PLEASE READ: For all pharmacists, pharmacy students and prospective students!!!!

I am so glad I did not decide to apply for Pharmacy in the end... What a disaster my life would have been! There are still people saying Pharmacy is well-paid and reputable profession, and that is what causes so many people to apply for the course. Once they have heard "well paid" they get tunnel vision and just go for it.

If you have not yet applied guys, and enjoy science, especially Chemistry, do what I did an apply for a Chemical Eng degree!

Pharmacy is still is well-paid compared to other over-saturated science degrees e.g. Biomedical sciences...

Many of those who study science degrees end up going into teaching or graduate-entry business posts due to lack of available jobs.

BUT if the government does not start appreciating the fact that the pharmacy school numbers are too high-things will spiral out of control. It will mean major competition for job roles.

At present, a hospital pharmacist locus can get paid up to £32 an hour, community locum can get up to £25 an hour....so I am not so worried for pharmacy yet.

(I quote those figures from friends currently paid and doing those jobs)

Where do your friends work for 25 an hour in community? I note you say UPTO , is that in an emergency. ?

I am so glad I did not decide to apply for Pharmacy in the end... What a disaster my life would have been! There are still people saying Pharmacy is well-paid and reputable profession, and that is what causes so many people to apply for the course. Once they have heard "well paid" they get tunnel vision and just go for it.

If you have not yet applied guys, and enjoy science, especially Chemistry, do what I did an apply for a Chemical Eng degree!

I am so glad I did not decide to apply for Pharmacy in the end... What a disaster my life would have been! There are still people saying Pharmacy is well-paid and reputable profession, and that is what causes so many people to apply for the course. Once they have heard "well paid" they get tunnel vision and just go for it.

If you have not yet applied guys, and enjoy science, especially Chemistry, do what I did an apply for a Chemical Eng degree!

Stop putting people off from having high aspirations please. The NHS in general is lacking funds at the moment due to cuts, courtesy of this Tory government we disastrously voted for as a nation. Britons have made a mistake. Doctors' salaries are have been reduced also, junior doctors are now only paid an average of £21,000 per year, but you shouldn't go around discouraging people fr the profession, should you? Just like we need doctors, we also NEED Pharmacists to work alongside other health professionals. STOP all the scaremongering.

Okay now I can officially hate my course, the degree and the all inclusive nuisance of GPhC in everything we do. How I wish I had thought of devoting my studies in a different direction :/

Wow I don't think you deserve to be a Pharmacist to be honest with you, you lack the very basic skills of independent reasoning, as a Pharmacist you'd potentially be putting patients at danger, maybe you should drop out? You see one a couple of negative posts on a thread and you are put off from continuing with your degree? You are either a disgrace or simply a troll.

Stop putting people off from having high aspirations please. The NHS in general is lacking funds at the moment due to cuts, courtesy of this Tory government we disastrously voted for as a nation. Britons have made a mistake. Doctors' salaries are have been reduced also, junior doctors are now only paid an average of £21,000 per year, but you shouldn't go around discouraging people fr the profession, should you? Just like we need doctors, we also NEED Pharmacists to work alongside other health professionals. STOP all the scaremongering.

If you are 'Amazing' you can do better than community pharmacy. You're a hospital pharmacist / wanna-be Doctor (since 2007!), it's a different world.
The only thing I will agree with you on, is if this 'GP pharmacist' thing pans out OK. There may be opportunities there, but the competition will be fierce, and the Physician's Assistant idea is taking off in the UK now, so that could reduce the opportunity.
The Chemist and Druggist website is a good way to find out about community pharmacy, (to all you budding applicants) A good article to start with is 'locum rates at lowest for 7 years!'

Lol at the fact you've already made so many conclusive judgments about me :/ Well what if I said that I'm currently repeating my 2nd year of the Pharmacy degree due to a screw up of my school which I contested but they couldn't care less. Oh and the fact that I actually work as a Part time dispenser in a Hospital Pharmacy which is under staffed, over burdened with the growing number of clinics opening each year and basically leading to an increase in number of scripts dispensed by at least a 1/3rd... Oh also, one of the Pharmacists I work with is getting investigated and could possibly get suspended from duty because she accidently dispensed a drug to a patient who was pregnant and as it wasn't safe for her to take it, its become a big issue... I mean surely, you'd think the Doctor would have some responsibility for never prescribing it in the first place right? Well sadly, in all the ever-growing pressures within the NHS there isn't any real hope for improvement... Specially under the current Government.


Yeah... Hope that justifies my opinion

If you are an amazing pharmacist, being a community pharmacist is not a bad career to choose. Many of the pharmacists in community provide a fantastic support service for their local area. And before you say this is "heresay" I volunteered in a community pharmacy for 2 years during university and the pharmacist who I worked with had such good rapport with his patients and the local people. He was proud of the work he did.

