Does a Post-Interview Thank You Letter Matter?

Hi Everyone!

Before I talk about thank you letters, I wanted to take the time to thank you all for reading and your continued support by making purchases via the Amazon affiliate links! As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no expense to you.

If you’re preparing for the NAPLEX or CPJE, check out my past posts Preparing for the CPJE and Review of NAPLEX and CPJE Test Prep Resource. They contain links to free test prep resources as well as paid up to date test prep resources.

If you’re looking for CEs to renew your license, I’ve listed a few websites to complete CEs for free on my other post CPJE, License / Certification Renewals, Pharmacy Law Waivers . I recently added two courses that the California Board of Pharmacy provided that may meet the new cultural competency requirement.

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For those interviewing for jobs, you many wander if you should send a thank you letter after an interview.

I am part of an interview panel and interviewed several interns, technicians, and pharmacists.

From my personal experience, it did not give the candidate “bonus” points if they wrote us one.

If the candidate’s interview was bad, a thank you letter would not convince us to reconsider.

Also, something to keep in mind is that a thank you letter could hurt you if it’s written poorly.

If you’re applying to and interviewing for jobs, my advice is to work on your application and interview.

1. Proofread your resume and cover letter.

2. Be prepared to tell the interviewer about yourself and why you applied for this job. They want to hear the relevant highlights of your job history, not your life story.

3. Come prepared to describe specific examples from work, school, or projects for a variety situation.

Feel free to comment and let me know what your experience has been with thank you letters.

Thanks for reading!

If you plan on purchasing anything on Amazon, use my affiliate link to Try Amazon Prime 6-month Free trial if you’re a student (or Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial if you’re not a student). As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no expense to you.

Do I Need a Residency Post Pharmacy School to Secure a Non-Retail Pharmacist?

Hi Everyone!

Can you believe it’s already December?

Before I talk about residency, I wanted to take the time to thank you all for reading and your continued support by making purchases via the Amazon affiliate links! As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no expense to you.

Although I’ve been periodically checking this blog and updating the content to existing posts, it’s been a while since I created a NEW post on WordPress. If you’re preparing for the NAPLEX or CPJE, check out my past posts Preparing for the CPJE and Review of NAPLEX and CPJE Test Prep Resource. They contain links to free test prep resources as well as paid up to date test prep resources.

Oh, if you’re on Instagram or TikTok, you can find me @ designpharmacist !

Residency

Let’s talk about residency. Back when I was in pharmacy school, I thought the only way to gain experience and secure a non-retail pharmacist job is to complete a residency. It’s not. If you are a retail pharmacist and applied to a bunch of non-retail jobs without much luck, you may question this. I’ve been there and can relate.

There’s another way. I’ve talked to people on forums and from my pharmacy school. I’ve viewed Linkedin profiles. It comes down to either experience or knowing someone.

Experience can be gained through rotations or working as an intern while in school. If you’re now a licensed pharmacist, experience can be gained through part time, per diem, or temporary contract jobs. Be open to opportunities outside saturated locations. Those opportunities don’t have that many applicants, so you are not competing against that many people for that position.

If you do good work and there’s an opening for a full time role, you will be considered.

Here’s why: the hiring manager invested a lot of time to train you and trust that you will continue to do good work. They would have to start from scratch if they hire someone new. Who knows if the new hire who is good on paper will also do good work?

Even if your only role is a retail pharmacist, you can still be considered for non-retail roles just by knowing someone or highlighting special projects, accomplishments, or transferable skills in the retail job or past experience. I’ve seen retail pharmacy managers and staff pharmacists from chain store pharmacies transitioned to non-retail roles.

Takeaway

Just because you didn’t match or complete a residency, it doesn’t mean your only opportunity is to practice in the retail setting. Securing a non-retail job may be more difficult without a residency, but it is not impossible. To gain experience for permanent full time non-retail roles, be open. Don’t be picky. Leverage your past experience or existing network.

Thanks for reading! I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions. I can talk more about temporary contract job opportunities in another post if you’re interested.

If you are planning on purchasing any of the resources highlighted in this post or previous posts, please consider using the Amazon affiliated links to purchase. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. It doesn’t cost you anything. It will help me fund the free content I create for you.

How to Pass the NAPLEX and CPJE on the First Try

Before I begin to talk about how I passed the NAPLEX and CPJE on the first try, I would like to thank you all for reading and your continued support by making purchases via the Amazon affiliate links! As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no expense to you. I periodically check online and update the links to the most updated study guide resource so you are linked to the current version.

After you graduate from pharmacy school, NAPLEX and CPJE are two exams that you need to study for and pass before you become a licensed California pharmacist. If you haven’t already, check out my past posts Preparing for the CPJE and Review of NAPLEX and CPJE Test Prep Resource where I go into detail how I prepared for the CPJE and reviewed all the test prep resources used.

Test prep resources can add up and be costly. Check out my How to Save Money before, while, and after you’re done with Pharmacy School post to see how you can start saving money. With the holidays coming up, also check out Rakuten, you can get Cash Back for shopping at your favorite stores! Rakuten has thousands of coupons, promo codes, and discounts, and you can get cash back savings with online rebates. For a limited time, you’ll also get a $30 bonus when you use my invite link to join and spend $30.

Rather than repeating what I already mentioned in my previous posts, I’m going to answer frequently asked questions.

How long should I study for the NAPLEX and CPJE?

