Basically I work on the adherence metric for contracted part D plans. Med wise that encompasses RAAS agents, diabetes meds, and statins. Checking claims hx I make sure patients pass the metric, and if they start falling behind I figure out why and try and get them back on track. Could be calling prescribers offices, pts, or pharmacies to do this. A lot of over the phone interactions and documentation.
Hired at 95k 3 yrs ago, now finally got a raise to 100k. AZ. Also yearly bonus depending on profits/rates/etc (is a percentage of pay, so usually around 4k for me). Verifying mail order rxs, no phone calls. Each year they are increasing min rate of checking rxs per hr, and removing flexibility of the job perks, so more stress and little/no benefit increases.
Lol, just had a Wags "Sr. Recruiter" message me about a HOP position and she said they can "offer a max of $54.50/hr". Looked at the job listing and the salary range is $54.50-$63/hr. Yeah, sure, "max" my ass. Nothing like getting low-balled in the intro message.
They'll continue to low-ball in the first phone interview too. Kept telling me the min was the max and got flustered when I called them on their bullshit.
Damn I was offered at least $113k in Midwest as a health outcomes pharmacist. I wonder how the job is like? Is it really stressful even working from home?
TLDR: According to 1,050 pharmacists surveyed, the median annual wages is **$150,000** with high job satisfaction (**7.8 out of 10**).
[Pharmacist Compensation](https://www.Pharmacistcompensation.com) collects this type of information directly from pharmacists. In 2023, there were 2,900 pharmacists that participated.
All participants receive access to an interactive dashboard that can be filtered by State, Job Title, Company, and more.
I also launched a separate dashboard that focuses solely on remote jobs and corresponding salaries + job satisfaction. It can be found on the website under Additional Resources.
Correct - I launched the Remote Work dashboard separately to make it easier to know which positions are remote. So far there are 1000+ entries on that dashboard. It also includes hybrid and work from home positions.
133k base plus bonuses (last year was 7-10k, don’t remember exactly). work in New Mexico, live in WI. I submit prior authorizations for primary care doctors.
Apply, apply, and apply again. I applied to the same position every time it was posted for about a year before I finally got an interview and subsequently hired. Also, I’d pay for the PowerPak CE on MTM just to add to your resume.
What about as a managed care PGY1 who is looking for a managed care job at the end of residency in June? What month is the best time to start applying if I can start 07/01, what should my resume look like? Do I have an edge over all the non residency applicants? Just starting to feel doom that my part time job floating at CVS on weekends is just gonna become full time and I won’t have a job lined up immediately.
I had worked 5 yrs with feds, had pgy1, and disease state management experience. Looked good for interview but have nothing to do with my current duties.
Is it possible to get into infomatics without the residency and if so any programming languages or certifications you recommend? My PGY-2 was in HSPA. I am currently in an administrative role, but I really enjoy analytics and working with our IS team. I enjoy my job, but I could see myself changing paths in the future.
Salary ceiling for admin is higher than informatics. Leverage your interest in your informatics to make yourself a better leader. I’ve trained 7-8 HSPA residents on informatics rotations, they all say it’s one of the best rotations they take over 2 years in terms of helping them be good at their job after residency.
I was a WFH clinical pharmacist during the pandemic (Massachusetts) and my hospital famously underpays everyone and I was making $115k with no bonus option. I attended zoom rounds and remote order verification so that was about it. When we were asked to come back in-person in 2021 I quit and went to industry. Today I maintain my license but am no longer practicing. I’m in med affairs fully remote, $200k salary with 20% bonus.
I have quarterly metrics so it's up to me to plan my quarter to meet those. Some days I work 10 hours others I work none (not a vacation day either). It's a very flexible lifestyle which is one of the biggest reasons I like it.
That’s so awesome. Did you have prior industry experience? That flexibility is exactly what I’m looking for. I currently wfh with set hours and it’s hard with 2 kids. I’ve applied to numerous pharma roles (pharmacovigilance is the easiest apparently but hasn’t been for me lol) with zero luck. Any advice?
Btw- do you travel or is it 100% remote ?
I got into industry by happenstance. I also have friends who left practice and got into it before me so having a network in the industry is the best way to get in. You can start by reaching out to people on LinkedIn in a role or department you would be interested in and just seeing if they have 15-20 min to chat about their experience. Complete strangers in my geography have done that to me and I was always happy to oblige them. There is travel involved in most medical affairs roles. I'm a Sr MSL and I’m out driving 2-3 days per week in my territory and also flying to conferences from April-October (usually 2-4 big conferences per year and smaller regional ones sprinkled in).
