I had the BALLS to leave pharma!

[anonymous]

Isn't any job like that? Teacher, by year two you have your lesson plans that you repeat. Office staff, month in month out of the same check lists by year two you pretty much know them by heart. Factory worker on the line....same job same parts day in day out.

Exactly so would you hire? What is the transferable skill set?.... Ugh.

 

[anonymous]

Isn't any job like that? Teacher, by year two you have your lesson plans that you repeat. Office staff, month in month out of the same check lists by year two you pretty much know them by heart. Factory worker on the line....same job same parts day in day out.

no, not at all...Comparing teaching to pharma sales is a really bad comparison. Teaching is a low paid job that actually is needed by society. Pharma sales is (or at least used to be) a ridiculously high paid fake job that is only made possible by the fact that pharma companies basically have a license to steal from the public & payors.

There was a time when saying you were a pharma rep actually garnered some admiration from potential employers and was a feather in one's cap. Not now or for a long time though...Employers know that the job is a ridiculous, fake charade that involves catering in lunch, little to no actual selling, and part-time hours for full time pay.

You will inevitably find yourself coming up with a way or strategy to defend your wasted time in pharma to any potential new employers. They will "forgive" you for 2 years or less. Any time more than that and they will be highly suspicious/skeptical of your drive and work ethic.

Looking back on it I was foolishly naive. I thought I was a hot shot because that's what the company brainwashed me into thinking at meetings. That is until they harassed and shoved me out of my job at 50.

 

[anonymous]

no, not at all...Comparing teaching to pharma sales is a really bad comparison. Teaching is a low paid job that actually is needed by society. Pharma sales is (or at least used to be) a ridiculously high paid fake job that is only made possible by the fact that pharma companies basically have a license to steal from the public & payors.

There was a time when saying you were a pharma rep actually garnered some admiration from potential employers and was a feather in one's cap. Not now or for a long time though...Employers know that the job is a ridiculous, fake charade that involves catering in lunch, little to no actual selling, and part-time hours for full time pay.

You will inevitably find yourself coming up with a way or strategy to defend your wasted time in pharma to any potential new employers. They will "forgive" you for 2 years or less. Any time more than that and they will be highly suspicious/skeptical of your drive and work ethic.

Looking back on it I was foolishly naive. I thought I was a hot shot because that's what the company brainwashed me into thinking at meetings. That is until they harassed and shoved me out of my job at 50.

Hindsight is always 2020, but I bet at some point you realized your job wasnt really worth what you were being paid. Frankly I think it’s really difficult for most pharma companies to begin to justify what they’re paying reps to go out and do what they really can do day to day. It does not detract from the importance of having reps, but the reps ability to really be productive for any one company has been greatly diminished by the environment we are in.

 

[anonymous]

Hindsight is always 2020, but I bet at some point you realized your job wasnt really worth what you were being paid. Frankly I think it’s really difficult for most pharma companies to begin to justify what they’re paying reps to go out and do what they really can do day to day. It does not detract from the importance of having reps, but the reps ability to really be productive for any one company has been greatly diminished by the environment we are in.

Very well said...good post...

You raise an interesting point...I truly did want to be great at my pharma "job" but the reality of what I could really do "on the ground" was so limited. I truly was being paid 6 figures to take office lunch orders.

It got to be completely absurd...

 

[anonymous]

I left about eight years ago and became a manufacturers rep outside of the industry. Was downsized and coerced back into pharma by a former boss. Probably a bad decision although I've figured out some way to stay employed through a few layoffs over the past couple of years. Bottom line is that Pharma is simply a crap shoot as far as stability and unless you really luck out, most gigs pay far less with unattainable bonuses these days. Great for cars / benefits and part time hours but more stressful than ever. I would not recommend to anyone with or planning to raise a family. Not too bad if you are coasting into the twilight of your career and looking to pad the 401K but most over fifty will find it very difficult to even get an interview in today's pharma world.

 

[anonymous]

I left about eight years ago and became a manufacturers rep outside of the industry. Was downsized and coerced back into pharma by a former boss. Probably a bad decision although I've figured out some way to stay employed through a few layoffs over the past couple of years. Bottom line is that Pharma is simply a crap shoot as far as stability and unless you really luck out, most gigs pay far less with unattainable bonuses these days. Great for cars / benefits and part time hours but more stressful than ever. I would not recommend to anyone with or planning to raise a family. Not too bad if you are coasting into the twilight of your career and looking to pad the 401K but most over fifty will find it very difficult to even get an interview in today's pharma world.