Only you are able to determine your readiness. For NAPLEX and CPJE, you may need more or less time depending on what you already know during pharmacy school, rotations, and work. For the NAPLEX, I recommend taking the pre-NAPLEX exam from the NABP a least a week before your scheduled NAPLEX exam. If you score poorly (i.e., less than 75) or close to passing (i.e., ~75 to 90), I recommend re-scheduling your NAPLEX exam.

For me, I studied on and off for about 6 months during my last year of pharmacy school when I was on rotations for ~40 hours/weeks and consistently studied 4-6 weeks after I graduated from pharmacy school and was working ~16 hours/week. I took the pre-NAPLEX exam about a week before my scheduled exam and scored over a 100, so I didn’t reschedule the exam.

What test prep resources should I use to study for the NAPLEX and CPJE?

For the NAPLEX, many registered California pharmacists I asked used RxPrep’s Course Book for Pharmacist Licensure Exam Preparation.

For the CPJE, many registered California pharmacists I asked said they used
RxPrep’s Course Book for Pharmacist Licensure Exam Preparation for clinical and Weissman’s A Guide to California Community Pharmacy Law (Two Book Set: Volume 1 + Volume 2) (CPJE) for law.

However, only you are able to determine if those test prep resources work for you. I used more than just that. You can learn more in my past posts as mentioned in the beginning of this post.

Why is the CPJE difficult?

Even though the CPJE is a “law” exam, it’s described by many as mostly clinical and random.

I’m probably one of the few people who thought the CPJE was easier than the NAPLEX. It is shorter compared to the NAPLEX. Only 90 questions (75 scored test questions, 15 un-scored pretest questions) for 2 hours. There’s no select all that applies questions like the NAPLEX.

I’m not sure if the CPJE has gotten more difficult and/or graduates are just not prepared due to being in a newer school/program and/or adjusting learning due to COVID. Since 2019 (pre-COVID), many of the newer California pharmacy schools have pass rates of less than 70%! UCSF recently converted from a 4-year to a 3-year program. In 2021, UCSF and many California pharmacy schools dipped below 70% pass rate.

The percent pass rate for the CPJE is much lower compared to the NAPLEX and has gone down over the years. I took a look at the California State Board of Pharmacy CPJE Statistics over the past 5 years in April/May to Sept/Nov, the time frame when most new graduates first take the CPJE.

For California, the CPJE pass rates are as follow: 91.5% (in April to Sept 2017), 89.7% (in April to Sept 2018), 76.5% (in April to Nov 2019), 70% (in May to Sept 2020), 61.5% (in April to Sept 2021).

For Other US, the CPJE pass rates are as follow: 67.7% (in April to Sept 2017), 67% (in April to Sept 2018), 55.9% (in April to Nov 2019), 54.1% (in May to Sept 2020), 46.8% (in April to Sept 2021).

Based on the % pass rate, for many, CPJE is more difficult than the NAPLEX. Don’t take it lightly.

What should I focus on for the NAPLEX and CPJE?

Everything is fair game. Plus, it is illegal for me to disclose the specific content on my exams. Therefore, I will just point out general must knows or where to start.

For the NAPLEX, know calculations and biostats. Many people who have taken the NAPLEX have reported getting a lot of calculations and biostats questions. RxPrep’s Course Book for Pharmacist Licensure Exam Preparation is an excellent test prep resource for that.

For the CPJE, start with taking a look at the content outline for CPJE section in the CPJE PSI Candidate Handbook and taking a look at the practice exam to get an idea of how exam questions are asked.

Both exams want to ensure you’re competent and make appropriate recommendations and interventions, so know your drugs (e.g., brand/generic of at least top 300, drugs that interact, drugs that would be inappropriate for certain subset population, major counseling points, etc.).

How long does it take to get my CPJE and NAPLEX scores?

For me, CPJE took ~1 month, and NAPLEX took ~1 week. For the CPJE, it may take longer than a month if the Board is performing a quality assurance assessment to ensure the appropriateness of the CPJE.

Interview Ft. Amy Hoang, Pharm.D. | From Pharmacist to Entrepreneur and Founder of Women Sellers

Hi Everyone!

In the past posts, I’ve interviewed Maurice Shaw (RxComedy), Kevin Yee (Rufugee Hustle), The Uber Pharmacist, and Mario Hoyos. In celebration of women’s history month, I wanted to change it up and recognize women pharmacists. This post will feature a pharmacist who I first learned about through a YouTube video. For those who are interested in e-commerce, read on to learn more.

1) For those who don’t know who you are, tell me a little about yourself.

Sure! My name is Amy Hoang. I was a former retail pharmacist before I started my own company selling online, particularly on Amazon. During the height of the pandemic, my husband lost his job while I was 7 months pregnant with my 3rd child. I was so scared to go to work some days fearing that I might catch something and bring it home to my kids. Some days, I would have to work 12 hours shifts and be exhausted when I get home, just to find out that my kids are asleep, and I can’t even put them to bed.

While my husband was looking for a job, he focused on our side hustle, which we have been doing for the last 5 years. We started to see exponential growth as I also helped him with the business during my maternity leave. Once we determined that this business could sustain itself to the point where it replaced both of our income, I made the tough decision to leave my job.

We’ve been doing this full-time for the last year, and we love what we do! Now, we inspire and help other people to get started with reselling on Amazon.

2) How did you learn about e-commerce? This is not something that is learned in pharmacy school.

