Pharmacists

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$140,910

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$129,380 – $161,840

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

321,970

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+5.2%

At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)

Openings a year (projected)

12,500

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Doctoral or professional degree

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.

Main tasks

• 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.
• Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
• Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
• Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Doctoral or professional degree

O*NET Job Zone 5

Extensive preparation

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 35 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

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