'm not a Pharmacist, and I don't pay anyone's salary.

 

[owlegrad]

You mean you can't pay people slightly above minimum wage to be worked to exhaustion every day?

Sure you can. And you will get the best techs, everyone says they are the best, you can ask anyone, just the best. Best.

 

[Saiyo]

Sure you can. And you will get the best techs, everyone says they are the best, you can ask anyone, just the best. Best.

It's not about the money, its about the intrinsic satisfsction you get from helping people!

 

[gwarm01]

Hospital jobs are few and far between in my little city of ~200k. I've been trying to get another PRN job, but haven't been called in for an interview after applying to three or four local positions this year. I have 4 years of inpatient experience and am intimately familiar with the EMR used at all of these hospitals, so training wouldn't be an issue. I can't help but wonder if they are using those PRN positions as a trial for full-time (I've seen that plenty before) and my resume makes it pretty clear that this wouldn't be my top priority.

Retail seems to have a slow but steady trickle of jobs. It's a rural state, so that's the majority of the available work. School surveys show that over half of the graduating class each year wants to stay in the general area of the capital city, but I'd guess that many of them are forced to move.

 

[BidingMyTime]

The people of this forum are just sick of you coming onto these threads putting down pharmacy than making it out that you are so much smarter because you decided to move onto another field that is just as bad, if not worse off, than pharmacy. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Actually I find the absurdity of it pretty amusing. Far more entertaining than the sitcoms running on TV. I'm really curious to here what turn his posts take, when he is still jobless and looking for a career 5 years from now, and all the other pharmacy students currently on here are happily paying off their loans with their new pharmacist job.

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

Actually I find the absurdity of it pretty amusing. Far more entertaining than the sitcoms running on TV. I'm really curious to here what turn his posts take, when he is still jobless and looking for a career 5 years from now, and all the other pharmacy students currently on here are happily paying off their loans with their new pharmacist job.

The sarcasm in that thread alone was amazing. I'll agree that is was wayyyy funnier than whatever show I was watching.

I don't want to wish him jobless, I truly want him to be successful, but honestly he has little to no work experience because he's not sticking to 1 thing long enough to have the experience that jobs want people to have.
I wonder if he's ever had a real job with the expectations he has. I recall him wanting a starting job with "120k+ salary, 6 weeks of vaca and tons of pto, non stressful work environment and little debt" I about choked on my water at that.

 

[gwarm01]

The sarcasm in that thread alone was amazing. I'll agree that is was wayyyy funnier than whatever show I was watching.

I don't want to wish him jobless, I truly want him to be successful, but honestly he has little to no work experience because he's not sticking to 1 thing long enough to have the experience that jobs want people to have.
I wonder if he's ever had a real job with the expectations he has. I recall him wanting a starting job with "120k+ salary, 6 weeks of vaca and tons of pto, non stressful work environment and little debt" I about choked on my water at that.

Don't forget the refusal to "hussle", as if the idea of going the extra mile to get your first break is beneath him. Some people just want it all handed to them.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Ok, so to summarize the last few posts of this thread, everyone has come to the arbitrary conclusion that the AA/CRNA job market is just as bad off as pharmacy's, AA's/CRNA's actually don't make earn more money or PTO or better benefits than pharmacists, and even if they did, it doesn't actually matter anyways because I'm going to fail at either getting accepted to or passing AA school, so everyone can continue to tell themselves that they'll always be better off than me because I'll always be unemployed. Yeah, I basically dont care enough to add much beyond that. To all the hard-working pharmacy students out there who truly love pharmacy -- enjoy starting your new life in a rural midwest/MS/LA/AR town when you graduate! You know, so you can get that first break at actually having the job you paid $150k+ to go to school for, because you truly love pharmacy that much and are willing to do whatever/go wherever it takes. Or enjoy working 60-70 hours/week in a residency program that will likely lead to a sub-six figures income upon graduation. I'll be done with school before you even start your residency program, and I won't even have to do a residency to qualify for an entry level job. Have fun

 

[smercer]

Ok, so to summarize the last few posts of this thread, everyone has come to the arbitrary conclusion that the AA/CRNA job market is just as bad off as pharmacy's, AA's/CRNA's actually don't make earn more money or PTO or better benefits than pharmacists, and even if they did, it doesn't actually matter anyways because I'm going to fail at either getting accepted to or passing AA school, so everyone can continue to tell themselves that they'll always be better off than me because I'll always be unemployed. Yeah, I basically dont care enough to add much beyond that. To all the hard-working pharmacy students out there who truly love pharmacy -- enjoy starting your new life in a rural midwest/MS/LA/AR town when you graduate! You know, so you can get that first break at actually having the job you paid $150k+ to go to school for, because you truly love pharmacy that much and are willing to do whatever/go wherever it takes. Or enjoy working 60-70 hours/week in a residency program that will likely lead to a sub-six figures income upon graduation. I'll be done with school before you even start your residency program, and I won't even have to do a residency to qualify for an entry level job. Have fun

Probably should wait to start your victory lap until you actually get accepted to and complete AA school.
Not going to argue that pharmacy is not in a bad place right now, but it is not quite that bad yet. Also the attitude towards you on the forum is related to how you act. Turns out acting like you are above having to do menial tasks gives the impression that you will not be great in a service type job like healthcare, such as your statements in previous posts about working as a nurse. At the end of the day, as an AA you will be at the mercy of the physician you are working with, being a prick will quickly get you out of a job if the physicians and other staff do not like you.

 

[lord999]

Don't worry, the invisible hand will take care of it all.

