Is It Hard To Find A Job As A Pharmacist?

At the time of this article being written it is probably not the best time to be a Pharmacist, but that doesn’t mean it is the worst either. There was a time when you got out of Pharmacy School and you can sign anywhere with a Retail Chain and get a sign on bonus for every year you committed to them among many other wage perks.

Those times may be gone for now, but if you really are passionate about being a Pharmacist then there are still plenty of well paying opportunities out there it may take a little more work and commitment to make it happen, but it is all worth it if you want to make this a rewarding career.

So is it hard to find a job as a Pharmacist?

No it is not hard to find a job as a Pharmacist. You can jump on any job search site like Monster or Indeed and do a search both national all the way down to your zip code and find a job for a Pharmacist. Now more willing you are to move somewhere definitely the easier it is too a much higher paying Pharmacist job.

Just doing a quick search on Indeed nationally for Pharmacist brings up 5,138 current openings. So even if half of those are right which definitely isn’t possible that is still over 50 jobs currently available per a state. Basically plenty of jobs still around to share and Pharmacist are retiring everyday across the nation so keep a constant lookout.

The first one that pops up is Clinical Pharmacist – Emergency Staffing Pool at University of Maryland for $85.00 an hour which is very good pay for that area. So don’t just search in your area they even sometimes have some really amazing offers in Alaska at some remote hospitals that are very high pay and also will put upwards of $20k a year toward your student loans. Might be worth a shot.

So if you want to see some tactics and hear from other Pharmacists on this matter read the rest of this article it may surprise you. If you have any questions or feedback feel free to email us at admin@pharmacistreport.com.

Pharmacy Job Market 2020 And Beyond

Retail is probably not seeing its best days and is forecasted to not grow really in terms of job growth until after 2028. This isn’t a worst case scenario as a lot of Baby Boomers will be retiring in the coming years creating a lot of great Pharmacist positions to open. This will highly depend on the market and their retirement portfolio as well.

The Resident side of Pharmacy continues to see upward growth with new specialization programs coming out all the time. So this could be something to pay attention too if you are in the early years of Pharmacy School or looking to apply to Pharmacy schools. Maybe look for a school that has a lot more opportunity and expansion with these specialty areas. So looking at the job growth compared to what it has been can be kind of a let down. So don’t read too much into these numbers look for areas where people aren’t going into the Pharmacist job market and see if you like job as a career.

Nuclear Pharmacist for example would be a highly specialized opportunity, but there are many other specialized programs being created within hospital systems as well.

State With Pharmacist Shortage

 

As you can see from this map if you just move around you can probably get into a better state for Pharmacists or hopefully you already live in a top ranked state. We will go over the top 10 below to show the facts.

