Would you encourage a friend to go into pharmaceutical sales?

Quote

Would you encourage a friend to go into pharmaceutical sales?

  • Yes, for sure! It is a great job.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Probably yes.

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Probably no.

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Hell no, you would have to be crazy.

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Total voters
    3




Anonymous said:
What do you think has been the cause of the decline of the industry?
Click to expand...

Hiring used car types as above re the Enterprise salesman getting all those interviews. Twenty years ago most pharma reps were professionals (trained in healthcare) as in knowing what medical care was all about vs today not knowing it from their ass.

If a manager thinks you are a huckster type he will hire you. I even heard of a company hiring a UPS driver who delivered to the home office because they liked his "style",lol,lol. Fits the profile doesn't it?
 




Anonymous said:
Would you encourage a friend to go into pharmaceutical sales?
With the current state of the industry, instability, layoffs, etc.
Click to expand...

Definately yes if the friend had zero knowledge of the medical field as most reps have. I would also have to tell him/her that docs have no respect for reps today because of this and would be looked at as just an equal office hustler as they do the cleaning supply sales rep.
 




Anonymous said:
You geniuses kill me. So what other job would you recommend that has no chance of job loss, pays this well and has less requirements to get into?

I'd love to hear this one. Since this topic comes up every other week here on CP and gets slammed back into their faces, maybe you'll come up with a new one...??????

I'm waiting.........with open ears again and again and again.......
Click to expand...

They fail to remember that most people work far harder for far less money. Other sales jobs may pay more but most of the people in this industry are far from suited for it.
 




Anonymous said:
The only way I would refer a friend to this industry is if they needed a somewhat decent job while they continued to look for something else. After about 6 months, most intelligent ppl are bored to tears doing the pharma gig. It really is ridiculous when you think about it. All of the lying, pretending you work harder than you truly do, phony success stories, fake calls to meet the metric, faking an 7.5/8 hr work day it starts to take a toll.

The funny thing is I don't have any friends who want into this industry. I am going for a real career while I am still young enough to do so. I feel really sorry for the 40+ year olds I see out in territory "repping" their way to retirement. It looks so pathetic seeing them beg a 20something, barely educated gatekeeper for access to an office, so they can get a sec of the doc's time for a quick sig. This is the truth. I see it so many times a day and I don't want to be that person over 40 praying my company doesn't let me go any day and having to apply at another pharma comp for the same sorry gig. And the truth is another pharma co probably won't hire that older more experienced rep because they could easily get young girl right out of college who would do the job for about 35-40K a year.
Click to expand...
this is scary in its accuracy and truth...i am in this situation (48 year old male - 20 years in) and I am totally screwed...(and i know it.)
 












WOW!!! What appears to be a simple question, spawns so much HATE for the job you do. I am NOT in pharma, I work for a tobacco company and you think YOU guys are looked down on, let me tell you! I am a merchant of death and am getting a bit tired of working for Big Tobacco. I am considering pharma. Its the only job that I think I can secure with the same perks and compensation to what I currently have. My boyfriend is in medical sales and loves it. He recommended me going into pharma but I was skeptical and still am. I am wondering if the industry is truly in such a state of decline that someone who is in their late 20's will be stuck without a job in their late 30's.

PLEASE someone reply to this. I am really weighing my options at this point.

I have LOADS of responsibility at my current job and am truly making an impact on my territory. I am in complete control of what happens within my business and no one tells me no, ever. I love the freedom and am afraid that I will not be afford the same control over my world in pharma.

HELP HELP HELP HELP...please talk to me :)

THANKS!