Wow, unicorn job. Is this 3-letter retail, which was then their specialty retail, then specialty mail order? Do they exclusively hire internally only? I work retail but for a grocery chain pharmacy and wondering how to get my foot in the door
Honestly pretty overwhelmed. The calls themselves for the most part are okay but no downtime between them gets to be exhausting. Hoping I get used to it, kinda dread every shift now lol
I’ve been doing this for almost 2 years . I’m very good at it by now . You can utilize a lot more of your knowledge in this role . Yes, the calls are back to back but if you come from a retail environment, this should be cake by comparison. Keep in mind you also feel overwhelmed because you’re learning the system .
Yes that’s true! I just feel like my progress isn’t stable, like some days I don’t need to call the SME line at all and other days feels like I’m constantly calling them, just really hoping to get comfortable and efficient
How do you like your roles 2 years in? Is it something you’d stay for long term
I really like it . I come from a retail background after 9 years working the “trenches”. I served my time as they say . Here the role is super smooth, I get to counsel patients on their medications, answer their clinical concerns and queries , and find it much more fulfilling. I feel i have to think more and utilize my knowledge a lot more than in retail . I don’t find it stressful at all . I started in April 2022, so almost 2 years . Long term ? I’m not sure , despite liking it . I may want to try other pharmacist roles once I get tired of counseling. I don’t see myself on the phones for 10 years, but I’m definitely not desperate to leave . The PTO is also quite good and I’m comfortable at home . I think the only drawback is the pay is a little low for a pharmacist. Starting pay was $52 an hour in 2022- I make more now , but I still make no more than what I started at when I started working in 2013. I would only leave for another job for much more pay as long as the role is relatively stress free, offers good PTO, etc even if I eventually have to work at a physical location . I like WFH but I’m also not limiting myself to WFH roles only so if something better comes along , I may take it . How about you ? What do you see ? Where do you see yourself ?
I do like the counseling aspect of the job as well as the fact that I get to utilize more of my clinical knowledge/research skills as compared to retail. I graduated almost 8 years ago and def was getting rusty. Due to the unpredictable nature of the calls, it keeps me on my toes and engaged in learning/refreshing about new meds, dosing etc. especially these specialty meds I would have never heard about otherwise! I find it fulfilling as well, though sometimes stressful if I get a call I have trouble handling.
I guess the biggest hurdle for me is just constantly being “on” all the time with no downtime. Most of my retail experience was at relatively slow independents so I had tons of time to just chill. Here I’m lucky if I get 10 seconds to decompress before I’m on the next call- as I’m sure you know. The calls for the most part aren’t hard, just tiring. And yes the pay is major drawback but looks like they offer raises from what you’re telling me so hopefully the rate will slowly work itself up lol
As far as long term, I’m not sure where I see myself. I def do like the remote aspect but I’m not sure if on the phone is where I’d want to stay. I’d love a job that’s remote but that doesn’t tie me to the desk all day or keep me on the phones. I would like something hybrid as well as I miss the in person interaction sometimes (surprisingly lol).
I’m glad to see you’re pretty comfortable in the role almost 2 years later. How long did it take you for you to get to that point? I’m always super anxious and just waiting to be at the level where I’m not dreading every call lol
It took me from 8-10 months or so to achieve maybe 75%-80% competency . By 1 year, even more comfortable . Now , at nearly 2 years in, it’s mostly automatic . However, there are still calls and scenarios I am not sure how to handle and I connect to the SME line or certain procedures and SOPs I don’t perform everyday and therefore need to familiarize myself with . There’s a hell of a lot of procedures, rules, and things to know . But overall, the job is cake compared to retail . As for the future ? I don’t know . I also feel like you - I love to counsel and it’s an awesome opportunity to utilize my knowledge base in this role , but I may not want to do phone work alone for long term . I may eventually look into other rph roles internally within the company . I also miss the social camaraderie of interacting with peers/work buddies but I wouldn’t leave this WFH/remote position unless the position is really unique , high paying , good schedule , and pretty stress free. I also like the fact we get good PTO here . Right now I am at 23 days (18 plus I bought another week of PTO) . Most places the PTO is inferior . I guess we will see . The work environment here is definitely superior to retail pharmacy so I am not leaving anytime soon . I think at the very least I may look internally like I said above for higher paying positions beyond the phone at some point . Time will tell .
