Everyone has a 'second' career or has found a job so much better than 'pharma' but no one says what it is, if these side jobs/other sales fields/careers are so lucrative why don't u pass on some info. The pharma industy is populated with and managed by a bunch of self important twits who can't accept the reality of how inconsequential they are - however it does hold a lot of good people captive becuause of the pay, I'd personally love to forget I ever heard of pharma sales if I could find a gig that would even approximate the lower end of the base range w/reasonable auto/gas reimb.
-
Make it like cafepharma, but for different industries. Learn more about CompanyUnderground
PHARMA ENDING SOON...WHERE TO GO?
- Thread starter Anonymous
- Start date
-
- Tags
- None
Everyone has a 'second' career or has found a job so much better than 'pharma' but no one says what it is, if these side jobs/other sales fields/careers are so lucrative why don't u pass on some info. The pharma industy is populated with and managed by a bunch of self important twits who can't accept the reality of how inconsequential they are - however it does hold a lot of good people captive becuause of the pay, I'd personally love to forget I ever heard of pharma sales if I could find a gig that would even approximate the lower end of the base range w/reasonable auto/gas reimb.
MAJOR corporations (Fortune 500-type) that are willing to look beyond pharma.
My first job out of college was pharma. The next job beat the pharma salary with benefits...plus car. My third (and hopefully final!) again beat the previous salary...with benefits and car.
I am very grateful for the years I gained in pharma...and took the experience to use elsewhere.
I must admit...a lot of the "crap" that we had to do (territory mapping/planning, call-reporting, etc) is NOT necessary in my subsequent positions...yet, I employed during my tenure...as it truly helped me stay organized.
Whew...don't miss the sampling...lunches...and the "crap" that defines a pharma rep.
Good luck to you!
Has anyone gone into TV media sales? Not radio or phonebook.
Its a higher commission vs Base, but its a job and its more of an actual sale than Pharma.
Is this worth it? or should I wait it out for another pharma job?
Its a higher commission vs Base, but its a job and its more of an actual sale than Pharma.
Is this worth it? or should I wait it out for another pharma job?
Drug Dumper
Well-Known Member
- Drug Dumper May 06, 2011 at 08:44: PM
Drug Dumper
Well-Known Member
My brother used to do TV media sales -- great money, however, if the customer doesn't pay for the ad, then YOU pay for the ad. It only happened a few times though.
Just had an interview at Time Warner Cable the other day with the General Manager in my area. He told me top guy makes $140k (took him about 3 years to get there) and lowest is $50k (just starting out); this area has a population of 250k. The company has great benefits - free cable, phone, internet, 401k AND pension, insurance, paid holidays, etc. It's "real" work but I think it might be more fun than pimping drugs. I think TV media sales for over the air broadcast stations might be an easier sell because you have greater reach, i.e., free vs. paying for cable but not sure what compensation is for them.
The problem with these jobs are the Base salaries are so low, I mean, minimum wage low. So there is a lot more pressure than you have with pharma. with the base so low, you'll be sweating just to pay bills if you don't have commission for a month.
But, if its the only offer you have, take it and give it a shot.
Go the medical device route. I've been in for three years and it was the BEST decision I ever made.
do you think its that easy?
I'd love to get into device sales.
I can't find any jobs or recruiters.
what worked for you?
I sold capital equipment prior to pharma which helped.
Long post here but I know you will appreciate it.=:
I'll sound like a jerk when I say this but the recruiter called me up out of the blue when I wasn't really looking in 2008 and said "you have the experience my client is looking for in the specialty they are looking to hire for. PLEASE interview with them." I interviewed and nailed the two interviews and had a job offer within 2 weeks of the recruiter calling me. I was also interviewing with another company, so I looked like I was in high demand, which companies seem to like.
I took the job and love it. Bad year would be 135 a year for me. Good year (this year) I am on track to make 170k or so (based on pipeline I have built, commissions on a killer Q1 I had, confidence in myself...which ironically pharma seemed to want to beat out of me, and the product that I sell is good).