I learned about e-commerce through listening to a few podcasts. The one that resonated with me the most was “Smart Passive Income” by Pat Flynn. I remember listening to another couple talk about how they were able to sell on Amazon by just going to clearance aisle of big box stores, buy the products for cheap, sell it to make a profit on Amazon. That week, I went out to the stores and picked up a few items myself. I made a sale within a few days and that validated that this actually works!

Back in college, I resell on eBay a lot too, so I’ve always been a reseller. I just love the idea of making money online by selling the things you already have or bought in local stores.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to make this work. You just have to put in the effort and continue doing it, even when it doesn’t seem like you’re making any sales. We had our ups and downs, but we persisted and made it through those times. Now, looking back, all of those “mistakes and failures” were great lessons, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

3) What are your tips for beginners who want to start an ecommerce business on Amazon with no or little upfront cost/risk? I know you mentioned in an interview about AliExpress.

I would say, go to your local big box stores, like Walmart or Target, or thrift stores, and start scanning items with your Amazon Seller App.

The first thing you need to do is open an Amazon seller account. Nowadays, Amazon is requiring a little bit more steps to get verified as a seller, but people are still able to get their account up and running within a short amount of time.

Once you have the account, then you can download the seller app on your phone. With that, you’re able to do product research and sometimes make money within a week or so.

The important thing is that you need to connect and align yourself with the right people. Join Facebook groups or listen to podcasts about this subject. Ask the right questions, and you will be surprised how far you’ll get 🙂

4) Is there anything else you wanted to add?

I would like to advise anyone who wants to get started to just do it. Sometimes we think too hard about something, and it cripples us for taking action.

I know myself, as a pharmacist, I used to analyze everything. But I noticed that when I take a chance and trust my instincts, that’s when I get the best results.

Sometimes in life, we think that a certain path is meant for us and we have to continue down that path. For me, I thought I had to be a pharmacist for the rest of my life. But I quickly realized that there was another path that I can take.

What I’m trying to get at is that you need to explore your options. Choose the one that is best suited for you, and run with it. I tried a bunch of things before I settled with reselling on Amazon. I did Uber, DogVacay (well, my husband did), blogging, affiliate marketing, podcasting, you name it. If I hadn’t tried these things, I wouldn’t have known that e-commerce is my jam.

So I encourage anyone who’s trying to start something on the side, to just find the right thing and do it. It might not be the most obvious answer right away, but at least you’ll quickly know what you DON’T want to do.

The worst part of life is to go through it and realize it was an entire waste.

I hope this helps someone out! 🙂

5) Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to answer all of my questions. If anyone is interested in reaching out to you, where can people find you (e.g., social media handles)?

I can be reached at hello@womensellers.com or you can join my Facebook group of other sellers (www.facebook.com/groups/womensellers). I’m also on IG @amytranhoang.

Feel free to reach out to Amy or join the facebook group if you have any questions. I hope you find this post helpful. Please consider following this blog for more content like this.

Thank you!

Answering Pharmacy FAQs on Google Part 1

Hello!

Thank you for reading, and thank you to those who have been using my Amazon affiliate links!

If you have any questions, please let me know! I know my more popular posts are the Preparing for the CPJE and Review of NAPLEX and CPJE Test Prep Resource post, so I’ve continued to update that post with links to updated version of test prep material

I’ve decided to do a series of me answering frequency asked pharmacy questions on Google. For part 1, I picked a few basic ones. If you have any follow up questions, please let me know!

How much do pharmacists earn in California?

Depends on where in California and what setting. I don’t think it’s around $144,660 per year as career explorer claims. Currently, for new grads in saturated areas of California, with the assumption that they get 40 hours for 52 weeks, I believe it’s closer to around $120,000 per year. I highly doubt all new grads are securing full time jobs.

Is it hard to find a job as a pharmacist in California? Is the pharmacist job in demand?

No, not at this time (2021) if you’re not picky and willing to take any job. For 2021, yes, there is a demand for certain roles such administrating and overseeing interns/techs administrating COVID vaccine. With the pandemic, I’ve seen many job openings for covid vaccine support. Though it may not be full time or permanent, as long as you have a CA pharmacist license and an immunization certificate, that’s a job you can easily secure.

Is a pharmacist a doctor?

Technically, some are while some are not. Some older and non-US graduates graduated from a bachelor’s or master’s degree pharmacy program. Historically, in the United States, pharmacy schools were bachelor’s degree programs, but they’ve all transitioned to a doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program. Most US graduates who graduated within the past three decades graduate with a Pharm.D. and therefore hold the “Dr.” title.

Thanks for reading! Consider following for more content like this.

Thank you!

Best Time to Prepare for NAPLEX and CPJE and Job Search

Hi Everyone!

Your last year of pharmacy school is the best time to prepare for your NAPLEX and CPJE.

If you need guidance on how to prep for CPJE or NAPLEX, check out my past posts Preparing for the CPJE and Review of NAPLEX and CPJE Test Prep Resource. They contain links to updated material such as RxPrep and even Weissman’s California Pharmacy law review books! For those looking for guidance on where to look for free CEs to renew their pharmacist license, check CPJE, License / Certification, Renewals Pharmacy Law Waivers.

The typical timeline is apply and interview to jobs through your school’s job fair during your last year of pharmacy school. If you want to do the residency or fellowship route, apply during first half of last year of pharmacy school. It’s competitive to get in. Even if you do end up interviewing, matching, and completing a residency or fellowship, here are 3 cons to consider: 1) residency or fellowship pays about 1/2 pharmacist salary, 2) there’s no guarantee you will have a job lined up post graduation, and 3) you’ll be overqualified for most jobs that are available (retail). I’m not trying to deter you from going that route. With the state of the job market, there’s no guarantee.