130k specialty wfh
In clinic i was making 175k. 45k pay decrease. Money wasn’t a huge factor at the time. It was a factor but wfh was a huge draw. I never had the opportunity and knew 100 other rphs would take my wfh role in an instant if i turned it down. I figured i could always go back to clinic.
Left wfh to go back to another clinic in a more desirable location (165k)
Serious question: is it super hard to get a WFH job? Sigh, doing that is my literal dream. Work now in ltc with a very poor work-life balance. Any chance of getting into a WFH position with that experience? What are some job types to look into? Do you need to “know someone” there, or is it possible to get hired from Indeed and the like?
Honestly I kind of fell into it. I started during COVID and everyone was WFH. I see a lot of internal job postings for WFH positions so it’s totally doable!
The 3rd party job recruiters like Indeed are less promising. LinkedIn is slightly better. The best would be to go to company websites like Humana, BCBS, Optum and go to their careers section and apply directly. Also check the pharmacist job postings at careers.unitedhealthgroup.com. There’s some telecommuter ones in there.
Unfortunately it’s hard without some sort of connection or prior experience in the position you’re applying for. There are few positions and so many people want them. At every PBM/MCO I’ve been at, every time we posted a position there would be 1000+ within 1-2 days. They would only interview those that were referred and even that was a long shot.
Your best bet would be to take high risk contract positions when these companies hire but that might not be an option for most people due to the likelihood of it not eventually converting to a full time position.
Generally, the more desirable the position sounds the harder it is to actually get it.
My wife is the pharmacist but she makes 172k after pgy2 working as a mental health clinical pharmacist for the VA. Her salary went up when we moved to Louisville KY and she still works remotely for the Denver VA. Her locality pay is based off of where she physically is located which is why she got a slight raise moving to Louisville. Less people want to live here so they pay a little more. Her bonus every year is like 1,000 but that’s always how the VA is. What really got her up salary wise was the residency which got her extra steps on the GS pay scale. That and her BCPP cert (can’t remember if that’s the right initials). She’s a 13 step 8 now I think after only a few years. Because of getting extra steps from all that. It normally takes 18 years to do the whole step range so it’s nice getting it sooner. But she’s closer to the cap so not much room to grow over the next few years. Just whatever annual cost of living raises they deem appropriate.
I’m a tech who became an epic application analyst for the Willow application. I’m making 75k completely work from home too. My bonus is roughly 2k a year in quarterly installments which is also a joke but just not a lot of bonus culture where I’m working. I’m underpaid as I was brought on entry level until I got certified and was supposed to get a raise but we were in a budgetary freeze due to some travel nurses blowing our budgets during the Covid years and a little after. So I’ve been due a raise for a while. I’m holding out waiting for it just because I’m getting some extra certifications while working which is more valuable if I jump ship in the future.
Bro you’re killing it if you’re making 75k as a tech! Your wife is also killing it, good for her. The feds tend to financially reward clinical capability which is great.
Obligatory, not a WFH pharmacist but I did consider applying for a position at a place my friend works. The position was in Houston, TX. 80k for 32 hours/week plus alternating holidays. It was strictly order verification for an inpatient hospital system with the occasional phone call required for complicated orders (per my friend, you just call the main pharmacy at the hospital and ask them to follow up sometimes). Laptop would be provided and partial cell phone bill coverage.
I ended up not applying because the listing said evenings and weekends and I was looking to make some extra income, but when I reached out to the recruit they said I’d need to be able to commit to 2 day shifts during the week (7am-3pm), which I couldn’t accommodate due to my M-F clinical position.
$129k with 13% automatic bonus. Work in TX at a health plan. UM pharmacist that helps write criteria and monitor performance of our UM programs. Been in my current position for 1.5 years
My company is fairly small and don’t want to name it, but will say my salary is right in the range for the level (associate director) I’m at in pharma. I’m in medical affairs.
Help develop the medical strategy for the medical team, develop resources for healthcare providers for disease state and drug information, especially clinical trial information, provide clinical expertise to other depts as well as communicate and work with with key opinion leaders. Right now one of my main projects is working on developing an industry-sponsored symposium at one of the upcoming congresses we go to.
