<p>I never thought that I’d be in this situation, but here I am. I am an experienced pharmacist who has been out of work for a few months. I know that is not very long, especially by today’s standards. Still, I’m frustrated and concerned that I may never find another job with all of the young kids looking too.</p>
<p>I seriously don’t know what to do. While I would like to stay in pharmacy, I would even consider some other career. I am widowed with two kids in college and a long time until retirement. Has anyone changed jobs or careers at this stage of the game? Does anybody have any job-hunting advice for me? Help!</p>
<p>I think the job market is toughest for those of us in their 50s and up, although it’s tough for everyone right now. I would think that pharmacy would be a pretty safe field, but I have no experience with it. Are the layoffs because of stores closing, and bigger stores taking over the smaller independent pharmacies? Or just cut-backs in staffing in genereal?
What other health care related jobs might you be qualified for, or be able to re-train for? Have you considered pharmaceutical sales? Would you be able to make ends meet working in a doctor or dentist office? I would think you’d be valuable for a job that involves a certain amount of medical jargon or critical attention to detail. Living in a large city would probably help your prospects, too. Would you consider relocating if you are not in the best location?
All the best to you. It must be very frustrating to be very qualified and experienced and still not be able to find work.</p>
<p>Wish I had a suggestion. Sorry to hear things have not improved. Surprised but not shocked that you have to compete with new grad types. Teaching at cc or tech schools out here pays little. Lots of really good drug reps I thought highly of have had their jobs eliminated. Many (NOT all) reps are let’s see…um… not selected for their brains.</p>
<p>I am sure you have tried all the places within your area.</p>
<p>I think that pharmacy work is a wee bit versatile. </p>
<p>You can scour the drug stores and hospitals of your area for work as a proper pharmacist or something similar to that. I know of one big hospital in South Florida which has a pharmacy within it. They have pharmacists, assistants to the pharmacists, pharmacy techs (which would be to humble for you), and so on. </p>
<p>Hospice programs sometimes have proper pharmacists on staff, but that varies. You can google some and at a minimum can learn what pharmacy they work with as a stepping stone to a thing or two. Same goes for assisted living places and the like. </p>
<p>Lastly. There are trade schools out there who hire. They will have advertisements in the newspaper where they need a proper pharmacist to teach classes for the pharmacy tech certification and all of that. These places want someone with a nice background in the filed more so than they want someone with a sole teaching background, if you know what I am saying. They also have online classes as well. </p>
<p>Actually, you might want to see what the “Board of Regents” of your state is hiring for on that end, because a lot of things with trade schools and community colleges are online in this day and age and you just never know what they might be hiring for online or even in person.</p>
<p>I have a pal who grew up working for his family’s photography and video studio. They do weddings and all of that. He parlayed that into working for the Tennessee Board of Regents because of his various certifications and experience. He does scads of work with online course presentations which is completely over my head! </p>
<p>Hang in there and remember that age is nothing but a number!</p>
<p>No advice, but sending my best wishes. Our school district is laying off 1 in 11 - I’m not sure where all the unemployed teachers are going to go… :(</p>
<p>Make sure your certs are all up to date. Take classes on the latest changes in your field. You want things on your resume that are recent to show that you are keeping current. You probably won’t want dates on your resume but a class like ‘Detecting Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals on the Internet’ is obviously a recent addition!</p>
<p>Check your look. Is your hair stuck in a specific time period – like 1985? (this applies to men too!) Have you updated your wardrobe recently? You don’t have to spend a lot (esp. if you shop on-line) but a new ‘interview outfit’ that is modern makes you look younger…and that’s important if you are going to be competing with the younger group. You don’t want to be ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ but you don’t want the employer to think ‘tired’ when they meet you. </p>
<p>Network, network, network. Tell everyone you know that you are looking – friends, relatives, neighbors, church-members, etc. You never know who has a cousin who is looking to hire <em>you</em>. It won’t get you the job, but it could get you the interview. </p>
