I had the BALLS to leave pharma!

[anonymous]

100% to your post! it's as if you are reading my mind. i literally cannot handle being a part of this circus anymore. the whole system exists to profit off of sick patients who require chronic medications. i think it is an existential crisis for me because i know that i will be a patient who might need a life saving drug someday. we all will. but what really haunts me is the idea that when i am much older and in need of my medications, i will remember that i contributed to and benefited from the fleecing of the masses because i won't be able to afford my ridiculous copay. the whole system is flawed and needs to be resurrected as a true medical science industry. work with physicians and scientists to discover innovations that could benefit society in meaningful ways rather than take an existing drug and extending it's patent with a new delivery system. the lazy profiteering is frightening and i am unable to fake it anymore. however, i can't seem to land an interview outside of this industry. there are a lot of unfavorable stereotypes about pharma reps that will be difficult to overcome. i have had two very successful interviews recently that got offers but for salaries that were hard to swallow. my entitlement keeps creeping up on me and i am trying to weigh the pros and cons but keep coming back to how much i hate it here. anyway, thank you for your post. really.

I thought I would bump this thread up again as I come back to it every once in a while. Searching desperately for a way out of the industry, but like this poster, every opportunity I have found pays almost 1/2 of what I am making now. However, the toll of the constant stress and pressure we are under these days is sometimes just too much. Any ideas for someone with over 20 years of sales, including B2B, ortho and pharma? I could suck it up and get my MBA and have my current company pay for it but that would mean at least 3 more years here.
Looking for some success stories for those who escaped...

 

[anonymous]

I thought I would bump this thread up again as I come back to it every once in a while. Searching desperately for a way out of the industry, but like this poster, every opportunity I have found pays almost 1/2 of what I am making now. However, the toll of the constant stress and pressure we are under these days is sometimes just too much. Any ideas for someone with over 20 years of sales, including B2B, ortho and pharma? I could suck it up and get my MBA and have my current company pay for it but that would mean at least 3 more years here.
Looking for some success stories for those who escaped...

Construction sales pays better once you get in and build up a network. The people are more real.

If you are into your 40s, and still working in medical/pharmaceutical sales, you are truly a sucker.