Light at the end of the tunnel....Job Offers Thread

[awval999]

That's gotta suck though for the resident. If I did a residency I would be pissed the **** off if I didn't start off as a clinical pharmacy manager/coordinator.

What pgy1 starts as a clinical pharmacy manager?

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[npage148]

That's gotta suck though for the resident. If I did a residency I would be pissed the **** off if I didn't start off as a clinical pharmacy manager/coordinator.

Haha, how often does that happen? I guess it's close to never

 

[confettiflyer]

That's gotta suck though for the resident. If I did a residency I would be pissed the **** off if I didn't start off as a clinical pharmacy manager/coordinator.

rofl...people expect to be a manager/coordinator after PGY1? Hahahahah....maybe in....Burma.

 

[R xxx]

It does happen. Ask xiphoid. He became director.

 

[BMBiology]

All I can say is once you get a job never stop getting those credentials. Last year I got my BLS, this year I'm getting ACLS, and will sit for the BCPS examination in October. I didn't do a residency. Didn't think they were "needed" when I graduated in 2010 and I still got a hospital job, but in 5 years or so, then yes, I do believe for new grads they won't get a spot without one. But I won't ever be competing with them, by then I will have 7 years experience and a BCPS. To compete against me you better damn well have a PGY-2; and that's just to get those staffing positions.

I also didn't do a residency. At my work place, there are 4 pharmacists who did complete a residency. We all do the same work. I have been receiving "exceeded expectation" on my evaluation so most likely I am being paid more but if our place closed down today and we applied for a new position, they would have an advantage over me because they completed a residency and I didn't.

 

[BenJammin]

I also didn't do a residency. At my work place, there are 4 pharmacists who did complete a residency. We all do the same work. I have been receiving "exceeded expectation" on my evaluation so most likely I am being paid more but if our place closed down today and we applied for a new position, they would have an advantage over me because they completed a residency and I didn't.

But you have experience so only those people and older would compete with you. To think that a relatively new resident would have an advantage over you is silly.

It does happen. Ask xiphoid. He became director.

You know what else happens? Some people fall off five story buildings and survive.

 

[BMBiology]

But you have experience so only those people and older would compete with you. To think that a relatively new resident would have an advantage over you is silly.

Not new residents. I am talking about my co-workers who completed a residency.

 

[BenJammin]

Not new residents. I am talking about my co-workers who completed a residency.

Employers look at more than just degrees and certificates. They might have an advantage but to say that they would pass you up 100 out of 100 times is silly in my opinion.

 

[R xxx]

You know what else happens? Some people fall off five story buildings and survive.

I was just giving an example. Rare? Yes. Does it happen? Yes.

 

[BMBiology]

Employers look at more than just degrees and certificates. They might have an advantage but to say that they would pass you up 100 out of 100 times is silly in my opinion.

All i am saying is they would have an "advantage". I am not saying that advantage can't be overcome.

 

[Lubeckd]

It does happen. Ask xiphoid. He became director.

he has a pgy2 doesnt he?

 

[xiphoid2010]

he has a pgy2 doesnt he?

No, just PGY-1.

To answer the question if it is possible? Sure anything is possible. Is it probable? No.

I came on as a hybrid clinical/manger. My first task was to bring the excessive antibiotic use and cost under control. I did a good job, and then the DOP moved up to corporate half a year later. He and several others supported me to take his place. So it was lucky timing.

On the other hand, it is a small hospital, underserved area, many of the practices are substandard. So some clinical training and practices learned get you further here. I would probably be another clinical pharmacist if I went to work for any other major hospitals.

 

[PharmaSex]

So I still haven't decided between Rite Aid and Walgreens. With either store I am guaranteed at least 30-32 hours per week. The pay is also the same but I would work 12 hr shifts with RA and 8 hour ones for WAGS. I feel that I would have more free time with the 12 hour shift. However, I am always hesitant about the polices of each company. Does anyone know who has better benefits? Any former workers of either company to shed any light on work conditions?

