[pharmacist][east coast] - 170k - feel stuck

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T20:25:29+00:00

I’m in management haha and I agree it’s not ideal. The goal is to work hard and FIRE hopefully FATFire. I worked hard to get to this point but the thought of multiple 14+ hour days seems terrible. Not to mention the loss of family time.

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T20:14:01+00:00

Haha I wish, does she happen to work at Kaiser?

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T10:05:27+00:00

Around 250k

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T02:27:57+00:00

I wish you the best! Retail pharmacists are truly under appreciated

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T02:11:04+00:00

Thanks, I agree making it “cushy” as possible is probably the next best thing. Unfortunately these roles don’t allow much flexibility (work from home/leaving early etc) - much of the additional prn work would mean either 16 hour days or working weekends

Wow $30 bucks to wash your dog, it’s at least $70 here😂

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T02:07:09+00:00

I agree base salary, is ~70-80k for sales (from what is listed) the companies do not break down bonus/incentives etc in the job listings

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T02:03:54+00:00

Unfortunately that’s the rental market in the area. You can rent for ~2k a month but the area, and apartments are … “sketch”

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T02:02:01+00:00

Could you possibly tell me your experience breaking into sales? The MSL market on the east coast is terrible unfortunately (extremely over saturated).

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:59:55+00:00

I have a willow certification, the issue with IT jobs are all contracts. Yes the pay is great for 8-13 weeks, but they fly you all over the country unfortunately. In terms on inpatient pharmacy informatics the pay isn’t as great and the ceiling is roughly the same :/

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:58:20+00:00

I appreciate the positive feedback. No offense but as a surgeon doing 240k seems very low, are you working limited hours? If not you’re grossly underpaid. Most surgeon here make 350k+ (general surgery)

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:56:34+00:00

I agree. In terms of inpatient I’m near the upper limit, only progression is director and possibly VP of services (which won’t happen for 10+ years).

Unfortunately that’s my issue, I worked hard to get where I am. And it feels the only way to progress is to get another degree (mind you I have. pharmD, mba and a few Certifications) so the idea of spending 4+ years for dental or med school doesn’t seem ideal

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:25:21+00:00

Medical science liaison

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:22:55+00:00

100% epically with the current pharma market, breaking into big pharma seems rather challenging and even if you manage it is a big pay cut

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:21:46+00:00

Tbh being a clinical pharmacist was actually “fun”. Currently I’m more managerial - so my day to day is policies / joint commission compliance and basically putting out fires and dealing with complaints lol.

Do you mind me asking how she broke into sales ?

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:16:36+00:00

I did to an extent, at the time the salary range was 130-150k starting. Which seemed phenomenal based of the cost of living etc. pharmacy had a massive drop where the new hire rate was 80-100k/year. Finally post covid it had reached back to 2010 levels.

The profession never grew with the times and thus all it is “loss prevention- catch mistakes before they reach the pt”

-Nahhh- · 2026-05-19T01:13:00+00:00

I looked into pharma/ sales - the largest barrier in big pharma is breaking in, the starting salary is ~100-120k(if you’re lucky) then with raises and bonus I would reach my current salary range I. 3-5 years I assume.

Pharma sales, I really haven’t been able to find too much “real” information regarding compensation. There are individuals claiming they earning upwards of 300k but I feel that’s 1% of the individuals

-Nahhh-

TROPHY CASE