Death of the Pharmaceutical Rep!

[Anonymous]

Your envy for another human being is sickening. Be happy that someone made it in life. I know it is easy and amusing to people like yourself to constantly bring others down for your own humor but let this one go. He obviously has lived his life the right way, with a little bit of luck along the way which never hurt anyone, and retired with his "dignity". Perhaps that means 0 debt, helathy family, close friends and maybe a hobby or two. Attempting to dismantle this man's OP with senseless humor is both ridiculous and asinine.
Deep down inside to strive to be like this gentleman but I highly doubt you will ever reach a pinnacle like this man has.

As for the man who retired with dignity, I applaud you sir, and I hope that I can be in a similar situation when I decide to hang up the shoes...

Blah blah blah... "Envy"? What are you, nuts? The OP is a pompous, self-absorbed blowhard ("I reached a level few others will attain"). For Pete's sake, you're a DETAIL MAN, same as me and 100,000 other folks who've schlepped a bag through offices and hospitals over the past half-century. Congrats to any who've won awards or made big bucks, but the industry has changed and if you can't come to grips with that, you need to hang it up.

I would like to work for Pfizer until I'm eligible to retire in a few years, but I'm mature enough to realize that it might not happen, and I better have a "Plan B". It's not Pfizer's job to wipe my butt for me, and getting mad at a bunch of suits for their incompetence is a futile waste of energy and emotion. I have brought value to the company but at the point where/when the numbers no longer make sense and it is decided it's time to turn me loose, so be it. I'm not going to cry about it, nor am I going to thump my chest and tell everybody how extra-special spectacular I am, and that Pfizer is stupid for letting me or my ilk go. I'm just a detail man and this is just a business, one that doesnt need us like it used to.

 

[Anonymous]

Blah blah blah... "Envy"? What are you, nuts? The OP is a pompous, self-absorbed blowhard ("I reached a level few others will attain"). For Pete's sake, you're a DETAIL MAN, same as me and 100,000 other folks who've schlepped a bag through offices and hospitals over the past half-century. Congrats to any who've won awards or made big bucks, but the industry has changed and if you can't come to grips with that, you need to hang it up.

I would like to work for Pfizer until I'm eligible to retire in a few years, but I'm mature enough to realize that it might not happen, and I better have a "Plan B". It's not Pfizer's job to wipe my butt for me, and getting mad at a bunch of suits for their incompetence is a futile waste of energy and emotion. I have brought value to the company but at the point where/when the numbers no longer make sense and it is decided it's time to turn me loose, so be it. I'm not going to cry about it, nor am I going to thump my chest and tell everybody how extra-special spectacular I am, and that Pfizer is stupid for letting me or my ilk go. I'm just a detail man and this is just a business, one that doesnt need us like it used to.

Winner of best post so far of 2013. Well, its tied with one or two others.

 

[Anonymous]

My child was in the hospital, that's why I was not at your most important lunch. Thank you for emailing the company.

And yes, I did screw every one at pfizer for my job. I have to go shower now.

 

[Anonymous]

You speak as if my future is in the hands of an employer. Yes and no. I would say when I first started in this business years ago I was dependent upon my employer for 100% of my life. Currently it is more like 80/20 with my own business being the larger percentage. When all of you couldn't wait to get to happy hour after work, take useless two week vacations, etc I was working on something else that will give me financial freedom in 1-2 years. I could survive now without pharma but I'll ride that horse until its legs fall off. I do know that my days are numbered as a rep but when I receive that phone call that day, my response will be ok come and get the car, laptop, etc.
It is sad that so many of you have relied on an employer and didn't look out into the rest of the world to see other opportunities. But wait, that would have meant that you couldn't make it to ladies night on Wednesdays or Thirsty Thursdays.
My comment about "hoping" dealt with the fact that you never know what can happen in life. I could get hit by a car and become permanently disabled leaving my family in ruins, etc. That was the reason for the "hoping" part and not depending on a company for my family.

My hat's off to you for being smart enough to realize and actually do something about the fact that a Pharm Rep gig wont last forever. That said, you're the exception, not the rule. Not everybody in the entire workforce can re-invent themelves. Some people are young enough to pull it off, but for others age could be a huge factor that wont allow it to happen. Please dont give me that "You're never too old to learn" crap either. The fact is that there just arent enough jobs to go around right now, and age discrimination is very real. It's impossible to prove, and employers know it.

