Should I become a Pharmacist?

I am in year 12 (first A level year) and I have been seriously considering doing MPharm at uni. I initially wanted to do medicine but I'm not sure I am up to the high stress life style and I also do not have the predicted grades to be a competitive medical applicant. (I take chemistry, biology and geography A levels. I also did an EPQ)

However I have heard lots of negativity surrounding pharmacy as a career, mostly on this website. I have heard very mixed messages from those who claim to be pharmacists along with many who don't seem to be involved in the field.

I would just like to know whether it truly is such a bad career choice. I personally think working as a community pharmacist seems to be a rewarding and enjoyable career, particularly now as a lot of patient consultation that would typically be a GP's responsibility is being moved to pharmacists.
I would also like to know what salary can be achieved by a pharmacist with some experience (e.g., 5-10 years as a practising pharmacist) as I have heard some people say it is as low as the 20-40k range, and others say it is more like 60k. I have looked at job openings for pharmacists and pharmacy managers and a typical salary looks to be around 50-60k, with quite a few around 40k on the lower end and a couple as high as 70-80k. I would very much like the idea of managing a pharmacy one day, perhaps even owning my own.

I would really appreciate some clarification on what type of salary range I would realistically expect to see as pharmacist, even if it takes 10-15 years to get there. I would like to think I would be a desirable candidate when applying for a job with plenty of competition.

Reply 1

Andi.0k

Original post by Blav1kenman

I don't know how it is as a career choice but in the UK working in public healthcare generally (NHS or however your employed) is awful no matter your area. Pharmacists generally have better salaries than other healthcare workers (from what I've seen) but you have to deal with ab*se from customers, maybe overworking not sure for pharmacists and your practice closing. A lot of pharmacies are struggling to get funding due to the government being the government. Only go into a healthcare job if you actually enjoy caring for people otherwise you will hate your job. If you don't want to deal with the stress of working for the NHS then consider private research for a pharmaceutical company, not sure how the pay compares to NHS pay but its better than public research, and you will have better working conditions.