Okay, I don't think there's too many pharmacy students or pharmacists on this board, so I'll take out some time to explain WHY pharmacists get around $100,000 when they first get out. First of all I am 2nd year pharmacy student and will be graduating in 2 1/2 years. From an educational perspective, pharmacy students are trained much more than the average person thinks. While doctors learn about diagnosis, we learn about disease states and WHY medications work the way they do. We learn about which medications to chose and which ones not to choose in any type of situation. Now what happens if the person has decompensated heart failure AND have high cholesterol? Most people are on a statin (ex. Lipitor), ACE inhibitor (lisinopril), along with a beta blocker (metoprolol). But if you give that person along with heart failure, a beta blocker, then you just committed murder. Sometimes doctors make these kinds of mistakes and we, as pharmacists, have to be there and correct their mistakes. Now you brought up people working at Walgreens (retailer) and was wondering why we make so much for doing "basically nothing". First of all, nobody wants to work for retail. There's a lot of stress since we don't have enough staff to fill all the prescriptions we're getting. On top of that, when patients come in and ask us questions, we're usually very limited in the amount of time we can give them. Yes, retail pharmacists do a lot of standing there and verifying prescriptions, but it's not that easy and you probably won't be able to handle it. You can really see the amount of knowledge pharmacists have when they're in hospitals. Pharmacists in the clinical settings have to know more than the doctors about that specific disease state. For example, if you have a pharmacist on your team treating acute heart failure, he would have to know every contraindication for every medication they're giving the patient and which other options to choose from if the first line treatment is not an option. I'm sorry about going on so long, but people just don't seem the understand the importance of pharmacists. Not all pharmacists work at walgreens and have their knowledge wasted. A lot of people think that pharmacists gets paid too much at retail stores, but they really dont' know what we have to through and how much we know.
There is no insurance to pay at Walgreens or any other retailer that you work at. Also, you don't have to meet any goals about prescriptions per hour and nope, we don't get a deduction in money. No buddy. In houston, pharmacists at walgreens start out at around $95000. At least $44 and sometimes $48 starting off. Pharmacy managers get between $50-52 per hour. With all that overtime and bonuses, you're looking at $100-130,000.
Sounds like you are well on your way. Someday you'll talk like my dad who I always tell, "now tell that all again to me in English or at least on a level I can understand".
I don't mean to be mean, but being a pharmacist seems boring. I know it's good money but how is it to work in that field? I guess clinical pharm sounds better than retail. Just wondering since that seems to be the common perception.
Good response! When I started this thread, my intent was not to demean or insult what pharmacists do. You answered a lot of my questions. Thanks.
No problem. Just make sure you don't piss off that guy's wife again. Dude, retail is repetitive and stressful, so yes it IS boring for a lot of people. I just never find it boring because of the co-workers I have. Pharmacists in clinical settings almost never complain about they're work because they go on rounds just like the doctors do and they're really involved in the patient's disease management. On average, the pharmacist in Houston makes about 100 - 130k including bonuses and overtime. The average hospital pharmacist probably makes 10-20k less than that. I guess it just depends on how important money is to you. Also, not everybody will get accepted into hospital positions. These are very competitive and will usually require 2 years of residency. So if you went to undergrad and got a degree, then you'd have to be in school for 10 years...
Hey Got em, what Doctorate of Pharmacy program are you attending? im at TSU pharmacy school right now (1st year). I was going to explain alot of what you did to the people who replied in this thread but i think you covered the majority of it.
I've always been fascinated by drugs and how the interact with the body, and I've thought several times that I'd like to explore going back to school for pharmacy. But I also know that I'd probably either be in jail or rehab within 6 months.
2nd year at Texas Tech School of Pharmacy. I have met a lot of your P2 classmates at my Walgreens summer internship program. They're really cool people. Well, you don't stand there and verify prescriptions all day and you get to use your knowledge and clinical skills. Working at Walgreens can be very stressful and boring, so this is why people would actually take a pay cut and work at hospitals.
Well, good for them...A lot of people make more and do much less...i would want a professional who knows there crap about every single type of drug and its adverse effects... Having said that, that seems like a hell of a lot for someone right out of school...As they get experience, 4 sure...
There's a shortage in pharmacists right now. It's a good and stable gig but you need to pay attention and have patience to do highly stressful yet repetitive work.
I can understand the shortage. I personally wouldn't want to do such repetitive work. My wife is about to graduate nursing school and that seems stressful as hell too but they don't get paid nearly as much. Wish they did so I can gets my plasmas
That's why people take pay cuts and go to hospitals. I'm actually thinking about that if I can get into one without having to do 2 years of residency.