In 2021, there are a lot of temporary COVID support jobs available. Many temporary agencies have reached out to me. If you’re licensed and immunization certified and interested, that’s an easy job to get. I’m not sure if it will lead to something permanent. I would apply directly on the company’s site. I believe the likelihood of being hired is better if you’re an employee of the company vs temporary agency, because there’s an extra fee for the company to hire someone from the temporary agency. There’s some cons with the COVID support job to consider. 1) Some traveling may be involved, 2) High risk of contracting COVID, 3) Low Pay for high risk. With the numbers that are floating around in job posts and forums, I don’t think the COVID support job pays well even with +$4/hr hero fee, 4) Job is temporary with no benefits and may not lead to a permanent retail pharmacist job.

In 2022, due to the stress of job juggling retail operations and administrating vaccines, I believe there’s still a demand for retail pharmacists. For hard to fill locations, there’s a sign on bonus for at least 2 years commitment. I still see COVID support jobs available if you prefer that over working retail.

Thank you!

Interview Ft. Mario Hoyos, Pharm.D. | From Pharmacist to Software Engineer

Hi Everyone!

Before I proceed with the interview, I have 3 announcements.

Giveaway: If you don’t already know, I’m doing a giveaway. The cut off to fill out the google form is tomorrow, August 19, 2020 11:59 PM PST. Thanks to those who already filled the google form already! I enjoyed reading your responses. I’ll select a winner by the end of this week. If you don’t win, I’ll be working on sending you a recipe if I have a recipe that fits what you like and your dietary restrictions.
Instagram: You can follow me at my newly created Instagram account HelloCatherine.PharmD for when I send those recipes out. If you use Instagram, please DM or tag me and let me know how how the recipe turned out!
Fetch Rewards: I end most of my posts about Fetch Rewards. I’m not sponsored, but I’ve enjoyed the perks since I’ve joined and want to encourage you all to join. Perks: Recently I’ve received email notifications and signed up for 2 free magazine subscriptions. I’m currently receiving People magazines. I love them. There’s some pharmacy sprinkled in with ads about recently approved specialty drugs like Palforzia. Towards the end of the magazine, there’s a few recipes, a crossword puzzle, and a fun activity to identify 10 differences between 2 pictures. What is Fetch Rewards? Fetch Rewards is a rebate app. You can take a picture of your recent grocery receipt with the app and earn points for gift cards to a number of retailers including Amazon, CVS, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Safeway, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Sephora. If you do decide to join, enter my referral promo code Q8EMM when you download the app and than scan your first receipt to earn 2,000 bonus points (that’s equivalent to a $2 bonus).

I alluded to how saturated pharmacy job market has become since I’ve graduated in my previous post. For those who don’t find job satisfaction in their current job or those who are struggling to find a pharmacist job and just wondering what else is out there, you’ll want to continue reading. I sometimes check out the pharmacy subreddit. That’s where I stumbled upon Mario Hoyos who made a career change. I reached out to him and asked some questions.

For those who don’t know about who you are, tell me about yourself.

Hello!

For the information you probably care about in this context, I graduated from Purdue University College of Pharmacy in 2017. I went to work at CVS right after graduation in May, and by October I had quit, because I hated it so deeply. I then went to a coding bootcamp and have been working as a software engineer ever since! I currently work at leafly.com, so in a way I’m still working with drugs lol.

For the stuff that might not be quite as pertinent to this context: I am currently living in Las Vegas where I work from home full-time (even before the pandemic!) I have a lovely dog who you can find on instagram https://www.instagram.com/hankloveslife/, and two kitties. I am engaged to be married, to a lovely lady I graduated pharmacy school with (she is still a full-time residency-trained pharmacist kicking ass in pharmarcy-land). I love playing sports- just tore my meniscus though 😦 – hiking, playing Rocket League, and cooking.

I never would have thought three years ago that I would have let my license expire (I never even removed it from the tube the Texas Board of Pharmacy sent it in), but it’s been one of, if not THEE, best decisions of my life.

To be clear, I’m not here to talk down on pharmacy. The profession is a key part of the healthcare system, and what y’all do is gravely important. I just found out the hard way that it wasn’t for me, at least not in the way that I was able to practice, and that programming fit my lifestyle preferences much better. For anybody interested in exploring programming as a career, please please please use me as a reference. I want to help everybody that I can make the transition, if it’s something they’re wanting to do.

You outlined your professional background on reddit. That’s a risky move to just quit your pharmacist job and pursue something within a span of 5 months post graduation from pharmacy school.

– Quit CVS In Dallas in October of 2017 (I graduated May of 2017 lol)

– Started DevMountain immersive webdev that same month

– Graduated in January 2018, stayed at bootcamp for 4 months to help teach next cohort at $20/hr

– Got first “real” job at a e-prescribing startup in Austin making ~ $30/hr

– Got surprise laid off when startup ran out of money 4 months later

– Took up a contract job for 4 months at $45/hr

– After that contract took up another contract at $75/hr

– That contract ended abruptly after 6 months when the company surprise laid everybody off

– I’m now working remotely at a mid-size startup based in Seattle (I live in Las Vegas) at ~145k/yr salary, with benefits.

I’m curious how you were able to jump from one contract job to the next and then land a remote job making a decent salary. Was it through connections or just applying online like Indeed?

