SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The enticement was hard to refuse: a signing bonus of $ 30, 000. The wad of cash would help with student loans, so who could turn down the extra cash — on top of a nearly $ 130, 000 annual salary ?

So straight out of pharmacy school in Chapel Hill, N. C., R. J. Kulyk crossed the country for a job at a Walgreens in Redding, Calif. "It was a no-brainer," Kul...