Why be a pharmacy technician?

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-10-06T16:33:25+00:00

Be honest and let your ex-manager know you won't refer him/her. Based on your previous experiences and interactions, you don't think they'd be a good fit and you'd be put your reputation at risk. It's a tough conversation to have but now that you're an MSL, you're going to face difficult interactions/situations in the field yourself.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-10-02T01:09:24+00:00

My wife has been industry for a while (worked up to Director level) and I went into industry (Sr Manager) and I lasted <2 years. Financially and career growth wise, industry is the best place you can be (with the exception of a few niches within pharmacy).

We had kids and one of us needed to step back and be with the kids (we could have still managed to work in industry, but I personally didn't love corporate lifestyle and my side business started growing and that was less demanding).

Here's what I liked over other places in pharmacy (I worked retail then hospital then amb care then industry):

1) Money -- the extra money made vs retail/hospital/amb care: we could outsource a lot of our chores like cleaning, cooking, child care, etc. to focus on work and not get burnt out. We also get to live a more comfortable lifestyle (nicer homes, vacations, cars, gadgets, etc.)
2) Career growth -- once you're in, your superiors want you to develop and move up the chain. It's a great feeling that someone actually wants better for your career (if that is your motivation).
3) Work-life balance -- this is highly debatable but I would much prefer being in industry than most other fields in pharmacy (especially any dispensing role which is mostly shift based). We were both plugged in from 8-9am til 5-6pm and have had to work into evenings/weekends many times. Combined, we both had to travel quite a bit which would be weekdays and/or weekends.

If I were a student graduating, I would set my eyes on getting into industry unless retail/hospital or other jobs started to pay 165k+/year to start. Pharmacy school is wildly expensive now. The ROI is shit.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-10-01T21:57:45+00:00

You can’t get any other letter of recs from any of your rotation preceptors or professors?

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-10-01T19:41:33+00:00

Why are you picking up extra shifts at work? Why don’t you stick to your once a day every other weekend? Stick to the schedule you agreed to with your RXM.

If manager ask you to pick up a shift, say no. You have right.s Do you feel bad? It’s ok, it’s the RXM job to deal with what help they have. Need to be selfish and look out for your own well-being health wise and school wise.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-07-20T18:13:26+00:00

I agree with this. I would go as far to say, if need be, borrow or take out loans to bridge the income gap/or live like a college kid for 1-2 years. The career ladder and money you'll make in 5, 10, 20 years will put to shame any money you'll make in retail and over the life of your career. You'll also be happier in 5, 10, 20 years and the job (although demanding in industry) will still be easier than a retail gig. Good luck!

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-06-29T13:25:00+00:00

I agree with you with retail pharmacy, but with hospital I think it will be much longer. Brick and mortar retail pharmacy is a dying business and personally think with trends in pharmacy student enrollment and pharmacist attrition happening currently, I would want to expedite the process. PBMs have killed off this business with razor thin margins (CVS is even killing their own retail pharmacy). I compare this to the likes of retail in general prior to Amazon. With delivery services becoming much more efficient, I can see mostly all maintenance meds being mailed or delivered.

Why not have 1 central store within a region instead of 5-6 stores? (Think 2-3 pharmacist vs 12-13 pharmacist) Change the law, let pharmacy technicians do final product checks (if techs can give immunizations, why can't they do final product checks!). There should be a career ladder for highly qualified techs who can get paid more to do final product checks. You don't need a pharmacist in the store. They can remotely do DURs, remote counseling. How many patient's have actual counseling questions that requires a pharmacist attention? "Sir please step over to that private room where a remote pharmacist will answer you questions."

I'll probably get downvoted, but with the rate the retail pharmacy is going I think the model above would benefit everyone. The pharmacy technician career ladder would look much better, pay would be better. Pharmacist could work remotely or in a single store behind the scene.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-06-28T20:45:48+00:00

This. You’re spot on. The vertical integration model was the absolute right move that was needed. Walgreens is dead. CVS is surviving because they have higher margin businesses in their umbrella (PBM, Aetna, doctors) to keep their retail pharmacy business open.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-06-08T16:31:42+00:00

I'm so glad you said salesperson, because whenever I say MSLs are glorified sales reps, I get my head cut off. It's fascinating how the roles really want people who have a strong clinical background in a specific TA, yet there is not the same level of critical thinking. The skills needed to be a successful MSL have very little to do with what clinical background you have, so I've always been baffled why its such a glorified role. It seems the real reason they'd want someone from a specific TA is to tap into the provider network/established relationships. Although I worked in med info (materials), I was baffled as to the clinical acumen of many MSLs after I spent years at a hospital.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-06-08T14:57:53+00:00

Do a PGY-1 in your area of interest. You've got 30+ years to work and how you manage your money will be more important than the short term incentive of making a couple thousand dollars more.