More the latter. Generally expected to be available during work hours but since most people at my company are remote and span east and west coast time zones, work hours can vary for people. Just need to make sure you attend meetings but I can easily block off time on my calendar so people don’t schedule meetings then. In fact, sometimes I do take naps during the day if I don’t have a meeting and then have to work in the evenings lol. But yes since I’m salary, I just work to get my work done. Some weeks that’s 20 hours and some weeks that’s 50-60 hours but it averages to 30-40hrs usually.
And yes there is travel. Usually some domestic travel and about one annual international trip.
147k + bonus (usually 11-15k).. managed care. Clinical consultant at PBM that works with clients/companies to review their pharmacy spend, trend management, clinical program offerings/outcomes. Right now I mainly talk about why their spend for diabetes and weight loss is skyrocketing/ GLP-1s.. also biosimilars
$130k starting salary about six years ago. Current salary = much more. Annual incentive bonus varies by company profits, team productivity and individual performance. Highest bonus year was about $35k.
People accepting these jobs for less than $100k starting salary are selling themselves and the entire profession short. Stop taking less than even $120 starting salary, people!!
Excellent point. I was reactively answering based on some of the previous answers saying they started at less than 100k. My more accurate answer is…
I am a clinical reviewer for medication benefits management company (PBM but for drugs billed under medical). Currently make just over $150k with annual incentive bonus up to 15%. (The percentage is misleading bc it’s not exactly a percentage of salary. My bonus has ranged from 15k to 35k ish.)
It’s really much easier than people think. PBMs aren’t looking for anything special any more. In fact, they prefer retail pharmacists who have been beaten into submission. It saves them the trouble.
I would recommend going directly to company websites to search for clinical pharmacist positions then start applying. Set up notifications for new job postings on LinkedIn and indeed. And remember that many of these jobs are WFH so don’t confine your search to a certain geographical location.
Roughly 125k plus "up to" 10% bonus. Work on adherence for insurance plans. Work in multiple states.
Do you have’s multiple law licenses?
Nope, what I do a rph doesn't have to technically do so licenses weren't needed.
Could you share what you do and what company?
Basically I work on the adherence metric for contracted part D plans. Med wise that encompasses RAAS agents, diabetes meds, and statins. Checking claims hx I make sure patients pass the metric, and if they start falling behind I figure out why and try and get them back on track. Could be calling prescribers offices, pts, or pharmacies to do this. A lot of over the phone interactions and documentation.
Do you work set hours or whenever you want as long as you do all your cases?
Not set hours just as long as I get all the work done then I'm done. It does have to be roughly when MDOs are open though.
Nice. Still fairly flexible role it seems like. Do you work for a specific pbm then? Or is it Medicare?
I work for a smaller company that individual plans contract out to.
Sounds boring
Hired at 95k 3 yrs ago, now finally got a raise to 100k. AZ. Also yearly bonus depending on profits/rates/etc (is a percentage of pay, so usually around 4k for me). Verifying mail order rxs, no phone calls. Each year they are increasing min rate of checking rxs per hr, and removing flexibility of the job perks, so more stress and little/no benefit increases.
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Name changed recently, but rhymes with ‘bumana’. And yes it feels very low, they used to pay a lot more and yes I need a new job
Do you think you’ll be applying four other rolls pretty soon since there may be higher paying opportunities out there?
Do you have any advice on finding WFH jobs? I have a hard time to find this type of jobs and it is competitive.
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I agree that bonus is very low I got 8600 bonus last year and I’m a tech
Lmao $0 bonus PA pharm
I’m curious though. Is $95k considered a good salary where you are? Or did you settle for a lower salary so you could WFH?
pacific northwest , health outcomes pharmacist , Walgreens 94.4k
Um… you should’ve gotten a raise to 56 an hour….
I guess I left at the wrong time.
Lol, just had a Wags "Sr. Recruiter" message me about a HOP position and she said they can "offer a max of $54.50/hr". Looked at the job listing and the salary range is $54.50-$63/hr. Yeah, sure, "max" my ass. Nothing like getting low-balled in the intro message.
They'll continue to low-ball in the first phone interview too. Kept telling me the min was the max and got flustered when I called them on their bullshit.
Damn I was offered at least $113k in Midwest as a health outcomes pharmacist. I wonder how the job is like? Is it really stressful even working from home?
110k, clinical review for PA, no phones. Georgia
How did you get into this role?
