A Forbes.com article dated June 25, 2009 has the intriguing headline, "Where The Jobs Are: Pharmacist." It quotes the Bureau of Labor Statistics, saying that there will be an increase of 22 percent in the number of pharmacist jobs nationwide between 2006 and 2016. It goes on to say that the mean annual salary of the three major pharmacist groups (hospital, grocery store and community pharmacies) is now just over $104,000.
It goes on to point out that these days many professionals in other industries are not fairing as well, such as engineering, and they are now pursuing pharmacy degrees for long-term job security. Among them are men and women in their late 30's and 40's who are juggling their day jobs while taking PharmD courses online in the evenings and on weekends.
Another reason noted in the article for the switch to pharmacy is the emerging healthcare philosophy in which pharmacists play an expanded, collaborative role along side doctors and nurses to improve patient care. This is important to the new, older pharmacists because they see being a pharmacist as an opportunity to serve people in a more meaningful way than they have done in their old jobs, or as one put it, "I wanted a job where I could do some good."
From my conversations with hundreds of pharmacists and stories in the news like this, I can only conclude that it is a great time to be a pharmacist. Let me know what you think by commenting below.
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