I agree to all your points, except it it is a really good industry to get into if you are young and have debt. Work 10 years pay off all your debt, house, college funds for kids. Live sensibly and then move onto something else. Use the creativity stifled in pharma to build an outside business on the side.
So, You've been out of Pharma for 5+ yrs. How's it going?
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Disagree completely...It is never "really good" as you put it, but it is ok for a new college grad to get their feet wet in the corporate world...Anything over two years, (unless you stay for marketing or management) is time wasted...The industry is a scam and a charade...Work 10 years? No, by then you will be fat and lazy with a blown work ethic...two years max...
Sounds like you were laid off/shown the doors after two years. Que the “I’m doing way better with much more money” reply.
Totally agree. I was in for 18 years! Yes. I had some really great years and, of course, drank the Kool Aid. Then access got harder and harder, managers like cookie cutter mouthpieces doing rides every three weeks wanting 8 F2F press the flesh calls a day. Ridiculous. Later reps could not really talk about other studies but stick to marketing blurbs. This BS beats the best down and, yes, it becomes a cushy, lazy, very worthless job. I too got two Masters and after four years of applying to jump ship, I landed a remote desk job managing projects and studies in clinical trials. Pay is good. Hours are long and boy am I always busy. Got to say it feels so good to be productive and not feel threatened by unemployment at every turn. So it is possible to get out. I am 60 and very sorry I did not get out sooner. The Pharma job is one of the most smoke and mirrors bullshit careers on the planet. Most who join no one will hire again because the outside knows the reps are glorified delivery monkeys. Not a respectful position at all anymore.
Hopefully this statement is to intensify how you feel about being a rep and you have the right to feel any way you do.
Judgment and morals aside ( sex work wouldn't exist if there was not a demand for it) but being a prostitute is NOT LEGAL, known to be risky and almost guarantees you die young . You are not going to hear a retired older woman talking about her career as a hooker . lol
Lamar Odom OD'ed in some brothel in rural NV. Not to say he wouldn't have OD'ed elsewhere, but that just the kind of shit goes on with people who work and participate in that kind of industry.
HIV drugs, Valtrex, Narcan, Viagra make chunk of their profit treating these people - if they can afford healthcare
There are other professions other than Pharmaceutical Rep and a hooker if you want !!!!
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone
We are OFF work. Have a shot! ( not a penicillin one) ! HO HO HO ))))I got pushed out at 50 after 23 years (some very good as you noted) and was never ever able to be hired anywhere again...I eek out some grocery money with odd jobs, pet sitting, teaching piano, thrift-store picking/Ebay, etc. On my deathbed, choosing pharma sales as a "career" will be my greatest regret.
A cushy, lazy and very worthless job...you said it well...
And it messes with the mind of the rep who was brought up to be honest, driven, ethical and hardworking.
It really will make you crazy...
One of the former DSI reps was an escort in Vegas as her side gig.
I have only been out for 1 year and I like to say that it’s been wonderful and all puppies and rainbows and ya da ya da, but it’s been more like getting a root canal while getting your bikini waxed.
I had an interview today where the owner of the company told me I should be happy with a commission only job because of the income potential. Yeah, I will gladly create a SWOT analysis, routing and give you all my contact so you can discard me at anytime. Go F**K your self.
I had an interview today where the owner of the company told me I should be happy with a commission only job because of the income potential. Yeah, I will gladly create a SWOT analysis, routing and give you all my contact so you can discard me at anytime. Go F**K your self.
I admire your honesty. I don’t have 8 years of savings only 2 year. I did get another sales job with a major hospital but was lied to about everything. I’m looking again, but am sick of sales.
yeah, sales completely sucks once you hit about 40...
It's a kid's game, and once you have seen the Wizard behind the curtain,
it becomes more difficult to motivate yourself everyday to be in sales...
Wish I could have a do over on my career, but I got seduced by making
6 figures for working from home a few hours a week...
It's not any sort of profession...just a job and a short term one for most.
You need to stop blaming pharma and take a good long look in the mirror. You should've been able to reinvent yourself within the first year and a half of your layoff. I too went through savings, but used it to downsize my bills, ergo, downsize financial requirements to make ends meet. But I understand you've been a manager....and the ones I had were real pricks that thought they were above "all that"
Who crowned you Ms. Pharma King? Get off your sanctimonious high horse and look at your
own ugly mug in the mirror...Not everyone can reinvent themselves due to health issues, family
stuff like caring for aging parents, and being too old to get hired...