All true, it is a part time gig that should hire and pay appropriately. Ideal for a house spouse to work and pull in 50k per year- truly make it 10-2, companies wouldn’t lose much in productivity, better roi and less fake “work” by employee.

 

[anonymous]

All true, it is a part time gig that should hire and pay appropriately. Ideal for a house spouse to work and pull in 50k per year- truly make it 10-2, companies wouldn’t lose much in productivity, better roi and less fake “work” by employee.

A voice of reason in a sea of pharma insanity. Great suggestion but it will never happen because it makes way too much sense and pharma execs purposely make everything a complete cluster F.

 

[anonymous]

I'm a younger rep and can see how wasteful this entire industry is. I don't think pharma reps are needed and I don't necessarily see the value being brought in to the provider/patient. It literally is glorified lunch catering and we really don't need a college degree for this job. I'm sure I can train someone in high school to do my job and as long as they smile and make some friends, they too can make good money.

It's like groundhog day and at times I feel like a walking commercial repeating myself over and over again. Some people like to complain about how hard their job is and I don't think they realize how much of a joke it all is. I've met some greedy and selfish personalities, and I understand why many people look down on this industry.

 

[anonymous]

no, not at all...Comparing teaching to pharma sales is a really bad comparison. Teaching is a low paid job that actually is needed by society. Pharma sales is (or at least used to be) a ridiculously high paid fake job that is only made possible by the fact that pharma companies basically have a license to steal from the public & payors.

There was a time when saying you were a pharma rep actually garnered some admiration from potential employers and was a feather in one's cap. Not now or for a long time though...Employers know that the job is a ridiculous, fake charade that involves catering in lunch, little to no actual selling, and part-time hours for full time pay.

You will inevitably find yourself coming up with a way or strategy to defend your wasted time in pharma to any potential new employers. They will "forgive" you for 2 years or less. Any time more than that and they will be highly suspicious/skeptical of your drive and work ethic.

Looking back on it I was foolishly naive. I thought I was a hot shot because that's what the company brainwashed me into thinking at meetings. That is until they harassed and shoved me out of my job at 50.

Spot on. Absolutely spot on. It’s been a while since I have spent some time at the Cafe. It doesn’t seem to change. It’s interesting what a $200k + paycheck does to ones ego. A lame job with serious earnings.

 

[anonymous]

I think the purpose of this thread was to discuss how people moved on from Pharma, thought I would share my own experience. I am sure this thread will get bashed as I can see that CP hasn't changed in the decade since I really looked at the site.

With my experience I will share two stories as my wife and I were both reps for a little over a decade and both left at the same time. We both started in the big hiring surge of the late 90's and stayed in the industry until 2008. Our exits had two very different paths but both came with eventual huge upsides in quality of life and ultimately financial gains. We also didn't leave because we were pushed out, we just saw the writing on the wall and decided we needed to change so we wouldn't be in a crisis while trying to send our kids to college.

I walked across the stage in early 2008 to accept my Presidents Club award knowing I was going to quit before I even got to go on the trip. In mid-2008 I began a career in IT sales working as an inside rep for a small company. The base was about $15K less but the upside was much better. Unfortunately the economy crashed and nobody was buying, I managed to stay on because I was the "cheap" new guy and worked hard. Through persistence and long hours, plus a few moves to different companies, I have managed to find an extremely stable career with earnings 3-4x my top earnings in pharma. I work long days leaving my house at 7:30 AM when I am in the office and I travel over 100K miles in the air with 100 nights on the road but I love it. For those in their 30's, IT is an amazing industry and there are plenty of starter jobs out there that pay well. Google for recruiters, easy to find and many of them actually advertise they have jobs for those leaving pharma.

My wife has had a different experience but still successful and we don't really need her income now like we did when we were both in pharma making equal pay. She bounced around in the medical sales community but focused on home-care and hospice. The earnings were solid and it had a similar schedule to pharma, which was great since I was now traveling all over the country. As my career has taken off she has decided to step back a bit to spend more times with the kids. She is still working but as a 1099 rep in a commission only capacity. She makes enough money to pay a few of the bills and we just save the rest for her retirement.

Let the kicking begin...

