Any advice for breaking into pharmaceutical sales?

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anonymous said:
Obviously you have no clue about working in this industry. Working in POD'S or teams with members pitted against each other, managers who hassle and discrimination against their reps, offices that treat you like a leper. Not to mention faking calls and spending budget money on worthless staff. Your moral compass is titled, your values are challenged daily...
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Great post here. Pay attention, you idiots that have your heads in the sand. This poster nailed it.

I would even expand this post to ALL corporate sales jobs or all corporate jobs for that matter...they just suck the life out of you, and get you to compromise everyday. So true.

Well, you either play the game or you don't. This is why the higher someone goes up the corporate ladder, the most you have to DISTRUST them...because these are the people that are don't give a shit anymore, and will do anything for the promotion, even if that means sticking the big knife in a newbie that has no clue what they or doing OR the vet that is being managed out.

Its all bad, really. My advice is to endure it the best you can, save up all your cash, and get the fuck out when you are debt free, have a house paid off, and a few hundred K in the bank. At that point, find a small company that values its people. Good luck with that though, because it seems like every company is following the big corporate sales model, treating their people like shit 24/7.
 






anonymous said:
Do you guys actually work 8 hours a day ? I heard the hours are very flexible and most work 10-2, I'm guessing you don't work long days if it's hard to see doctors and you have to fake phone calls
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Man, grow the hell up. Most of us put in over 40 hours a week, so you do the math, genius.

We are the most micromanaged industry in the world, so if you can't take the heat, don't apply. People think this industry is easy. Well, try it for a month, and do a field ride with some jerk manager, and deal with the cows that want no cheese on their burrito order, or deal with a doctor that doesn't even look you in the eye when you talk, and the endless reports, conference calls, and co workers that gossip all day.

Ya, its a great job, sure.
 






anonymous said:
Man, grow the hell up. Most of us put in over 40 hours a week, so you do the math, genius.

We are the most micromanaged industry in the world, so if you can't take the heat, don't apply. People think this industry is easy. Well, try it for a month, and do a field ride with some jerk manager, and deal with the cows that want no cheese on their burrito order, or deal with a doctor that doesn't even look you in the eye when you talk, and the endless reports, conference calls, and co workers that gossip all day.

Ya, its a great job, sure.
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Okay first of all, you don't have co workers that you work with on a daily basis, you work alone & there's no way you work over 40 hours a week if every doctor doesn't want to see you how is that even possible ??! & what reports do you do ?
 
























anonymous said:
Okay first of all, you don't have co workers that you work with on a daily basis, you work alone & there's no way you work over 40 hours a week if every doctor doesn't want to see you how is that even possible ??! & what reports do you do ?
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Yes, way, Wayne, way. Yes, Wayne. Or are you Garth?

Way. I work over 40 hours a week. Never fail. And I talk to my teammates at least 1 X per day. I am not happy with the POD system, as I did not sign up for it. It just came upon me.

Reports? I do at least 2 a week, and sometimes up to 7. Way.

Party time, Waynes' World!
 






Pharma has changed so dramatically over the past 15 years, it is no longer the plum opportunity it used to be. The pay for entry-level reps is not great, and the jobs are not stable so you will be starting over all the time--assuming you can find a new one--so it is difficult to develop in your career. You wind up just having a series of J-O-B-s. You have your "first year" over and over again.

Besides that, the previous responses you've received are correct; access is poor, the work environment is frequently toxic due to poor managers who are only interested in developing their own career and not yours--they are ass kissers and liars who will throw you under the bus in a New York minute, or at the very least take credit for any success. Most companies use a POD system which further dilutes both your access to offices and your paycheck because bonus $$$ have to be divided so many ways.

Most representatives who have been in the industry for 20-30 years believe the pharma sales profession is dying and don't recommend it for young people starting out. You'd be better off to consider a sales career in another industry or, if you really have your heart set on pharma, take the advice to get your PharmD and work as a medical science liaison or in R&D. The pay and environment tends to be much better in those positions. Pharma sales sucks the life out of you but is hard to leave because of the "golden handcuffs." The pay and benefits ARE better than many jobs, but certainly not as good as they used to be. I got into pharma at age 38 as a career changer, right at the time the industry really started to change. Had I known how much the job would change from then till now, I would have gone a different direction.
 


















anonymous said:
Great post here. Pay attention, you idiots that have your heads in the sand. This poster nailed it.

I would even expand this post to ALL corporate sales jobs or all corporate jobs for that matter...they just suck the life out of you, and get you to compromise everyday. So true.

Well, you either play the game or you don't. This is why the higher someone goes up the corporate ladder, the most you have to DISTRUST them...because these are the people that are don't give a shit anymore, and will do anything for the promotion, even if that means sticking the big knife in a newbie that has no clue what they or doing OR the vet that is being managed out.

