College Discussion - View Single Post - Why The Hell Do Pharmacists Earn So Much $$?

j.project · 08-03-2006, 04:33 PM

ryanbis and chalk have answered your question well, but I just wanted to add a statistic to drive it home.

I'm a pre-pharm major and I'm working at a pharmacy this summer. I had a discussion with one of the pharmacists I work with and he told me that the projected number of years that the pharmaceutical industry will experience a shortage of pharmacists is 20 years. If the trend continues, then yes. When you graduate by 2012, the industry will still be in need.

Quote:

All they do is hand over a dang bottle of pills and, if I'm not mistaken, mix chemicals to make them?

That's a common misconception and one of the worst stereotypes I've heard about my chosen career (you're not the first), but it's something that pharmacists will have to tolerate. Just to add to what ryanbis said, what customers and patients do not actively think about is that retail pharmacists have to know a little bit of everything about all of the common ailments. Ask about orthopedic problems, they expect the retail pharmacist to know. Ask about that weird mark on the neck, the retail pharmacist should know something about it. Why are the watery eyes still there after 500 drops of Visine, Clear Eyes, etc.? Retail pharmacists need answers to that, too. They act as a sort of the localised expert in medication at stores. They're the ones on-site to explain side-effects, why buying that Calcium+Oyster supplement is worthless, etc.

Retail pharmacists are so accessible that oftentimes, people forget that their title is "doctor."

In terms of salary, even without the increase, it should always be that people should live within their means. Pharmacists should also be successful at investing their money and managing their expenses. Because most pharmacists recognise this during their years in pharmacy school, they're able to "make money grow." Costs of living are important, too.

So uh... just take some time to think about things and do some research (there are far more avenues to doing research than just Google) before jumping to conclusions in the near future.