Job Features

• Most pharmacists work in retail drugstores and in hospital and clinic pharmacies. They take responsibility for the accuracy of each filled prescription while often supervising pharmacy technicians to do the actual work of counting pills and measuring liquids. Some pharmacists find employment in research and development with pharmaceutical manufacturers, while others work as pharmaceutical representatives, a career in which they market, recommend and sell medications to healthcare providers.
  
  

Salary by Experience

• All 50 states and the District of Columbia require pharmacists to be licensed. Aspiring pharmacists must complete a degree at an accredited college of pharmacy and pass several examinations for licensing. The starting median salary range for pharmacists was about $68,000 to $100,000 per year as of January 2011, finds the PayScale salary survey website. Those with five to nine years of experience were earning in a median range of $83,000 to $113,000 per year.
  
  

Salary Range

• The average salary of a pharmacist in May 2009 was about $51.30 per hour, or $106,600 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent of those on the earnings scale were making $95,780 to $123,330. Only those in the bottom 10 percent of the salary range were earning less than $79,270 per year. Those in the top 10 percent had annual salaries over $134,290.
  
  

Geography

• California is the most lucrative state for pharmacists, as indicated by salary figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average salary of a pharmacist there is $117,000. Some metropolitan areas in California also rank as the highest-paying in the country for pharmacists. Pharmacists in the greater Santa Barbara metropolitan area, for instance, were earning an average annual salary of $140,670 as of 2009. Those in the Modesto area had an average income of $135,550, and in the Santa Cruz area $134,450.
  
  

Outlook

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates fast employment growth for pharmacists. An aging population takes more prescription medications than younger people do, and manufacturers continue developing new drug products. Medical facilities need more pharmacists to counsel patients on drug usage and to monitor this usage, as many people are taking multiple prescription medications.