My biggest piece of advice is to try and avoid the route of spamming your resume on job sites. It’s a lot of work, for pretty low chances of success. After my gig working at the bootcamp as a mentor, I got the first next job by finding a startup where my pharmacy domain knowledge could be useful, and messaging the founders directly on LinkedIn.

For the contract I took up after that, the founder of that startup reached out to ME on Linkedin after seeing my post that I was looking for new opportunities.

For my final contract before this job, it was through a personal connection who was working at the company, and when they decided they needed more hands on deck he was able to advocate for me (I didn’t even have to interview)!

Much like the pharmacy world, it’s not always what you know as much as who you know. This can seem unfair, but if you accept it’s the truth you can play the game. Put yourself out there, and try to reach out to folks at companies directly, because as a bootcamp grad it’s VERY hard to stand out in a pile of resumes.

How do you go about finding a job?

If I was going to start looking for a new job today, it would look something like this:

1. Tap into network on Linkedin/twitter/old coworkers and see if any place is hiring that I already have a foot in the door.
2. Look for jobs that match my skillset in my area and/or remote on Glassdoor or Linkedin.
3. Reach out to recruiters that have been in my inbox and see what opportunities they might have.

To be honest, getting that first job out of bootcamp is by far the most difficult job search you’re likely to endure as a programmer, particularly if you’re average or above average. The field can feel saturated when you’re just starting out because there’s so many people looking for the first job, but once one employer has taken a risk on you, and you have any sort of work to reference that you’ve been paid for, it gets MUCH easier from there.

Several times a week I have recruiters reaching out to me, trying to sell me on some position. The reason that good engineers have such nice salaries/benefits is because if they didn’t it would be easy for these recruiters to steal talent. For a lot of folks, it’s not so much about finding a job but letting a job find you.

If you work on your online presence, and learn in public, it’s even easier for companies to find you. I’ve been surprised that even with the ongoing pandemic, I’ve still had recruiters reaching out.

Again, I must emphasize, breaking into the field is NOT EASY. It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, networking, and a little luck. Once you’re in though, so long as you keep developing your skillset, the market is still in favor of the engineers, at least for the time being.

Are there a lot of software engineer jobs available for those who decide to go the boot camp route rather than pursuing a B.S. in computer science?

Graduating with any sort of CS degree is still going to be the easiest way to land a job. Getting that first job as a bootcamp grad is TOUGH, but like I mentioned above, after the first one, your degree matters a lot less because you have hard proof that you can do the job.

I work with at least 5 other people who don’t have formal CS degrees.

At the end of the day, it’s all about tradeoffs. You have a higher chance of easily landing a job with a CS degree, but is it worth 4 years of time and tuition? Even if you didn’t get a job within a year of graduating a bootcamp, you’d still be coming out years and thousands of dollars ahead.

That being said, for a lot of the really big players, like Facebook and Netflix, it’s going to be drastically easier if you have a degree than if you don’t. It’s not impossible to get there without one, just much less likely.

Is the boot camp demanding? For those who don’t want to quit their current job, is it possible to work and also do the boot camp?

Bootcamps are definitely demanding (or if you find one that isn’t, it’s likely not very good). On top of them being inherently demanding, in order to stand out from your peers you need to take it upon yourself to dive deeper and get extra practice, in order to set yourself up for the best chance at getting employed.

There are part-time or fully-online bootcamps, and though I never attended one, it could be a viable option. You will likely need a longer timeline before you make the transition, since it’ll take you longer to develop the same level of skill, but I imagine it can be done if a person is self-motivated enough (and I know most people in pharmacy probably are).

Programming is an exercise in frustration, and will demand a lot of your brainpower. This is going to be harder to get through if you just stood on your feet for 12 hours in a hectic retail environment. It’s likely possible but it will be more difficult.

I was extremely privileged to be able to focus full-time on the bootcamp, but I know that won’t be the case for everybody. I don’t have kids, I was still living in a college student mindset for the most part, and I had enough saved up from my pharmacist job to last me a while. This definitely provided some psychological safety that allowed me to really go all-in during my bootcamp. That being said, there were people in my cohort that DID have kids and other obligations, and were also able to pull it off in the long run.

I can’t guarantee success, but the opportunities are definitely there.

Is there anything else you wanted to add?

Please keep in mind that I am very biased as you read this. Not everybody hates their pharmacy job like I hated mine. Not everybody is going to enjoy programming as much as I do. Even if you do enjoy programming, there’s no guarantee that your career path will end up like mine, and if mine had gone differently the picture maybe wouldn’t look so rosy.

Like all jobs, working in software comes with its own set of frustrations and downsides. It’s not a silver bullet. For me, personally, the tradeoffs are beyond worth it, but like any job it’s not all sunshine.

Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to answer all of my questions. If anyone is interested in reaching out to you, where can people find you (e.g., social media handles)?

I’m a pretty open book. I really am here to help whoever I can, however I can. I’m pretty easy to get a hold of and I encourage you to reach out if you have questions! Here’s contact info for me:

1.Twitter https://twitter.com/marioahoyos
2. Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-hoyos/
3. Email mario@mariohoyos.io
4. Personal Site https://mariohoyos.io/
5. Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/mariohoyos
6. Phone number 574-215-3266 (I don’t answer calls anymore thanks to scammers, but you can always text 🙂 )

Look forward to hearing from you!

Feel free to reach out to Mario if you have any questions. I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know what you want me to write about next.

Thank you!

Interview Ft. Refugee Hustle | From Pharmacist to Entrepreneur

Hello!

