Pharmacy Schools

Types of Pharmacy Careers

Pharmacists

Pharmacists dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. They advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications. Pharmacists also monitor the health and progress of patients in response to drug therapy to ensure safe and effective use of medication.

Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technicians help Licensed Pharmacists provide medication and other healthcare products to patients. Technicians usually perform routine tasks to help prepare prescribed medication for patients, such as counting tablets and labeling bottles. Technicians refer any questions regarding prescriptions, drug information, or health matters to a pharmacist.

Pharmacy Aide

Pharmacy Aides work closely with Pharmacy Technicians and Licensed Pharmacists to assist with the day-to-day administrative duties of running a pharmacy. Responsibilities include handling money, stocking shelves and a variety of related duties. Pharmacy Technicians usually perform more complex tasks than do pharmacy aides, although, in some States, their duties and job titles overlap.

Learn more about the different types of pharmacists.

Become a Pharmacist

Pharmacist is projected as one of the fastest-growing professions during the next five years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for pharmacists will grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2010...

While enrollments at Pharmacy Schools have continued to rise for five consecutive years. The number of Pharmacy degrees granted annually from Pharmacy Schools is not anywhere near the number of new job openings being created in the field.

The shortage for Pharmacists is greater in high-growth states, such as California, Florida and North Carolina, and in more rural states, such as Missouri, Maine and West Virginia.

There are several factors contributing to the demand for Licensed Pharmacists. The health care needs of an older population, new more effective drugs to treat diseases, and a growing population have resulted in a shortage of pharmacists nationwide.

Additionaly, 42 million senior citizens will become eligible for a new Medicare drug benefit in January, 2006. CVS, No. 2 in revenue, estimates 10 to 15 million will sign up the first year, helping to fuel prescription growth.

Due to the shortage of Pharmacists, companies now offer a variety of incentives to attract qualified candidates. These include high salaries (new-graduate salaries run $85,000 to $95,000), relocation costs, and cash sign-on bonuses as high as $10,000 or $20,000.

Even with cash incentives, the pharmacist demand has reached epidemic proportions. A government study in 2000 found that U.S. drug store pharmacist position vacancies rose from approximately 2,700 in February 1998 to nearly 7,000 openings by February 2000.

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Pharmacy Career Facts

Salary

New-graduate salaries run $85,000 to $95,000. Paid relocation costs and signing bonuses of $5,000 to $10,000 are common.

Job Opportunities

The Pharmacy industry needs every graduate they can get. The nation's chain drugstores, supermarkets and mass retailers will add 2,200 pharmacies nationwide in the next two years. Walgreen, the leading chain in terms of revenue, adds a store every 19 hours.

Where are the Jobs?

The largest employers of druggists are discount department stores, grocery stores, drug stores and hospitals.

Career Outlook

New opportunities are emerging for pharmacists in managed-care organizations and for pharmacists trained in research, disease management, as well as pharmacoeconomics.

Hours

A pharmacists schedule typically is about 50 hours per week. The schedule is flexible however, which is encouraging many women to go into the field.

Some estimates are that up to 70% of those studying to become pharmacists are women.