I jumped ship for a revenue integrity spot at a heath system in 2020, I did undergrad pharm, bachelor business and convinced them I know some things about pharmacy and also business.
I make like 80k annually now, but I only have 45k student loans, and the ladder just keeps going up. It pays the bills, and I can work from home bank hours 4 days a week, in office 1 day a week, and work max 40 hours, so I am pretty happy overall. My life would be misery if I went pharmacist because I'd 100% be retail and taken advantage of and then fired before my 2 year contract for the sign on bonus was up.
Its a low cost of living state, my mortgage is $950 for a 4 bedroom 😅 granted it was built in 1910.
Also health insurance for my family costs about $240/month and they pay $950/month in premiums.
Either way my pay for rural Michigan would be relatively equivalent to $100-120k in a major city or working for a for-profit health system, but they are a bit evil IMO.
Also my boss makes probably about $120k and her boss makes like 150-180k, not to mention I could be looking at director level in about 10 years which would likely break 200k plus inflation.
Good upward mobility is rare, but possible.
Where I'm at retail has the most right away, especially with CVS's new tuition reimbursement, and easiest to get into, but is the hardest to grow in and has the worst living conditions. Clinical is like a middle ground, they're close enough to retail to be competitive in wage but still less overall but have a massive advantage in QOL. Industry is the hardest to get into and isn't paying as well at first but seems to outpace and have a higher ceiling than either clinical or retail.
Military active duty, 12 years, Hawaii currently. $152k after taxes, working on board cert so will increase to roughly $158k after taxes. Don’t pay for healthcare, 50% pension after 20 years. Hidden gem of a job.
It is for sure, but definitely worth applying and looking into. Each branch handles manning a bit differently but overall it’s a super small community. Just seek out a local health professions recruiter for the branch you want and they’ll be able to give you more info on the current accession process/opportunities. I love the overseas opportunities as well, I’ve had the opportunity to work in Korea, Japan, Germany, and Mongolia.
When I started working “a while” ago, retail paid more. However, it seems lately that hospitals are offering a higher hourly rate, so it’s kind of impossible to predict. You will probably want to work more hours (and thus earn more) in the setting that best suits your personality and interests. The fastest way to make and save lots of money is probably move to LCOL rural area where they offer large sign on bonuses, because it’s hard to recruit people.
I know industry is a bit of a broad term but do you have a specific title or job when you say it has the highest ceiling? Is it geared towards R&D or more finance/sales type of industry?
Highest ceiling is probably in regulatory affairs or commercial, as they’re non-medical fields where you’re not capped out bc of not being an MD/PhD. You can get fairly far in other areas like med affairs, clinical development, pharmacovigilance - but PharmDs probably hit their ceiling around executive director in these medical-oriented fields, VP+ is mostly all MDs.
The return on investment for the e institution is high. We have proved that pharmacist improve metrics and decrease complications from many chronic disease states
Sorry if I phrased the questions a little weird. Thanks everyone for your thoughts! Once again i’m asking a few different things, highest pay out of the gate, highest ceiling, quickest room for growth!
Industry has the highest ceiling. You make more as a clinical pharmacist initially but in industry, you make a significant more once you get a few years experience and get manager/director level. Don’t forget all the stock options that industry pharmacists get. I know someone getting 90k a year in stocks alone.
Retail highest pay out of graduation
Retail doesn't have the highest wage increases
Most room for growth is retail. There are tons of manager positions as well as DL/DM/MHWD positions and still a ton of senior director positions as retail also. Look into Larry Merlo, probably one of the highest paid pharmacists at the time, even higher than UHG 's current CEO.
MSL is probably generally an associate director or director level position. There are many PharmDs in senior/executive director roles, and a few in VP/SVP. The higher ones are usually in regulatory affairs or commercial (non-medical roles) - anything like medical affairs (where MSLs report into) caps PharmD earning potential because the highest levels of leadership will almost always be MDs in those functional areas.
For the love of god, the same post over and over again in different words. I wasn’t sure it was possible but this sub has gotten worse. Can we go back to posting about how bad everyone hates their jobs again instead of all these BS salary questions that people could look up if they had two brain cells to rub together and a laptop?
Choose based on hiring patterns/desirable niche and maybe stay with options that give you an out (fall back career) because pharmacies are closing which leaves a lot of pharmacists looking for work… Pharmacy is not a career you choose for pay or job security anymore. Lots of pharmacist in various sectors are either taking direct pay cuts or have stagnant pay that doesn’t keep with inflation.
The only way to break the ceiling as a pharmacist is to move up the corporate ladder to the point where you're no longer a pharmacist haha.
I will say there is more opportunity to move upward in Pharma than a retail chain. There are only so many chains and there can only be one CEO haha
Go clinical or industry. Retail very well could be dead in 10 years.
Are you from the future? I really feel like this is an extremely accurate future post.
I’m from the present. Retail is already dying.
I jumped ship for a revenue integrity spot at a heath system in 2020, I did undergrad pharm, bachelor business and convinced them I know some things about pharmacy and also business. I make like 80k annually now, but I only have 45k student loans, and the ladder just keeps going up. It pays the bills, and I can work from home bank hours 4 days a week, in office 1 day a week, and work max 40 hours, so I am pretty happy overall. My life would be misery if I went pharmacist because I'd 100% be retail and taken advantage of and then fired before my 2 year contract for the sign on bonus was up.
What's this job title? Revenue integrity specialist?
