Hi Everyone!
It's been, what?, 7 years since my last post? So much has changed. I recently lost my job with the employer I had been with for 15 years. They recently adopted the practice of forcing out anyone over the age of 35. They told me they could hire someone with less experience for less money. By getting rid of me, my store saved $50K per year in salary costs. Then there is the savings in benefit costs. At no point did they ever ask if I was willing to take a pay-cut. These big chains were throwing money at us in the 90s and 00s, but somehow it was our fault for making so much. These chains have also been responsible for flooding the market with pharmacists in order to drive down salaries. They realised that sponsoring pharmacy schools was cheaper that paying high salaries. Since moving to this area, 5 pharmacy schools have opened. They vary in size, but altogether we have almost 1000 new pharmacists graduating each year. Many apply for PGY1 programs, but there are only so many of those to go around. With more and more pharmacies closing, there are very few jobs available. I haven't figured out why a retail establishment would rather hire someone with no experience over someone with 30 years experience. It's not like the pay would be different. I also can't figure out why, if I want to be a staff pharmacist, why it matters that I have management experience. I'm "over-qualified" in their words. I'm currently obtaining my MBA, but I was trying to make myself more valuable to my then-employer. I've had to put that on hold until I find a job since I was paying out-of-pocket. Oh well, life changes can be exciting. I'm trying to get into another branch of practice other than retail. I picked up a 3 month temporary job with a hospital, which was awesome. I've got my fingers crossed that I can get a permanent position with them in the future. Wish me luck!
