Pharmacist Salary
A pharmacist may complete many jobs during the course of a typical day. A pharmacist may be asked to advice patients and doctors on the selection of a medication, the appropriate dosage and any interactions or side effects. He or she will also be responsible for distributing prescription medications although most do not spend the amount of time that many believe they do on mixing ingredients to make these medications.
Most are actually produced by a pharmaceutical company. A pharmacist may also provide general health advice or recommend over-the-counter medications to patients. Some pharmacists choose to work in research, marketing or sales while others choose to obtain work with a health insurance company. Consider the pharmacist salary when determining if this career is appropriate for you.
Education Requirements
In order to obtain employment as a pharmacist in the United States, you must complete a Pharm.D. degree from either a school of pharmacy or an accredited college. Two years of professional study must be completed with the entire program taking four years.
Drug
therapy will be taught as part of the coursework along with professional ethics, business management and the like. You may also be required to complete a one or two year residency program or fellowship. These postgraduate programs offer training in a clinic setting and will often required that a research project be completed.
License Requirements
A licensed is required in the United States and its territories in order to practice as a pharmacist. First you must complete an approved program as described above. Once your education has been completed, you must pass exams. The first exam is the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam which will test your knowledge and skills. 
Forty four states, along with Washington, D.C., also require you complete an exam on pharmacy law known as the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam. Other exams may be required by your state and all states require that you obtain experience in a practice setting.
Salary
As there is much involved in becoming a pharmacist, the pharmacist salary compensates you for the necessary training and exam completion. The median annual pharmacist salary as of May 2008 was $106,410. Those in the lowest 10% made $77,390 or less while those in the top 10% made $131,440 or more a year. Consider all of the above when determining if you wish to pursue a career as a pharmacist.
Good Interview With A Pharmacist On Typical Schooling Experiences:
Job Growth Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, growth is looking good for pharmacists at a rate of 17%, which is faster than the average. This is in relation to US jobs between the years 2008 and 2018. Increasing age of the baby boomer generation will mean more and more people will be needing prescription medication which will mean increased demand for pharmacists.
Because of the increasing use of prescription medication, pharmacists will be expected to take a more active role in patient care. Because of the potential danger and mixing of medications, pharmacists will be more involved with their patients, implementing a proper drug and prescription regimen.
One of the fastest expected areas of growth for pharmacists is in the area of mail order pharmacies. So if you’re just starting out this can be a good area to look in for job opportunities.
Keep in mind, one great way to see if a pharmacists career is right for you, is to pursue the fast-growing job openings in pharmacy assistant positions as well as jobs in the pharmacy technician sector. These are experiencing incredibly fast rates of growth and are open to people with much less education.
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