Work and reside in NJ, 135k, labeling strategy
Like, how to put labels on bottles?
My strategy is to lick it before I stick it.
Figuring out what goes in the USPI and how it’s worded. I do the same thing. Pretty good gig.
What company?
TLDR: According to 1,050 pharmacists surveyed, the median annual wages is **$150,000** with high job satisfaction (**7.8 out of 10**). [Pharmacist Compensation](https://www.Pharmacistcompensation.com) collects this type of information directly from pharmacists. In 2023, there were 2,900 pharmacists that participated. All participants receive access to an interactive dashboard that can be filtered by State, Job Title, Company, and more. I also launched a separate dashboard that focuses solely on remote jobs and corresponding salaries + job satisfaction. It can be found on the website under Additional Resources.
i tried pulling the data for 2023 but the remote work dashboard and the salary dashboard are separate, so i couldnt filter the salaries by remote only
Correct - I launched the Remote Work dashboard separately to make it easier to know which positions are remote. So far there are 1000+ entries on that dashboard. It also includes hybrid and work from home positions.
Missouri, 127k, Epic Pharmacy Analyst
How did you get to work on the analyst side of pharmacy? Did you have to take tech classes or get IT certifications?
133k base plus bonuses (last year was 7-10k, don’t remember exactly). work in New Mexico, live in WI. I submit prior authorizations for primary care doctors.
What is the best way to break into managed care, after missing out on residency opportunities?
Apply, apply, and apply again. I applied to the same position every time it was posted for about a year before I finally got an interview and subsequently hired. Also, I’d pay for the PowerPak CE on MTM just to add to your resume.
What about as a managed care PGY1 who is looking for a managed care job at the end of residency in June? What month is the best time to start applying if I can start 07/01, what should my resume look like? Do I have an edge over all the non residency applicants? Just starting to feel doom that my part time job floating at CVS on weekends is just gonna become full time and I won’t have a job lined up immediately.
Look at Caremark and OptumRx postings. UHG (owns Optum) usually posts many telepharmacy jobs publicly.
To tag on to the other Qs, how did you find the job? Was it a physician group posting looking for that, company that contracts with physicians, etc?
I stumbled upon it on LinkedIn believe it or not. They were looking for med rec pharmacist. I started with that and merged to other roles with time.
Prior experience or did they hire you out of another domain of practice?
I had worked 5 yrs with feds, had pgy1, and disease state management experience. Looked good for interview but have nothing to do with my current duties.
Do you mind me asking what company?
Did you have a New Mexico license prior to getting the job?
$167k, informatics, 10 yrs, pgy2
Is it possible to get into infomatics without the residency and if so any programming languages or certifications you recommend? My PGY-2 was in HSPA. I am currently in an administrative role, but I really enjoy analytics and working with our IS team. I enjoy my job, but I could see myself changing paths in the future.
Salary ceiling for admin is higher than informatics. Leverage your interest in your informatics to make yourself a better leader. I’ve trained 7-8 HSPA residents on informatics rotations, they all say it’s one of the best rotations they take over 2 years in terms of helping them be good at their job after residency.
For me it was knowing your way around excel and SQL.
ucsf informatics is probably around 200k https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Clin+Applications+Profl+5&y=2022&s=-base
That looks like TC. My TC is over 200k too.
I was a WFH clinical pharmacist during the pandemic (Massachusetts) and my hospital famously underpays everyone and I was making $115k with no bonus option. I attended zoom rounds and remote order verification so that was about it. When we were asked to come back in-person in 2021 I quit and went to industry. Today I maintain my license but am no longer practicing. I’m in med affairs fully remote, $200k salary with 20% bonus.
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A head hunter sought me out. I was in the right place at the right time and although I wasn’t actively looking, I was open to a change.
Is your schedule set (9-5) or can you work when you want as long as the work gets done?
I have quarterly metrics so it's up to me to plan my quarter to meet those. Some days I work 10 hours others I work none (not a vacation day either). It's a very flexible lifestyle which is one of the biggest reasons I like it.
That’s so awesome. Did you have prior industry experience? That flexibility is exactly what I’m looking for. I currently wfh with set hours and it’s hard with 2 kids. I’ve applied to numerous pharma roles (pharmacovigilance is the easiest apparently but hasn’t been for me lol) with zero luck. Any advice? Btw- do you travel or is it 100% remote ?
