If Two's Company & Three's A Crowd, What the Heck is 40,000?

…the number of pharmaceutical sales reps laid off between 2006 and early 2013, according to ZS Associates, a sales consultant to drug makers.  WOW!  

Since it has been over a year since I last blogged, with the exception of my M.I.A. apology post a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the "state of the [pharmaceutical] union".  The aforementioned statistics suggest that over 40,000 pharma sales reps have been showed the proverbial door since 2006…just in time for the 2009 recession.  40,000 is a HUGE number and I tend to wonder where all of those reps went.  Well, let's see…to another pharma sales job, back to school, to a different type of healthcare sales job (ie. medical device sales or Physician Liaison), to a sales job in another sector (e.g. real estate sales), to a clinical healthcare job (e.g. Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse, etc.), home to take care of children full time, and the list goes on and on.   The point I am making is they all had options.  The question is whether or not they made the best of the options available to them.  Unfortunately, many are most likely unemployed or underemployed.  I am sure you can even find many of them complaining on the beloved Cafepharma.  Nonetheless, there is still a reason for displaced and/or disengaged pharma reps to be encouraged.  There IS life after pharma and you can Get Off the Pharm.

I have been able to successfully Get Off the Pharm…twice.  In other words, I have had two different careers/jobs since I voluntarily left pharmaceutical sales in 2011, that I have thoroughly enjoyed…including my current role as a physician recruiter.  Unfortunately, there are many former (& current) pharma reps out there who think they will never find a career/job as lucrative, fulfilling, exciting, seemingly secure, sought after, (and whatever else you thought about your pharma job) as pharmaceutical sales. Relax, relate and release!  There are actually careers out there that are just as good as, if not better than, pharmaceutical sales.  

While the overall unemployment rate hit an all time high in 2009, the unemployment rate has been declining since 2011 and is at its lowest since 2008.  What does that tell us?  There are job opportunities available.  However, it will take some creativity, ingenuity, persistence, consistency and stamina to land your next gig.  If you don't know where to begin or need some help along the way do not hesitate to reach out.  Remember, I have been there, done that and thinking about creating a t-shirt.  :-)


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Off the Pharm