Seeing some postings in my area (Midwest) for Costco staff pharmacist and pharmacy manager. Is the grass really greener? Curious about staffing/hours, bonuses, raises, if central fill exists, is there high turnover? What is the corporate culture and is there a big focus on safety? Any other big perks like stock, free membership, discount? What is the vacation time like, what about paid holidays / holiday weeks? Do you tend to find yourself working more than your base hours?

I read some past posts about 45 hour base so that would equate to $79-80/hr in my state (see rate chart attached with min and max salary range). Currently I’m a manager at a grocery store, $75/hr (market value in my area), 2500 per week max. Have ~230 tech hours and ~105 RPh hours. Open 72 hours per week, utilize the dark hour prior to opening each day without customers as part of our hours. 

Overall I can’t complain - I don’t “work for free” like I used to at the 3 letter chain. The company focuses on safety, 2-3% raises annually, bonus up to 5% usually 2-3% guaranteed. Good relationship with supervisor. Not big metric focus. But I am noticing some hour cuts slowly but surely despite constant YOY growth. Not much opportunity for advancement. 

Maybe I’m just itching for something different. I’m always keeping an eye out for better opportunities. I’m interested in feedback from any Costco pharmacists, especially any who have jumped from other grocery and/or retail chains. 

Costco Pharmacist