Entry-level pharmacists salary in Ontario and alberta

[leviathan]

Hello,

Can someone tell me

- what is the average $/hr for entry level pharmacists in both Ontario and alberta?

- how many hours pharmacists normally work a week?

- what is the average monthly life expenses for a single person living alone in both alberta and Ontario?(some details about taxes, renting, groceries.... Etc would be appreciated)

Please don't post results from the internet as they are either incorrect or outdated

Thanks

 

[canuck78]

Hello,

Can someone tell me

- what is the average $/hr for entry level pharmacists in both Ontario and alberta?

- how many hours pharmacists normally work a week?

- what is the average monthly life expenses for a single person living alone in both alberta and Ontario?(some details about taxes, renting, groceries.... Etc would be appreciated)

Please don't post results from the internet as they are either incorrect or outdated

Thanks

Community Pharmacist salaries have been decreasing due to a surplus of pharmacists. Salaries will vary depending on how remote the city is. More rural and remote loxatuons tend to pay more because most people don't want to live there. In the GTA for example entry level salaries gave fallen to $30-35/hr. Many pharmacists now work in a few stores on a part-time basis with no benefits. Generally they work on avg 40hrs/wk depending on shifts. Evenings and weekends are pretty stsndard for more newer employees. Very hard to comment on living expenses because they cary dramatically between cities and what type of life you want to live. Not sure what salaries are like in AB but would imagine very similar or especially in Calgary and Edmonton. Any website saying that pharmacists can ecpect to make 100k and thecprofession is in demand is lying. The prodrssion is more stable in Quebec because tje majority of foreign trained and Canadian pharmacists aren't able to work in French

 

[leviathan]

Community Pharmacist salaries have been decreasing due to a surplus of pharmacists. Salaries will vary depending on how remote the city is. More rural and remote loxatuons tend to pay more because most people don't want to live there. In the GTA for example entry level salaries gave fallen to $30-35/hr. Many pharmacists now work in a few stores on a part-time basis with no benefits. Generally they work on avg 40hrs/wk depending on shifts. Evenings and weekends are pretty stsndard for more newer employees. Very hard to comment on living expenses because they cary dramatically between cities and what type of life you want to live. Not sure what salaries are like in AB but would imagine very similar or especially in Calgary and Edmonton. Any website saying that pharmacists can ecpect to make 100k and thecprofession is in demand is lying. The prodrssion is more stable in Quebec because tje majority of foreign trained and Canadian pharmacists aren't able to work in French

Thanks for your reply, I agree with you about websites they are clearly misleading, I was thinking about monthly living expenses in Toronto and Ottawa

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for your reply, I agree with you about websites they are clearly misleading, I was thinking about monthly living expenses in Toronto and Ottawa

Really depends on where you live, what type of housing, whether you take public transportation or have your own vehicle, whether you are living on Pb&J or buy organic food, whether you go out to eat/have hobbies/etc. The GTA would probably be one of the worst options for pharmacists. It is probably the most saturated market.

 

[leviathan]

Really depends on where you live, what type of housing, whether you take public transportation or have your own vehicle, whether you are living on Pb&J or buy organic food, whether you go out to eat/have hobbies/etc. The GTA would probably be one of the worst options for pharmacists. It is probably the most saturated market.

- Renting a 1 bedroom small apartment
- Puplic transportation
- Mostly cooking food with occasional restaurants visits every once in a while
- no hobbies
- don't go out much, mostly staying at home

Based on this can you give me a range of monthly living expenses in Toronto or Ottawa?

 

[canuck78]

- Renting a 1 bedroom small apartment
- Puplic transportation
- Mostly cooking food with occasional restaurants visits every once in a while
- no hobbies
- don't go out much, mostly staying at home

Based on this can you give me a range of monthly living expenses in Toronto or Ottawa?

Public transportation will be extremely difficult in most pharmacy jobs especially in Ottawa that doesn’t have great transit. Cheaper apartments are usually not on direct transit and most pharmacists have multiple job locations. For Ottawa you will likely need a car. Toronto 2.5k-3k and Ottawa 2.2-2.7k with no car and not factoring initial set-up costs and living pretty lean.

 

[leviathan]

Public transportation will be extremely difficult in most pharmacy jobs especially in Ottawa that doesn’t have great transit. Cheaper apartments are usually not on direct transit and most pharmacists have multiple job locations. For Ottawa you will likely need a car. Toronto 2.5k-3k and Ottawa 2.2-2.7k with no car and not factoring initial set-up costs and living pretty lean.

Thanks, It'll be difficult for me to have a car at the beginning, what do you mean by multiple joblocations? I thought that I will work in the same pharmacy all the time, do you think a city like mississauga will be cheaper to live in than in Toronto and Ottawa?

 

[Naturgrl]

Very few pharmacists work full time in one place unless they own the pharmacy. Most work for a franchise like “Pharmachoice“ which has pharmacies in grocery stores, medical offices and malls for example. They move around and work shifts in each of their pharmacies. You could be moving around the city to make up full time hours. Have you passed your PEBCs to even be licensed and work? That will take time.

 

[leviathan]

Very few pharmacists work full time in one place unless they own the pharmacy. Most work for a franchise like “Pharmachoice“ which has pharmacies in grocery stores, medical offices and malls for example. They move around and work shifts in each of their pharmacies. You could be moving around the city to make up full time hours. Have you passed your PEBCs to even be licensed and work? That will take time.

