About a year ago I left the comforts of the pharmacy and struck out into the world of product management. It’s not all that dramatic really. I simply thought I needed a change so I jumped over to the dark side and went to work for a company that builds pharmacy automation and technology. Why not, I love pharmacy technology. The move made perfect sense to me at the time.
West Coast fails to get single city in list of top 7 cities for IT jobs…bummer
Houston claimed the top spot to find an IT job in large part due to its position as a key hub for numerous global organizations – many of which are now rebounding from the recession and benefitting from increased IT budget.
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A number of east coast cities also took top spots on the list – including Washington, D.C., which came in second, and boasts a 6 percent unemployment rate, well below the national average. Not surprisingly, most of the employment demand in the nation’s capital is being driven by the U.S. government, as it provides a variety of economic incentives for companies to start up or to relocate in the market. In addition to the government, other sectors seeking IT talent in Washington, D.C. include biotech, associations, telecom, financial services, technology, IT startups/dot-coms, construction and hospitality.
The full list of top cities to find a job in IT are:
1. Houston
2. Washington, DC
3. Columbus, OH
4. Detroit
5. Philadelphia
6. Edison, NJ
7. Boston
Why do you suppose the West Coast is so far out of the loop?
Non-traditional roles for pharmacists
The increased chatter surrounding healthcare has piqued my interests in job opportunities for pharmacists outside the traditional roles, i.e. retail, hospital, IT, long-term care, etc. Physicians have been filling many of these roles for quite some time. For more information on physicians in non-traditional roles I recommend visiting Non-Clinical Medical Jobs, Careers, and Opportunities by Dr. Joseph Kim. It was Dr. Kim’s site that put my mind into overdrive.
Much of my interest in these non-traditional pharmacy jobs stemmed from various internet articles on advances in healthcare technology from companies like Microsoft, Google, and GE among others. These companies are developing some very interesting technology and have jobs posted that require a pharmacy degree.
Over the past several months I’ve applied for positions at several of these companies, but haven’t heard so much as a peep from most of them. Microsoft gets some brownie points because they were kind enough to send me a nicely worded rejection notice in the form of an email.
Anyway, pharmacists have a unique perspective when it comes to process design in healthcare and several of the “movers and shakers” in the industry have started to take notice. For those of you interested in something other than a traditional role in pharmacy know that there are positions out there that may interest you. All you have to do is look.
