Pharmacy jobs through other degrees

Can jobs in pharmacy (e.g community, hospital, industrial etc) be accessed through other similar degrees like Chemistry or Biochem?

Reply 1

s_ov_b

9

Original post by ax4

Can jobs in pharmacy (e.g community, hospital, industrial etc) be accessed through other similar degrees like Chemistry or Biochem?

Yes, I know a few people who have gone into industry pharmacy to manufacture medicines through a chemistry/biochem degree however you cannot become a pharmacist where you have the ability to prescribe medications.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

ax4

OP

14

Original post by s_ov_b

Yes, I know a few people who have gone into industry pharmacy to manufacture medicines through a chemistry/biochem degree however you cannot become a pharmacist where you have the ability to prescribe medications.

Ok that's fair enough. I was wondering about industrial pharmacy because I heard that Pharmaceutical companies would look at a wide range of science degrees for those kind of positions. I tried looking on a few of the websites but didn't really get any info

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

The pharmaceutical industry is not the same thing as a career in pharmacy i.e. being a dispensing pharmacist. A pharmacist is a healthcare profession which has it's own professional standards body and you cannot enter the profession with anything other than a suitably qualifying pharmacy degree. There are also no graduate "conversion" courses and you would need to do the entire undergraduate pharmacy degree from scratch if you did another degree - and you would not be eligible for funding for a second degree in pharmacy.

If you want to become a pharmacist, do a pharmacy degree. If you want to work in the pharma industry not as a pharmacist, do any relevant science degree.

Reply 4

ax4

OP

14

Are jobs in the Pharma industry in the UK rare. I was looking out of curiosity online but saw very little

Original post by artful_lounger

The pharmaceutical industry is not the same thing as a career in pharmacy i.e. being a dispensing pharmacist. A pharmacist is a healthcare profession which has it's own professional standards body and you cannot enter the profession with anything other than a suitably qualifying pharmacy degree. There are also no graduate "conversion" courses and you would need to do the entire undergraduate pharmacy degree from scratch if you did another degree - and you would not be eligible for funding for a second degree in pharmacy.

If you want to become a pharmacist, do a pharmacy degree. If you want to work in the pharma industry not as a pharmacist, do any relevant science degree.

Are jobs in the Pharma industry in the UK rare ? I was looking out of curiosity online but saw very little

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by ax4

Are jobs in the Pharma industry in the UK rare. I was looking out of curiosity online but saw very little

Are jobs in the Pharma industry in the UK rare ? I was looking out of curiosity online but saw very little

I don't think they are especially rare, I think GSK or AZ (or maybe both?) opened a big new building/campus near Addenbrookes (somewhat) recently, and I think that whole area from sort of London to Cambridge by way of Milton Keynes and Oxford have a bunch of biotech and pharmaceutical companies based there.

I do think it's probably a competitive job market with how many bioscience/chemistry/related subject grads there are if you are applying for roles with just an undergraduate (BSc or MChem/MSci equivalent) degree. I'd expect a PhD will give you more options in that specific area, although probably isn't explicitly necessary outside of R&D roles.

Reply 6

University of Huddersfield Student Rep

Official Rep

14

Original post by ax4

Can jobs in pharmacy (e.g community, hospital, industrial etc) be accessed through other similar degrees like Chemistry or Biochem?

Hi @ax4

Degrees such as Chemistry or Biochem may help you get into working in the pharmaceutical industry however, will not allow you to practice as an industrial pharmacist. Studying the MPharm degree and passing the GPhC exam enables you to practice as a pharmacist and subsequently, you can practice in industry as a pharmacist.
Completing the MPharm and passing the GPhC exam also enables you to practice as a pharmacist in community and hospital settings.

If you are interested in working in pharmacy having completed degrees such as Chemistry and Biochem you could potentially apply as a (trainee) pharmacy assistant in pharmacies and work your way up following more training and studying courses.

I hope this has been helpful!
Please don't hesitate to ask any questions :smile:

Aaliya ~ 4th year pharmacy student ~ University of Huddersfield

Reply 7

Plantagenet Crown

20

I was going to echo what artful lounger said. Don't be fooled by the name: the pharmaceutical industry is not pharmacy. I work in the pharmaceutical industry as a research chemist and no one in the companies I've worked at has ever been a pharmacist or held a pharmacy degree. It's all chemistry, biology, medicinal chemistry etc. And no, jobs in pharma are not particularly rare, there are lots of science parks around the country, especially in places like Oxford, Cambridge and the Manchester area.

Reply 8

lemony-yellow

1

Original post by Plantagenet Crown

I was going to echo what artful lounger said. Don't be fooled by the name: the pharmaceutical industry is not pharmacy. I work in the pharmaceutical industry as a research chemist and no one in the companies I've worked at has ever been a pharmacist or held a pharmacy degree. It's all chemistry, biology, medicinal chemistry etc. And no, jobs in pharma are not particularly rare, there are lots of science parks around the country, especially in places like Oxford, Cambridge and the Manchester area.

hi, I was wondering what's the salary like in the pharmaceutical industry if you studied biology or biomed at degree? Are there less job opportunities as well? Thanks!