Actually, we will. The changes forthcoming to CMS will destroy the market, as CMS made it. I expect when someone actually gets around to it Greenspan Commission style (after we bust the budget) that it's going to be painful.

 

[PAtoPharm]

Actually, we will. The changes forthcoming to CMS will destroy the market, as CMS made it. I expect when someone actually gets around to it Greenspan Commission style (after we bust the budget) that it's going to be painful.

The changes coming to CMS will destroy the market for who? Just pharmacists, or all healthcare providers?

 

[beautifulrobot]

The changes coming to CMS will destroy the market for who? Just pharmacists, or all healthcare providers?

All healthcare workers.

 

[PAtoPharm]

All healthcare workers.

What kinds of changes are on the horizon? Primarily decreased reimbursements? And when are these changes expected to be implemented?

 

[Wickett]

Ok, so to summarize the last few posts of this thread, everyone has come to the arbitrary conclusion that the AA/CRNA job market is just as bad off as pharmacy's, AA's/CRNA's actually don't make earn more money or PTO or better benefits than pharmacists, and even if they did, it doesn't actually matter anyways because I'm going to fail at either getting accepted to or passing AA school, so everyone can continue to tell themselves that they'll always be better off than me because I'll always be unemployed. Yeah, I basically dont care enough to add much beyond that. To all the hard-working pharmacy students out there who truly love pharmacy -- enjoy starting your new life in a rural midwest/MS/LA/AR town when you graduate! You know, so you can get that first break at actually having the job you paid $150k+ to go to school for, because you truly love pharmacy that much and are willing to do whatever/go wherever it takes. Or enjoy working 60-70 hours/week in a residency program that will likely lead to a sub-six figures income upon graduation. I'll be done with school before you even start your residency program, and I won't even have to do a residency to qualify for an entry level job. Have fun

PAtoPharmtoAAtoNPtoBStoReceptionist, I would ask again, wth are you still doing in the pharm boards. Go away. We get it. You've got it all figured out and everyone else is an idiot. Good luck getting ahead with that entitled, lazy attitude you seem to have.

You're on the pharm board talking mainly to employed professionals....come talk and gloat over us when you've stopped bouncing around degree programs, actually complete one, and have an adult job. It's really getting old. At least go bother pre pharmers instead.

 

[beautifulrobot]

What kinds of changes are on the horizon? Primarily decreased reimbursements? And when are these changes expected to be implemented?

A few safe guesses are that several hospitals and FQHCs will shutdown, and others will dramatically decrease their services. There will be less money for loan repayment for healthcare professionals, less access to medications and preventative care to folks without health insurance, and more uninsured/underinsured people (so less utilization of non-emergency health services). There will be less services available (i.e. less jobs), a smaller pool of profitable patients to generate revenue from, along with more stressful working conditions for healthcare providers, and lower salaries and benefits. There will be less money all around, period. The only exception to this doom and gloom is if you are a provider in a for-profit private institution that serves a very wealthy population, or you have your own successful private practice that serves a very wealthy population, but this is almost always universally true anyway.

CMS' budget alone recently surpassed $1 trillion (FY 2017 Budget in Brief - CMS - Overview), and a good chunk of that goes towards reimbursement but also towards grants and incentives. If/when that starts to crash, well, everyone who works in healthcare or receives healthcare services (again, except for those who work in wealthy private practices that have never bothered with CMS money to begin with) is going to feel it, as the reach of CMS is far and wide. There are too many moving parts and too much uncertainty to say exactly what and when. A lot of interesting things can happen, as well, such as the states that are wealthy enough (e.g., California), may be able to come up with their own plan to protect against the fall of CMS. And who knows, maybe CMS wont crash and burn, but will be miraculously reformed to a single-payer system (highly unlikely... but maybe that will come out of the ashes of the post-CMS-crash hellscape).

It's reasonable to be concerned about the future of healthcare in this country, but that's the nature of the future, it's uncertain and no one can predict how and when things will turn out exactly. It's an interesting subject though, and many a blogs and books have been written about it, and I would definitely encourage you to read up on it if you have the time.

 

[klaurent02]

Graduated this year and tried looking for a retail job back home in Houston, and it's super saturated.
Instead of job openings, pharmacists are getting laid off down there and hours are getting cut. Only CVS had a few positions left.

Gave up looking and took a job in west Texas for now.

 

[Saiyo]

Instead of job openings, pharmacists are getting laid off down there and hours are getting cut.

wow I knew the hospital job market was bad...but if have expected retail to be better for such a large city...

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

wow I knew the hospital job market was bad...but if have expected retail to be better for such a large city...

LOL.

It's literally the opposite.

The job markets in metro areas are the WORST.

 

[rxdawg21]

All the local metro area's around here have been supply>demand since 2009-2010. Sure select interns still get hired, and sure select individuals are able to transfer into the area with a company or move to a different one. All the people I have known to be these select few have these few traits in common:
1) Very good persona (able to communicate well and give off good first impression)
2) intelligent and efficient worker (you can be smart and inefficient)
3) Proved themselves during pharmacy school as being a good asset as an intern
4) In addition the majority of them have been good looking or above average at worst (although there are some that weren't but did #3 even better then the rest)

Edited to add this*
After working with several pharmacist in both retail/hospital that are awful at their job I see why #3 is so important. These hiring manager's want someone they can trust when it is so easy to hire a dud. It's easy for dud's to get letter's of recommendations to so that is a useless tool to use.

 

[AHossain]

Jesus...this is scary