Pharmacist salary

[iamapharmacist]

Q: What Is the Average Pharmacist Salary by State in 2021?

Pharmacist Salaries by State. What is the average annual salary for a Pharmacist job by State? See how much a Pharmacist job pays hourly by State. Washington is the highest paying state for Pharmacist jobs. Illinois is the lowest paying State for Pharmacist jobs.

www.ziprecruiter.com

Run, Forest. RUN!

If you're thinking about a career in pharmacy, don't. lol. A professional doctorate degree that barely pays $50/hr is not a good career choice.

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[iamapharmacist]

$50/hr is still pretty good though, no? Lol compared to most careers even if it’s not as much before.

Considering there is so much more supply than demand in pharmacy, I won't be surprised if it goes down to $30 or less but then why are we even going to school to get a doctorate? It's not just about money but in the world of capitalism, we are defined by how much we are worth in terms of monetary value. If you're okay with $50/hr and getting less and less each year, you're just considering yourself to be worthless as pharmacist.

 

[PharmtoCS]

You need to take into account your $200k+ student loan bill and 4 years of lost earnings. Those can really kill your lifetime earnings since you’re racking up debt and trying to pay that off while your peers are buying homes and investing for retirement.

 

[iamapharmacist]

You need to take into account your $200k+ student loan bill and 4 years of lost earnings. Those can really kill your lifetime earnings since you’re racking up debt and trying to pay that off while your peers are buying homes and investing for retirement.

Well the way things are headed with student debt and loan forgiveness, $200k loan doesnt seem that bad lol

 

[VA77]

ROI people. Until schools start dropping tuition as fast as hourly rates have declined over past years then you will be in debt for a very long time.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

This is true for any profession except handyman or plumbing.

 

[projektreverb]

ROI people. Until schools start dropping tuition as fast as hourly rates have declined over past years then you will be in debt for a very long time.

But it’s my passion bro! Don’t you know I’ll be some superstar snowflake clinical pharmacist making ALL the interventions! I’m different bro!

Yah have fun product checking at the corner of happy and healthy with that PGY-5.

 

[Sine Cura]

For the drones, pay is stagnant or decreasing in real terms if you can even get stable hours

Just as an example, Walmart staff pharmacist starting at $63/hr (n = 3) from 2014 to 2020, even if you were coming from another retail chain, and now $61/hr for temps. It would take 38 years to cap out at $80/hr (starting from $63/hr) with a 50 cent raise every year.

 

[SomeDude123]

Q: What Is the Average Pharmacist Salary by State in 2021?

Pharmacist Salaries by State. What is the average annual salary for a Pharmacist job by State? See how much a Pharmacist job pays hourly by State. Washington is the highest paying state for Pharmacist jobs. Illinois is the lowest paying State for Pharmacist jobs.

www.ziprecruiter.com

Run, Forest. RUN!

If you're thinking about a career in pharmacy, don't. lol. A professional doctorate degree that barely pays $50/hr is not a good career choice.

Hmm, I always thought that pharmacists made more than this. Considering that you spend 6-8 years after high school, 120k seems pretty low.

Considering there is so much more supply than demand in pharmacy, I won't be surprised if it goes down to $30 or less but then why are we even going to school to get a doctorate? It's not just about money but in the world of capitalism, we are defined by how much we are worth in terms of monetary value. If you're okay with $50/hr and getting less and less each year, you're just considering yourself to be worthless as pharmacist.

Is there a reason why wages are that low? I only have a bachelor's and even I'm making 120k (6 years of experience).
I started at 70k immediately after graduating, so I didn't rack up any student loans (Undergrad was covered by scholarship).
My pay increased from 70k to 80k after 2 years. Then 80k to 100k in the next 2 years. Now 100k to 120k. Many of my friends who only have BA/BS also followed similar pay increases.