Its all bad, really. My advice is to endure it the best you can, save up all your cash, and get the fuck out when you are debt free, have a house paid off, and a few hundred K in the bank. At that point, find a small company that values its people. Good luck with that though, because it seems like every company is following the big corporate sales model, treating their people like shit 24/7.
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This^.... Pick a different industry.
 






anonymous said:
Great post here. Pay attention, you idiots that have your heads in the sand. This poster nailed it.

I would even expand this post to ALL corporate sales jobs or all corporate jobs for that matter...they just suck the life out of you, and get you to compromise everyday. So true.

Well, you either play the game or you don't. This is why the higher someone goes up the corporate ladder, the most you have to DISTRUST them...because these are the people that are don't give a shit anymore, and will do anything for the promotion, even if that means sticking the big knife in a newbie that has no clue what they or doing OR the vet that is being managed out.

Its all bad, really. My advice is to endure it the best you can, save up all your cash, and get the fuck out when you are debt free, have a house paid off, and a few hundred K in the bank. At that point, find a small company that values its people. Good luck with that though, because it seems like every company is following the big corporate sales model, treating their people like shit 24/7.
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Treating people like shit 24/7...that is some funny shit dude!
 


















anonymous said:
Pharma has changed so dramatically over the past 15 years, it is no longer the plum opportunity it used to be. The pay for entry-level reps is not great, and the jobs are not stable so you will be starting over all the time--assuming you can find a new one--so it is difficult to develop in your career. You wind up just having a series of J-O-B-s. You have your "first year" over and over again.

Besides that, the previous responses you've received are correct; access is poor, the work environment is frequently toxic due to poor managers who are only interested in developing their own career and not yours--they are ass kissers and liars who will throw you under the bus in a New York minute, or at the very least take credit for any success. Most companies use a POD system which further dilutes both your access to offices and your paycheck because bonus $$$ have to be divided so many ways.

Most representatives who have been in the industry for 20-30 years believe the pharma sales profession is dying and don't recommend it for young people starting out. You'd be better off to consider a sales career in another industry or, if you really have your heart set on pharma, take the advice to get your PharmD and work as a medical science liaison or in R&D. The pay and environment tends to be much better in those positions. Pharma sales sucks the life out of you but is hard to leave because of the "golden handcuffs." The pay and benefits ARE better than many jobs, but certainly not as good as they used to be. I got into pharma at age 38 as a career changer, right at the time the industry really started to change. Had I known how much the job would change from then till now, I would have gone a different direction.
Click to expand...

This person nailed it. Unlike the above person, I started out in industry right out of college in 1994 and am in my 22nd year at age 44. The first decade was pretty amazing, and jobs were plentiful. Then it felt like instead of being run by science, it was being run by lawyers and now it most certainly is all about metrics and staying in legal compliance. Access was always choppy, even when I started, but has gotten way worse, and providers don't really call the shots on what to prescribe anymore, it's all about what insurance will cover. Also, I really do feel just like a number and not part of a team, and it's all about appearance not about substance. I feel stuck because the pay is amazing but the last few years have also been incredibly stressful. I felt little or no stress the first decade but I feel it almost daily now.

The bottom line? The golden days are over and will NEVER come back. There will always be some capacity for reps, but it will never be consistent again and I strongly feel it will be very unsatisfying. It's your decision but if you look at the replies, the common theme is run the other direction from pharma sales.
 






Great last post! Sums up the industry perfectly! I've been in now for 22 years and there is no longer job satisfaction, offices treat you like dirt unless you've had a long standing relationship, and management is all about metrics and who sucks up at business meetings. I also say stay away from the industry.
 


















Look, it's not pharma sakes that sucks. It's people. You, of course, meet the good, bad and ugly here, but let me say the ugly has become epic. I speak from experience, lots of it. The young ones today, not all, but many, have no moral compasd. They will stab you in the back with your boss, a coworker, all the while, pretending to be your best bud. This has happened not just once to me. Further, docs & their staff have been so spoiled by big phatma (lunch, tickets to $$ events) then they turn on you, scrwming how greedy the phatma industry is. See the hypocrisy? No, far better you go into either device or diagnostic equipment sales or some other type of sales, med. office hard and software, where they usually hire more nature people. Good luck to you. Oh, one exception, specialty pharma sometimes is a better fit/niche to try. Anything but straight big box pharma. It's not the company's that ate bad, it's the greedy doctors and their fat, nasty low life uneducated staffs that will use you, the treat you like dirt. No conscience whatsoever. I could tell you stories that would blow you clear back to Sunday. Trust me, sadly pharma reps, no matter how intelligent or educated, get abused by many a greedy doc and his gaggle of fat asses geese who think they,are entitled to get a free meal. They will point blank lie to you, tell you every doc in the 8 physician practice, will show up for a program you hired a speaker for and it's all a lie. No doc will be there and they walk away with enough food to feed their 8 kids and the one in the oven. Bitches, serious bitches. Of course they aren't all this baf, but plenty fit the bill.
 












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