One ride along every 6 months. 2 national sales meeting a year. Hands off management. Don't tell them where I am or how many closing appointments I have. I may not make quota every month, but my pipeline is always building up and I took this job 6 months before the market crashed in 2008 and while it hasn't been easy to sell in this environment, but other device reps i speak to, both in and out of my sub specialty I sell to, all agree tht if you can just survive in this market you'll live to see a better economic day.
Our top reps. prior to the crash were doing 225. Some of my bigger competitors were doing 300 a year. I mean, that is STUPID money, let's face it.
This job isn't the stress that drug reps make it out to be. If you find the right company you mesh with AND can sell, you'll kick ass.
My advice to you. GIve yourself 6 months to find a gig like this. Put in your objective statement you want medical device and/or surgical SPECIFICALLY. Blast the resume out to 1000 recruiters via the pay service you can find on the internet. I did that 3 years ago and I still get calls from recruiters asking "Hey are you looking?" In fact I got one last month where the CEO called me and said "How much would it take for you to come work for me?" He couldn't meet my salary requirements, but it was an ego boost to say the least.
Then, spend a good 2 hours a day for 6 MONTHS (it is a part time job) scouring the internet, making calls to recruiters, calling companies, calling friends who are device reps., etc. If you are in a particular specialty (or sub specialty like I was) USE THAT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. Learn the companies that sell to your kind of doctor. Seek them out. They are now your targets, just like in sales. Be discplined. Keep Excel spreadsheets of who you called, when, wat the next step is, etc. Some companies will not like your pharma experience, others won't care. In your situation, like in sales, it is all a numbers game. The more people you talk to, the greater your chances of landing a good gig are. And, don't be afriad by jobs offering a 50-60k base. If you are good and your product is good, you look at your base salary as predictable income and the commission as the real prize. Trust me, its a good feeling of accomplishment when you wake up on pay day and look at your account and see another $10,000 that wasn't there the day before.
Doing all of the above will, in my opinion, greatly increase your chances of getting a job like I have. I have NEVER been this "unstressed" in my life. I work 40 hours a week, travel 6 nights a month and my boss has an unofficial "No calls after 5 pm or during the weekend" so he is not on my ass.
Good luck.
great post, thanks for the reply.
I am willing to do what you have stated, I guess the problem I have been having is how to get in touch with recruiters. Any advice on this?
Also, I live in a rural market, 2-3 hours from some major cities. Does this hurt my chances of getting into device?
I am willing to do what you have stated, I guess the problem I have been having is how to get in touch with recruiters. Any advice on this?
Also, I live in a rural market, 2-3 hours from some major cities. Does this hurt my chances of getting into device?
At this point, get you name in front as MANY recruiters as you can. Those resume blaster sites can help. It did for me. then start developing relationships with them. Some allow you to get a copy of the recruiter list with contact information. Just start going down the list.
How rural? I work in a small company so there is no way we would hire for a rural position. We only have like 10 reps nationally., HOWEVER, much bigger companies have more rural areas available for positions. Medzilla, medreps.com, type of sites tend to have good jobs in less densely populated areas. Also, I live in a litle city about 20 mins from a major city. This helped me: Put your address as something like this:
Joe Smith
123 Main
Remoteville (Insert name of largest metro area here, keep in parenthesis), State, Zip
That way the recruiter understands the area better.
I had bad results with the resume blasting service I used - I got responses for 100% commission jobs selling supplements and things like that. I'm told I have a pretty decent resume - several degrees, knowledge, skills, abilities, etc. The blaster service had a satisfaction guarantee and re-blasted my resume but I didn't get a single phone call and a handful of junk email responses so my point is your mileage may vary. Try everything you can and hopefully something will stick - it just takes one!
I didn't get any of that. If anything, it is worth it for the list of recruiters they provide. Its only $50.