For those who celebrate, I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Anywho, back to the regular content. I have a special treat for you all. I decided to check my spam inbox yesterday and found a video response from another pharmacist I reached out to. It was sitting in my spam inbox for about a week and a half! I’m truly thankful he took time out of his day to film and send me a video response to my questions! I went ahead and transcribed it (Yes, on a Friday night.). My transcript is not 100% word for word, but it captured a big chunk of what he said in the video. I’m excited to share what he said.

I’ve watched some of his YouTube videos. Topics he discussed in his YouTube videos are not limited to just pharmacy. I discovered his YouTube channel when I started watching YouTube videos that he featured Angela and talked about her online dating experience, being single, and 30. This was relatable. Many pharmacists start their careers when they are in their mid- to late- 20s and approaching their 30s. This pharmacist I interviewed, just like me, went to an out of state pharmacy school and got licensed in California. This pharmacist I am referring to is Kevin Yee. For those who don’t know him, don’t worry. Read on. Prepare to learn more about him, his thoughts on the current/future pharmacist job market, and his advice.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Kevin Yee. I am/was a pharmacist. I am still technically currently am a pharmacist. I graduated from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (MCPHS). I was in pharmacy for about 12 years. I started out as a pharmacy clerk, pharmacy technician, pharmacy intern, was floating for like 2 weeks, and was staff and pharmacy manager as well. I’ve seen every single step of the way in pharmacy.

I felt like around maybe my P2 and P3 year (I went to an accelerated school by the way), during the last year, I felt quite trapped, meaning I was scrambling, trying to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s kind of weird, because I wanted to do pharmacy straight from high school. I’ve always set my dream/goals towards that. Keep in mind pharmacy 2006 vs 2012, 2013 when I was graduating changed a lot. I didn’t feel the same way anymore. I was looking for alternative career paths, and I actually never wanted to do business or entrepreneurship at all. Sure, I read things like Tim Ferriss’ The 4-hour Workweek, which was really cool, but I thought starting a business was way too risky.

As I was practicing pharmacy more and more, the more I realized how frustrated I was. I was frustrated how capped we were. I was frustrated about the amount of impact I was able to make in pharmacy. I just feel like there was a disconnect in between what school kind of taught us and what was actually possible at least in the community setting. If I were to do one thing different back during that time, maybe I would’ve done residency or not gone to pharmacy and start a business.

As of a year or 2 ago, at the start of 2018, I was let go from my job and my father passed away. That was a huge turning point of my life where I just realized if I don’t make any changes, I’ve been waiting these last 12 years for things to change in the pharmacy. Things are not getting better. I need to make a change. I can’t keep running in circles anymore. I took the plunge into entrepreneurship. I had no idea what business model I wanted to go. I knew it would be somewhere located in the digital marketing realm, because I was following all these great internet marketers. Because of that, I was building out my investing course at that time, I was doing YouTube, I was doing blogs like yourself. I landed in the world of high ticket sales. I built up my own agency. That’s how I make majority of my money. It’s been very interesting. I’ve delve into many business models e.g., affiliate model. I’m proud to say that as of October, I actually surpassed my pharmacy pay.

Right now I’m in Scotland learning merges and acquisitions, and I’m planning to roll up in particular pharmacies, not sure which niche, maybe compounding pharmacies or specialty. If you don’t know what merges and acquisitions are, you know how people house flip, basically it’s the same thing for businesses. That’s what I’m going to be doing. I’m going to be focusing on that in 2020.

What are your thoughts on the current/future pharmacist job market?

When I was doing those YouTube videos, I didn’t really look at data too much, but now that I have better business acclimate, I always take a look at the data. One thing I want to leave people with is that you always check out – If you’re going to go for a 9-5 or regular job, an important factor to consider is the job market. That’s so important, because you’re going to spend whether it is 3 years or 4 years in a pharmacy school program and doing undergrad and maybe on top of that might be 8 years. You have to have a good idea of the projections of pharmacy coming out.

Right now there’s zero job growth. It’s actually going in a negative direction. Saturation is real. If you go on Student Doctor Network, Reddit, or any of these things, you’ll start seeing oh, the job market isn’t doing as well as before. It’s tough. You’ll start seeing companies like Walmart they laid off like a bunch of their pharmacists. Walgreens is cutting their hourly rate. I think they’re starting at like $50/hr or $52/hr or something like that. They cut [the hourly rate] pretty drastically.

If you’re not in pharmacy school quite yet, I would suggest you look at some of the other alternatives like physician assistant that has the highest rate of growth. I think that’s like 30%. Optometry is 10% growth in job outlook. Nursing is also really solid too. I think it’s about 7 or 8. Check these on bureau of labor as well.

If you’re in pharmacy, I would recommend try niche down. Take it from me, I was not very fulfilled in community pharmacy, but try out community pharmacy while you’re still in school. If you can see yourself there for the next 10 years, go ahead, do it. There’s a need there.

If you want a happy and fulfilling life, I would suggest maybe thinking about reverse engineering what job you want to do first, then asking yourself the necessary steps, do I absolutely need residency for this? Maybe I can meet the right people and I can get in that way? I know tons of my friends have gotten hospital jobs through that, just knowing the right people. I think that’s so underutilized. A lot of school don’t really tell you about. It’s a more insiders closed doors thing between us pharmacists.