But again, community pharmacy is not the single path of a newly qualified pharmacist. I know pharmacists in the CCG, CQC, doing pHDs, working in the pharmaceutical industry, another is doing advertising of all things(!) and of course, hospital and community pharmacy as well.

I'm not worried about the physician's assistants (http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/your-practice/practice-topics/employment/less-than-30-of-gps-willing-to-employ-physician-assistants/20010480.fullarticle) - as at present, they cannot prescribe. Have no knowledge of medications either.

Plus, this quote: "The announcement follows sustained lobbying by the BMA to have pharmacists on hand to carry out routine medication reviews and advise patients on their medication as part of a team of GPs and practice nurses." From: http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/your-practice/practice-topics/employment/ni-investing-millions-in-five-year-pharmacist-scheme-to-relieve-gps/20030676.article

Although, this is being carried out in N.Ireland (still part of UK), the effects of this investment will be analysed and consider for other parts of the UK as well. This is the future of pharmacy as I have previously mentioned.

NOTE: What has the fact that I wanted to be a doctor since 2007(!!) got to do with my opinions on pharmacy? You have no need to stoop to that level of berating me in order to have your opinion better heard or valued. It's childish.




Sorry to hear that. Please feel free to PM me if you want any advice or support, or just to rant. You seem to have a tough time at the moment.

But keep fighting, get your degree and forget about the past. I have always been told that as long as you have done your best - then there is nothing more you can do. Being behind one year will not affect your ability to get a job or a pre-reg placement, especially if you are are proactive about getting pharmacy experience for your CV - which you clearly are.

Nobody is scaremongering! They are telling you the truth. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't true! The NHS is ring-fenced. It hasn't had any cuts. We still have a 70 billion budget deficit. We spend too much as a country in relation to what we take in tax. I pity you if you think Miliband and Balls could have run this country anywhere apart from into the ground.


I think if you do some research you will see that Junior Drs don't stay Junior for ever! Locum GPs are being offered £60 to £100 an hour, if you look at some of the agency ads. We have a shortage of Drs. We most certainly do NOT have a shortage of pharmacists! That means wages will fall. Find someone doing A level economics and get them to explain supply and demand curves to you.


Do a pharmacy degree, I enjoyed mine, I would do it again. But DON'T do a pharmacy degree with a view to becoming a community pharmacist. I earned £19 an hour yesterday. I have over 20 years' experience. The company I worked for was paying me £23 an hour in 2012. That's 4 years ago. Now factor in inflation over those 4 years. Another company I work for paid me £19 an hour in 2011. They are now offering £14/15.

I was talking to the boss of a small chain today about the 6% cuts heading our way soon. I told him I presume I won't get a pay rise ever again ? ! He said at least I understood that!! He also said he could see pharmacist wages falling. He has over 30 years' experience in community pharmacy.

Personally, I think a pharmacy degree is a risky thing to take on these days. Over 70% of pharmacists work in community. There are too many schools of pharmacy and too many graduates. Work it out!

I'm really unhappy with what's happening to community pharmacy. I really wish what I'm telling you was false. But all the rates I quote, are what I did and do now earn. The big companies are slowly swallowing up the little ones and the independents. Before you accept a place on a pharmacy degree, go down your High St and go and ask to talk to the pharmacist in Boots, and Lloyds and Tesco, and Mr Bloggs the Independent chemist. Do your own research.

Do a pharmacy degree if you want to. But it is not a lucrative profession anymore. Assistant managers in Aldi start on 24k a year apparently. OK it's a 50 hour week. But you can work your way up and onto 70k! You won't get that in community pharmacy as an employee wage slave! All the best!

I'm not berating you my dear, you're a big cheer leader for pharmacy even though you don't work in community pharmacy as you are a hospital pharmacist, you have talked about being a Dr since joining this forum in 2007 and have already applied to fast track medicine.
There is NOTHING wrong with any of that. I just fail to see why you keep saying it is such a great career when it isn't anymore and you've been actively looking to switch career. Yes, there are other options beside hospital and community, but 90% of all pharmacy grads end up there. So basically you are saying there is a great future ahead for the 10%, creme de la creme who can find alternative careers besides what they have basically trained for.
Just because I disagree with everything you say doesn't mean I'm berating or belittling you . That's just your opinion. Which is also wrong IMO.
BTW i thought you weren't going to reply to me anymore.
Every time you tell people how wonderful it is, I'm going to tell them the truth. I'm sorry if you're employed by some Uni or pharmacy company to "Big it up" ! There is no personal offence intended.
The problem is you speak as such an Authority on the state of pharmacy but you have only been qualified 3 years and are probably applying for fast track medicine when you finish your diploma. I just find you a little hypocritical.
No offence.