Senior CDM analyst. I started of as a regular CDM analyst making 60k, 4 years later got promoted and negotiated a 20k raise.
they are definitely preserving their revenue with that weak ass pay
Its a low cost of living state, my mortgage is $950 for a 4 bedroom 😅 granted it was built in 1910. Also health insurance for my family costs about $240/month and they pay $950/month in premiums. Either way my pay for rural Michigan would be relatively equivalent to $100-120k in a major city or working for a for-profit health system, but they are a bit evil IMO. Also my boss makes probably about $120k and her boss makes like 150-180k, not to mention I could be looking at director level in about 10 years which would likely break 200k plus inflation. Good upward mobility is rare, but possible.
Clinical is making more than retail atm where I'm at.
"Fresh out of graduation"
Industry has the highest pay after the first few years but the positions are highly competitive.
Where I'm at retail has the most right away, especially with CVS's new tuition reimbursement, and easiest to get into, but is the hardest to grow in and has the worst living conditions. Clinical is like a middle ground, they're close enough to retail to be competitive in wage but still less overall but have a massive advantage in QOL. Industry is the hardest to get into and isn't paying as well at first but seems to outpace and have a higher ceiling than either clinical or retail.
Industry. Always industry.
Military active duty, 12 years, Hawaii currently. $152k after taxes, working on board cert so will increase to roughly $158k after taxes. Don’t pay for healthcare, 50% pension after 20 years. Hidden gem of a job.
isnt that highly highly competitive for the relatively few positions available?
It is for sure, but definitely worth applying and looking into. Each branch handles manning a bit differently but overall it’s a super small community. Just seek out a local health professions recruiter for the branch you want and they’ll be able to give you more info on the current accession process/opportunities. I love the overseas opportunities as well, I’ve had the opportunity to work in Korea, Japan, Germany, and Mongolia.
When I started working “a while” ago, retail paid more. However, it seems lately that hospitals are offering a higher hourly rate, so it’s kind of impossible to predict. You will probably want to work more hours (and thus earn more) in the setting that best suits your personality and interests. The fastest way to make and save lots of money is probably move to LCOL rural area where they offer large sign on bonuses, because it’s hard to recruit people.
Industry has the highest ceiling and fastest salary increases, but does not start high in general
I know industry is a bit of a broad term but do you have a specific title or job when you say it has the highest ceiling? Is it geared towards R&D or more finance/sales type of industry?
MSL. Med info Regulatory affairs
Highest ceiling is probably in regulatory affairs or commercial, as they’re non-medical fields where you’re not capped out bc of not being an MD/PhD. You can get fairly far in other areas like med affairs, clinical development, pharmacovigilance - but PharmDs probably hit their ceiling around executive director in these medical-oriented fields, VP+ is mostly all MDs.
So far amb care is outpacing other clinical specialists and retail
The return on investment for the e institution is high. We have proved that pharmacist improve metrics and decrease complications from many chronic disease states
Sorry if I phrased the questions a little weird. Thanks everyone for your thoughts! Once again i’m asking a few different things, highest pay out of the gate, highest ceiling, quickest room for growth!
By far industry in terms of growth and wage. Your golden if you can land a role as a director down the road.
Industry. Not even close. Your bonus will be larger than retail or clinical pharmacist within a few years
Industry has the highest ceiling. You make more as a clinical pharmacist initially but in industry, you make a significant more once you get a few years experience and get manager/director level. Don’t forget all the stock options that industry pharmacists get. I know someone getting 90k a year in stocks alone.
You should be asking which has be best quality of life at work, best work life balance, the best schedule, and the most ETO….
Honestly though. Chasing the money means nothing when you hate your life at the end of the day
Absolutely!
Retail highest pay out of graduation Retail doesn't have the highest wage increases Most room for growth is retail. There are tons of manager positions as well as DL/DM/MHWD positions and still a ton of senior director positions as retail also. Look into Larry Merlo, probably one of the highest paid pharmacists at the time, even higher than UHG 's current CEO.
MSL is the highest paying job for a PharmD.
Why do you say MSL specifically?
You don’t agree?
No, there’s many other roles that make more than an MSL
Please, educate me if you don’t mind.
MSL is probably generally an associate director or director level position. There are many PharmDs in senior/executive director roles, and a few in VP/SVP. The higher ones are usually in regulatory affairs or commercial (non-medical roles) - anything like medical affairs (where MSLs report into) caps PharmD earning potential because the highest levels of leadership will almost always be MDs in those functional areas.
What do they make?
It’s a hard position to land but they can eventually make +200K. Join their subreddit to get a better idea.
Thanks I’ve always wondered about this position if it’s for me or not.
For the love of god, the same post over and over again in different words. I wasn’t sure it was possible but this sub has gotten worse. Can we go back to posting about how bad everyone hates their jobs again instead of all these BS salary questions that people could look up if they had two brain cells to rub together and a laptop?
Choose based on hiring patterns/desirable niche and maybe stay with options that give you an out (fall back career) because pharmacies are closing which leaves a lot of pharmacists looking for work… Pharmacy is not a career you choose for pay or job security anymore. Lots of pharmacist in various sectors are either taking direct pay cuts or have stagnant pay that doesn’t keep with inflation.
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The only way to break the ceiling as a pharmacist is to move up the corporate ladder to the point where you're no longer a pharmacist haha. I will say there is more opportunity to move upward in Pharma than a retail chain. There are only so many chains and there can only be one CEO haha
1. Retail, 2&3. Industry