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Dumbing yourself down enough to be a Merck rep

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Anonymous said:
Older reps who have age but not enough time in won't walk. They need more time in and face the worst job prospects of any age group.
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I am old and have been shuffled too many times. So the word screwed comes to mind. I won't walk but wish to raise my hand and go while I still have time to retrain to maybe do something more valuable besides check boxes for Merck. It truly is a time in history that has left me completely unprepared to maintain my standard of living. I have applied for many jobs but my 15 years in pharma and my age have left me with zero interviews. It could not get more depressing.
 




Anonymous said:
I am old and have been shuffled too many times. So the word screwed comes to mind. I won't walk but wish to raise my hand and go while I still have time to retrain to maybe do something more valuable besides check boxes for Merck. It truly is a time in history that has left me completely unprepared to maintain my standard of living. I have applied for many jobs but my 15 years in pharma and my age have left me with zero interviews. It could not get more depressing.
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Good move to retrain if your spouse brings in a solid second income. Otherwise, you may need to stick it out and take whatever you can find. Be prepared for a dryspell, then a lower income job. Be wise, save money now.
 




Anonymous said:
This is what I don't get. Busier than ever and layoffs pending. Do they really think they will get the same level of dedication, 12 hour days and weekend work from CSOs. Most CSOs are looking for real jobs with livable pay. A CSO job is temporary and a "hardly getting by" income for the majority. Dream on management.
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Evidently what you don't get is what you perceive as "busier than ever" amounts to very little if any productive work and that busy does not translate into sales. That's our problem now. Sure, we look very busy for the benefit of management and their jobs, but our "busyness" is not generating "business" in such a manner that supports our expense to Merck. One day soon, Merck will have to become brutally honest about the realities of pharmaceutical sales and the fact pharmaceutical representatives do not fit well in today's pharmaceutical marketplace.
 




Anonymous said:
I am old and have been shuffled too many times. So the word screwed comes to mind. I won't walk but wish to raise my hand and go while I still have time to retrain to maybe do something more valuable besides check boxes for Merck. It truly is a time in history that has left me completely unprepared to maintain my standard of living. I have applied for many jobs but my 15 years in pharma and my age have left me with zero interviews. It could not get more depressing.
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I feel your pain brother...but you have options...go buy a franchise or something...get a real estate or teaching degree...be prepared to start over in your 50s and take the pain...you may only earn 1/3rd of what you are used to, but that is the new America...get used to it sooner rather than later...Waiting around here at Merck is a total waste of time and is too depresssing and debilitating to help u in any way...
 




Anonymous said:
I feel your pain brother...but you have options...go buy a franchise or something...get a real estate or teaching degree...be prepared to start over in your 50s and take the pain...you may only earn 1/3rd of what you are used to, but that is the new America...get used to it sooner rather than later...Waiting around here at Merck is a total waste of time and is too depresssing and debilitating to help u in any way...
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I feel your pain? Got a fat mortgage, big taxes, kids agree to drop out of school and I am going back to retrain without income and expecting to keep life afloat, all while I wrack up an extra 50K in school loans. Buy a franchise on a 100K or more loan and it takes a year or more to draw even 30K and no health benefits. Real estate? Have you noticed the market is flat and mortgages are hard get? Teaching degree? Most schools around country laying off. Man, get some real ideas before you talk. How about painting houses? Thats's at least a better option while you look for another rep job selling something else besides pharma.
 




Anonymous said:
I feel your pain? Got a fat mortgage, big taxes, kids agree to drop out of school and I am going back to retrain without income and expecting to keep life afloat, all while I wrack up an extra 50K in school loans. Buy a franchise on a 100K or more loan and it takes a year or more to draw even 30K and no health benefits. Real estate? Have you noticed the market is flat and mortgages are hard get? Teaching degree? Most schools around country laying off. Man, get some real ideas before you talk. How about painting houses? Thats's at least a better option while you look for another rep job selling something else besides pharma.
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Well, while this person's heart may have been in the right place, you voiced my thoughts. I don't have quite the big mortgage and my kids are grown, but I have maybe 250K for retirement total with only ten years of earning potential left. Most of our money is in our house and the market keeps dropping. What was once a 500K home is now a home worth maybe 350K. Can't sell because we would lose what we put in to it. I am in graduate school and footing the bill myself. It hurts because Merck can pay their executives millions but fuck footing my education bill. We would barely get by on one income and Merck has me traveling and "flagging" calls to the point my head is going to explode. There are no great jobs that pay anything like pharma and this train ride is ending very, very fast. I envy the guys who got to retire after 20 years with one company. That's a pipe dream for me and I get angrier by the minute over management assrping me on a daily basis. Why on Earth do I need a ride along every two weeks? I hate my life.
 