If you’re in pharmacy and you’re miserable, I recommend building up a side hustle. You don’t have to go digital route of building a digital business like mine. Maybe acquire a business? Maybe learn a high income skill like copywriting or do sales? Something of value. Maybe learn coding or something? Build an exit plan. Start with an end in mind rather than just jumping to the next job to the next job. Develop a vision of the actual end lifestyle beyond pharmacy. What do you want your life to look like outside your job and does my current career support that?

People realize the saturation. You’re starting to see expansion of our scope of practice. Like in California, a few years ago, there was advanced practiced pharmacists. You start seeing states do travel clinics and what not as well. I think there will be opportunities there, but keeping up with the rate of students being pumped out of universities, I don’t know. I think we gotta think about different ways we can expand our practice. There’s a lot of great pharmacists out there like Blair [Thielemier] the consulting pharmac[ist]. We did an interview on my YouTube channel. Check her out. She has done a Pharmapreneur Academy. Take a look at that. Full disclosure I’ve never taken the course. From what she has told me, it’s pretty solid stuff. A lot of her students are getting results too.

My thoughts about the job market: A) we have to get out or B) create new jobs for ourselves.

Any advice for new, soon-to-be and/or laid-off pharmacists?

I’ve been there. I know what’s it like to worry about your future, not knowing what the future entails, but I think it’s so easy to get so far ahead of ourselves and just worry. Just like business, if there’s one thing that I’ve always kind of done throughout my life, it’s just put one foot ahead of the other. Say the end goal is to find a job or stop the bleeding and get another job in retail. Start with the end in mind and reverse engineer it. What’s the step before getting a new job? Review/accept offer letter. Interview. What’s before that and before that? What you might realize is that maybe one of your first steps is really talk to the right people. Make sure you’re meeting a bunch of pharmacists. Maybe improving your LinkedIn and actively going there. Maybe it’s sending application. I don’t recommend the application route, because it’s so saturated. You want to use the back door technique.

Don’t lose hope. Feel free to reach out to me if you feel lost. I’m not sure if I always have the solutions for people, but I’m always there. I think just knowing that someone out here is reading your emails, maybe I don’t get to responding to all of them, but knowing that you have support behind you is really important.

As far as starting with the end in mind, one of the things I’m doing with Refugee Hustle as well, is I really want to lead the next generation to a rich life, because I feel like careers like pharmacy – they’re based off of an old, outdated model and we really gotta start asking before we even apply for jobs, what is the life that I truly want?

For my life, I want to live a rich life. I came up with an acronym for what a rich life is. R stands for remote, income that is scalable. I stands for impact. I want to make sure I’m making a difference, solving problems that matter to people, that will impact their lives. C is challenging and creative, making sure that I get to solve challenges using my creativity, thinking out of the box, that’s very important to me. H, hustle with the homies. Working with people that light me up, inspire me, that push me to do better, hold me accountable. That’s the best feeling in the world. Now that I have clarity on that there’s a bunch of careers that kind of fit that and I know that I’m heading in the right direction. I think that’s really important.

Thinking what do you want? Start with health, wealth, and relationships. Don’t worry about getting it perfect on the first time. Just a working progress. Just refine it every single day and you’re getting closer to figure what you want. Am I going to take this 80 per hour week job now in pharmacy? Probably not if it doesn’t fit your goals. If it does, this makes decisions a lot easier in your life as well.

Final words for readers: Don’t lose hope. Do your best. As long as you stick to a process, as long as you have your mission outlined, you’re not going to have a problem. I’ve been in dark places where I thought about disappearing off the earth, but looking back at everything right now, it’s really those times where we go through adversity that really build our character and really develop us.

Where can people follow you (i.e. social media handles)?

YouTube
youtube.com/KevinYeePharmD or you can just type in RefugeeHustle.com/youtube or type my name into YouTube

RefugeeHustle.com
Make sure to sign up for my email list. I just want to have a more personal connection with people.

Instagram
@kevin_the_refugee

Give him a follow! Watch his videos. He’s awesome.

I want to feature more pharmacists on this blog. Please let me know who you want me to interview next and if there are any specific questions I did not ask that you want me to ask.

If you are planning on purchasing any of the resources highlighted in this post or previous posts, please consider using the Amazon affiliated links to purchase. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Also,Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial . It doesn’t cost you anything. It will help me fund the free content I create for you.

Thank you!

Interview Ft. RxComedy

Hello!

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and for those who went Black Friday shopping, I hope it well. I went Black Friday shopping this morning. I got the last 1.5 Quart slow cooker at Macy’s. If you exclude the taxes, it is essentially free after the mailed in rebates. I got a couple things at Sears for less than $1 with my $10 off coupon. To get this coupon (I’m not sure if the promotion is still going on), text thanks to 73277, and when prompt, text Y, and you’ll get $10 off coupon at sears valid til 12/1. SYW (shop your way) membership (it’s free to join) is required.

Anywho, back to the regular content. I have a special treat for you all. I’m excited and thankful to have had an opportunity to interview and feature this pharmacist in my blog. He makes YouTube videos of himself as the pharmacist, pharmacy technician, and patient. He’s hilarious. He pokes fun of life as a retail pharmacist. I used to work in retail pharmacy and can relate. This pharmacist I am referring to is Maurice Shaw. For those who don’t know him, don’t worry. Read on. Prepare to learn more about him, his thoughts on the current/future pharmacist job market, and his advice to new and soon-to-be pharmacists.

Tell me about yourself. Are you still doing comedy/YouTube and pharmacy?