<p>lkf, wishing you success. I have been trying to move up in my field, and I am pretty sure the fact that I am in my 50’s is an issue. It’s different for me, though, because I recently returned to work after being away for many years. You have the good fortune of having worked steadily until just recently. There are some great tips in a couple posts above … I’ll bet you’ll be back to work before too long. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>Your post could have been mine 2 years ago. I sent out hundreds of resumes after being laid off at 55 and truly believed that I might never work in my field again. I was blessed to land on my feet–on the opposite side of the country, but in a job and community I love.</p>
<p>How mobile are you? Are you limited by a state license? I ended up working for the federal judiciary, which accepts bar admission from any state. By moving to a agricultural area, where my skills were needed, I also scored a much lower cost of living than the New York suburbs where I had been. It’s not an alternative for everybody, but . . . . .</p>
<p>I have this notion that there are areas where pharmacists are scarce if relocation could work for you.</p>
<p>How about working for the state department of health, if there are any openings? Rural areas are often very short of pharmacies, especially as was stated above if you’re willing and able to relocate. I know a young pharmacist who was given a hiring bonus for agreeing to work in a rural underserved area in Oregon. I’m sure there are other locations trying to do the same thing to get enough pharmacists. Are you willing to work in a hospital setting? Home pharmacy with infusions & more medically fragile patients? What about the Board of Pharmacy? Medical insurer? Writing a grant application & doing a research project? Teaching at some level?</p>
<p>A pharmacist who was in her mid-30s candidly told me that most employers are looking for young, healthy employees who they can give low wages to and who they believe will not use as much sick leave and keep health premiums for insurer lower. She says it really is tough for older pharmacists looking for jobs. They have to be willing to take the less desirable options.</p>
<p>I think it’s mentally healthy also to realize that many over 50s job seekers are finding that when they do land a job it often comes with a salary that is up to 20% less than what they were earning pre-layoff. Not all, but many. If you are searching at a salary point expand the bracket. The other anecdotal observerance was that the time it took to locate a job had expanded. </p>
<p>Old thinking was a month for every ten thousand in salary and it seemed (for most) to take about 1.5 months per ten thousand. Relocation can help, but understandably many in their fifties are entrenched in their communities both emotionally and financially or cannot withstand the financial hit a relo can take. Hang in there and find a good support group of friends and a strong network for hunting - tell absolutely everyone that you are looking for a job.</p>
<p>As others have said, look for tangential jobs, jobs related and industries that you may not have thought about. There are some pretty good search engines sites that will surface up jobs that have “pharmacy” as a qualification. Talk to industry recruiters - sometimes there are contract jobs that do not get “posted.”</p>
<p>I have been where you are, lkf - I was a little younger (49) but still just as flummoxed. My field was even narrower than yours and I really wanted to stay in the same general area so that DD could finish high school with her friends.</p>
<p>It was brutal. I applied to everything that was remotely connected to my previous job or to my education. I researched and talked to friends/old co-workers/people in my church - ANYbody who might know someone who knew someone who was looking for a chemist with good English skills.</p>
<p>The result was a mixed blessing - yes, I found a job, but it paid about half the salary of my old job and as it’s turned out, it’s not a good fit in every other dimension imaginable. (I’ll be looking for another job in a few years!) My advice would be - yes, do everything else that others have mentioned, but also network like crazy. Jobs can come from the strangest corners. And be good to yourself. Something will work out! Good luck!!</p>
<p>Lkf - I have to admit I never would have thought someone with your skills would be in this position. I do think it is much, much harder for those of us who are of a certain age to get in the door for an interview. I do a number of jobs as an independent educational consultant and one is to do psych evals for schools when they get behind. I turn work away all the time, I am in demand because I am mature, I have an excellent reputation for working well in high stakes situations, however, I KNOW the very same people who wheedle and beg for me to do a specific case would not hire me for a permanent position. Some of the traits they value in contractual work are not as valued as a full-time employee. Independent, confident, straightforward. Those young whippersnappers are a little easier to control - as long as they are not posting their private lives on FB!</p>
