Embarrassed to be in pharma

[Anonymous]

do you realize how rediculous you sound? do you know how lucky you are to be in this industry? do you know how many people are trying to get into the "club"?
be thankful that you make what you make, save what you can, and pray you get to keep your job!!

If you yourself are in this industry, I don't understand why you would be defending it. It's a joke and it sucks. Some money, yes; respect and meaningful work - absolutely not. The job is dumb now, no matter how you slice it. If you don't mind be disrespected daily and walking around like a brain-dead robot zombie, be thankful then. I couldn't wait to leave!

 

[Anonymous]

I got out of pharma 6 months and am in device sales now and doing very very well...so to the people defending pharma, why do my pharma friends keep calling me saying 'get me the hell out of pharma?'

Pharma is a boring job. I felt like i needed to tuck my cock n balls between my legs and prance around...All of the selling skills I learned selling copiers were drained from me. I gained them back after being in pharma for 5 years then going into device. Then I thought the other day...shit I didn't sell in pharma. I marketed well, sure, but i didn't sell anything. It is not sales. It is pharmaceutical marketing. Sales means a signed order. Name one other industry that you are a called a b2b sales rep. yet do not get a signed order? You can't.

My device manager told me the only reason he hired me was because I sold copiers, that pharma was a waste of time in my career and I should have sold copiers longer... and he was right.

I think so many of us talk shit because I WAS the guy I despise so much now, you know, thought I was the shit, mid twenties, making good money in what looked like a hot shot job. It got to me when I realized I wasn't actually producing anything, that my numbers went up or down for things wayyyy the hell out of my control, like losing formulary or no see call lists. In device, I have TRUE ownership of my results. I can't blame it on public aid or the large group that kicked reps. out of their office.

I also think us device reps. do look down on pharma because you can be successful in pharma and bomb in device/surgical. I have seen it before. That being said, I could easily go back into pharma and sell circles around your number 1 reps. Basically, at the risk of being arrogant, pharma reps. can't play in my world (or other device reps./surgical reps. for that matter).

So continue to peddle your me too products and cater to your offices. I haven't given one lunch in the past 6 months as a device reps. and when I cold call offices, my calls always get priority over yours...

 

[Anonymous]

I got out of pharma 6 months and am in device sales now and doing very very well...so to the people defending pharma, why do my pharma friends keep calling me saying 'get me the hell out of pharma?'

Pharma is a boring job. I felt like i needed to tuck my cock n balls between my legs and prance around...All of the selling skills I learned selling copiers were drained from me. I gained them back after being in pharma for 5 years then going into device. Then I thought the other day...shit I didn't sell in pharma. I marketed well, sure, but i didn't sell anything. It is not sales. It is pharmaceutical marketing. Sales means a signed order. Name one other industry that you are a called a b2b sales rep. yet do not get a signed order? You can't.

My device manager told me the only reason he hired me was because I sold copiers, that pharma was a waste of time in my career and I should have sold copiers longer... and he was right.

I think so many of us talk shit because I WAS the guy I despise so much now, you know, thought I was the shit, mid twenties, making good money in what looked like a hot shot job. It got to me when I realized I wasn't actually producing anything, that my numbers went up or down for things wayyyy the hell out of my control, like losing formulary or no see call lists. In device, I have TRUE ownership of my results. I can't blame it on public aid or the large group that kicked reps. out of their office.

I also think us device reps. do look down on pharma because you can be successful in pharma and bomb in device/surgical. I have seen it before. That being said, I could easily go back into pharma and sell circles around your number 1 reps. Basically, at the risk of being arrogant, pharma reps. can't play in my world (or other device reps./surgical reps. for that matter).

So continue to peddle your me too products and cater to your offices. I haven't given one lunch in the past 6 months as a device reps. and when I cold call offices, my calls always get priority over yours...

You contradict yourself when you say "I wasn't actually producing anything, that my numbers went up or down for things wayyyy the hell out of my control" and "I could easily go back into pharma and sell circles around your number 1 reps". These are mutually exclusive ideas. If you had little or no control over things in pharma, you can never truly predict how you'd do against top performers if you come back. So I guess you're still a typical dumb rep...........just in scrubs!

 

[Anonymous]

You contradict yourself when you say "I wasn't actually producing anything, that my numbers went up or down for things wayyyy the hell out of my control" and "I could easily go back into pharma and sell circles around your number 1 reps". These are mutually exclusive ideas. If you had little or no control over things in pharma, you can never truly predict how you'd do against top performers if you come back. So I guess you're still a typical dumb rep...........just in scrubs!

I will give you that one, I should have said "I could market circles around your number 1 reps." Either way, why I would I downgrade to pharma? If I were a woman it would be a great job, but no man can do this job and honestly think it is a manly job...