Considering that pharmacists defer working by 2-4 years and rack up six-figure loans along the way, you would think they would pull in 200k minimum. I guess that explains why a lot of my high school peers who went into pharmacy seem depressed. I kind of feel sorry for them.

This is true for any profession except handyman or plumbing.

Professions where you work in a corporate environment have higher ceilings, because you have more opportunity to impress higher-ups and get promoted to roles outside of your main professions. I guess that's kind of what you're sacrificing if you enter professions like pharmacy or nursing - You give up the possibility of an extremely high compensation for the guarantee of a decent income.

 

[CarpetTable45]

Is there a reason why wages are that low?

Supply and demand, same reason why any price is the price that it is.

 

[radio frequency]

Hmm, I always thought that pharmacists made more than this. Considering that you spend 6-8 years after high school, 120k seems pretty low.



Is there a reason why wages are that low? I only have a bachelor's and even I'm making 120k (6 years of experience).
I started at 70k immediately after graduating, so I didn't rack up any student loans (Undergrad was covered by scholarship).
My pay increased from 70k to 80k after 2 years. Then 80k to 100k in the next 2 years. Now 100k to 120k. Many of my friends who only have BA/BS also followed similar pay increases.

Considering that pharmacists defer working by 2-4 years and rack up six-figure loans along the way, you would think they would pull in 200k minimum. I guess that explains why a lot of my high school peers who went into pharmacy seem depressed. I kind of feel sorry for them.



Professions where you work in a corporate environment have higher ceilings, because you have more opportunity to impress higher-ups and get promoted to roles outside of your main professions. I guess that's kind of what you're sacrificing if you enter professions like pharmacy or nursing - You give up the possibility of an extremely high compensation for the guarantee of a decent income.

All true, but unfortunately that "guarantee" isn't there anymore. Too many pharmacists, not enough jobs.

I have a great job and make more than $120k, but I know that if I ever left I would take a huge salary drop, so now I can't really leave. There aren't enough good pharmacist jobs out there to make leaving worth it. I'd love to live somewhere else, but I'm stuck here unless I can stomach losing money and benefits in exchange.

 

[SomeDude123]

Supply and demand, same reason why any price is the price that it is.

I always thought pharmacists were making 200k-300k, because 120k is a pretty common income in corporate jobs, and these don't require much specialized skills. Wouldn't the post-undergrad education + 6-figure loans reduce the supply of pharmacists?
Or maybe I have a completely wrong idea about what compensation is normal. I see a lot of people going into banking, insurance, fintech, tech, or w/e with just a bachelor's and make 100-200k in a few years. Why would anyone go into pharmacy if you're delaying working for 2-4 years and racking up $100+k in loans just to end up making the same as someone with only a bachelor's? It makes no sense. Our jobs are also a lot comfier and more laid back than pharmacists, who have to meet aggressive quotas. Why go into pharmacy? What makes pharmacy better than corporate jobs? I'm not seeing anything.

I feel pretty bad. I never took my education seriously and always found an excuse to avoid doing homework or coming into class. In college, I partied or slept in most of the time. To think that I'm making the same as people who worked hard all throughout high school and college AND went to graduate school AND took out $150k in loans is unbelievable. Not just that, I'm on the track to making $200+k and beyond after I pass me last 3 professional exams.
Is this karma getting back at all my former classmates who said I was a loser and would be miserable when I grew up.

There has to be something else I'm missing. Are these compensation surveys reliable?

All true, but unfortunately that "guarantee" isn't there anymore. Too many pharmacists, not enough jobs.

I have a great job and make more than $120k, but I know that if I ever left I would take a huge salary drop, so now I can't really leave. There aren't enough good pharmacist jobs out there to make leaving worth it. I'd love to live somewhere else, but I'm stuck here unless I can stomach losing money and benefits in exchange.