 

[Sparda29]

What pgy1 starts as a clinical pharmacy manager?

Haha, how often does that happen? I guess it's close to never

rofl...people expect to be a manager/coordinator after PGY1? Hahahahah....maybe in....Burma.

Nope, buddy of mine graduated in 2011, did a PGY-1 and got the clinical coordinator position at a hospital in the health system.

 

[BMBiology]

So I still haven't decided between Rite Aid and Walgreens. With either store I am guaranteed at least 30-32 hours per week. The pay is also the same but I would work 12 hr shifts with RA and 8 hour ones for WAGS. I feel that I would have more free time with the 12 hour shift. However, I am always hesitant about the polices of each company. Does anyone know who has better benefits? Any former workers of either company to shed any light on work conditions?

Working condition really depends on your co-workers and location. It varies. Any info on the benefits?

 

[TonyRx]

Finding a job in Palm Beach is like looking for gold. Not fun.

Good luck. Publix isn't hiring right now from what my Publix Intern classmates have told me, CVS might be hiring and Wags is only hiring/interviewing working Interns. Last year, all but 1 hired in my district in Palm Beach were local Interns with years of Wag experience. This year, I've heard the same is occuring so far. Slim pickings down here...

 

[IndyPrePharm]

They were at my school when our class interviewed but they told almost all of us that there were no jobs available. Their selection process is just...strange to say the least. I know one girl that was told by a district manager (or at least I think it was a district manager) that she would be a terrible fit. All of the other chains jumped at the chance to hire her so it was kind of weird. She compared that feeling to a med student getting accepted by Harvard but rejected by the University of Phoenix. One of those WTF moments I guess.

I can totally relate! I worked 4+ years for Target Pharmacy as a technician and then as an intern during pharm school. My pharm manager at my store loved me! I was invited to interview for a pharmacist position (of which, they had 4 openings to offer spots!). I thought I was a shoo-in! Interviews both went flawlessly! The first interviewer even told me she and the other interviewer would meet after both the one-on-one interviews to decide, but that she would be advocating for them to hire me. I heard a month later that they had decided to turn me down for the position! I even had taken the tuition reimbursement of $3k/year for 3 years while in pharmacy school, and they STILL didn't take me! Thanks for the cash at least, but I was totally stunned! When I emailed the interviewer that had turned me down and asked for additional feedback, she would not even give me the courtesy to respond, so I still have no idea what went so wrong. Apparently, there was a booger hangin that I didn't know about or something hahaha. I can guarantee they will never see my name across an application in the future.

 

[IndyPrePharm]

CVS Offer in Indiana: $54.50/hour, they will match up to 5% on 401k contributions BUT only after you've put in 1 year with them, 2 weeks paid vaca after 6 months from hire then it jumps to 3 weeks at your 3 yr anniversary, and then 4 weeks vaca at your 14 year mark, 30% off CVS brand products in store and 20% off everything else. Last awesome bene was that so long as you sign up for their CVS Caremark insurance, you and anyone else covered under the plan will have a $0 copay for any MinuteClinic visits. Hellooooo PCP !

 

[Patrickthetiger]

I interviewed for and was offered a LTC position in the Dallas area this week. No residency for me -- I will graduate this May. Pay is $33/hr until I'm licensed and then bumps up to $51/hr with a full 40 hrs/week. Also, the position has 7 paid holidays and I start at 19 days of PTO/year! The great working environment (not on my feet for 12 hrs/day, great mgmt team, great location) plus the PTO and bennies totally makes up for the difference in pay from my retail offer with Walgreens ($57.50/hr).

Sorry, didn't mean to brag so hard... Im just extremely excited! Just keep looking, all you new grads! The jobs are out there!

 

[Patrickthetiger]

You have got to be kidding me. Texas sucks just like any other place. The ONLY places hiring in Texas are in the border of Mexico and El Paso!