 

[Anonymous]

My hat's off to you for being smart enough to realize and actually do something about the fact that a Pharm Rep gig wont last forever. That said, you're the exception, not the rule. Not everybody in the entire workforce can re-invent themelves. Some people are young enough to pull it off, but for others age could be a huge factor that wont allow it to happen. Please dont give me that "You're never too old to learn" crap either. The fact is that there just arent enough jobs to go around right now, and age discrimination is very real. It's impossible to prove, and employers know it.

Further to this post, there are just not that many jobs that pay at this level. As we have seen in previous layoffs, most people are not able to get a replacement job that keeps up the same standard of living.

 

[Anonymous]

Further to this post, there are just not that many jobs that pay at this level. As we have seen in previous layoffs, most people are not able to get a replacement job that keeps up the same standard of living.

The system only functions when the price of a drug is kept exorbitantly high.
Take that away and the house of cards falls.

 

[Anonymous]

Further to this post, there are just not that many jobs that pay at this level. As we have seen in previous layoffs, most people are not able to get a replacement job that keeps up the same standard of living.

Right on!

You can probably get a replacement job, but you'll have to compete hard to get it, and if you're lucky enough to land it, you'll end up just like so many other displaced workers - under-employed.

I'm not being critical of people who are doing what they must do. The reality is that "re-inventing" one's self is a lot easier said than done. Employers are fond of telling their people to keep their skills updated, but that's a "one size fits all" approach that isn't easily applied to ALL of any given organizations employees. Depending upon where you are in life, your individual circumstances can very easily dictate what options you have available.

 

[Anonymous]

Right on!

You can probably get a replacement job, but you'll have to compete hard to get it, and if you're lucky enough to land it, you'll end up just like so many other displaced workers - under-employed.

I'm not being critical of people who are doing what they must do. The reality is that "re-inventing" one's self is a lot easier said than done. Employers are fond of telling their people to keep their skills updated, but that's a "one size fits all" approach that isn't easily applied to ALL of any given organizations employees. Depending upon where you are in life, your individual circumstances can very easily dictate what options you have available.

I left Pfizer and went into home remodeling, took a drop in pay, but have bought several homes last few years as rentals. Income now close to Pfizer, but I am my own boss. Love it.

 

[Anonymous]

I left Pfizer and went into home remodeling, took a drop in pay, but have bought several homes last few years as rentals. Income now close to Pfizer, but I am my own boss. Love it.

Did same 10 years ago but still work for Pfizer. Make more now doing rentals than being a rep. Still keep both jobs for the money. A lot of work. Not caring if get laid off.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with the last few posts except for the rental property ones, is that you can't seem to get the word "employer" out of your vocabulary. I guess I should just let the cat out of the bag. Years ago I received my life and health insurance license. Friends and family members thought, "You have a MBA, a full time job, why do you want to be an independent insurance agent?" I thought, well I can't rely on an employer to take care of me since I had already been through a M&A and lost my job. Believe me, I fell more than I stood the first year of the job. Rejection, after rejection, etc just like in Pharma but just like in Pharma, you get better and better.
I began reaching out to other successful agents in the field, went to seminars immediately after my Pharma gig, network and networked. Eventually I got to a point where I was buying insurance leads, contracting with new insurance companies, etc. Also remember about insurance sales, this is residual income which continues to pay as long as your customers renew their policies which isn't that hard.
Do you want to know why you should all be considering this right now? Because of the Medicare explosion in the next ten years. If I sell one medicare supplement policy it nets me $400. You want to know how long it takes me to sell one of those anymore? 15-30 minutes. I have sold 300 hundred of those in the past three years which equates to 100 a year or 1 every three days. That is 120K of residual income that continues to renew itself every year.
Also, you get to write off part of your home, utilities, phone and internet (the part that Pharma doesn't pay for), free vehicle through Pharma so gas isn't an issue when driving aroud meeting clients, etc
Lastly, I never did this job inside my 8-5 responsibilities with my Pharma gig and used most of my free weekends to setup appointment after appointment. 120K that continues to pay isn't bad and I am projecting another 45K by the end of June which will give me a 160K job that I have to maintain to grow even more if I choose to.

 

[Anonymous]

The last post was made by Pinocchio.

 

[Anonymous]

The last post was made by Pinocchio.