Is there a disconnect between the doom-sayers here and in real life? If pharmacy really was such a hopeless career, why are people still going to pharmacy school? Almost every 'good student' I knew in high school wanted to be a pharmacist. I always thought they would be more successful than me. I find it pretty amusing that I'm making the same as they are. The extra 4 years of income with no student loans really helped me, as I now own my own house and am a millionaire.

 

[radio frequency]

I always thought pharmacists were making 200k-300k, because 120k is a pretty common income in corporate jobs, and these don't require much specialized skills. Wouldn't the post-undergrad education + 6-figure loans reduce the supply of pharmacists?
Or maybe I have a completely wrong idea about what compensation is normal. I see a lot of people going into banking, insurance, fintech, tech, or w/e with just a bachelor's and make 100-200k in a few years. Why would anyone go into pharmacy if you're delaying working for 2-4 years and racking up $100+k in loans just to end up making the same as someone with only a bachelor's? It makes no sense. Our jobs are also a lot comfier and more laid back than pharmacists, who have to meet aggressive quotas. Why go into pharmacy? What makes pharmacy better than corporate jobs? I'm not seeing anything.

I feel pretty bad. I never took my education seriously and always found an excuse to avoid doing homework or coming into class. In college, I partied or slept in most of the time. To think that I'm making the same as people who worked hard all throughout high school and college AND went to graduate school AND took out $150k in loans is unbelievable. Not just that, I'm on the track to making $200+k and beyond after I pass me last 3 professional exams.
Is this karma getting back at all my former classmates who said I was a loser and would be miserable when I grew up.

There has to be something else I'm missing. Are these compensation surveys reliable?



Is there a disconnect between the doom-sayers here and in real life? If pharmacy really was such a hopeless career, why are people still going to pharmacy school? Almost every 'good student' I knew in high school wanted to be a pharmacist. I always thought they would be more successful than me. I find it pretty amusing that I'm making the same as they are. The extra 4 years of income with no student loans really helped me, as I now own my own house and am a millionaire.

I do not know any pharmacists making $200,000 unless they started their own company. Pharmacy Management might make $165,000 if they have a good job.

$120,000 for full time work is no longer easy to come by for a general pharmacist. Full time work isn't even easy to come by for new graduates, so obviously they will make even less than $120,000 if they are not working 40 hour weeks.

I have no idea what you do for a living so I can't really comment on your career vs that of a pharmacist. What are you doing in a pre-pharmacy chat area, anyway? Is that an interest of yours?

 

[deleted1097413]

Well the way things are headed with student debt and loan forgiveness, $200k loan doesnt seem that bad lol

do you know something I don't? All 3 branches of government for the democrats and they have yet to even try to do something significant. These loans will never be forgiven.

 

[iamapharmacist]

do you know something I don't? All 3 branches of government for the democrats and they have yet to even try to do something significant. These loans will never be forgiven.

Nope. You are absolutely right. I was fooled by the dems. Just lying through their teeth to get votes. Sigh. Good thing i hate politicians and never believed them. Wait wah....

 

[SomeDude123]

I do not know any pharmacists making $200,000 unless they started their own company. Pharmacy Management might make $165,000 if they have a good job.

$120,000 for full time work is no longer easy to come by for a general pharmacist. Full time work isn't even easy to come by for new graduates, so obviously they will make even less than $120,000 if they are not working 40 hour weeks.

I have no idea what you do for a living so I can't really comment on your career vs that of a pharmacist. What are you doing in a pre-pharmacy chat area, anyway? Is that an interest of yours?

Many of my former classmates went into pharmacy. I didn't really give much thought into pharmacist income until I ran into my former classmates recently.

 

[radio frequency]

Many of my former classmates went into pharmacy. I didn't really give much thought into pharmacist income until I ran into my former classmates recently.

Many of my former classmates went into all sorts of things and I haven't joined messaging boards about their professions yet. What gives?

 

[projektreverb]

Many of my former classmates went into all sorts of things and I haven't joined messaging boards about their professions yet. What gives?

Don’t feed the troll.