You completely suck....And you are the prick....
Reinventing yourself is no walk in the park. I did it and then it went south so I’m having to do it again at the 1 year mark. First reinvention was a desk job (professional) and I could not take it. Now working on 2nd reinvention and It’s a living hell. I think my career in sales is over. I have tried to get into hospice but they want 2 years of hospice sales. As Kermit says, It not easy being GREEN.
It takes a 30 second to destroy your credibility. While you chose to pick on the poster with the most information, you failed to give any of yours. You only inferred that something of a vague kind (a layoff? earthquake?) made you downsize.
You wanted to just say this “You need to stop blaming pharma and take a good long look in the mirror” and this -“But I understand you've been a manager....and the ones I had were real pricks that thought they were above "all that"!!!
While telling others not to blame Pharma you blame ALL of YOUR “prick” managers for your graceful exit from this industry. STOP TROLLING. #ByeFelicia #blameyourself
P.S. I personally like Pharma! This is a Pharma Site. All Industries have sites like this one. Guess why?! No industry is perfect.I would come back if I find an opportunity that aligns with my values.
I am 52 y.o with almost 29 years of pharma sales and still working in the field. I am probably OK for another two years in this role and I’m likely financially secure enough to squeak by fairly well afterward knowing I will likely never get a job in this industry, At least one that pays what I make now. I guess my question is does anyone have a full-time job with decent benefits after age 53 or 54 ? I don’t need to make a lot of money but I would like to have something with medical benefits of course because you just never know how things can change with health so quickly . I don’t have kids so that helps my financial picture. Really just throwing it out there to see how real world work life is after 30 years of pharmaceutical sales. If the scenario holds I will be finished at age 54 - still too young to retire but will have 30 damn years!
Yes.
Look for early start ups in your area of clinical expertise with a product about to be launched. Not that it's bad, but those companies want to hire the best, but the best tend to be more expensive, currently tenured in some other company, don't want to lose their "golden handcuffs", etc.
They will end up hiring folks that are not always their 1st choice that know docs, have provable performance and are willing to work for less comp and benefits. Hiring managers are under tremendous pressure once a product is ready to launch, and they have to sometimes dampen their expectations due to comp available, time, etc. I'm not saying that they settle for an unqualified hire, but often the initial ideal candidate may be unaffordable and maybe more than they needed anyway.
I was re-orged out at 59, and was hired on by 1 company, spent 2 years there and just got hired on by another without really looking for a change. My goal is maybe 2 years here, then we'll see. Like you, I was financially comfortable, but boredom and the ridiculous cost of health care keeps me in the game.
It's scary to leave your comfort zone, but if your at least above average, there is a lot of stuff out there right now- it's not just in the places that you're used to looking. Be prepared to work harder than you may be used to- think back to the effort you put in when you first started. You may also find that your manager may not have much experience in their role and will need good, solid people (that aren't know it alls, pompous asses, etc) to fill out their team in a hurry.
I got pushed out at 50 after 28 years in the industry...I tried to reinvent myself in a couple of other careers but
was unable to gain any traction, and started having to deal with caring for aging parents, depression, etc...
Close to 60 now...Sold my house, stopped travelling and eating out, and live off very limited income based
on what I saved those years...
Essentially, I was never able to work again in any sort of decent salaried position...(And I know the haters
will jump on me so I will say for the record, I was in specialty, Oncology, management, etc etc...the whole enchilada...) And when it came to getting re-hired somewhere - no one gave a crap...I was too old...plain
and simple.
to person who replied above. You sound like me. I worked in the industry for many years, and I my last gig was inventive selling Advair. Docs loved Advair, but the GSK reps hated me, hid my samples, told me how to sell etc. I did have 26 years in before and made good money. I'm 63 now and bored, and I could use the money, but if you are....white & male your screwed. My tax returns for the 26 years is...I made $2.1 million.
I launched Cardizem, Carafate, Nicoderm, Lipitor, Rezulin,Crestor, Symbicort, and a few others. I loved most of my docs, and we had fun.
So I wish you the best, and hopefully a friend will get you in....good luck!
I launched Cardizem, Carafate, Nicoderm, Lipitor, Rezulin,Crestor, Symbicort, and a few others. I loved most of my docs, and we had fun.
So I wish you the best, and hopefully a friend will get you in....good luck!