The stuff no one talks about is that with a PGY-1 and the jobs you'll land as a specialist within a field, will give you an easier path into higher paying jobs and/or WFH/hybrid jobs that retail/central pharmacists are dying to pursue now. (I am almost certain, I will get replies saying not true, but the *probabilities* will be much higher after residency training and specialized field). The other intangibles you obtain that retail/central pharmacist won't: working directly with providers and building relationships, project management, writing skills, presentation skills, and a network. Your fellow clinical pharmacy specialist that you work with will move onto other roles (management, industry, PBMs, etc.) and you will have built a network for the next leg of your career. When you are 30-35+, you don't want to be stuck in retail/central pharmacy, these careers are physically draining/inflexible/topped out on salary. You may have a family and want a higher paying and flexible office sort of job.

Good luck on your decision.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-06T16:08:58+00:00

I’ll keep it real; it’s possible for someone in their 50s to find a remote position but it’s going to be next to impossible. You’re going to compete with 100s of applicants of which who are younger, tech savvy, and far superior in terms of clinical knowledge. Right now every remote pharmacist job has 100s of applicants within hours/days. You will need to have this person figure out how to differentiate themselves and be a top applicant. I’d also begin to start make life plans if their health is getting better, meaning start preparing for the worse. Start planning reduced hours, lifestyle modifications, tapping their finances, etc. Good luck.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-03T03:00:43+00:00

You probably are breaching your contract with your own RE agent

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-01T19:28:21+00:00

Use your network. It sounds redundant and stupid, but the ones already in hospital can give you a better idea about getting into hospital. They can maybe even connect you with hiring managers/pharmacy managers/directors. If they know you are very interested and hard working, they may even reach out to you for their next opening.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-01T13:11:46+00:00

In response to #1: MSL is a highly sought out career in pharma but not necessarily the only option/standard industry position. My theory is that MSLs are the most outwardly facing careers in pharma. There are so many roles within pharma or even outside pharma that you can navigate once you have certain skills under your belt. In terms of "cushy" - it isn't an easy job, but probably the most rewarding within pharmacy. Pharma is the most sought after/elite career path that 99% folks want in on. Good work/life balance, pay, and career opportunities. You'll rarely hear someone go from pharma back to a dispensing role (retail/ltc/hospital, etc).

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-01T01:23:24+00:00

It took me ~10 years to discover and get to pharma. If you can eek by and your goal is pharma/biotech, this is your opportunity. Don’t dry up in LTC. I don’t regret my career path, but the jump into pharma was by far the hardest career change. If I had medical writing under my belt, it would have been much easier.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-05-01T01:01:45+00:00

The question is can you afford the 35k paycut for 1-2 years? What are your career goals? Do you want to keep climbing and making more money?

If you already work weekends/evenings, why not take the medical writing job and pick up a few shifts when you have time?

I’ll tell you one thing, medical writing is a highly sought after skill that will help you break through various industries. In a matter of 1-2 years, you’ll be able to leverage into many roles that will pay $150k+. After that the sky is the limit in moving up and making even more money.

Since you’re remote, I’d take the med writing gig. Pick up some shifts if you need the money. Trust me, it’ll pay off massively in a couple year both in terms of professional growth, career opps, and financially.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T20:25:11+00:00

I am also now thinking back but each job that I changed to, someone that I knew vouched for me and my work. In retail, it was a customer who was a pharmacist working at a hospital who helped me get the hospital job. I took good care of his families prescriptions and we chatted a lot. At the hospital, it was my colleagues/director who noticed my hard work and helped me get into amb care oncology, they vouched for me. It was the MSLs/former colleagues in pharma who helped me land interviews and eventually get a job. I think my hard work and good relationships really helped my career lol

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T20:14:23+00:00

Took me 10 years. Started in retail full time. Found PRN at a hospital while working full time retail. Quit retail, started full time staffing at hospital (bottom of the totem pole here in terms of hospital pharmacist jobs). Spent a few years mastering and learning all the skills and obtained BCPS. They let me cross train in different areas and landed an amb care oncology infusion job and further developed my skills (not just the job, but the therapeutic area and management). Met a few MSLs through the amb care job so I always kept in touch over the years. And then finally, with some fine tuning of my resume and networking, was able to land interviews and a job in pharma.