 

[sibylline170]

how much do pharmacists make right out of school?

 

[randompharm]

The market has been 48-50/hr at 25-30 for new grads, or about 60-76k.

 

[Igra]

I just graduated with 3 full-time job offers at hospitals for 120k, the jobs are out there for sure.

 

[randompharm]

I just graduated with 3 full-time job offers at hospitals for 120k, the jobs are out there for sure.

Residency/no residency? Where? 120k in Cali or NY is 80k anywhere else.

 

[RXDOC1986]

I just graduated with 3 full-time job offers at hospitals for 120k, the jobs are out there for sure.

In the current job market, you must be extra special. So you graduated, sent your resume (including your work experience) to several employers, all of the HRs picked you to forward to hiring managers, they all interviewed you. Everyone was highly impressed by your skillset. You went through the verification gauntlet of modern day HRs and now have 3 full time job offers simultaneously , all hiring managers anxiously awaiting your response.
This my friend, is a Unicorn-level story.
KUDOS. and good luck choosing between the three jobs!

 

[Igra]

Residency/no residency? Where? 120k in Cali or NY is 80k anywhere else.

No residency, technician since 2013, intern since 2019, graduated May 2022. All 3 job offers in Texas, one in the DFW where I was an intern, 2 of them are in smaller towns one in west texas and the other in east texas one of the small-town hospitals also had a sign-on bonus for 15k for 2 years.

 

[projektreverb]

No residency, technician since 2013, intern since 2019, graduated May 2022. All 3 job offers in Texas, one in the DFW where I was an intern, 2 of them are in smaller towns one in west texas and the other in east texas one of the small-town hospitals also had a sign-on bonus for 15k for 2 years.

Congrats!

Pre-Pharms, please note this is the exception rather than the norm

 

[randompharm]

Congrats!

Pre-Pharms, please note this is the exception rather than the norm

Massive exception and definitiley the exception not the rule, to say the least, but congrats to the poster. The bonus part is also very likely indicative of a job no one else wanted and/or area no one wanted to move to, also would need to repay if fired/leaves the job before the contract length.

 

[randompharm]

In the current job market, you must be extra special. So you graduated, sent your resume (including your work experience) to several employers, all of the HRs picked you to forward to hiring managers, they all interviewed you. Everyone was highly impressed by your skillset. You went through the verification gauntlet of modern day HRs and now have 3 full time job offers simultaneously , all hiring managers anxiously awaiting your response.
This my friend, is a Unicorn-level story.
KUDOS. and good luck choosing between the three jobs!

This here is facts.

 

[VA77]

This experience is no doubt an outlier. Congratulations on getting past the residency requirement.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

You need to take into account your $200k+ student loan bill and 4 years of lost earnings. Those can really kill your lifetime earnings since you’re racking up debt and trying to pay that off while your peers are buying homes and investing for retirement.

Med school has similar loans

 

[randompharm]

Med school has similar loans

Yes, but 300-500k income for the average specialty, with no cap ceiling and the job security is not comparable.

New grad pharmacists? 45-50/hr (75-80k) and that’s now, next 10 year projections are even worse, and without accounting for the fact that the only reason there are openings currently (and many misunderstand this), is due to the terrible work conditions, so many quit to work elsewhere for lower pay.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Well the way things are headed with student debt and loan forgiveness, $200k loan doesnt seem that bad lol

This has not aged well so far.

 

[storyhill2]

For the drones, pay is stagnant or decreasing in real terms if you can even get stable hours

Just as an example, Walmart staff pharmacist starting at $63/hr (n = 3) from 2014 to 2020, even if you were coming from another retail chain, and now $61/hr for temps. It would take 38 years to cap out at $80/hr (starting from $63/hr) with a 50 cent raise every year.

at my hospital we get about 2 dollar raise each year depending on performance. I've got about the same each of the 5 years I've been here. My previous hospital I got one raise in 7 years. I guess it depends on where you're at.