Not yet ,my express entry profile is being processed right now and I have only finished preparing for evaluating exam, is it very difficult to find a pharmacy where you can work all your shifts in? I prefer to work in the same place without having to move around much, can you please illustrate what do you mean by making up full time hours?
I currently live in Egypt and I work full time in the same pharmacy, so I don't understand how pharmacist schedule work in Canada
I really apologize for my weak English and lack of understanding

 

[canuck78]

Not yet ,my express entry profile is being processed right now and I have only finished preparing for evaluating exam, is it very difficult to find a pharmacy where you can work all your shifts in? I prefer to work in the same place without having to move around much, can you please illustrate what do you mean by making up full time hours?
I currently live in Egypt and I work full time in the same pharmacy, so I don't understand how pharmacist schedule work in Canada
I really apologize for my weak English and lack of understanding

There is a surplus of pharmacists so owners often staff their pharmacies with multiple part-time employees and don’t offer benefit packages because it is less expensive way to staff. Very common for a pharmacist to work at 2-3 different pharmacies each week to make full-time hours. For example you may work Monday and Tuesday from 4pm-midnight at one pharmacy, Friday from 8-4pm at another pharmacy and then Sunday from 8-4pm at a 3rd pharmacy. It can also be difficult to find a supervisor when you need to do you in pharmacy training for your licensing.

In the GTA you will likely be paid the least but pay very high cost of living. The area with the largest surplus is in the GTA pushing hourly rates lower and lower.

 

[leviathan]

There is a surplus of pharmacists so owners often staff their pharmacies with multiple part-time employees and don’t offer benefit packages because it is less expensive way to staff. Very common for a pharmacist to work at 2-3 different pharmacies each week to make full-time hours. For example you may work Monday and Tuesday from 4pm-midnight at one pharmacy, Friday from 8-4pm at another pharmacy and then Sunday from 8-4pm at a 3rd pharmacy. It can also be difficult to find a supervisor when you need to do you in pharmacy training for your licensing.

In the GTA you will likely be paid the least but pay very high cost of living. The area with the largest surplus is in the GTA pushing hourly rates lower and lower.

Dissapointed to know this, is it easier to find a full time opportunity in town's rural areas? or can you tell what is the best place to find a full time opportunites in canada? This multiple part time jobs system is terrible for me

 

[canuck78]

Dissapointed to know this, is it easier to find a full time opportunity in town's rural areas? or can you tell what is the best place to find a full time opportunites in canada? This multiple part time jobs system is terrible for me

Yes it is more likely to be able to find a full-time jobs in less desirable locations which tend to be more remote. You still have to get licensed first which is your first obstacle. It is not uncommon for foreign trained pharmacists to need to attempt one of the 2 exams required twice and it will take time to get licensed so you’ll need to find employment while you go through that process. You may not want to work multiple part-time jobs but as someone without experience or seniority you don’t have a lot of leverage and it is incredibly common these days for most pharmacists to work in numerous locations no matter how many years of experience you have for the reasons previously indicated. If you want to prioritize a full-time job I am sure if you are willing to relocate anywhere throughout Canada you probably can find a full-time job.

 

[leviathan]

Yes it is more likely to be able to find a full-time jobs in less desirable locations which tend to be more remote. You still have to get licensed first which is your first obstacle. It is not uncommon for foreign trained pharmacists to need to attempt one of the 2 exams required twice and it will take time to get licensed so you’ll need to find employment while you go through that process. You may not want to work multiple part-time jobs but as someone without experience or seniority you don’t have a lot of leverage and it is incredibly common these days for most pharmacists to work in numerous locations no matter how many years of experience you have for the reasons previously indicated. If you want to prioritize a full-time job I am sure if you are willing to relocate anywhere throughout Canada you probably can find a full-time job.

Thanks for your help, I understand that I'll have to work any other job till I get my license, can those remote locations still be parts of cities? for instance a remote area but still in Toronto or a remote area but still in Ottawa, I have no problem living in remote areas if they can be cheaper and provide more full time opportunities as long as they still parts of cities.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for your help, I understand that I'll have to work any other job till I get my license, can those remote locations still be parts of cities? for instance a remote area but still in Toronto or a remote area but still in Ottawa, I have no problem living in remote areas if they can be cheaper and provide more full time opportunities as long as they still parts of cities.

Not sure if you are understanding what remote areas are. I mean cities that are further away from large cities and likely smaller cities or towns. You may get lucky and find something 2+ hours out of the GTA or 1+ hours out of Ottawa in smaller cities but I would suspect that 2 hours out of the GTA may still be too close. Many others live in the GTA and travel to outside communities for a few days a week already. You will certainly need a car. The further away from major cities and in less desirable locations the chances of finding a full-time job and one that pays better than in desirable locations like the GTA increases.

 

[leviathan]

Not sure if you are understanding what remote areas are. I mean cities that are further away from large cities and likely smaller cities or towns. You may get lucky and find something 2+ hours out of the GTA or 1+ hours out of Ottawa in smaller cities but I would suspect that 2 hours out of the GTA may still be too close. Many others live in the GTA and travel to outside communities for a few days a week already. You will certainly need a car. The further away from major cities and in less desirable locations the chances of finding a full-time job and one that pays better than in desirable locations like the GTA increases.

Now I understand, can you give me examples of those small cities or towns so that I can search them, it seems to me that I'll have to live and work in those rural areas