<p>My only advice is to network, use all available tools to search for jobs, and use your imagination to think about other ways to use your skills. I know we have a number of people on CC who were in a similar situation and finally found employment. Keep us updated on how you are doing!</p>
<p>My answer to being unemployed in my late 40s was to start a non-profit, get grant funding & run it. It is NOT something to be lightly undertaken but has brought me a lot of satisfaction. It is another “out of the box” option to ponder. </p>
<p>Pharmacists can also be paid by insurers to counsel diabetics at rates of up to $100/session, if they are certified diabetes educators. It’s a growing issue of concern nationwide, so that might also be an avenue to pursue.</p>
<p>Okay, first off, with two kids in college, contact the financial aid offices immediately and see what you can do about a change to EFC.</p>
<p>As for job hunting, have you consider being a sales rep for Big Pharma? You have great qualifications and you probably know most of the doctors in your area already.</p>
<p>Okay, first off, with two kids in college, contact the financial aid offices immediately and see what you can do about a change to EFC.</p>
<p>As for job hunting, have you consider being a sales rep for Big Pharma? You have great qualifications and you probably know most of the doctors in your area already.</p>
<p>A couple of the things you have going for you above many newbies are long experience in the field and maturity. </p>
<p>One challenge can be how to discuss these points in an interview positively without dipping into and possibly dwelling on how you did things 20 or 30 years ago which can make you come across not as positively. I don’t know how much of an issue this is in your field but it’s a big issue in my field (software development including developers, tech writers, etc.). I’ve interviewed people who have come across both ways - those who dwell on their 30 year old skills, which isn’t that relevant and which I’m not really interested in, and those who not only discuss their experience in many areas due to the time they’ve been involved in the field (which I’m interested in) but also indicate their current skills - i.e. the use of new technology, etc. as well as how they’re more ‘forward looking’ than ‘backward looking’.</p>
<p>It doesn’t bother me to hire someone 50 years old or 60 years old and it also doesn’t bother me to hire someone fresh out of school. However, these usually aren’t for the exact same positions. They may both be software developers but in one case I may be looking for someone with a lot of background I can leverage right away and in the other case I may be looking for someone new to the field who I can help develop. Sometimes the cost of the people is factor but not every position can be for someone with no experience just as not every position requires someone with 30 years of experience. </p>
<p>Given this, however it may apply to your field, in an interview or on an application be sure you discuss newer technologies used in your field and your use of them, perhaps how you (recently) improved processes, or any other ‘newer’ areas in your field you’re interested in pursuing. You want to come across as the best of both worlds - someone who has experience and maturity but also someone interested in new technologies, processes, and is excited about moving in a forward direction.</p>
<p>We are at an age when most of our kids are grown. I find myself to be able to focus on my job more. When I was younger, I used to have to take time off because kids got sick, or I would be very tired because I was up all night. I am more free to travel now. I am less impulsive and able to take a broader view than when I was younger. I think there are a lot of pluses in hiring someone who is 50+.</p>
<p>Word on the street is that pharma is CUTTING a LOT of positions, even folks who have been with them for decades do not have job security, but who knows if there may be an opening. It is a very stressful career, IF they are hiring. The pharmacists I know who work for pharma tend to be new or recent grads, but they do have a very FEW that are more experienced.</p>
<p>Agree that you need to work with the FAid offices of your kids schools ASAP.</p>
<p>There was an article in the Boston Globe this week about how laid-off business executives have been hired for multiple part time positions. Many companies can’t afford a full time person and don’t have the work for a full time executive, but need the skills they possess on a smaller time frame. I don’t know anything about the pharmacy business, but is that the type of thing that you could do - possibly piece together multiple part time jobs to give you close to full time pay, without the benefits? I am so sorry you are going thru this. H was laid off from a position he held for 36+ years in '09. We both felt this enormous loss and even greater anger, but H was quite proactive as to his plans. His industry has not recovered, but he started his own firm and is doing quite well. I wish you well.</p>