 

[Anonymous]

I make 200 k a year....enjoy pharma and your 100k max compensation.

100K, 200K, who cares!!! As long as you work for someone else, you'll never be free. I'm a pharma rep who buys real estate every 2 years. Someday I will trully be without shackles. I won't be on a message board bragging to pharma reps about my job selling artificial hips for other people under their rules.

 

[Anonymous]

That's hysterical!! Just goes to show you one of the major reasons this industry bit the big one is because of bimbos like that. The funny thing is, they really do think they're all that and somehow 'special' because they managed to 'land' a pharma job. Too dumb to realize it's not a 'prestigious' job anymore ---- hasn't been for a very long time now. Maybe people outside pharma used to be 'impressed' by it years and years ago, but it's since become a joke, as you know. (I have recently left the industry after many years b/c it simply sucks).
I saw my share of those bimbos running around... not long before leaving, saw one in PC with a sweater that was FAR more appropriate for weekend clubbing. She was trying her damnedest (sp??) to show those things to everyone. Saw another one not long after who truly looked like a hooker -- skin tight clothing, stilettos, the typical long blonde hair, boob job, tons of makeup and thinking she was the shit. Funny as hell, and yes, made me feel so embarrassed to also be a pharma rep even remotely associated with that. I bet all of them reading this don't even realize we're talking about THEM! Many of the guys are just as bad --- seems they all have spikey, gelled-up hair and wear pink or purple shirts. One of them talked to me recently and said that Drs probably look at him and initially think he's dumb b/c of his looks, but then he said "they totally end up respecting me b/c they realize I know so much about the disease state and am so knowledgeable". I think he said he'd been in the industry for something like 2 years. omg. It's a sad state of affairs. Glad I left.

So, you work a job based on what other people think?

You people just over analyze everything. The bottom line is that the job pays good, and compared to other jobs, it pays great.

To continually complain about the status of this job or the fact that we are treated like by management or doctors in some cases, is very foolish.

I choose to stay in this industry because a job to me, is just a job, and I do it well to pay my bills and live, nothing more and nothing less.

"Fucking them is ok, but just stick it in a little bit, not all the way", this is something to keep in mind when you have a situation where the assholes in management are treating you like crap.

 

[Anonymous]

I make 200 k a year....enjoy pharma and your 100k max compensation.

That's funny, I made 200+ the last 2 years in pharma and I usually do around 160. My base is more than 100

 

[Anonymous]

So, you work a job based on what other people think?

You people just over analyze everything. The bottom line is that the job pays good, and compared to other jobs, it pays great.

To continually complain about the status of this job or the fact that we are treated like by management or doctors in some cases, is very foolish.

I choose to stay in this industry because a job to me, is just a job, and I do it well to pay my bills and live, nothing more and nothing less.

"Fucking them is ok, but just stick it in a little bit, not all the way", this is something to keep in mind when you have a situation where the assholes in management are treating you like crap.

No, I don't work a job based on others' opinions of it. I left the industry b/c I hated it; not b/c other people made fun of it. I was simply pointing out how pharma rep standards really dropped over the years, and a lot of not-so-bright ken and barbie billboards came into the biz, so yes, I personally felt it was an embarrassment to be a part of it. Everyone has their own opinions. Some people are fine with the gig, like yourself, and that's great. Whatever works for you. I just felt that life is way too short to hate what you do everyday; spending so much of your life feeling bored to death and miserable, and literally getting depressed on Sunday nights knowing what you had to get up and do in the morning. To me, I not only strive for great satisfaction in my personal life, but in my professional life as well. To some, a job is simply a job to pay the bills; to others it needs to be more than that.
But I am also happy to be out of an industry that seems to be packed with idiots now. You've got to admit, a lot of them are embarrassing!!

 

[Anonymous]

No, I don't work a job based on others' opinions of it. I left the industry b/c I hated it; not b/c other people made fun of it. I was simply pointing out how pharma rep standards really dropped over the years, and a lot of not-so-bright ken and barbie billboards came into the biz, so yes, I personally felt it was an embarrassment to be a part of it. Everyone has their own opinions. Some people are fine with the gig, like yourself, and that's great. Whatever works for you. I just felt that life is way too short to hate what you do everyday; spending so much of your life feeling bored to death and miserable, and literally getting depressed on Sunday nights knowing what you had to get up and do in the morning. To me, I not only strive for great satisfaction in my personal life, but in my professional life as well. To some, a job is simply a job to pay the bills; to others it needs to be more than that.
But I am also happy to be out of an industry that seems to be packed with idiots now. You've got to admit, a lot of them are embarrassing!!

\

You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the "talent" out there in the pharmaceutical industry.