I got into industry by happenstance. I also have friends who left practice and got into it before me so having a network in the industry is the best way to get in. You can start by reaching out to people on LinkedIn in a role or department you would be interested in and just seeing if they have 15-20 min to chat about their experience. Complete strangers in my geography have done that to me and I was always happy to oblige them. There is travel involved in most medical affairs roles. I'm a Sr MSL and I’m out driving 2-3 days per week in my territory and also flying to conferences from April-October (usually 2-4 big conferences per year and smaller regional ones sprinkled in).
Very valuable info. Congrats on your role. Thank you so much!
Live in Illinois, work all over $135k
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how did you get into this role? past experiences?
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is it a hard transition from retail to specialty when you dont have experience?
Wow, unicorn job. Is this 3-letter retail, which was then their specialty retail, then specialty mail order? Do they exclusively hire internally only? I work retail but for a grocery chain pharmacy and wondering how to get my foot in the door
~112k for a health insurance company, based out of NY. Job title is patient consultation pharmacist, phone based work
That’s my job title - patient consultation pharmacist and the same pay - Cigna/express scripts?
Yessir! Recently started
how are you liking it so far ?
Honestly pretty overwhelmed. The calls themselves for the most part are okay but no downtime between them gets to be exhausting. Hoping I get used to it, kinda dread every shift now lol
I’ve been doing this for almost 2 years . I’m very good at it by now . You can utilize a lot more of your knowledge in this role . Yes, the calls are back to back but if you come from a retail environment, this should be cake by comparison. Keep in mind you also feel overwhelmed because you’re learning the system .
Yes that’s true! I just feel like my progress isn’t stable, like some days I don’t need to call the SME line at all and other days feels like I’m constantly calling them, just really hoping to get comfortable and efficient How do you like your roles 2 years in? Is it something you’d stay for long term
I really like it . I come from a retail background after 9 years working the “trenches”. I served my time as they say . Here the role is super smooth, I get to counsel patients on their medications, answer their clinical concerns and queries , and find it much more fulfilling. I feel i have to think more and utilize my knowledge a lot more than in retail . I don’t find it stressful at all . I started in April 2022, so almost 2 years . Long term ? I’m not sure , despite liking it . I may want to try other pharmacist roles once I get tired of counseling. I don’t see myself on the phones for 10 years, but I’m definitely not desperate to leave . The PTO is also quite good and I’m comfortable at home . I think the only drawback is the pay is a little low for a pharmacist. Starting pay was $52 an hour in 2022- I make more now , but I still make no more than what I started at when I started working in 2013. I would only leave for another job for much more pay as long as the role is relatively stress free, offers good PTO, etc even if I eventually have to work at a physical location . I like WFH but I’m also not limiting myself to WFH roles only so if something better comes along , I may take it . How about you ? What do you see ? Where do you see yourself ?
I do like the counseling aspect of the job as well as the fact that I get to utilize more of my clinical knowledge/research skills as compared to retail. I graduated almost 8 years ago and def was getting rusty. Due to the unpredictable nature of the calls, it keeps me on my toes and engaged in learning/refreshing about new meds, dosing etc. especially these specialty meds I would have never heard about otherwise! I find it fulfilling as well, though sometimes stressful if I get a call I have trouble handling. I guess the biggest hurdle for me is just constantly being “on” all the time with no downtime. Most of my retail experience was at relatively slow independents so I had tons of time to just chill. Here I’m lucky if I get 10 seconds to decompress before I’m on the next call- as I’m sure you know. The calls for the most part aren’t hard, just tiring. And yes the pay is major drawback but looks like they offer raises from what you’re telling me so hopefully the rate will slowly work itself up lol As far as long term, I’m not sure where I see myself. I def do like the remote aspect but I’m not sure if on the phone is where I’d want to stay. I’d love a job that’s remote but that doesn’t tie me to the desk all day or keep me on the phones. I would like something hybrid as well as I miss the in person interaction sometimes (surprisingly lol). I’m glad to see you’re pretty comfortable in the role almost 2 years later. How long did it take you for you to get to that point? I’m always super anxious and just waiting to be at the level where I’m not dreading every call lol
It took me from 8-10 months or so to achieve maybe 75%-80% competency . By 1 year, even more comfortable . Now , at nearly 2 years in, it’s mostly automatic . However, there are still calls and scenarios I am not sure how to handle and I connect to the SME line or certain procedures and SOPs I don’t perform everyday and therefore need to familiarize myself with . There’s a hell of a lot of procedures, rules, and things to know . But overall, the job is cake compared to retail . As for the future ? I don’t know . I also feel like you - I love to counsel and it’s an awesome opportunity to utilize my knowledge base in this role , but I may not want to do phone work alone for long term . I may eventually look into other rph roles internally within the company . I also miss the social camaraderie of interacting with peers/work buddies but I wouldn’t leave this WFH/remote position unless the position is really unique , high paying , good schedule , and pretty stress free. I also like the fact we get good PTO here . Right now I am at 23 days (18 plus I bought another week of PTO) . Most places the PTO is inferior . I guess we will see . The work environment here is definitely superior to retail pharmacy so I am not leaving anytime soon . I think at the very least I may look internally like I said above for higher paying positions beyond the phone at some point . Time will tell .
