Author Topic: Career advice  (Read 6657 times)

simplefw

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Career advice
« on: February 19, 2013, 01:09:54 PM »
Hi Guys,

Hoping you guys can give an opinion on my career dilemna!

I'm 25 years old base din the UK and in my chosen field (Pharmacy) there are 2 main paths I can take 1) Retail Pharmacy 2) Hospital Pharmacy , I currently work in Hospital Pharmacy and other than the stress of current low staffing levels I don't mind my job and find a lot of it interesting, I have only limited experience of retail pharmacy but think I would like the environment less.

Hospital Pharmacy currently pays me £26k per annum with a £1k increase pro rata to this every 6 months (scope to reach £40k within 4-5 years if I get higher banded jobs which I should do  and £45k not too long after that any higher would mean getting a management position) , retail pharmacy would like pay me about £38k now and likely £45k within 5 years again any higher would be more senior management positions.

The hospital Pharmacy route also requires more education which means giving more of my time outside of work up for that but it would not have to be funded by me, retail pharmacy typically requires 45 hours a week of work whereas hospital 37.5 hours.

I would love to gain financial independence but also don't want to dread going to work too much!

Hopefully you guys will have an opinion on what I should do!

Thanks for any input in advance

Splashncash

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2013, 04:27:44 PM »
Have you thought about working for a pharma company?  I know there are a number of big and small pharmaceutical companies located in the UK.  That could be another path with your background.  It would take you out of hands-on pharmacy work, though.

gooki

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2013, 12:59:35 AM »
Trust your gut. Both options are perfectly acceptable and will put you on a great path to FI.

happy

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2013, 03:04:02 AM »
A couple of pharmacists I know did not enjoy retail because they felt like they were running a shop and did not particularly like that. As Gooki says go with what you feel you will enjoy most.

Apocalyptica602

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2013, 06:56:34 AM »
I'm shocked to hear that Pharmacists get paid that "low" in the UK. I know a handful of Pharmacists here in the US both in retail and hospital, and the retail ones work about 40 hours for ~$120k (~£78k), and the hospital ones work about the same (yet seem to enjoy their job more) for ~$90-100k (£59-65k)

Of course this is in the New York City metro area and the surrounding suburbs so take that with a grain of salt.

My girlfriend is in retail pharmacy and doesn't really like it, she says she's 'taking years off her life'. Thankfully she's naturally frugal and since currently is still living at home making $120k she's saving very aggressively to be able to downshift into per diem work.

It might sound cynical, but dealing with the 'general public' can be bothersome. My girlfriend often spends 8-12 hours on her feet getting yelled at, coughed on, swamped with work, getting propositioned by people with fake prescriptions for controlled substances, etc.

Just my two cents from external observation, I work as an engineer so my workplace dynamic and career path is totally different from hers.

HappyDad

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2013, 10:16:23 AM »
I often wonder about this divide in wages between the UK and the US. I also work for the NHS as a low level manager in IT (£31 - 45K/year depending on grade and length of service).

Finally earning more than the national average for a professional seemed impossible to me once but now I'm there it seems a bit shit compared to some of the Americans on various forums, it also makes FI feel like a monumental struggle for many here.

I know UK engineers can make the same kind of money bandied about on these boards but most people don't have a chance. 

I wonder how many UK mustachians see it this way.

simplefw

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2013, 01:08:55 PM »
Thanks for your replies guys.

Anner you've prompted me to look into what opportunities there may be in big pharma.

Going with my gut sounds like the right decision :-).

The disparity between UK & US pharmacist salaries does seem rather large, it's depressing haha! I guess some of it may be made up with longer holidays, no medical insurance needed and a decent pension scheme (not sure how good there are in the US compared to the NHS?

HappyDad, it's a big divide isn't it, I can just about to afford to buy a small semi detached house with my partner on the a similar salary and that's in the north west of England so pretty low property prices. There is no way I could pay a mortgage and save big sums like 75% of my current income, even 25% is a challenge.

Sparky

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2013, 07:16:03 PM »
I'd say if your happy doing the hospital gig, stay with it. Going to a job you enjoy isn't an issue at all, but going to job everyday in an environment that you don't enjoy is WORK.

gooki

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2013, 01:03:01 AM »
The disparity between UK & US pharmacist salaries does seem rather large, it's depressing haha! I guess some of it may be made up with longer holidays, no medical insurance needed and a decent pension scheme (not sure how good there are in the US compared to the NHS?

Nah, you pay more in taxes to cover those extra benefits. :)

But really the disparity is mostly due to fluctuating currencies. If you go back to 2008 wages would have been close to equal.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2013, 01:09:51 AM by gooki »

grantmeaname

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2013, 10:07:04 AM »
But really the disparity is mostly due to fluctuating currencies. If you go back to 2008 wages would have been close to equal.
American pharmacists also have a doctorate, while British pharmacists have a Master's degree. That's 17 years of total education in the UK versus 20 in the US.

simplefw

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2013, 06:03:13 AM »
The pension essentially works out as 1/60th of the number of years I'm in the scheme x the average of the best three consecutive years salaries with retirement age at 65, earliest retirement age is 55 and this would mean a 40% reduction in the above figure. It's index linked and payable for the rest of life. EDIT: forgot to add my current contribution rate is 6.5% and as it stands will gradually head to about 10% of salary as my earnings increase.

Sounds fairly good to me?

I guess there is the education requirement difference too, a lot of North American Pharmacists have previous undergraduate degrees too I believe?

Cheers guys.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2013, 07:44:29 AM by simplefw »

SMC

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Re: Career advice
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2013, 10:18:47 AM »
My mother has been a pharmacist for 20+ years, most of that in retail.  She didn't enjoy it much.  The entire job revolves around dealing with customers, most of whom are sick/grumpy/rude/pill addicts etc and I think she found it to be very draining and unrewarding.

A few years ago she found a new position (still with the same pharmacy) filling prescriptions for nursing/seniors homes.  This entails receiving a massive list of prescriptions from the home (as every senior is on multiple prescriptions) and sitting in a back room and filling them, then shipping them back to the home.  She likes it MUCH more as she is basically doing the same thing but without having to deal with customers.

I don't know if something like that would appeal to you but maybe something to think about.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!