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Patient care

Pharmacist

Makes sure people get the right medicines safely: checking prescriptions, explaining doses and side effects, and advising prescribers.

Pharmacists work in community pharmacies, hospitals, GP practices, industry and universities, and in the UK most new pharmacists now qualify as prescribers when they register. It suits careful people who enjoy chemistry and pharmacology and like solving problems for patients face to face.

Also called Clinical pharmacist, Community pharmacist or Hospital pharmacist.

At a glance

Way in
Professional degree and licence, often in pharmacy
Pay in the US
$140,910 a year, the medianFor pharmacists, 2025
Pay in the UK
£40,000 starting to £65,000 with experience
US outlook
Faster than average, 2025-2035
Suits you if
You are precise, like chemistry and want to use it to help patients every day.

Pay is a guide: it moves with the country, the employer, the sector and the years in the job. Figures from O*NET OnLine (US) and the National Careers Service (UK); see the sources below.

The work

What does a pharmacist do?

  • Check prescriptions for the right drug, dose and interactions before medicines are supplied.
  • Advise patients on how to take, store and stop their medicines safely.
  • Help doctors and nurses choose treatments and adjust doses for each patient.
  • Run health services such as vaccinations, medicine reviews and stop-smoking support.
  • Manage stock, supervise pharmacy staff and keep accurate records.

Where they work

  • Community pharmacies
  • NHS and private hospitals
  • GP practices
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • Universities and research centres

Skills

The skills a pharmacist needs

  • Drug knowledgeclasses, mechanisms, interactions and side effects
  • Attention to detailcatching errors before they reach a patient
  • Calculationsdoses, dilutions and dosing by weight or kidney function
  • Communicationplain explanations for patients, clear advice for prescribers
  • Ethics and lawhandling controlled drugs and confidential records
  • Leadershipsupervising technicians and running a pharmacy team

Route in

How to become a pharmacist

  1. Take chemistry at school, ideally with biology or maths, as pharmacy degrees usually ask for chemistry.
  2. Complete an accredited pharmacy degree: the MPharm in the UK or the PharmD in the US.
  3. Finish supervised training in practice and pass the registration exam.
  4. Register as a pharmacist, then build experience and train further in a specialty or in prescribing.

Degrees people take

  • Pharmacy

In the UK, pharmacists register with the GPhC after a foundation training year and an assessment, and most new registrants can prescribe. In the US, they pass the NAPLEX and hold a state licence.

Practise for it

The quizzes and tools that fit

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Sources

Where the facts come from

Written for biofideX from these public sources. The pay figures are theirs, copied as published, last read 2026-10-25.

Requirements differ by country and change over time; check with the body that registers the profession where you will work. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.

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