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Pharmacists
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.
Other titles employers use
Clinical Pharmacist · Hospital Pharmacist · Informatics Pharmacist · Pharm D (Pharmacy Doctor) · Pharmacist in Charge (PIC) · Pharmacy Coordinator · Pharmacy Informaticist · Pharmacy Services Clinical Coordinator
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
- Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
- 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.
- 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.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to analytical, helping and organizing work.
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
Subjects to know
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Chemistry
Useful strengths
- Oral Expression
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Problem Sensitivity
- Near Vision
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 4.2 | Arm’s length or closer, most of the day |
| On your feet | 4.4 | Standing or moving for most of it |
| Talking face to face | 5.0 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 3.1 | Some of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a doctorate or a professional degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A doctorate or professional degree 87%
- A four-year degree 11%
- High school or less 2%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Medical software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Presentation software
- Document management software
- Word processing software
- Data base user interface and query software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 39,600
- Job openings each year
- 1,760
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 9.7%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 39,600 | 1,760 | 9.7% |
| Texas | 26,950 | 1,310 | 16.9% |
| Florida | 25,160 | 1,130 | 10.7% |
| New York | 21,410 | 130 | 6.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 15,510 | 600 | 2.2% |
| Illinois | 13,180 | 490 | — |
| North Carolina | 12,740 | 580 | 12.2% |
| Ohio | 12,640 | 490 | 2.5% |
| Georgia | 10,840 | 500 | 13.0% |
| Michigan | 10,570 | 390 | — |
| New Jersey | 10,020 | 390 | 2.6% |
| Arizona | 9,280 | 460 | 18.1% |
| Missouri | 8,610 | 390 | 12.1% |
| Washington | 8,120 | 430 | 9.6% |
| Virginia | 7,670 | 310 | 4.1% |
| Tennessee | 7,530 | 320 | 7.6% |
| Indiana | 6,880 | 260 | 1.9% |
| Minnesota | 6,760 | 270 | 5.0% |
| Maryland | 6,300 | 270 | 7.3% |
| South Carolina | 6,230 | 310 | 18.0% |
| Wisconsin | 5,920 | 250 | 7.6% |
| Alabama | 5,880 | 250 | 6.5% |
| Colorado | 5,820 | 280 | 14.6% |
| Kentucky | 5,640 | 230 | 4.3% |
| Louisiana | 5,160 | 210 | 4.9% |
| Oregon | 4,760 | 220 | 12.3% |
| Oklahoma | 4,380 | 180 | 5.0% |
| Kansas | 3,810 | 160 | 5.2% |
| Arkansas | 3,420 | 140 | 6.2% |
| Mississippi | 3,340 | 130 | 2.8% |
| Connecticut | 3,120 | 140 | 10.2% |
| Nevada | 3,070 | 140 | 11.2% |
| Iowa | 3,060 | 130 | 7.4% |
| Utah | 3,060 | 160 | 23.4% |
| Massachusetts | 2,690 | 110 | 7.2% |
| Puerto Rico | 2,530 | 120 | 11.9% |
| West Virginia | 2,500 | 90 | — |
| Nebraska | 2,490 | 100 | 3.3% |
| New Mexico | 2,290 | 110 | 13.4% |
| Idaho | 2,020 | 110 | 23.9% |
| Montana | 1,470 | 70 | 11.4% |
| Rhode Island | 1,430 | 60 | 8.3% |
| South Dakota | 1,400 | 70 | 13.8% |
| Maine | 1,390 | 50 | 1.5% |
| New Hampshire | 1,260 | 50 | 2.4% |
| North Dakota | 1,150 | 50 | 12.7% |
| Delaware | 1,060 | 50 | 10.4% |
| District of Columbia | 820 | 40 | 9.3% |
| Wyoming | 600 | 30 | 17.6% |
| Vermont | 570 | 20 | 1.8% |
| Alaska | 440 | 20 | 10.0% |
| Guam | 100 | 10 | 11.1% |
| Virgin Islands | 70 | 0 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
MCPHS University
- Degrees each year
- 220
- Admit rate
- 85%
- Annual cost after aid
- $38,000
Long Island University
- Degrees each year
- 178
- Admit rate
- 90%
- Annual cost after aid
- $25,000
University of Toledo
- Degrees each year
- 168
- Admit rate
- 95%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Saint Joseph's University
- Degrees each year
- 146
- Admit rate
- 86%
- Annual cost after aid
- $24,000
University of California-Irvine
- Degrees each year
- 116
- Admit rate
- 26%
- Annual cost after aid
- $12,000
Duquesne University
- Degrees each year
- 116
- Admit rate
- 79%
- Annual cost after aid
- $32,000
University of Kansas
- Degrees each year
- 111
- Admit rate
- 88%
- Annual cost after aid
- $15,000
Ohio Northern University
- Degrees each year
- 99
- Admit rate
- 73%
- Annual cost after aid
- $22,000
Compare every college offering pharmacy residency/fellowship programs