Why because you can't do it on your own? Why because you think that the road to wealth is based on working for another organization? Why because you think the only way to make an income is to go to college, get an entry level job and work your way up for 5 years only at the end to get told to piss off? I know I am right and I do not have to prove myself to you. All I will say is that I am humble and satisfied that if I got a call today saying my services were no longer needed I could happily say "fine where can I sign?" Too bad you didn't have the forethought like myself and you were too busy worrying about making it to the gym after work, going to happy hour, etc. I'll be laughing all the way to the bank while you'll be crying all the way to the unemployment line.

 

[Anonymous]

It cracks me up that people actually hate when others go out on their own and make it. Whether or not the poster is pinocchio or not people have, do and will be successful in life wthout relying on a "career". Jobs, Gates, Ford etc are all living proof. They maybe an exception to the rule but people can make it on their own regardless of whether or not it is real estate, insurance, financial etc. However, they will not amass the amounts of wealth that Jobs, Gates etc have but they have, do and will lead confortable lives.

 

[Anonymous]

Further to this post, there are just not that many jobs that pay at this level. As we have seen in previous layoffs, most people are not able to get a replacement job that keeps up the same standard of living.

1) Your statement that not many jobs that pay at this level proves that we are overpaid for what we do. I benefit from it, but I also realize it as a fact. Why do you think so many of tenured reps and managers are out of work (or took jobs at 25-50% cut in salary) after a few years on the market? I know so many people that claimed that thus and so industry doesnt pay, or that so and so offered them a really low salary, yadda-yadda-yadda. Lets be clear: making $100-125K to click-and-point on an iPad thingy and regurgitate spoon-fed market-speak is a STEAL!

2) Have to disagree with a previous post belittling the option to reinvent ones-self. These days, it is mandatory to reinvent ourselves, or we will severely limit our futures. Who cares that it is hard, and may take years of long hours?

If we dont reinvent ourselves (I am 43, BTW) we are forever stuck wishing and hoping we dont get cut from our Pharma jobs. Then when we DO get cut, we have to ply LinkedIn, hoping that someone we know that got shit-canned 8 years prior is in a position to hire us at their new company. What are the odds of THAT happening, with tens of thousands of former Merck, Schering, Wyeth, Sanofi, BMS, AZ, Novartis, and now Pfizer reps shooting for the same spots?

The way I see it is this: you either re-invent yourself on the side (starting today) or pay the consequences when Grim Reaper comes. And he IS coming, 'specially if you are closing in on retirement. Knocking on doors in industries like finance, insurance, healthcare, banking, or IT will get you nowhere if "Experienced Pharma rep or manager looking for opportunity in big pharma company" is in the Objectives section of your resume.

 

[Anonymous]

Why because you can't do it on your own? Why because you think that the road to wealth is based on working for another organization? Why because you think the only way to make an income is to go to college, get an entry level job and work your way up for 5 years only at the end to get told to piss off? I know I am right and I do not have to prove myself to you. All I will say is that I am humble and satisfied that if I got a call today saying my services were no longer needed I could happily say "fine where can I sign?" Too bad you didn't have the forethought like myself and you were too busy worrying about making it to the gym after work, going to happy hour, etc. I'll be laughing all the way to the bank while you'll be crying all the way to the unemployment line.

I have been reading CP for over ten years, and this is one of the best posts ever!

Nice job my friend.

You are so correct. People in this industry that stay on, just want the easy rode and will kiss butt and put up with all kinds of abuse, because they have no clue how to make money by doing real work and real selling.

Its just a terrible way to live too.

Now that I have left pharma (its been 3 years now), I feel so much better about myself. That is not a coincidence.

It has to do with having work, where I am treated like an adult, and not like a kid in elementary school looking for the gold star.

I still cringe at the idea of having annual evaluations and field rides and other nonsense.