And I have been in the industry for almost ten years, and I can say that almost all of them have been filled with nonsense. However, I think most jobs are like this, for the most part if you are working for a major corporation.

The important thing is to pick the right company to work for, and those are usually going to be smaller companies.

I would also add that it is very depressing out there right now for those of us that are intelligent and demand a lot from ourselves. Perhaps the best choice is to open up your own business of whatever kind, just as long as you can pay the bills and save a bit.

Thanks for sharing, by the way.

 

[Anonymous]

I do not admit to strangers that I am employeed by a drug company. Why? National and local news media have criticized drug ads which border on the unethical (if not illegal) several times lately. That is troubling enough in itself but most friends are more than fed up and disgusted by the 24/7 cheesy/sleezy "ED" ads blasting from TV with their "4 hour erection" warnings, esp parents who cannot watch TV without explaining what the above means. Many say they never watch TV with guests now.

When I began work in this field, it was an admired profession by health care professionals as well as the general public. After the sales and marketing hucksters took over from ethical management , the industry has gone down the tubes. Oh, the hiring of ex cheerleaders , car rental folks,etc, who can barely spell pharmaceutical, to promote the product has not helped the image either. Just last week a leading national talk show host was making jokes about the pharma cheerleaders.

I never thought when I was hired that I would ever be placed in the huckster category. Really sad.

This (snip) is what most docs think of todays "pharms rep" who is probably and ex car,business machine,cheerleader, or similar unqualified huckster to sell highly scientific products :

"I have much more confidence in what respected colleagues say than drug representatives who come to my office. I take everything they say with a grain of salt," Dr. Dorman says.



"If I ask the rep if a drug works on a specific condition and they say they can't answer that question, that puts me in an uncomfortable situation. I would prefer they could be a bit more forthcoming.

"The problem is when you release those constraints, it's in the sales reps' best interests to promote their drug for everything, and there are some reps out there who are unscrupulous enough, or without great ethics, who would sell you the emperor's new clothes."

 

[Anonymous]

This (snip) is what most docs think of todays "pharms rep" who is probably and ex car,business machine,cheerleader, or similar unqualified huckster to sell highly scientific products :

"I have much more confidence in what respected colleagues say than drug representatives who come to my office. I take everything they say with a grain of salt," Dr. Dorman says.



"If I ask the rep if a drug works on a specific condition and they say they can't answer that question, that puts me in an uncomfortable situation. I would prefer they could be a bit more forthcoming.

"The problem is when you release those constraints, it's in the sales reps' best interests to promote their drug for everything, and there are some reps out there who are unscrupulous enough, or without great ethics, who would sell you the emperor's new clothes."

Ah comeon now, at least that ex car rental, now turned highly scientific minded pharma rep, would at least be ethical enough to sell you an additional insurance rider on his drug,lol.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All:

Just want to put my 2 cents in...don't post much here, not in pharma anymore.

I was a clinician for years, left critical care, became a Pfizer rep. Left Pfizer to be a specialty rep for another company. Then I spent 4 years selling critical care equipment and ventilators. Capital equipment, very large territory, lots of corporate chaos in the company that created a lot of stress and uncertainty in my life. I made a lot of money selling ventilators and critical care equipment, but I have a bit of advice for those who think going to "device" or "medical sales" is the answer to all their problems:

Pharma has turned to shit, and the sales reps have been marginalized. This will soon happen to the device, pacemaker, and other cap equipment reps as well. With GPO's and Medline, and open book pricing, hospitals are beginning to turn against these reps as well, and these reps are not making the money they did 10 years ago either.

I am now enrolled in CRNA school and back on the clinical side, working in OR and ER. I can tell you first hand, the pacer reps, biotech reps, and surgical supply reps are being given the early hairy eyeball treatment that pharma reps started getting 10 years ago. The recent media attention about the expense associated with pacemakers, and the questionable relationships between docs and ortho product companies, and hospitals losing large amnts of money, device and cap equipment will go the way of the pharma reps. It is already happening. To all those who work in device and choose to look down their noses at "pharma reps", a warning. You are one class action suit, buyout, hostile takeover, or legislative maneuver away from losing your jobs as well.

Live under your means, save a little money, always have something to fall back on. I am glad I am out of the sales lifestyle, and there are other jobs out there, clinical and otherwise that pay well, and give you a sense of well being.

Best wishes to all,

Tracey

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All:

Just want to put my 2 cents in...don't post much here, not in pharma anymore.