Top 10 States Overall For Pharmacist To Work In

1. Nevada – There are over 250 jobs currently open at this very moment in Nevada. The average salary there is over $154k with the highest 10% earning over $231k. Nevada is actually a very affordable place to live in even just off the strip. The weather is dry so the heat actually is that bad.
2. Arizona – There are over 600 jobs currently open at the moment of this article being written. The average salary there is over $141k with the highest 10% making $220k. Arizona is very beautiful although we haven’t lived there have visited many times for extended vacations and grew up in Colorado. Again a lot more affordable if you live just outside the main cities.
3. California – There are currently over 1,800 job openings in California at the time of this writing. The average annual salary is over $159k with the top 10% bringing in over $233k. California is a very beautiful state however it can be quite costly to live there just like it can be in New York State where we live with lots of taxes. So look as the taxes can very quite a bit from county to county.
4. Wyoming – As far as total job openings there are only 47 open at the time of this writing so not much compared to the other so far of course. However Wyoming is a more of a remote area and has its beauties. We have visited there lots of times to see its beauty. With it being remote in certain areas of the state you can find some very intriguing jobs that bring about a very intriguing salary which could amount to $220 a year more.
5. Hawaii – There are over 100 job openings in Hawaii at the time of this writing. So if you want to go live where you want to vacation look no further then here and jump on board. Seriously thought it would be amazing to do this even if you just did it for a 3-5 years. The cost of living can be expensive so maybe look at something more self sufficient when it comes to energy, water, etc. The average salary is over $140k while top 10% is $210k. So not as much as other and cost of living is much more in most areas of Hawaii.
6. Maine – There are over 100 job openings in Maine at the time of this writing with the average salary coming in at about $130k and top 10% makings upwards of $205k. Now same as Wyoming there are some remote areas that are really short of Pharmacists so will be a lot more then other areas to get you there. I graduated with a couple people that took this opportunity and never looked back.
7. Colorado – Over 360 job openings at the time of this writing. Average Salary comes in at over $133k with the top 10% making over $221k. Colorado is a very beautiful state I have family that lives there. Yes the cost of housing has sky rocketed over the years, but renting is still an option then you could look to build your own place on a little plot of land. If you love skiing look for a place to work in the mountains and a condo you won’t regret it. Some of the best skiing in the nation and lots of ski resorts located all over the state.
8. Texas – Over 1,400 job openings in Texas at the time of this writing. Average salary is around $125k with the top 10% making over $207k. If you like wide open spaces and horses this is the place to go this was one our choices to go to instead we chose Virginia which is very beautiful and we loved every minute of it there as well. Cost of living is pretty good in Texas it just ranges a lot county to county.
9. Virginia – Job openings is over 600 at the time of this writing. The average salary is over $130k with the top 10% is $206k. We put this in the top 10 not only because we lived there before but because you can get all aspects of living in Virginia. You have the mountains, some ski slopes, then you have the beaches and big cities like Washington D.C. So you can live in Virginia and commute to D.C. if you want to and the pay will more then likely be better. This is definitely something to consider.
10. Pennsylvania – Over 1,000 job openings in PA at the time of this writing. Annual Salary average is over $126k with the top 10% over $200k. PA is a beautiful state as well with some big cities including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh so if you are sports fanatic you will definitely fit right in. There are a lot of beautiful rural towns in PA that provide a high quality of life and opportunity as well. This is definitely something to consider.

Now these are just the top 10 that we had chosen based on opportunities and quality of living along with overall pay. If you want to know more go right to Zippia and see their take on all 50 states and what Pharmacist opportunities there are there.

Pharmacist Job Market Saturation

Yes the market is more saturated then it used to be as there are more Pharmacy schools so that 100% positive. But quantity doesn’t mean there are a lot of quality pharmacists. Although I haven’t hired many myself as we live in more of a remote area. Talking to other Pharmacy managers and reading articles like the one found at tl;dr pharmacy you can see there are a lot of people just simply not putting the effort into getting a job.

First things first just make sure you have a great resume and cover letter. Don’t like how your resume looks, but don’t know what to do with it then get somebody else to fix it. You can even find places on FIVERR that will do a great job on your resume trust I know of people that have had it done. It is very much so worth the investment just make sure you get the word doc back so you can make changes in the future when needed.

Other main areas are make sure you are prepared for the interview. You can look up common questions asked in Pharmacist interview so print that out and actually write down the answers by hand this will help you remember them. Then have somebody quiz you on them and also have them look up some questions that aren’t on there either.

Related Questions (Asked From Readers)

Is Pharmacist Easy To Find A Job?

Yes it can be very easy if you are not stuck on location. Make sure you get your resume looking as professional as possible and nice cover letter along with preparing for the interview. Your resume needs to be top notch that will get you too an interview.

How Long Does It Take To Find A Pharmacist Job?

It takes seconds to find a Pharmacist job there are man job apps out there like Zippio, Indeed, Monster that all have Pharmacist jobs on them. At any one time there are over 5,000 jobs open for Pharmacist across the nation. Don’t get stuck on using only one resource as not all company use all the recruiters to list their jobs.

Will I find A Job After Pharmacy School?

Yes you can find a job after Pharmacy School just start preparing before you get to that point. Get your resume done up nicely and professional. Have a cover letter ready to go and also just as important practice interview questions with your fellow students and family. The more prepared you are the better off you will be and this will put you way ahead of the pack.

Is Pharmacy A Good Career 2020?

Pharmacy is still a great career and has a great outlook over a lot of other jobs, but it is starting to flatline in terms of Retail. So if possible I would stay away from retail and look more into a specialty and more inpatient related opportunities.

There are still a lot of opportunities when it comes to Pharmacist you may need to move out of your state or at least away from where you are currently located. The more remote the more money you are more likely to make especially in retail. This also goes for specialty pharmacist opportunities as your job will be more secure as well. Look to maybe get into non profit especially if they will help pay for your student loans.