What does a pharmacist do?

As a pharmacist, you could: dispense medicines in a pharmacy, hospital or GP practice give advice about prescriptions, drug dosages, risks and how to use and store medication run screening programmes and buy, test and distribute medicines in a hospital manage stock and supervise and train staff like junior pharmacists…

How much does a pharmacist earn?

Starter salaries are around £40,000 a year, rising to about £65,000 with experience.

How many hours does a pharmacist work?

Typically 38 to 42 hours a week.

Pharmacist

Pharmacists give advice on the use and supply of medicines and medical appliances.

Also known as: Dispensing chemist, community pharmacist, hospital pharmacist

Starter salary£40,000 a year
Experienced£65,000 a year
Typical hours38 to 42 a week

What you'll do

As a pharmacist, you could:

dispense medicines in a pharmacy, hospital or GP practice
give advice about prescriptions, drug dosages, risks and how to use and store medication
run screening programmes and buy, test and distribute medicines in a hospital
manage stock and supervise and train staff like junior pharmacists
do research into new medicines or run clinical trials

Working environment

You could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a GP practice, at a university, at a store or at a research facility.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

to be thorough and pay attention to detail
sensitivity and understanding
customer service skills
knowledge of chemistry including the safe use and disposal of chemicals
maths knowledge
patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
excellent verbal communication skills
the ability to read English
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

How to become a pharmacist

You can get into this job through a university course.

University

To become a pharmacist, you'll need to complete a master's of pharmacy (MPharm) degree, approved by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) which takes 4 years.

You'll then need to complete the pharmacist foundation training programme which takes 1 year.

If you do not have the qualifications to get onto a master's of pharmacy degree, you could do a pharmacy foundation degree which takes 2 years.

You could then take a job as a pharmacy assistant or pharmacy technician and apply to join the master's degree in its second year.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including chemistry

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

pass background checks

Career path and progression

With experience you could:

take a GPhC accredited pharmacist Independent Prescribing (IP) course to become an independent prescriber
progress to team manager, regional or national manager or become a pharmacy consultant
work in a GP practice, health centre or set up your own community pharmacy business
work as a pharmacist in the Royal Air Force , Royal Navy or Army
move into teaching, scientific journalism or publishing
do a postgraduate qualification in a subject like toxicology or pharmacology and move into research

You can find more information about developing your career in pharmacy from the Royal College of Pharmacy.

Registration

you'll need to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council

Guides for this industry

Health & Social Care: pay, interviews and getting started →

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