I went to Chicago State University College of Pharmacy and completed a PGY1 Residency with University of Iowa. I am currently a pharmacy manager been doing real pharmacy for about 5 years. I am still doing stand up comedy, still making YouTube videos, making videos for Pharmacy Times and I am currently the Health and Wellness director for the Black Chamber of Commerce of Illinois.

What are your thoughts on the current/future pharmacist job market?

I believe the current job market for pharmacist right now is tough as retail pharmacies are trying to deal with low reimbursement rates and try to manage the new pay for performance type of reimbursement with STAR ratings. I think the pharmacist and pharmacy organization need to find ways so pharmacist get paid for everything we do (consultation fees as an example like lawyers do) and expand the scope of practice for pharmacist and the job market will improve.

Any advice for new and soon-to-be pharmacists?

Use your money to create a second source on income such as rental income or own a small business because we become so dependent on the income of our jobs as pharmacist that we continue to let jobs add more and more to our plate with less pay.

Where can people follow you (i.e. social media handles)?

YouTube Channel: RXComedy
FaceBook: Maurice Shaw (@MauriceRPh)
Instagram: drofcomedy

Give him a follow! Watch his videos. He’s awesome.

I want to feature more pharmacists on this blog. Please let me know who you want me to interview next and if there are any specific questions I did not ask that you want me to ask.

If you are planning on purchasing any of the resources highlighted in this post or previous posts, please consider using the Amazon affiliated links to purchase. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial . It doesn’t cost you anything. It will help me fund the free content I create for you.

Thank you!

Are there any pharmacist jobs in California left for recent grads?

Hello!

***Again, thank you for reading and making purchases with my Amazon affiliated links! Also thank you for using my Fetch Rewards referral code Q8EMM !

Another app I also use is Ibotta. It’s similar to Fetch rewards except you get cash (once you hit $20. You can also get a gift card instead of cash too.) instead of a gift card (once you hit $3) back on selected purchases at selected retailers. Use my referral code, rroawap, and you can start saving real cash at all your favorite retailers. Sign up at https://ibotta.com/r/rroawap!

I use Fetch Rewards more. I can literally scan recent grocery receipts from any retailers (including Asian supermarkets) and earn points. Each receipt I scan, I get at least 25 points. Once I reach 3000 points, I can redeem those points for a $3 Target gift card. If you do the math, 25 points is equivalent to 2.5 cents!

From 11/20/19 – 12/17/19, Fetch Rewards have some “free” items listed like drinks, chips, and crackers. Free as in you buy and get points back. On 12/1/19, I went to Target. I got the Stacy’s Parmesan Garlic Pita Chips and Off the Eaten Path Veggie Crisps for $6.19 and got 6,190 points back. I can in turn redeem for two $3 target card or $5 to other retailers or save up for a $10 gift card (10,000 points). I highly recommend those chip flavors. On 12/14/19, I went to the 99 cents only store and got the 20 oz strawberry bubly sparkling water. I got 1024 points back. When I scanned the receipt, it didn’t read the sparkling water. If that happens to you, you can edit the text and have it reviewed.

From 12/5/19 – 12/11/19, Fetch Rewards have additional “free” items – Blueberry Cheerios Cereal and Peanut Butter Chex Cereal! On 12/7/19, I went to Walmart and got the Blueberry Cheerios for about $3.50. That one is delicious. I also got the 700 ml LIFEWTR for about $1.50. Nothing special about the taste of this water. I like the artwork on the bottle though. I got my money’s worth back in points for both items.

Oh BTW I also updated the Preparing for the CPJE post with additional resources, so be sure to check that out. ***

Ok, let’s get back to what I was going to talk about: Job Market in California.

A little about me. Even though I graduated before the inaugural class from new California Pharmacy schools like Chapman University, Keck Graduate Institute, West Coast University, and California Health Sciences University, it was still a challenge landing a pharmacist job in California. I did not work as a pharmacy intern during pharmacy school, and I also graduated from an out of state school.

The 2nd half of my last year of pharmacy school was stressful. I had no job lined up post-graduation. After what felt like 100+ applications and 10 interviews, in early May of my last year of pharmacy school, I finally secured a full time pharmacist job position with good benefits in California.

I can only imagine it being even harder each year (especially in Southern California) as there will be 15 pharmacy schools in California schools (with UCSF converting from a 4 year to a 3 year program and with Marshall B. Ketchum University, American University of Health Sciences, and potentially UC Irvine graduating their first class within the next 5 years) pushing out more and more pharmacists.

Here are a few tips to give you a competitive edge:

1) Network.
Be involved in school whether it is a research or community service project or a leadership position in an organization. Consider joining a fraternity and being involved. Pharmacy is a small world. The more people you know, the better.

2) Build good relationships with everyone you encounter. Treat every rotation or opportunity as an interview. Put your best effort forward during rotations. Again, pharmacy is a small world. You never know if this will directly/indirectly lead to a job opportunity.

3) Be open and flexible. If you’re like me with no pharmacy work experience and no connections in California, be open to relocating outside of the saturated areas of Southern California and floating where there is a need. Accepting even part time/per diem/contract can give you the experience you need to apply for a full time job when one opens up at the current or different company.

I’d like to hear from recent grads. What has your job hunting experience been like? If you’ve been able to land a job, what additional tips do you have to those who are still looking for a job?

Please let me know what topics you want to discuss next or any questions you may have.

If you are planning on purchasing any of the resources highlighted in this post or previous posts, please consider using the Amazon affiliated links to purchase. Also, Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. It doesn’t cost you anything. It will help me fund the free content I create for you.

Thank you!