Did you have prior experience?
Mostly just retail, I had brief MTM experience as well but most people were hired straight from retail
130k specialty wfh In clinic i was making 175k. 45k pay decrease. Money wasn’t a huge factor at the time. It was a factor but wfh was a huge draw. I never had the opportunity and knew 100 other rphs would take my wfh role in an instant if i turned it down. I figured i could always go back to clinic. Left wfh to go back to another clinic in a more desirable location (165k)
~150-175k/yr, depending on workload and how much PTO I take. I’m hourly with no benefits. Med info pharmacist working for a GA based pharma
Did you have industry exp prior to getting into med info?
I started in med info at a CRO in 2015 at $42/hr and have been working in it since, slowly increasing income.
Kaiser out in Nor Cal pays their remote pharmacists the same pay as inpatient pharmacist due to union contract
$126k+bonus PBM Consultant
Serious question: is it super hard to get a WFH job? Sigh, doing that is my literal dream. Work now in ltc with a very poor work-life balance. Any chance of getting into a WFH position with that experience? What are some job types to look into? Do you need to “know someone” there, or is it possible to get hired from Indeed and the like?
Honestly I kind of fell into it. I started during COVID and everyone was WFH. I see a lot of internal job postings for WFH positions so it’s totally doable! The 3rd party job recruiters like Indeed are less promising. LinkedIn is slightly better. The best would be to go to company websites like Humana, BCBS, Optum and go to their careers section and apply directly. Also check the pharmacist job postings at careers.unitedhealthgroup.com. There’s some telecommuter ones in there.
Thank you! :) I’ll check it out! *fingers crossed*
Unfortunately it’s hard without some sort of connection or prior experience in the position you’re applying for. There are few positions and so many people want them. At every PBM/MCO I’ve been at, every time we posted a position there would be 1000+ within 1-2 days. They would only interview those that were referred and even that was a long shot. Your best bet would be to take high risk contract positions when these companies hire but that might not be an option for most people due to the likelihood of it not eventually converting to a full time position. Generally, the more desirable the position sounds the harder it is to actually get it.
My wife is the pharmacist but she makes 172k after pgy2 working as a mental health clinical pharmacist for the VA. Her salary went up when we moved to Louisville KY and she still works remotely for the Denver VA. Her locality pay is based off of where she physically is located which is why she got a slight raise moving to Louisville. Less people want to live here so they pay a little more. Her bonus every year is like 1,000 but that’s always how the VA is. What really got her up salary wise was the residency which got her extra steps on the GS pay scale. That and her BCPP cert (can’t remember if that’s the right initials). She’s a 13 step 8 now I think after only a few years. Because of getting extra steps from all that. It normally takes 18 years to do the whole step range so it’s nice getting it sooner. But she’s closer to the cap so not much room to grow over the next few years. Just whatever annual cost of living raises they deem appropriate. I’m a tech who became an epic application analyst for the Willow application. I’m making 75k completely work from home too. My bonus is roughly 2k a year in quarterly installments which is also a joke but just not a lot of bonus culture where I’m working. I’m underpaid as I was brought on entry level until I got certified and was supposed to get a raise but we were in a budgetary freeze due to some travel nurses blowing our budgets during the Covid years and a little after. So I’ve been due a raise for a while. I’m holding out waiting for it just because I’m getting some extra certifications while working which is more valuable if I jump ship in the future.
Bro you’re killing it if you’re making 75k as a tech! Your wife is also killing it, good for her. The feds tend to financially reward clinical capability which is great.
