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Sales Rep to MD - Has Anyone Tried?

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Impossible to ever get a family doctor to tell you their true income. My own friends won't tell me. It's too embarrassing.

Before Obamacrap kicks in, you might be able to make a buck as a doctor for the DC elitists in office.
 




Anonymous said:
Impossible to ever get a family doctor to tell you their true income. My own friends won't tell me. It's too embarrassing.

Before Obamacrap kicks in, you might be able to make a buck as a doctor for the DC elitists in office.
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Yeah - besides. Didn't the guy in "Love and Other Drugs" make the change?
 




2 points

1. the "real" guy from love and other drugs is not a MD he lives in my same city. He writes screenplays. Read the book

2. go to salary.com for info on how much any doc in any city makes. For a PC doc its about 80k to start
 




Was a rep for (hiss) Pfizer back in the 90's. Thought I would rather go back to wiping ass than kissing it, so I went back to nursing. In my late 30's got accepted to medical school, and did a cost/benefit analysis on going. At my age, it would not pay off. So, I am finishing up my MSN-FNP, which takes 2 years, and is a lot more doable at any age.

Most of my doc friends in family practice make anywhere from 100K to 140K, but they pull a lot of call. Hospitalists, which have a better lifestyle, make 100K to 120.

Starting salary for an NP in a buy general practice is about 80K, and I have had offers in cardiology for much more than that.

Consider CRNA school, pharmD school, PA school, or physical therapy or even NP. All have better lifestyles than MD/DO, and make great pay for a smaller investment. Also, you will always have a great job with more satisfaction than being a rep.

Just my 2 cents, please don't bash me, and, peace out.

T
 




T -

Thanks for the info and advice, much appreciated.

Any of those career choices sounds much better than being a drug rep - especially considering the lack of job security. Pfizer doesn't pay that much anyway (base in the low 70K) and with the layoffs and reduced openings, advancement is more competitive now than ever.

At a minimum a PA/NP/MD/DO will at least have job security, they’re always plenty of sick people that need treatment.

thanks again...
 




Anonymous said:
The ROI for a drug rep is better. Doctors work private practice hours for government pay nowadays.
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But in another few years, the great majority of rep jobs will probably be held by contract field force at a 30-40% reduction in salary from we currently have. I hate to say it, but it makes sense to me. Most of us only get a few minutes with our docs anyway, good relationships or not.
MDs catch a break with mortgages, loans, and there is ALWAYS a need for more.

OP should've asked this question: how many of your colleagues had a 3.5 or above GPA, and got A's in classes like physics, biochemistry, organic chemistry, and neuroanatomy? My wife is a resident, and that's what she pulled, and she didn't get in to her 1st 2 choices for med school.
 




Anonymous said:
2 points

1. the "real" guy from love and other drugs is not a MD he lives in my same city. He writes screenplays. Read the book

2. go to salary.com for info on how much any doc in any city makes. For a PC doc its about 80k to start
Click to expand...

Whoa! Back up. I'm not talking about the writer - but the ACTUAL character in Love and Other Drugs.

But hopefully you feel better getting that off of your chest
 




Why the hell would you want to be an MD? Have you thought of the $100,000+ in school loans? Better choice if you want to have a stable career is PA or NP and then specialize in a therapeutic area, like cardiology.
 








Another major concern with pharma sales is that you can't do this until retirement any more. They wiggle you out by 55 and then nobody else wants you.

Best thing to do is to save as much as you can, get a nursing degree and do that until retirement.

Another interesting trend in pharma sales is companies just guarenteeing 2 years of employment. Lilly is now doing this. Pretty smart idea.
 




Anonymous said:
Whoa! Back up. I'm not talking about the writer - but the ACTUAL character in Love and Other Drugs.

But hopefully you feel better getting that off of your chest
Click to expand...



I was just saying the guy who wrote the book Hard Sell. Really was a Pfizer rep back in the day. Now he just writes screenplays. The book is WAYYYYY better then the movie. If anybody wants some laughs with tears rolling down your face. Please read this book. Its priceless....
 




Anonymous said:
Another major concern with pharma sales is that you can't do this until retirement any more. They wiggle you out by 55 and then nobody else wants you.

Best thing to do is to save as much as you can, get a nursing degree and do that until retirement.

Another interesting trend in pharma sales is companies just guarenteeing 2 years of employment. Lilly is now doing this. Pretty smart idea.
Click to expand...
That's smart because two years from, guess what the pharma sales world will look like?

By the way, they wont "wiggle us out by 55". The salary/bennie package at that age can pay for at least 3 twenty somethings. The new model will be a contract field force that gets paid bonus based on sales increase or documented # of calls to top-tier docs. The contract field force salaries will be significantly lower than what old timers (those of us with more than 10 years in the field) had become accustomed to.
 








today I ran into a full time contract rep. Who is now called a "customer service rep". She said you only need a AA degree and her pay is 34K and another 5-6K per year bonus. I was like OMG this is what the future holds.
 




Anonymous said:
today I ran into a full time contract rep. Who is now called a "customer service rep". She said you only need a AA degree and her pay is 34K and another 5-6K per year bonus. I was like OMG this is what the future holds.
Click to expand...

Yes, this what the future holds. But also hearing a trend to going back to the "retro rep" days of hiring middle aged professionals who are more service and educational oriented. But this force of the future will more than likely be contact.
 




If you want job satisfaction, job security go for it I almost did, then looked at my loss of of income whilst in school thought 300 k loss was to heavy. today new FPs are starting at 170-250 depending on the area with no hospital call and no OB. The hospitalists are pulling 180+ with 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.
 




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