Healthcare practitioners
Pharmacist
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.
Median pay
$140,910
Growth to 2035
+5%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
12,500
Time to qualify*
5.8 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Pharmacist
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
- Required
- NAPLEX · MPJE law exam · State pharmacist license
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Pharmacist: 18% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regimens, providing advice on drug applications or characteristics.
- Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy.
- Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
- Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
- Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
- Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
- Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.
Also called: Clinical Pharmacist · Clinical Pharmacy Specialist (CPS) · Community Pharmacist · Hospital Pharmacist · Inpatient Pharmacist · Pharm D (Pharmacy Doctor) · Pharmacy Informaticist · Pharmacy Services Clinical Coordinator
Outlook and AI
Pharmacists held 325,200 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 342,300 by 2035 (+5%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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