I got an offer in El Paso b/c Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio are NOT hiring.

If the only jobs you can get are in the border of Mexico...the situation is NOT good. Sorry.

This is mostly false, as you can see in my post above. Walgreens offered me in Dallas and Target offered me in Ft. Worth. I'm no academic all-star, either. I also know Walgreens also needs folks in Temple and College Station.

 

[Acid11]

This is mostly false, as you can see in my post above. Walgreens offered me in Dallas and Target offered me in Ft. Worth. I'm no academic all-star, either. I also know Walgreens also needs folks in Temple and College Station.

Wow congrats! Did you ever work for that LTC?

 

[Patrickthetiger]

Nope-- I found them via one of my rotation sites in AL this year. Basically, the LTC company is a client of my previous preceptor. Found them online, called them and never let them have the chance to forget about me. The timing all worked out perfectly. Didn't hurt that both of my future bosses graduated from my school, either.

The Target and Walgreens opportunities originated from a combo of my own legwork and my school's interview day.

 

[confettiflyer]

Nope, buddy of mine graduated in 2011, did a PGY-1 and got the clinical coordinator position at a hospital in the health system.

n = 1, and I said manager not coordinator (coordinator...i can believe it, mmmaybe). how many beds is this health system anyway and what geographic area is it?

 

[tobie]

So I still haven't decided between Rite Aid and Walgreens. With either store I am guaranteed at least 30-32 hours per week. The pay is also the same but I would work 12 hr shifts with RA and 8 hour ones for WAGS. I feel that I would have more free time with the 12 hour shift. However, I am always hesitant about the polices of each company. Does anyone know who has better benefits? Any former workers of either company to shed any light on work conditions?

the 12hr shift is cool... however, if you work multiple days on in a row, you'll need a day to so to recouperate. trust me, I figured it was nice at first, then after a moth of those shifts i wanted to ice-pick my eye out. IF you choose it.... spend money and get the best shoes you can get.... cause you're fooling yourself if you think you will get to sit down.

 

[Sparda29]

n = 1, and I said manager not coordinator (coordinator...i can believe it, mmmaybe). how many beds is this health system anyway and what geographic area is it?

Whats the difference? Only one above him is the DOP. It's in the NYC/Long Island area, health system has like 10-12 hospitals and his hospital has about 250 beds.

 

[Momus]

So I still haven't decided between Rite Aid and Walgreens. With either store I am guaranteed at least 30-32 hours per week. The pay is also the same but I would work 12 hr shifts with RA and 8 hour ones for WAGS. I feel that I would have more free time with the 12 hour shift. However, I am always hesitant about the polices of each company. Does anyone know who has better benefits? Any former workers of either company to shed any light on work conditions?

This should not even be explained LOL... WAG all the way. Compare to WAG/CVS, RAD provides the lowest benefits and lowest wage. You can google that their 401k offering is the ****tiest, other benefits (sick, vacation) are one of the worst. You know they are not financially healthy company. There is a bankruptcy carrot dangling in front of you everyday if you choose to go with RAD, and that's why their benefits are ****ty, they can't really afford it. Working condition should be pretty similar. Retail is retail.

 

[tobie]

This should not even be explained LOL... WAG all the way. Compare to WAG/CVS, RAD provides the lowest benefits and lowest wage. You can google that their 401k offering is the ****tiest, other benefits (sick, vacation) are one of the worst. You know they are not financially healthy company. There is a bankruptcy carrot dangling in front of you everyday if you choose to go with RAD, and that's why their benefits are ****ty, they can't really afford it. Working condition should be pretty similar. Retail is retail.

agreed. even though i dislike wags too, i find that looking at their stock (hovering around $30) and RAD, hovering around $1.... well ya. As a former rad pharmd, benefits sucked. and since they moved to salary, they gave no incentive to help out other stores that need help.... well, now, they threaten you when you deny them on your day off, or get even by misplacing you vacation/day off request sheets

 

[confettiflyer]

Whats the difference? Only one above him is the DOP. It's in the NYC/Long Island area, health system has like 10-12 hospitals and his hospital has about 250 beds.