No kicking needed. Thanks for sharing. We all like to hear about others ‘success stories’.....pharma joke.....but seriously thanks for sharing.....pharma is a well paying often short lived gig....but not always as I’m 20+ years in.

 

[anonymous]

OP here:

It’s been two years since I left pharma. I’ve been in hospice for a while. I make great money but work like crazy. In hospice your main goal is to find out everyone’s agenda before you pitch. Literally, the family, hospital,
nurses, doctors, case managers are all working an angle and it’s your job to read through the BS. It’s fascinating, irritating and rewarding all at the same time.

Today, I had a case where the hospital wanted to discharge (DC) the patient but the family is trying to extend their stay by meeting with all
the hospice companies. They can spread out the appointment for days. I met with them at 5:30pm. They have another appointment tomorrow. In the meeting the family stated she knows the admitting physician and she does not have to leave the hospital. Meanwhile the case manager informed the family that if they don’t make up their mind the hospital will start billing them for the extended stay. I expect the family will call tomorrow crying because the hospital told them they had to leave. After 5 days of this back and forth they sign the contact or they sign with someone else. Crazy stuff !! Never boring!!

 

[anonymous]

OP here:

It’s been two years since I left pharma. I’ve been in hospice for a while. I make great money but work like crazy. In hospice your main goal is to find out everyone’s agenda before you pitch. Literally, the family, hospital,
nurses, doctors, case managers are all working an angle and it’s your job to read through the BS. It’s fascinating, irritating and rewarding all at the same time.

Today, I had a case where the hospital wanted to discharge (DC) the patient but the family is trying to extend their stay by meeting with all
the hospice companies. They can spread out the appointment for days. I met with them at 5:30pm. They have another appointment tomorrow. In the meeting the family stated she knows the admitting physician and she does not have to leave the hospital. Meanwhile the case manager informed the family that if they don’t make up their mind the hospital will start billing them for the extended stay. I expect the family will call tomorrow crying because the hospital told them they had to leave. After 5 days of this back and forth they sign the contact or they sign with someone else. Crazy stuff !! Never boring!!

One could say that there is no more important job or industry than hospice care. I know when we lost our mom last year, the hospice company was awesome and provided such an important service. Contrast that with the fake world of pharma sales where basically reps are glorified door dash or Uber eats food delivery. The industry exists just to enrich the greedy corrupt executives and managers. Not saying that hospice doesn't have its intrigue behind the scenes, but definitely a way more substantial and important job than pharma sales.

 

[Infernode]

It's common knowledge that being in the pharma industry is to be in a toxic working environment. Admit it, either you suck it all up for the sake of earnings or never even try once to work one.

 

[anonymous]

It's common knowledge that being in the pharma industry is to be in a toxic working environment. Admit it, either you suck it all up for the sake of earnings or never even try once to work one.

so true.
that is ok with them, though. because they will have their new set of suckers from college and other weak business minded folks to take these bad jobs.

they are bad jobs at the end of the day. always was that way.

good for you, for recoginizing this. moving forward and working for respectable industries is the way to go.

 

[anonymous]

I was in Pharma for 20 years. Was purged at 50 YOA. It was difficult watching the young attractive females that I helped train get jobs right away an not even having recruiter return my calls. Finally after 2 years I decided to start my own business. I will not kid you..it was VERY difficult for the first 3 years but by surrounding myself with great associates and doing what was right by my clients and my associates I am now back to what I was making in Pharma. (With company cars for both my wife and I.)

If you choose to leave Pharma it may not be easy but in the end if your work hard and learn by your mistakes, yes I made lots of them, you will prosper. You may also have an asset that the corporate idiots can not take away from you.

Best of luck.

 

[anonymous]

Resurrecting this thread. I had an existential crisis this week when a catering order for a virtual lunch splatted all over the company car. I was delivering food to a lunch wherein I could walk in to leave the food but then had to connect virtually...while I was sitting in the parking lot. That one minor event, built upon layers and layers of other nonsense has about cracked me.

I am 18 years in, laid off twice in my tenure, and just plain tired of the game. Manager and the people I work with are truly awesome people. I just have reached a point where… I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t like what I am doing. I don’t feel like what I do really matter. And half the time I feel like I’m robbing people. Not doing anything wrong per se; I’m working the system as it is set up. But it’s just so unfulfilling. Except financially.