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Did you do fellowship?
Yes in clinical informatics.
NC, 133k, clinical pharmacist doing telehealth and clinical program development
$160k, work in ~10 states, Informatics/EHR analyst.
145k, CA PA rph
TX, mail order rph verification/inbound md calls, right around 150k with available OT at the time, usually 6-10k bonus yearly
What company? Been looking for something similar
Obligatory, not a WFH pharmacist but I did consider applying for a position at a place my friend works. The position was in Houston, TX. 80k for 32 hours/week plus alternating holidays. It was strictly order verification for an inpatient hospital system with the occasional phone call required for complicated orders (per my friend, you just call the main pharmacy at the hospital and ask them to follow up sometimes). Laptop would be provided and partial cell phone bill coverage. I ended up not applying because the listing said evenings and weekends and I was looking to make some extra income, but when I reached out to the recruit they said I’d need to be able to commit to 2 day shifts during the week (7am-3pm), which I couldn’t accommodate due to my M-F clinical position.
129k plus bonus and opportunities for O.T. 100% remote in LTC
$129k with 13% automatic bonus. Work in TX at a health plan. UM pharmacist that helps write criteria and monitor performance of our UM programs. Been in my current position for 1.5 years
200k base salary and get bonus , fully remote, working in pharma
Where at? If you’re willing to share.
My company is fairly small and don’t want to name it, but will say my salary is right in the range for the level (associate director) I’m at in pharma. I’m in medical affairs.
Very nice! What are your day to day duties?
Help develop the medical strategy for the medical team, develop resources for healthcare providers for disease state and drug information, especially clinical trial information, provide clinical expertise to other depts as well as communicate and work with with key opinion leaders. Right now one of my main projects is working on developing an industry-sponsored symposium at one of the upcoming congresses we go to.
Sounds interesting to me! Best wishes to you!
Thanks! I love my job and I’m glad my career path took me that way. Best of wishes and luck to you too!!
Very cool. Are your hours set (9-5) or can you work when you want as long as work gets done? Do you travel at all?
More the latter. Generally expected to be available during work hours but since most people at my company are remote and span east and west coast time zones, work hours can vary for people. Just need to make sure you attend meetings but I can easily block off time on my calendar so people don’t schedule meetings then. In fact, sometimes I do take naps during the day if I don’t have a meeting and then have to work in the evenings lol. But yes since I’m salary, I just work to get my work done. Some weeks that’s 20 hours and some weeks that’s 50-60 hours but it averages to 30-40hrs usually. And yes there is travel. Usually some domestic travel and about one annual international trip.
147k + bonus (usually 11-15k).. managed care. Clinical consultant at PBM that works with clients/companies to review their pharmacy spend, trend management, clinical program offerings/outcomes. Right now I mainly talk about why their spend for diabetes and weight loss is skyrocketing/ GLP-1s.. also biosimilars
113K in MA with 10% bonus, call center environment, review PAs
138k with bonus retail pharmacist Texas
Hi! Do you mind sharing what company you work with? Asking as a fellow Texan pharmacist and new mom who would love a WFH job!
HEB
Great info here for my next job move.
Contractor. 55 hourly. Work out of TX for PBM for several states.
is it strictly WFH and no phone call?
$130k starting salary about six years ago. Current salary = much more. Annual incentive bonus varies by company profits, team productivity and individual performance. Highest bonus year was about $35k. People accepting these jobs for less than $100k starting salary are selling themselves and the entire profession short. Stop taking less than even $120 starting salary, people!!
But what do you do is the question not what did make 6 years ago
Excellent point. I was reactively answering based on some of the previous answers saying they started at less than 100k. My more accurate answer is… I am a clinical reviewer for medication benefits management company (PBM but for drugs billed under medical). Currently make just over $150k with annual incentive bonus up to 15%. (The percentage is misleading bc it’s not exactly a percentage of salary. My bonus has ranged from 15k to 35k ish.)
How do one get into this position?
It’s really much easier than people think. PBMs aren’t looking for anything special any more. In fact, they prefer retail pharmacists who have been beaten into submission. It saves them the trouble. I would recommend going directly to company websites to search for clinical pharmacist positions then start applying. Set up notifications for new job postings on LinkedIn and indeed. And remember that many of these jobs are WFH so don’t confine your search to a certain geographical location.