The role of the pharmacy in the daily lives of many people throughout the UK is as important as any other consumer institution. After all, the increase in ailments owing to age, lack of exercise, and general poor health means, for many, a regular trip to see the pharmacist. The old pharmacy, where the friendly pharmacist works with you to meet your health needs, has given way to a more bureaucratic system that is effective in dealing with a wide range of customers but lacks the human touch. However, for pharmacists and those graduating with pharmaceutical degrees, this bureaucratisation of the pharmacy means a better jobs market.

Hospitals and doctors’ offices are beginning to hire more pharmacists for their in-house pharmacies. These pharmacies, which feature both over-the-counter and prescription drugs, are designed to provide immediate point-of-prescription convenience for patients, especially those who have mobility problems. Pharmacists in these types of offices have the luxury of working directly with billing professionals and health workers alike to remedy health issues quickly. However, in other ways the in-house pharmacy may prove restrictive, as administrators and senior partners are often within walking distance.

There is, however, still room for the traditional pharmacist in the current bureaucratic system. Older style pharmacies are utilising information technology in order to improve the services they provide; patients with repeat prescriptions are often able to have these monitored by pharmacies who will collect them for the patient from the general practitioner and ensure their availability. In many high street outlets, major chains and independent pharmacists are investing heavily in order to compete. Facilities are often brand new, which means the best resources and working conditions for pharmacists. Also, members of the public can build a strong relationship with their pharmacist as they get regular prescriptions. The problem with working at these facilities is that there is sometimes little immediate resolution of administrative or prescription problems, which need to be resolved by phone or post.

The pharmacy jobs market in the United Kingdom and Europe is growing strongly, although its public face is becoming much different from what it was a generation ago. Pharmacists need to remain versatile in the workplace by maintaining accreditation, taking continuing educational courses, and staying well-versed in regulations and medical knowledge alike; after all, to many of the public, the pharmacist is often more accessible than the doctor, and acts as a resource for medical knowledge in the marketplace. As such, pharmacists have a public duty to stay updated and informed on the changing nature of their world. This challenge and the challenge of optimising one’s potential in a dynamic job market, means that a pharmacist needs to stay on his or her toes throughout their professional life.

What are pharmacy jobs? Where are these jobs available? How do you qualify for these jobs? This article seeks to answer these questions. In the USA, there are more pharmacy jobs than qualified pharmacists. It is thus a good career option.

Pharmacy Jobs

Medicines can be prepared and dispensed only by qualified pharmacists. In olden times, they used to mix drug products from measured raw materials according to doctor’s prescriptions. These days, they dispense pre-measured tablets and capsules produced by pharmaceutical companies. They also advise patients on the use of prescription and over the counter medicines.

In addition to technical knowledge about the required purity and dosages of many medicinal products, pharmacists also require the human touch and ethical sense to deal with customers in a trust-building manner.

Pharmacists find jobs in numerous settings, such as retail pharmacy outlets, hospitals & clinics, healthcare facilities, drug research and development, pharmaceutical sales and marketing, government agencies and universities.

Pharmacists work as pharmacy managers, clinical pharmacists, IV pharmacists, retail pharmacists and in other roles.

Who Employ Pharmacists?

Some of the major employers of pharmacists are listed below.

Retail (and Internet) pharmacies need pharmacists and pharmacy managers.

Pharmaceutical companies need pharmacists for drug research & development, and for sales and marketing.

Hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities need pharmacists to oversee the formulation, storage and dispensing of medicines at their facilities.

Government agencies and home care facilities also need the services of pharmacists.

Armed services need pharmacists in their medical services sections.

Community and consultant pharmacies are other agencies that need pharmacists.



The demand for pharmacists exceeds supply in the USA.

How Do You Qualify as a Pharmacist?

Pharmacy is the science that deals with collection, preparation and standardization of drugs.

As a preliminary for your course in pharmacy, you need to attend college level classes in such subjects as chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics, for about two years. You might also have to pass a Pharmacy Colleges Admissions Test.

You then have to complete a 6-year (or 5 year) Pharm D. (or B.S.) curriculum prescribed by an accredited college of pharmacy. Internship under a qualified pharmacist and passing a state examination are other typical requirements before you become a licensed pharmacist.

Continuing education is a typical requirement to renew the license.

The skills in pharmacy practice include not only dispensing prescriptions but also communicating with patients and healthcare professionals. (You need to acquire the skill to read doctors’ handwritings!) They also include understanding the responsibilities of professional ethics.

Other important skills include the management of a pharmacy practice, and consulting with other healthcare professionals.

Availability of Pharmacy Jobs

As you would have begun to appreciate by now, pharmacists are trained professionals providing an essential service in healthcare. They are in high demand by many agencies and this situation is likely to continue.

In fact, all the pharmacy jobs are not being filled now for want for qualified pharmacists. A career in pharmacy is thus a promising career.

Scientific jobs usually involve some research. The jobholder would have specialized training and experience in a field, and the ability to draw on it to conduct field or laboratory research. For example, a clinical research assistant working for a clinical research organization can be required to go out into the field and record the findings of clinical trials for medical devices or medication.

In such cases, in addition to knowledge in the field of science, the job holder will also have to be familiar with research methodology to ensure adherence to quality research practices, so that the research findings will be acceptable to practitioners in the relevant field.

Furthermore, the jobholder might also be required to keep track of the costs of the research, which require some administrative experience. Scientific jobs could thus involve much more than doing theoretical research in a laboratory.

Roles of Career Scientists

We saw in the previous section that even when research is involved, scientific jobs could involve administrative and quality control roles. Many scientific jobs might not involve research as such. Instead, it might involve applying the jobholder’s knowledge to do practical work. For example, physicians apply their knowledge of healing science primarily to cure sick patients rather do research with medication.

Another example is the clinical psychologist engaged in providing clinical and forensic psychology service to patients, and advice and consultation to non-psychologist colleagues in the medical profession.

A forensic toxicology expert might be primarily involved in providing testimony in courts about the effect of alcohol on human body and driving skills, and explaining the significance of the results of a defendant’s breath and blood tests. Such a function requires the application of professional knowledge and experience in the relevant scientific field.

Environmental health practitioners might have to be community workers and change agents in addition to their roles of identifying and preventing environmental health problems. Possessing knowledge alone might not help them provide valuable services in their field. They will have to work with an environmental health team to create awareness about environmental health issues among the community, and show how the locality can be made a better place to live and work.

Scientific jobs can also involve working in areas other than the primary scientific field of the jobholder. For example, a healthcare specialist with Information Technology experience might be employed to develop clinical information models. They might have to do requirements studies to develop the kind of clinical information models that clinicians need. The requirements study in this case is more IT work than clinical work.

Another example is a specialist who works in the sales and marketing department helping the department explain product benefits and other technical aspects to prospective clients, or for creating product literature. Many specialists might be attracted by commercial work, and can use their specialist know-how, say in wound care, in marketing wound care products effectively.

Then there is the science teacher who is engaged in developing the scientists of tomorrow. The teacher must be able to create an enthusiasm for the field among students in addition to teaching them science.

Scientific jobs thus involve being more than just scientists. In fact few scientific jobs require you to be a scientist these days.