Drinking Pfizer Kool Aid past age 40

Hey stud,

Are you going "coast to coast " as Charles Charles did ?

This is what it is. Do you ridicule anyone else for being at their job from 8-5 plus whatever additional admin ?

 

Those days that you refer to are GONE! Institutional reps aren't even allowed in or near many large hospitals anymore. So no M&Ms, no morning reports, no swinging by the clinics to visit with preceptors and their residents, no dropping off literature and chatting up surgeons in the OR lounge, no fellows lunches, and CERTAINLY no "liver rounds" with residents. Nada.

Since we launched the reach & frequency and budgetary arms race in the mid 90s, its gotten harder and harder to see 8 docs a day for anything other than a quick "can ya sign my iPad", or a "can I give you some more XX samples?" Where we (and our competitors) once had one lead and one counterpart selling each drug, there are now teams, pods, or whatever each company calls them. Think: those damned Lantus and Victoza reps are like flies on a dung heap. One of them told me that she's got 50 docs in her cycle, and she's forced to stop by to
see them every week. And her 4-5 pod-mates do the same, but on alternate days. Gee, I wonder why we're treated like dirt…unless we've got some food in our arms?

 

Do you think we need layoffs in this industry?? I can certainly understand the contraction that is taking place.

 

$145K a year. Bullshit. I know this for a fact. Quit making shit up.

 

Just like the 6 figure base pay checks is bullshit. I worked for Pfizer. With bonus it's possible but not common at all.

 

B.S.?

You want proof?

Go to www.transparentcalifornia.com and search.

You will have the proof that educators do very well.

Now go pick up that Olive Garden!

 

I tell everyone what I do and not sure why you're all so ashamed.. I mean do your friends and family all have such prestigious jobs that you can't tell them what you do? I'm the envy of friends and family because of what I do.. I make 150k work 10 hours a week and do whatever I want .. My friends are lawyers, cops, fireman , finance and teachers why the hell would I care what they think ... Were all just trying to make a living... Maybe your friends are kings and queens and Nobel prize winners ...

 

Pp is telling the truth, Its what principals make, superintendants make 200k plus q year...why do you think property taxes are so high??

 

It's not about the money or hours because if you look at those areas we do great. If you get laid off those areas are gone. It is about satisfaction. Personal life is great. Work life sucks. Many unethical daily tasks, and glorified caterers. Did you go to college to deliver food? I didn't. All our friends out pharma know our job is a joke.

 

Keep it in perspective. Don't kid yourself and don't try to make the job more than what it is. Find your "fulfillment" elsewhere.
Good post. Great advice.

 

My job doesn't define who I am and it should not define you.. My father in law is 64 and still works 6 days a week from 7:30am to 6pm and when he gets home he's lucky if he can enjoy dinner before passing out on the couch.. There is no glory in that.. A job is a job it's a means to an end .. We have it pretty good . But if you are so ashamed than go get another job and see if that gives you satisfaction ,, I bet it won't .. If you need a job to make yourself feel good than go to the peace corps!

 

The Peace Corp will be a blessing and a thought after you sit at home for 6-12 months while you watch your world whittle away. In the not so distant future you will be working 7 days a week at 48k annually. This will all arrive with simple call during layoffs. Enjoy it while you have it. All good things must come to an end.

 

I didn't think I was a kool-aid drinker although I made excuses and rationalized away why Pfizer treated people the way it does. I thought it was business and that's how it's done.

I had the last straw today. I was a fool and a total dupe. Today was horrible and unjustified. It's no longer enough to just have a job. No longer enough.

 

And what do you do ? Must be a great job with lots of satisfaction since you are still posting on cafepharma!!

 

I heard that some retirees and ex-Pfizer people come here to mock us and to read the public bulletin board, as it where. You have to admit, having 4 CEOs in the past 15 years (Steere-to-McKinnell-to-Kindler-to-Read) has been like one big "Charlie Foxtrot" in military parlance. And its about to get hideous when we lose this next round of blockbusters, so we'll provide plenty of reasons for them to troll our board.

 

Don't take it personally. We left and most of us are happy we got out when we did. Cafepharma provides entertainment and also shows us how lucky I am to get out when I did. It is not just Pfizer, all the pharma companies are not the place to work. Remember the old days when Pfizer was listed as a top company to work. No longer. Not even in the top 100. Industries go in cycles and Pharma (pharma sales) is in a serious decline, not close to a bottom and with Government regulation the odds state it will NEVER get better. If you are under 40 you should look for a new career.

 

Age doesn't matter. Everyone should have a Plan B, or suffer the consequences when the Ax-man comes. CSOs are hiring, though! One more thing: my sister the headhunter said that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is knocking at GSK and Lilly's doors, in the hopes of getting selected to sell their diabetes meds. She said its like moths to a flame, with thousands of experienced reps, trainers, and managers hoping to get that elusive pharma sales slot.

One more one more thing: "If I can just make it another 10 years, I can get full retirement" isn't a Plan B. You won't get full retirement. You'll get downsized a few years before that. Book it.

 

Awe...I had one of those days once. Went through a horrible patch in my life, losing my parents then my marriage. Dr. put me on Zoloft to try to help me out during bad time, my behavior become erratic (from the drug) so he put me on more drugs, then it got really bad and could hardly function. Counterparts totally turned against me, got the manager against me and was let go. Horrible time in my life.

But, I picked myself up, weaned off the antidepressants, started working on my self esteem, remarried and got a great job with no counterparts and where I am respected.

Pfizer is not an easy place to work when you are going through any kind of rough patch in life. Counterparts are total asswipes.

Tell us your story...

 

I too left...and am so pleased I did.

Really sad how pharma feels that pharma is THE industry. Take a step out...and you will see what a joke that really is.

My continued interest/curiosity: the pension. Will Pfizer even be around to fulfill what I earned/generated?

VERY grateful for the experience I gained. I too HIGHLY encourage those under 40 to truly analyze where they are now...and if you really believe you will have a future.

take care!

 

It is exactly like government work.