Difference to me is that the DOP needs a lot more experience than a PGY1 can provide...the only time i've known of direct hires into a management spot is PGY2 --> associate director in-house. Even xiphoid wasn't a direct hire to DOP after PGY1.

Your friend lucked out...stars aligned, mayans predicted it, all that jazz.

I expect staffing and working weekends/swing shift with my PGY1, and I'll be happy with that.

 

[Sparda29]

Difference to me is that the DOP needs a lot more experience than a PGY1 can provide...the only time i've known of direct hires into a management spot is PGY2 --> associate director in-house. Even xiphoid wasn't a direct hire to DOP after PGY1.

Your friend lucked out...stars aligned, mayans predicted it, all that jazz.

I expect staffing and working weekends/swing shift with my PGY1, and I'll be happy with that.

Hell, even the clinical coordinator at my hospital got the gig straight out of PGY1. She too did her PGY1 residency in the health system so maybe its a thing where if you do a residency within the health system, you get directly hired into being a coordinator where available.

 

[maomao9985]

hey everybody!
I will be graduating in May of 2013. Currently I am trying to find job in the retail setting. I have 3 years of intern experience with Kroger. However Kroger has so many interns, it is unlikely that they will hire me. So, I am trying to look for a job with other chains. I attended interview day in my school. Got an interview with CVS. However I have not heard back from them since then. I am getting worried that I many not have a job after graduation. Any tips and advice?

 

[terse]

Putting aside all of this negativity, does ANYONE have any offers to share? This forum has turned into a freaking debate about the number hours new grads are getting these days and how sh*tty the pharmacy environment has become...

I graduated in 2012. I didn't do a residency but still landed a clinical position in a large hospital that pays $72/hr (with a raise to $77/hr later this year) with benefits, starting 4 weeks vacation... and in one of the most saturated cities in the US.

I'm not one of those superstar 4.0 students either. I have to say I am very fortunate and count my blessings everyday.

How's that for some positivity?

 

[terse]

I forgot to mention I got offered a position with Target starting at $60/hr 8 months prior to graduating.

 

[wucool33]

I graduated in 2012. I didn't do a residency but still landed a clinical position in a large hospital that pays $72/hr (with a raise to $77/hr later this year) with benefits, starting 4 weeks vacation... and in one of the most saturated cities in the US.

I'm not one of those superstar 4.0 students either. I have to say I am very fortunate and count my blessings everyday.

How's that for some positivity?

That's not positivity, that just makes me hate you lol how did u manage to get that position? What kind of connections did u have? I'm pretty sure it wasn't just your awesome "interview skills"...

 

[xiphoid2010]

Well, gotta keep the cost of living in mind. Per bankrate.com, $160k a year in LA is like $115 in major Texas cities. Still, pretty good for a new grad hospital job. But $60/hr would have kinda sucked with the ridiculous state taxes and housing cost.

 

[wucool33]

Well, gotta keep the cost of living in mind. Per bankrate.com, $160k a year in LA is like $115 in major Texas cities. Still, pretty good for a new grad hospital job. But $60/hr would have kinda sucked with the ridiculous state taxes and housing cost.

Tell me about it... LA salary is only in the 50s right now for retails in a decent location...

 

[PharmaSex]

I graduated in 2012. I didn't do a residency but still landed a clinical position in a large hospital that pays $72/hr (with a raise to $77/hr later this year) with benefits, starting 4 weeks vacation... and in one of the most saturated cities in the US.

I'm not one of those superstar 4.0 students either. I have to say I am very fortunate and count my blessings everyday.

How's that for some positivity?

Holy crap! That's amazing. Can I ask the what the institution is and/or city?