Do I quit in the middle of a pandemic? Will you? Does a job have to be fulfilling or am I having some version of a midlife crisis? A pandemic crisis? Yea I know - people will beat up my post yet I don’t mind being vulnerable to it. Maybe it’ll help.

 

[anonymous]

Resurrecting this thread. I had an existential crisis this week when a catering order for a virtual lunch splatted all over the company car. I was delivering food to a lunch wherein I could walk in to leave the food but then had to connect virtually...while I was sitting in the parking lot. That one minor event, built upon layers and layers of other nonsense has about cracked me.

I am 18 years in, laid off twice in my tenure, and just plain tired of the game. Manager and the people I work with are truly awesome people. I just have reached a point where… I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t like what I am doing. I don’t feel like what I do really matter. And half the time I feel like I’m robbing people. Not doing anything wrong per se; I’m working the system as it is set up. But it’s just so unfulfilling. Except financially.

Do I quit in the middle of a pandemic? Will you? Does a job have to be fulfilling or am I having some version of a midlife crisis? A pandemic crisis? Yea I know - people will beat up my post yet I don’t mind being vulnerable to it. Maybe it’ll help.

I’m gonna tell you this one time...lay off the cocaine.

 

[anonymous]

Resurrecting this thread. I had an existential crisis this week when a catering order for a virtual lunch splatted all over the company car. I was delivering food to a lunch wherein I could walk in to leave the food but then had to connect virtually...while I was sitting in the parking lot. That one minor event, built upon layers and layers of other nonsense has about cracked me.

I am 18 years in, laid off twice in my tenure, and just plain tired of the game. Manager and the people I work with are truly awesome people. I just have reached a point where… I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t like what I am doing. I don’t feel like what I do really matter. And half the time I feel like I’m robbing people. Not doing anything wrong per se; I’m working the system as it is set up. But it’s just so unfulfilling. Except financially.

Do I quit in the middle of a pandemic? Will you? Does a job have to be fulfilling or am I having some version of a midlife crisis? A pandemic crisis? Yea I know - people will beat up my post yet I don’t mind being vulnerable to it. Maybe it’ll help.

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Don't quit. You are definitely not alone in your feelings. I am almost 18 years in Pharma and have quit several times to try other things. The pay, the benefits, and the flexibility above all else sucked me right in. I have recently determined that I am going to quit focusing on all the things I hate about Pharma (the catering and dismissive offices, mainly, but followed up closely by micro management), and I have determined to look at it as a means to an end. The end, my friend, is awesome benefits for my family, a free car (I always chose the company car vs using my own), and the fairly stable pay. I wasn't meant to be a Pharma rep, just as none of us were probably meant to be. I have dreams that I am going to use the flexibility of Pharma to achieve. As much as I hate being a caterer, I can think of so many worse jobs for doing so much more than I do each and every day. Don't quit. I've hit the point you are at, and COVID made me really think about my life. You can be a rep and pursue your other dreams, so stick with it, but don't let it be all you do each day. Get some exercise, eat right, make sure your confidence is up, and go follow your dreams. Not a bad day gig if you really think about it. Don't quit.

 

[anonymous]

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Don't quit. You are definitely not alone in your feelings. I am almost 18 years in Pharma and have quit several times to try other things. The pay, the benefits, and the flexibility above all else sucked me right in. I have recently determined that I am going to quit focusing on all the things I hate about Pharma (the catering and dismissive offices, mainly, but followed up closely by micro management), and I have determined to look at it as a means to an end. The end, my friend, is awesome benefits for my family, a free car (I always chose the company car vs using my own), and the fairly stable pay. I wasn't meant to be a Pharma rep, just as none of us were probably meant to be. I have dreams that I am going to use the flexibility of Pharma to achieve. As much as I hate being a caterer, I can think of so many worse jobs for doing so much more than I do each and every day. Don't quit. I've hit the point you are at, and COVID made me really think about my life. You can be a rep and pursue your other dreams, so stick with it, but don't let it be all you do each day. Get some exercise, eat right, make sure your confidence is up, and go follow your dreams. Not a bad day gig if you really think about it. Don't quit.

Just don’t be a “Patriot” and participate in Domestic Terrorism like last week. Seems like you people are Radicalized and angry for some reason.

 

[anonymous]

Just don’t be a “Patriot” and participate in Domestic Terrorism like last week. Seems like you people are Radicalized and angry for some reason.

And don’t be a “peaceful protester” and torch dozens of cities to the ground