To all unemployed Shire Reps !!!!!

[Anonymous]

Wow, there are some good posts on this thread that make you think about this career. I think that Pharma can be o.k. if #1) you are launching new products every few years or #2) you are calling on specialists. We have neither of these in ADHD. No new products in the pipeline, but the real problem is that we are not specialty reps anymore. Calling on Family Practice docs and Peds with a few Psychs sprinkled in is not speciality pharma. A kid fresh out of college can do this job and we all know it.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, there are some good posts on this thread that make you think about this career. I think that Pharma can be o.k. if #1) you are launching new products every few years or #2) you are calling on specialists. We have neither of these in ADHD. No new products in the pipeline, but the real problem is that we are not specialty reps anymore. Calling on Family Practice docs and Peds with a few Psychs sprinkled in is not speciality pharma. A kid fresh out of college can do this job and we all know it.

Maybe the Binge Eating Disorder indication will give us an opportunity to become more specialized. That will be an exciting launch! I'm already starting to get pumped up.

 

[Anonymous]

It is ironic how life shakes out sometimes. The people that were laid off might be better off in the long run for career development. The argument that always comes back is, "well, I bet you don't make $130k like I do." Let's talk 3 years from now and you're still in ADHD selling the same product with no new skill development.

All the best to my past colleagues, do yourself a favor and at least put your resume out there and see what else might be available. Life is to short to just settle and yes there are careers that you can have a good balance. Find something that brings value and you will know what ex-Shire folks are talking about. Get out of the bubble. Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

There is no job or career that is perfect for sure. You will never find the panacea of jobs, but pharma is ultimately a dead end career if you just stay a rep. There is not much value delivered and this is difficult to admit. Pharma is a great career for people who don't want to excel. I don't want to look back and regret that I didn't at least try something else. Maybe this is my 2014 New Years Resolution!
Cheers.

This is a toxic career that will depress you. If anyone has been a rep at Shire ADHD for more than 2 years, you understand how dead end this career is. You lose your ambition, you become lazy, you lose your skills, you lose your motivation. No growth, no value, no respect. We all play the fake game, but deep down we know how meaningless our careers have become. We stay ONLY because of the money and benefits. We justify our jobs by talking about quality of life, no stress, easy living, no phone calls from customers.....only to realize that life is really suppose to be about stretching yourself, taking chances, achieving a dream and working with passion.

Question: When someone asks what you do, are you proud to talk about your career? "I cater food, drop coupons, ask meaningless probing questions, attend fake POAs, listen to the same conference calls over and over again, participate in fake manager ride alongs and ultimately have no influence on my numbers." We can probably all do better!

Thanks to everyone for their posts on this thread, it has been nice to hear the truth.

 

[Anonymous]

This is a toxic career that will depress you. If anyone has been a rep at Shire ADHD for more than 2 years, you understand how dead end this career is. You lose your ambition, you become lazy, you lose your skills, you lose your motivation. No growth, no value, no respect. We all play the fake game, but deep down we know how meaningless our careers have become. We stay ONLY because of the money and benefits. We justify our jobs by talking about quality of life, no stress, easy living, no phone calls from customers.....only to realize that life is really suppose to be about stretching yourself, taking chances, achieving a dream and working with passion.

Question: When someone asks what you do, are you proud to talk about your career? "I cater food, drop coupons, ask meaningless probing questions, attend fake POAs, listen to the same conference calls over and over again, participate in fake manager ride alongs and ultimately have no influence on my numbers." We can probably all do better!

Thanks to everyone for their posts on this thread, it has been nice to hear the truth.

Getting things off your chest tonight are we? Much respect for your candor. Reality.

 

[Anonymous]

This is a toxic career that will depress you. If anyone has been a rep at Shire ADHD for more than 2 years, you understand how dead end this career is. You lose your ambition, you become lazy, you lose your skills, you lose your motivation. No growth, no value, no respect. We all play the fake game, but deep down we know how meaningless our careers have become. We stay ONLY because of the money and benefits. We justify our jobs by talking about quality of life, no stress, easy living, no phone calls from customers.....only to realize that life is really suppose to be about stretching yourself, taking chances, achieving a dream and working with passion.

Question: When someone asks what you do, are you proud to talk about your career? "I cater food, drop coupons, ask meaningless probing questions, attend fake POAs, listen to the same conference calls over and over again, participate in fake manager ride alongs and ultimately have no influence on my numbers." We can probably all do better!

Thanks to everyone for their posts on this thread, it has been nice to hear the truth.

Thank you for this. Well said. You're correct we can do better. I've been in Pharma for 8 years. It's difficult to believe that I was actually proud of my career at one point in time. Now I hate telling people what I do. This thread has been an eye opener.

 

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for another job, that may be your answer. If you can still do your job and deliver results, then it may be worthwhile to stay and look for what makes you happy outside of the job. It may be that some of us have allowed the job to take over our lives, so just a suggestion to keep ""work" in perspective and find a way to balance out what you do or have that helps you feel fulfilled.

 

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for another job, that may be your answer. If you can still do your job and deliver results, then it may be worthwhile to stay and look for what makes you happy outside of the job. It may be that some of us have allowed the job to take over our lives, so just a suggestion to keep ""work" in perspective and find a way to balance out what you do or have that helps you feel fulfilled.

Good points and good perspective.

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe it is time to take control of your career and change industries? Stop being miserable with your life.

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, we are also dealing with the market perception of our pharma jobs that can make it more challenging to move to a different opportunity. The perception is that we are lazy and unaccomplished (Which I don't agree). Having to compete against someone in the market with sales experience other than just pharma experience for a medical device position is a challenge. This is were the Golden Handcuffs begin and we stay in a position that we know is a dead end. The longer you are in pharma, the more difficult it is to get out.

True, we all know this is not going to last ,but it is very hard to let go !
Who's is going to give you that base pay and a free car ?
Forget it not going to happen ,I am looking and it's brutal , and the Med Dev.jobs are not all that either

 

[Anonymous]

True, we all know this is not going to last ,but it is very hard to let go !
Who's is going to give you that base pay and a free car ?
Forget it not going to happen ,I am looking and it's brutal , and the Med Dev.jobs are not all that either

Word on the streets is that all of the Part Time reps (3 days customer service/2 days in field) are next on the chopping block. This is not going to be fun at all. Supposed to happen in the near future.

 

[Anonymous]

I was brought back to this conversation that went on at the beginning of the year. It's time for many of us to expand our horizons. This might be the best opportunity for us to get out of pharma and do something that is worthwhile. This is exactly what is needed to get out of this dead end career. Good luck to us all! Time to move on….