Anonymous said:
Well, while this person's heart may have been in the right place, you voiced my thoughts. I don't have quite the big mortgage and my kids are grown, but I have maybe 250K for retirement total with only ten years of earning potential left. Most of our money is in our house and the market keeps dropping. What was once a 500K home is now a home worth maybe 350K. Can't sell because we would lose what we put in to it. I am in graduate school and footing the bill myself. It hurts because Merck can pay their executives millions but fuck footing my education bill. We would barely get by on one income and Merck has me traveling and "flagging" calls to the point my head is going to explode. There are no great jobs that pay anything like pharma and this train ride is ending very, very fast. I envy the guys who got to retire after 20 years with one company. That's a pipe dream for me and I get angrier by the minute over management assrping me on a daily basis. Why on Earth do I need a ride along every two weeks? I hate my life.
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With you but only one income, this is it. Big mortgage, taxes, bills, little to none on retirement money and less than 10 years till SS...if it will even exist then. Hangin' in till the end. Will make it to only 5 years here in January.
 








Unless the guy is into S&M, I would say a typical Merck manager resents the thought of riding with the same rep every other week too. Imagine trying to discover little things so you can put them into a trip report, excuses to coach you, and to justify their existence? Make promises to customers that they have no more power to deliver because their jobs is nothing more than a glorified babysitter one.
 












Anonymous said:
Evidently what you don't get is what you perceive as "busier than ever" amounts to very little if any productive work and that busy does not translate into sales. That's our problem now. Sure, we look very busy for the benefit of management and their jobs, but our "busyness" is not generating "business" in such a manner that supports our expense to Merck. One day soon, Merck will have to become brutally honest about the realities of pharmaceutical sales and the fact pharmaceutical representatives do not fit well in today's pharmaceutical marketplace.
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For not creating enough productivity we sure are being clobbered with meetings, emails, projects and busyness. Its becoming brutal, or maybe it's just a way to wear us down and leave.
 








Anonymous said:
For not creating enough productivity we sure are being clobbered with meetings, emails, projects and busyness. Its becoming brutal, or maybe it's just a way to wear us down and leave.
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You make the point. Everything you listed is activity with no mention of time to see Merck customers. Are we now at the point where Merck customers aren't called on by reps?
 








Anonymous said:
They don't care. Your logic requires them to care. They just don't care. They have their layoff numbers to meet.
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Watch who get past the layoffs. Logic says keep the dedicated, but watch, it may be surprisingly different. The one's who run over other reps will last. The intimidators and those who management bows to please will thrive.
 




It is only a myth that age discrimination is illegal in this country. In reality, it is deeply institutionalized. It is one of the main reasons the government orchestrated this depression. They had to get the aging baby-boomers out of the workplace. The medical costs of an older workforce put a company who is self funded at risk. They talk at every monthly meeting about the average age of the workers and the top 5 health risks that are costing them the most. So, the worker over 50 is a target. Nothing you can do about it. If you live long enough, you all will be in the bull’s eye.
 




Same is true for slavery. It never ended; they are just more sophisticated about it now. There are forces that direct everything that happens and they give us elections and propaganda to make us think we are free, when we are nothing close to it. Slavery is the eternal human condition for all but a few.
In the past 2 months, my family has lost 3 men in their very early 60”s. Think about all of this and how you are living.
 




Age discrimination. This was what an attorney told me when I explored this option. Hard to prove. Many discussions were not in black and white. Note how you share success stories by cell phone, not by voice mail as a way to avoid a record or so it cannot be subpoenaed. When you request the info from Merck during a lawsuit, materials can be shredded or withheld. He said this happens all the time with companies of any size. Merck has a large legal team and they can wear you down mentally and financially. Not that you should not try if you have a case. But beware it may take years.
 




Anonymous said:
It is only a myth that age discrimination is illegal in this country. In reality, it is deeply institutionalized. It is one of the main reasons the government orchestrated this depression. They had to get the aging baby-boomers out of the workplace. The medical costs of an older workforce put a company who is self funded at risk. They talk at every monthly meeting about the average age of the workers and the top 5 health risks that are costing them the most. So, the worker over 50 is a target. Nothing you can do about it. If you live long enough, you all will be in the bull’s eye.
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Truth is not all 50s are like 50s. I know 40 year olds who probably have a biological age of 65, and 50 year olds more in the shape of a 35 year old. All relative. How old is the top management at merck. Seems you dont hit prime achievement until you are in your 40-60 age range. Why cut people in their prime? children get cancer, diabetes and heart disase just like adults. Women get pregnant, have complications, premature babies and often c-sections. Costs are relative too. The age issue is just an excuse, Mutha wants to clean house and have a constant flow of young blood that will move on and not want anything down the road.
 




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