U.S. News & World Report names Pharmacists one of the Best Health Care Jobs of 2021, citing salary and combination of skills required, including interpersonal, technical and organizational. With a growing number of community pharmacies in the U.S., pharmacists are considered the most accessible healthcare professionals to the public. Today's pharmacists can choose from a vast array of career opportunities. The profession is one of the most respected in the nation, and pharmacists play key leadership roles in all aspects of health care. In addition, pharmacists are compensated well; new graduates are likely to earn starting salaries above $100,000, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Career Variety

There is a wide variety of career opportunities for pharmacists in the areas of community pharmacy, hospitals or health systems, academia, research, industry, regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and medical publishing. In addition, a career as a pharmacist includes the benefits of job mobility, stability and flexibility. Practice settings include:

• Academia
• Ambulatory Care Pharmacist
• Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in areas such as pediatrics, geriatrics, oncology, cardiology, critical care, pain management, infectious diseases, internal medicine, and neurology
• Community Pharmacy
• Consultant Pharmacy
• Federal Pharmacy - Armed Services, the U.S. Public Health Care Service, and federal health care related agencies
• Home Infusion Pharmacy
• Hospital and Health Systems Pharmacy
• Medical and Pharmacy Informatics
• Managed Care Pharmacy
• Pharmacy Membership Organizations
• Medical Marketing, Advertising and Publishing