Career
Pharmacists
Get patients the right medicines, safely.
$140,910
Median pay
+5.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
12,500
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then people & care?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $140,910 a year and 12,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- PharmacyCIP 51.2001
- Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care PharmacyCIP 51.2008
- Pharmacy Residency/Fellowship Program, GeneralCIP 60.0801
- Combined Pharmacy Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0802
- Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0803
- Cardiology Pharmacy Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0804
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Emergency Medicine Physicians$335,550 · +3.2%
- Nurse Practitioners$132,300 · +41.0%
- Family Medicine Physicians$244,180 · +3.3%
- Physician Assistants$135,880 · +21.1%
- General Internal Medicine Physicians$256,560 · +4.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.