Pharmacist Salary in 2018

The Average Salary 

The average salary of pharmacist in US is $120,950.

Pharmacists work in pharmacies and hospitals dispensing medications. The average pharmacy salary is not based only on dispensing medications. These professionals work closely with physicians to determine dosages, side effects and appropriate medication selection for patients.

The Total Salary Package

Base Salary represents 72% ： 

Benefits and bonuses includes ： 

Total salary package is not precise, but more of a measure of what a person’s true salary value will be when social security, retirement benefits, vacation and time off is added into the base salary equation. Based off of data supplied by Salary.com, a pharmacist’s total salary package is $167,005 per year.

Cities with the highest paying pharmacists

Source：https://www1.salary.com/

States with the highest paying pharmacists

Source：https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm

Factors affecting pharmacists salaries

Pharmacists have factors that affect their overall salaries. These factors include location, industry and experience.

1. Experience

Experience is the factor found in every field that is a great representation of a person’s salary. Experienced pharmacists will earn a higher salary than their inexperienced counterparts regardless of location and industry.

2. Location

Metropolitan areas often offer the highest salaries. Cities such as Santa Cruz, Fresno and Chico are among the top 5 with the highest salaries in the industry, and they are all based in California.

3. Industry

In terms of industry, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides annual mean wages for the top 5 industries in the occupation with salary ranges from $115,110 to $119,420. Less drastic than most fields, all salary ranges in the top 5 industries are within $4,000 of each other, with Health and Personal Care Stores being the highest paid industry.

Growing as fast as average at 14% over the span of 10 years, the pharmacy field as a whole is expected to add 41,400 jobs between 2012 and 2022.

Training and Certification Requirements

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Excellent analytical, communication and computer skills are essential for a pharmacist. These professionals must also be detail oriented and have the utmost in managerial skills to succeed in the industry.

School is very intense with the need to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

Undergraduate studies will depend in the Doctor of Pharmacy program a person enrolls in. Programs will require an associate or bachelor’s degree to apply for the basic Pharmacy College Admissions Test.

Students that pass the PCAT will undergo 4 years more of schooling, with some programs offering 3-year accelerated programs. Students that are leaving high school may be able to apply for a Doctor of Pharmacy program directly after graduation. The benefit of these programs is that the student will follow a streamlined path to becoming a pharmacist and will follow all of the pre-requisites that the school demands.

Internships will be required wherein a student will work in a hospital or similar environment.

Professionals that want to work as a clinical pharmacist or in another specialization will need to complete a 1 to 2 year residency program in their respective specialization.

All pharmacists within the United States are required to become licensed, which requires a two exam format.

Certification is offered through http://www.bpsweb.org/Board of Pharmacy Specialties. This certification is optional and will only be obtained if a person wants to boost their credentials. There are 8 specialties to choose from.

International Pharmacists Salaries

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