Pharmacist to Expect Job Growth
There is good news for anyone who is looking into becoming a pharmacist: it is highly likely that they will be able to find a job. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of pharmacists is expected to increase at a faster than average rate – 17 percent – between 2008 and 2018.
Job prospects are expected to be excellent as there will be a need to replace those who leave the occupation, as well with training programs being limited in their capacity. The demand for more people in the field of pharmacology is a result of the increasing number of middle-aged and elderly people who tend to need more prescription drugs than other populations. It is also a result of advances in science that increase the number of drugs available on the market and a growing number of people who have prescription drug coverage. Along with excellent job opportunities, pharmacists can expect to earn a good living. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmacists had a median annual wage of $106,410 in 2008, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $77,390 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $131,440.
Pharmacists were employed in around 269,900 jobs in 2008, reported the Bureau. The majority of them, 65 percent, worked in retail settings, about 22 percent worked in hospital settings, and a relative amount were employed in physicians’ offices, pharmaceutical wholesalers, the Federal Government, and mail-order and Internet pharmacies. The demand for more pharmacists is increasing partly because the nature of the job is gradually changing. As the complexity of prescription drugs increase and allow for more dangerous drug interactions, it is becoming necessary for pharmacists to become more and more involved in the care of patients. Medical facilities like doctors’ offices and nursing care facilities will demand more pharmacists to advise patients about the correct way to use their medications, assist in selecting drugs and dosage, and monitor multiple medication treatments. Pharmacies in drugstores, grocery stores, and hospitals tend to fill the majority of prescriptions and will likely offer more and more patient care services, such as vaccinations. To meet the growing needs of customers, employment opportunities will continue to increase at these types of pharmacies as well, and due to their efficiency, mail-order pharmacies will also be likely to increase their number of hired pharmacists.
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This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