And for all you haters, not only do I work with more passion and have more respect, I do make more money too.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with the last few posts except for the rental property ones, is that you can't seem to get the word "employer" out of your vocabulary. I guess I should just let the cat out of the bag. Years ago I received my life and health insurance license. Friends and family members thought, "You have a MBA, a full time job, why do you want to be an independent insurance agent?" I thought, well I can't rely on an employer to take care of me since I had already been through a M&A and lost my job. Believe me, I fell more than I stood the first year of the job. Rejection, after rejection, etc just like in Pharma but just like in Pharma, you get better and better.
I began reaching out to other successful agents in the field, went to seminars immediately after my Pharma gig, network and networked. Eventually I got to a point where I was buying insurance leads, contracting with new insurance companies, etc. Also remember about insurance sales, this is residual income which continues to pay as long as your customers renew their policies which isn't that hard.
Do you want to know why you should all be considering this right now? Because of the Medicare explosion in the next ten years. If I sell one medicare supplement policy it nets me $400. You want to know how long it takes me to sell one of those anymore? 15-30 minutes. I have sold 300 hundred of those in the past three years which equates to 100 a year or 1 every three days. That is 120K of residual income that continues to renew itself every year.
Also, you get to write off part of your home, utilities, phone and internet (the part that Pharma doesn't pay for), free vehicle through Pharma so gas isn't an issue when driving aroud meeting clients, etc
Lastly, I never did this job inside my 8-5 responsibilities with my Pharma gig and used most of my free weekends to setup appointment after appointment. 120K that continues to pay isn't bad and I am projecting another 45K by the end of June which will give me a 160K job that I have to maintain to grow even more if I choose to.

Beautiful.
Its like most of us are mind controlled into thinking the best "jobs" are those where you work for a corporation.

What a lie!

If I knew then what I know, now, I would NOT go to college. Instead, go for insurance sales or real estate sales or a cash business. Buying and selling homes is such a good move too, hiring cheap labor to do the work.

Most of the millionaries I know didn't go to college, and they hustle and are smart businessmen.

Compare that to pharma reps that are mostly bores, and over extended themselves. I know several pharma reps with good company cars, that own bmws and other nice cars; they just thought it was going to last forever, and now are in for a rude awakening.

Also, when I stared in late 1990s, the Pfizer reps were considered the best. But, today, they are just like the other companies, fat and lazy. I know, because I know many that still work there, and they are so dam lazy. The more time they have been with the company, the more lazy they are.

 

[Anonymous]

It cracks me up that people actually hate when others go out on their own and make it. Whether or not the poster is pinocchio or not people have, do and will be successful in life wthout relying on a "career". Jobs, Gates, Ford etc are all living proof. They maybe an exception to the rule but people can make it on their own regardless of whether or not it is real estate, insurance, financial etc. However, they will not amass the amounts of wealth that Jobs, Gates etc have but they have, do and will lead confortable lives.

Gates? LOL.
He is a puppert.

Jobs was at another level, but then again he made his money off of the back of cheap Chinese labor.

These people have lots of backing, and are not as smart as the media wants you to think they are.

People that come to this country and raise a good family, and hustle and run their own business, now those are the intelligent ones.

If you don't understand what I am saying, you are not too smart.

 

[Anonymous]

Gates? LOL.
He is a puppert.

Jobs was at another level, but then again he made his money off of the back of cheap Chinese labor.

These people have lots of backing, and are not as smart as the media wants you to think they are.

People that come to this country and raise a good family, and hustle and run their own business, now those are the intelligent ones.

If you don't understand what I am saying, you are not too smart.

Here is a post made by the King of the morons. A true expert on people that are not smart (as he is one of them).

 

[Anonymous]

Gates? LOL.
He is a puppert.

Jobs was at another level, but then again he made his money off of the back of cheap Chinese labor.

These people have lots of backing, and are not as smart as the media wants you to think they are.

People that come to this country and raise a good family, and hustle and run their own business, now those are the intelligent ones.

If you don't understand what I am saying, you are not too smart.

This is coming from someone that would rather get involved in 10 different fantasy football games, never miss Monday football, or could tell you the rosters from A-Z of all the NL players for every team. No? Perhaps you are the type that adds an extra day of vacation to the 4th of July weekend because you are sooooo overworked. Give me a break. You can harp on all of the successul people you want like Gates, regardless of the person you choose you simply can't discredit everyone that has made it on their own. I will keep the Pfizer name in mind when applicants begin to send me their resumes. Until then, get off this blog because you are a brain dead, worthless, piece of human trash that cannot wait to get his "fair share" off the backs of others. Or the unemployment line where you attempt to elect more and more politicians that promise you and your worthless life more and more without giving into the notiation of self accountability and HARD WORK.

 

[Anonymous]

The death of the rep started with the age of the modern computer progressed to the mobile "smart" phone and is ending its last chapter with automatic electronic physician order entry for drugs pre-populated with generics only. Soon banded medications will require an official HHS government sign-off of orders, unless you pay cash.