-Big Tobacco
 




Anonymous said:
If you like spending all of your time catering brkfts, lunches, afternoon snacks and dinner programs go for it and remember your sales pitches if you work for a micromanaged management structure will be prepared for you and if you do not mind working with your boss 2-3 times a month telling you that you forgot to use a proof source properly and your probes were not good enough and you did not say what you practiced for 2-3 days at the last mtg. When I started in the pharm bus serveral years ago companies seemed to be more interested in results - now results are important but so much time is spent what to say and when and if you do not follow the strict guidelines with your manager you are in trouble even if you have the results. Last year I was ranked in the top 5% nationally but my manager still gave me a average rating because he felt my selling skills were not in line with what the company wanted because I did not always use the every proof source and sales aid on every call even standups.. Sometimes I wish my company would use a 100% commission pay plan so you could actually sell. I have only a couple of years left but the business has really changed for the negative.
Click to expand...

Damn, I think we must have the same DM!
 




Anonymous said:
Would you encourage a friend to go into pharmaceutical sales?
With the current state of the industry, instability, layoffs, etc.
Click to expand...

I don't think a newbie has much chance to get in now. There are too many reps that are laid off that are looking. The only places hiring are the ones looking for the cheapest reps.
 












Anonymous said:
Would you encourage a friend to go into pharmaceutical sales?
Click to expand...

No. I got a friend of mine in about 2 years ago and he is still pissed that he left a good outside sales job right when it was getting lucrative. Luckily he was able to quit this industry after 6 month in and got a similar job in outside sales like he had.
 
















Anonymous said:
WOW!!! What appears to be a simple question, spawns so much HATE for the job you do. I am NOT in pharma, I work for a tobacco company and you think YOU guys are looked down on, let me tell you! I am a merchant of death and am getting a bit tired of working for Big Tobacco. I am considering pharma. Its the only job that I think I can secure with the same perks and compensation to what I currently have. My boyfriend is in medical sales and loves it. He recommended me going into pharma but I was skeptical and still am. I am wondering if the industry is truly in such a state of decline that someone who is in their late 20's will be stuck without a job in their late 30's.

PLEASE someone reply to this. I am really weighing my options at this point.

I have LOADS of responsibility at my current job and am truly making an impact on my territory. I am in complete control of what happens within my business and no one tells me no, ever. I love the freedom and am afraid that I will not be afford the same control over my world in pharma.

HELP HELP HELP HELP...please talk to me :)

THANKS!

-Big Tobacco
Click to expand...

OK here is your help. You have Loads of responsibility. In pharma your responsibility is to drop samples get a signature and cater lunches. You are in complete control. In pharma you have NO control. The HMO, Pharmacist, and patient have more control in the final result than you. Nobody tells you No Ever. In pharma doctors never tell you no because they are not buying anything from you. In pharma you just hope and pray they write your medication. Freedom? In pharma you are a puppet faking calls, and driving around in your free car doing next to nothing. If you are going to pop out a few bambinos in the next few years and might actually stay home with the kids then do pharma. Now if you are looking for an uncapped earning potential with a future then look at some other sales job.

Good Luck I hope I helped!
 








There used to be over 180K pharma reps -- now there is about 75K tops in the US and that's a high estimate. And it's getting smaller -- with the onset of IT capabilities -- pharma will end up depending on reps for new drugs only and then it's a crap shoot if you can even get in the door. After you've spewed the same thing 6 times, they won't see you anymore.
 




I left pharma 3 years ago and went into device sales. I do not miss pharma at all.

I still call my old coworkers at the drug company I worked for and all I hear is "GET ME OUT!"

I started in pharma in 6 years ago, basically the beginning of the very end. I thought to myself "Man, this can't last like this..." and sure enough I got laid off, got another pharma gig to pay the bills and started interviewing for the job i have now. Been here 3 years. Love it.

It did take 12 months to find a new gig. I turned down a lot of stuff. Even in this bad economy there are jobs out there. But if you don't apply yourself to find a job, they won't just offer you one.

I know how hard it is to go from pharma to real sales. You have to prove yousrelf that much harder. But if you get that real sales job out there, it can be very rewarding. and when you start to make a name for yourself in the company and post good numbers, you don't live in a fear of a lay off. IN fact in some companies in device I have noticed, the longer you are there the safer you are because you know high level clinical stuff that simply can't be learned from training. it takes years of application of knowledge.

Good luck folks.
 




Top Bottom
Back
Quote