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I just accepted an offer with Target for a part time position. I interviewed for a float job but they offered me a position in a set store. It's salaried at 22 hours per week with the ability to pick up additional shifts at any of the other 8 stores in the market. Full benefits from day one, 401K match, incentive program, employee discount, etc.

I wasn't looking for full time but they are also hiring at least two full time RPH positions in my area. One is management and the other is staff.

 

[xiphoid2010]

I just accepted an offer with Target for a part time position. I interviewed for a float job but they offered me a position in a set store. It's salaried at 22 hours per week with the ability to pick up additional shifts at any of the other 8 stores in the market. Full benefits from day one, 401K match, incentive program, employee discount, etc.

I wasn't looking for full time but they are also hiring at least two full time RPH positions in my area. One is management and the other is staff.

Congratulations! I think...

I did 2 months P4 rotationsat targert,and I agree with their reputation of being the least dark of the dark side.

So going retail I see. I think you might end up management there in the end. You and I don't always agree with each other, but I know you well enough and respect you as a worthy opponent. Your skills would better benefit society in a setting that can affect bigger population than a small MTM. I'm kind of happy but also saddened that you may soon be swimming in the same kind of quagmire trying to make a positive impact.

The only pearl I can offer you at this point is don't take everything upon yourself once you see all the deficiencies. It's easier said than done. But being a mother of 2, I think you will need to keep that in mind more than I.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Congratulations! I think...

I did 2 months P4 rotationsat targert,and I agree with their reputation of being the least dark of the dark side.

So going retail I see. I think you might end up management there in the end. You and I don't always agree with each other, but I know you well enough and respect you as a worthy opponent. Your skills would better benefit society in a setting that can affect bigger population than a small MTM. I'm kind of happy but also saddened that you may soon be swimming in the same kind of quagmire trying to make a positive impact.

The only pearl I can offer you at this point is don't take everything upon yourself once you see all the deficiencies. It's easier said than done. But being a mother of 2, I think you will need to keep that in mind more than I.

Thanks! I was really impressed with their offer. I needed to get out of the house. Working from home is so isolating although for me it has been very lucrative.

I totally hear you about not taking on too much. That's why I didn't put in for the full time staff position or the PIC position they are hiring for. I might move into those roles when the boys are a little older. Right now it's too much! Two kids under age two... you will see!

 

[BenJammin]

Worst part about Target: those damn colored rings.

 

[xiphoid2010]

I totally hear you about not taking on too much. That's why I didn't put in for the full time staff position or the PIC position they are hiring for. I might move into those roles when the boys are a little older. Right now it's too much! Two kids under age two... you will see!

I hear you but also find it hard that your would let things slide for long. You and I are busy bodies, little too strong in our beliefs for our own good. Time and experience will temper us, but never 100%, and I hope not for our patients' sake. My daughter is due in May, oh God! PM me if you ever need an inpatient perspective or just want to trade stories about evil babies.

 

[xiphoid2010]

Difference to me is that the DOP needs a lot more experience than a PGY1 can provide...the only time i've known of direct hires into a management spot is PGY2 --> associate director in-house. Even xiphoid wasn't a direct hire to DOP after PGY1.

Your friend lucked out...stars aligned, mayans predicted it, all that jazz.

I expect staffing and working weekends/swing shift with my PGY1, and I'll be happy with that.

The reality, as many things, isn't as far apart as you and sparda appears to be. Yes, in a densely populated and desirable area, what you say would be true, but there are many levels of desirability in between.

The clinical coordinator from a midsized hospital that I hired as PRN has only a PGY-1 and made CC after 2 years after that. Why? Because it is an underserved area and he was among the most competent in this area.

The level of care varies hugely almost areas. I think like you, the mainstream/standard of care, and I would hate to see you compromise your values. But reality isn't as black and white. Often you can make a bigger difference In a lesser setting. However, I must also confess, it is a struggle.

The inequity of life is self evident. Maybe one day you'll see the biggest difference you make is to mitigate disasters. Manage the dark side so you can save your strength to make a difference when it matters.