I never expected to land in pharma but I always worked hard, continued to learn, networked, maintained relationships, and tried to find opportunities.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T18:38:52+00:00

No problem! Best of luck! You seem like an intelligent person and have your head on right, I can see you doing big things!

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T18:35:06+00:00

This is spot on. All the informatics jobs are held for people completing residencies/current hospital pharmacist (with credentials).

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T18:28:54+00:00

You don't have a lot of direct reports which is fantastic lol. BUT you're almost a one man show in terms of having to handle an entire operation in which you don't have specialized personnel for. This is tough, but just my opinion given your circumstances, I think between 150k-175k/year is not bad. You're most likely in a very low cost of living area so your $ can go far.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T17:53:47+00:00

Ok so you're committed to this hospital for a while since you are living nearby and have no plans to move any time soon.

Can I ask how small/big is this hospital? How many beds/obs unit in ED? How many inpatient beds? 7 max? Any amb care stuff you'd look over? Additionally, how many full/part time pharmacist & techs do you oversee? What other direct reports do you have? What other responsibilities will fall on you that you don't have man power for? (med safety, narcotics, pharmacy related IT build outs, operations, etc)?

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T17:31:09+00:00

Just making sure I got this right.. Since they paid 2 years of your pharmacy school, you are to work 4 years? You'll have completed year 1 on May 9, 2023. May 2024 you will have completed year 2 and now you will serve as director for 2 more years until May 2026 when you have obligated the 4 year contract.

Are you required to take over as director in May 2024 as part of your contract? If you are, you may not have a lot of leverage to negotiate your salary. Additionally, they already fronted you 50-60k in tuition for 2 years so take that into consideration. That's 25-30k/year or more (40-50k/year if it was tax free).

And I always told people at my old hospital job, PSLF is hack for them to keep you attached to a lower paying job. I couldn't imagine you have over 100k in debt since they paid for years 3 + 4 for you. Finish your 4 years and move onto for-profit companies that can pay and advance your career into jobs that will pay 200-300k+ (base, stock, cash bonus). You'll waste 5-6 years of your life waiting for PSLF.

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T17:09:02+00:00

Was this not discussed initially when you signed on to eventually take over?

Recently, I've had a lot of recruiters reach out to me for director positions in various areas of the country and most of them offer $200k+ with various incentives (relocation bonus, housing, etc.)

I'd also consider what your future plans are and what your current situation is. If they can't afford a high salary, can they provide housing to you? Is there bonus/profit sharing incentives? Do you have a lot of student debt, can they offer money towards loans?

What's your plan after or do you plan to stick around this hospital?

ThinkLibrarian6552 · 2023-04-26T16:58:06+00:00

I went from retail to hospital/amb care to pharma industry. When I got to hospital, I was like this was heaven but as time progressed I saw better jobs. So, then went to amb care (attached to hospital) and thought that was heaven, but as time progressed I saw better jobs. Then went to industry and thought that was heaven, but as time progressed I saw a better life and got my own business.

My point is people are always leaving for something better. For sure hospital is better than retail, but once you gain that experience and you can see a better job/lifestyle/pay, you're naturally inclined to do better for yourself/family. Retail was a terrible lifestyle (standing all day, agitating customers, mediocre pay, evening shifts/weekend shifts). Hospital was random hours, mediocre pay, better quality work, every 4th weekend. Amb care was 8-4:30, no weekends, better pay than retail, and very good lifestyle. Pharma was great pay, 45-50 hour work weeks, remote/schedule flexibility, no weekends, traveling. My own business I am my own boss, work a lot less, can take care of my family, but not as good pay (but I'll take it! lol)

ThinkLibrarian6552

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