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Pharmacists

Pharmacists dispense drugs and medicaments in hospitals and pharmacies and advise on and participate in the development and testing of new drugs, compounds and therapies. They counsel on the proper use and adverse effects of drugs and medicines.

Wages

New workers
AVERAGE
Experienced
£19,010
£39,368
£57,896

New workers start around £19,010. Normal pay is £39,368 per year.
Highly experienced workers can earn up to £57,896.

Available jobs

In the past year there were 59,764 vacancies for this type of job

4.90%

Projected job growth over the next 8 years

Related courses

People work towards these careers by taking these courses at college and uni.

What they do most days?

  • Ensures that drugs and medicaments are in good supply and are stored properly.

  • Tests and analyses drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength.

  • Liaises with other professionals regarding the development, manufacturing and testing of drugs.

  • Maintains prescription files and records issue of narcotics, poisons and other habit-forming drugs.

  • Checks that recommended doses are not being exceeded and that instructions are understood by patients.

  • Highlights a drug’s potential side effects, identifies harmful interactions with other drugs and assesses the suitability of treatments for patients with particular health conditions.

  • Advises health professionals on the selection and appropriate use of medicines.

  • Prepares or directs the preparation of prescribed medicaments in liquid, powder, tablet, ointment or other form following prescriptions issued by medical doctors and other health professionals.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are specific, learnable, measurable, often industry or occupation-specific abilities related to a position.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Clinical Pharmacy

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Auditing

  • Medical Prescription

  • Primary Care

  • Pharmacy Operations

  • Patient Safety

  • Medication Dispensation

  • Hospital Pharmacy

  • Quality Improvement

Soft Skills

Soft skills can be self-taught and usually do not necessitate a certain completed level of education.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Management

  • Communication

  • Leadership

  • Ethical Standards And Conduct

  • Research

  • Customer Service

  • Interpersonal Communications

  • Governance

  • Teaching

  • Problem Solving

How do I get a job like this?

People in these types of job started their career paths after studying courses like the ones below.

Routes to this career

See all

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Queen's University Belfast

BSc (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Belfast · 16/09/2024

Tariff points: N/A

Pharmaceutical Sciences

University of Greenwich

BSc (Hons) · 4 Years · Sandwich · Chatham · 09/2024

Tariff points: 104/104

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Middlesex University

BSc (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · London · 09/2024

Tariff points: 112/128

Pharmacy

University of Portsmouth

MPharm (H) · 4 Years · Full-time · Portsmouth · 23/09/2024

Tariff points: 120/128

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