I was a clinician for years, left critical care, became a Pfizer rep. Left Pfizer to be a specialty rep for another company. Then I spent 4 years selling critical care equipment and ventilators. Capital equipment, very large territory, lots of corporate chaos in the company that created a lot of stress and uncertainty in my life. I made a lot of money selling ventilators and critical care equipment, but I have a bit of advice for those who think going to "device" or "medical sales" is the answer to all their problems:

Pharma has turned to shit, and the sales reps have been marginalized. This will soon happen to the device, pacemaker, and other cap equipment reps as well. With GPO's and Medline, and open book pricing, hospitals are beginning to turn against these reps as well, and these reps are not making the money they did 10 years ago either.

I am now enrolled in CRNA school and back on the clinical side, working in OR and ER. I can tell you first hand, the pacer reps, biotech reps, and surgical supply reps are being given the early hairy eyeball treatment that pharma reps started getting 10 years ago. The recent media attention about the expense associated with pacemakers, and the questionable relationships between docs and ortho product companies, and hospitals losing large amnts of money, device and cap equipment will go the way of the pharma reps. It is already happening. To all those who work in device and choose to look down their noses at "pharma reps", a warning. You are one class action suit, buyout, hostile takeover, or legislative maneuver away from losing your jobs as well.

Live under your means, save a little money, always have something to fall back on. I am glad I am out of the sales lifestyle, and there are other jobs out there, clinical and otherwise that pay well, and give you a sense of well being.

Best wishes to all,

Tracey

great post...this person gets it...Pharma really has gone to shit, but then again, so has most of corporate america...not sure what the answer is, other then redefining your definition of "success" and just being happy with alot less.

 

[Anonymous]

great post...this person gets it...Pharma really has gone to shit, but then again, so has most of corporate america...not sure what the answer is, other then redefining your definition of "success" and just being happy with alot less.

Well big pharma has no one to blame but the moronic top managers they hired ,who hired unqualified middle managers, who hired lower level managers who in turn hired unqualified (ex cheerleader,jocks, pilots,car rental jockeys,etc) reps who they only looked at as possible "sales hucksters"! Sales and marketing managers then began hustling drugs just like they did at their past soap,office machine, car,carpet ,etc,etc jobs!!! Science knowledge was completely eliminated from the qualifications and you see what we have arrived at today-laughing stock of the medical industry!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Well big pharma has no one to blame but the moronic top managers they hired ,who hired unqualified middle managers, who hired lower level managers who in turn hired unqualified (ex cheerleader,jocks, pilots,car rental jockeys,etc) reps who they only looked at as possible "sales hucksters"! Sales and marketing managers then began hustling drugs just like they did at their past soap,office machine, car,carpet ,etc,etc jobs!!! Science knowledge was completely eliminated from the qualifications and you see what we have arrived at today-laughing stock of the medical industry!!!

so true...great post!!

 

[Anonymous]

so true...great post!!

Ya I agree...........Fag

 

[Anonymous]

100K, 200K, who cares!!! As long as you work for someone else, you'll never be free. I'm a pharma rep who buys real estate every 2 years. Someday I will trully be without shackles. I won't be on a message board bragging to pharma reps about my job selling artificial hips for other people under their rules.

This is the smartest post in this whole thread. Been in the industry(pharm/device/etc) for 10+ years. Been through layoffs etc and all the usual horseshit. The smartest reps I know are the ones who are using their income and time to start something for themselves. They know that even if they adapt to the industry they'll still be a slave to the man in 20-25 years. Personally I do real estate and it's a great friggin' time to be buying it. I just see the elders in our industry and most are miserable. I see other folks on the cusp of retirement 45-50+ and they become "too old" for the industry. And it's fucking sad to me. I've known reps who are financial planners, insurance agents, real estate developers/investors, bar owners, etc, etc, etc. Be smart and use your 20 hour a week job to better yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the smartest post in this whole thread. Been in the industry(pharm/device/etc) for 10+ years. Been through layoffs etc and all the usual horseshit. The smartest reps I know are the ones who are using their income and time to start something for themselves. They know that even if they adapt to the industry they'll still be a slave to the man in 20-25 years. Personally I do real estate and it's a great friggin' time to be buying it. I just see the elders in our industry and most are miserable. I see other folks on the cusp of retirement 45-50+ and they become "too old" for the industry. And it's fucking sad to me. I've known reps who are financial planners, insurance agents, real estate developers/investors, bar owners, etc, etc, etc. Be smart and use your 20 hour a week job to better yourself.

I'm glad you appreciate my post. I wrote it awhile back but I stand by every word. I'm glad you're a fellow free thinker like me. Use the industry to create true wealth on your own. Don't let anyone

 

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you appreciate my post. I wrote it awhile back but I stand by every word. I'm glad you're a fellow free thinker like me. Use the industry to create true wealth on your own. Don't let anyone

........tell you otherwise.

 

[Anonymous]

Ya I agree...........Fag

What rental car co did you work for prior to becoming a highly trained pharma rep?