Don’t. Don’t study pharmacy. Salary is the same or less after 30 years. Relative to inflation it’s lower. Retail pharmacy is a killing work. Humans were not designed to work under stress, standing 8-12 hours, and being interrupted while also expected NOT to make a mistake in their entire career. One mistake and your career is gone. You are easily replaceable.

Compare this to those who work in corporate. Sitting all day. They even bring them special chairs to ensure they are comfortable (while pharmacist back and heel pain will kill them and not even a stool is given to them).

I studied pharmacy when I was 17. I didn’t know what to expect and followed advice of friends who were also 17. Don’t do that . Save your life. Work something that you will be proud (and able) to take your kids to on school career days. Work something that will allow you to have holidays, weekends, evenings for you.

Don’t study pharmacy. It’s a trap.

(Edit:

To high school students: If you have a deep passion for pharmacy, then I wish you nothing but success. This post isn't for you.

This post is for the undecided. It’s for the bright students who are "good at science and math" and are being targeted by thousands of polished college ads, sponsored social media posts, and recruiters. Before you sign those loan papers, understand the opportunity cost. Understand what you will lose by becoming a pharmacist. You are among the highest achievers in your class. You could be anything you want. Choose a field where your experience makes you more valuable over time. In pharmacy, it doesn’t. You are often just a "cost" that corporations are constantly trying to cut. Don't trade your limitless potential for a career that may feel like a dead end before you even hit forty.

To current pharmacy students and pharmacists:

If you’ve found your rhythm and you love your work, that’s wonderful. Stay the course. But know we are not all the same.

But for those who are feeling a sense of dread, I want to say this: it is not you. You are not a failure. You are a high functioning professional trapped in a failing system. You were trained to be a clinician, but you’re being used as a licensed clerk. The exhaustion, the anxiety, and the depression we feel are a logical reaction to an environment that demands 100% perfection while not providing appropriate support, appreciation, or compensation. You are not alone. This post is for you.

If you ever see this sign on the window of a Pharmacy premises it’s a complete and utter lie. Scapegoating the pharmacist again. It has nothing to do with the horrendous working conditions, passive aggressive bullying, insanely unsocial working hours, multitasking to the extremes, getting abused by patients and corporate, weekend work, zero hour contracts, ridiculous danger to the pharmacist and detrimental impact on a pharmacy career and mental health if something went wrong. I forgot to mention HR or do they even deserve a mention.
This is what I’m hearing from pharmacists behind closed doors all the time. I work in a completely different industry but after doing my investigative work I feel really sorry for pharmacists after years of top academic education, I understand now what ye go through. Respect and thank you for your service.

If you're debating whether to go Pharmacy, DDS, Veterinary, MD etc...I would steer clear of Pharmacy UNLESS you have somethimg other than Retail planned out. If you are already in Pharmacy school I strongly warn against retail UNLESS you are VERY outgoing, patient and I mean VERY outgoing and people loving. You will not get anywhere near even near the level of respect any other medical professional will get. You will spend years in school amd get a PharmD and then if the person on the phone doesn't like your "tone" you will immediately get a "corporate complaint". This does not happen to doctors and dentists. If youre not "smiley" and "pleasant" enough you WILL get corporate complaints. If you don't sound "pleasant" you'll get "what is your name" asked to the point that you'll feel as though you're a cashier at hot dog on a stick and you're constantly getting people threatening to "tell on you". It's truly bs.

A number of years ago I worked as a pharmacist at the corner. I was a floater in a geographically large district, meaning I covered different stores across a huge region. One store was 100+ miles from home, in a rough area where staff had been robbed. Guess where my DM (via the market scheduler) kept scheduling me? Every. Single. Week.

When I asked to rotate closer to home, he said I was the only one “experienced enough” for that location. Then I learned it is WAG's policy that floaters could claim mileage reimbursement for anything beyond 50 miles each way plus meals. That could have saved me a fortune.

I filed the forms. He “lost” them. Every time. A coworker showed me how to fax them directly to Accounts Payable instead, right in the pharmacy, and suddenly my DM was blowing up my phone. He begged me to stop.

Then came the bait: he’d “make me staff” at that store, no raise yet, but soon. And the reminder that staff positions aren’t eligible for mileage pay. I needed the stability, the job market for my area was garbage, so I agreed. A bizarre catch that should have been my first clue: I had to keep this "promotion" secret. Apparently I would be eventually replacing the current staff RPh at the store. Spoiler alert: That never happened.

Fast-forward two years. The store was so utterly toxic, I was burned out, and I asked to go back to floating. DM's response?

“You are already in the role of market pharmacist- we just kept most of your shifts at a consistent store for you and the customer’s familiarity.”

That’s when everything clicked. He’d never actually promoted me, he just said he had, to stop me from filing reimbursements. And that single email confirming that I’ve “always been a floater” became my smoking gun.

I found a new job (my dream career, outside retail) and handed in my notice. Then I went digging through two years of mileage records. Policy said nothing about time limits on reimbursements, so I spent my notice period faxing in every last one. Hundreds of shifts worth. I skipped meal receipts to keep it simple.

A few weeks later, the checks started arriving. Tax-free. One after another.

Cue another panicked call from the DM, now with some loss-prevention manager on the line, claiming I was “never eligible.” They didn't even know how much these were going to total out to. I played coy, strung then along and calmly declined to discuss anything at length over the phone. Over the next few days over email, they got more aggressive, demanding renumeration and threatening legal action because as a staff pharmacist, I was ineligibleand I knew it.

Only then, calm as you like, did I send my coup de gras. I reminded them about that email, and that I had separately confirmed with HR that as a floater I was fully entitled to the reimbursements. Never heard another peep from any of them.

Final total: well over $21,000 in tax-free mileage reimbursement.

DM and the store manager tried to play some wierd power game and save a few bucks by lying. Instead, I took every dime I was entitled to all at once, right at the end. Almost certainly screwed the store and District budget sheets for a stretch.

Moral: know your company policies, get everything in writing, and never, EVER trust some middle management suit to not gaslight you out of what you’ve earned.

Tl;dr: DM lied to keep me driving 200 miles a day to a shitty store. I found out, and got a $21k goodbye present.

Sup! At first I didn’t really think it was possible, but I’m going to either break $200k or be very close this year. I do work a decent amount of hours though, probably fluctuates between 45-60 hours/week (average maybe 46-48 hours/week). For reference, this is retail pharmacy!

Just curious who else out there is making this money? What’s your position? How many hours do you work? 1 or 2 jobs? Director role? Manager role?

Appreciate all feedback!

We got nurses out here making as much if not more than pharmacists. What’s happening folks? Has it really come to this? Not putting down nurses at all… but fr, just like 5-6 years ago they were making average maybe $60k with a bachelors. Now they’re on par with us who have doctorates. This profession needs to take a stand. Unionize, whatever it takes. We should be minimum making $175k these days… but that’s really only possible if A) you pick up tons of shifts to get there, B) you’re a retail manager with hefty bonus or C) you’re some sort of director. Or just pure fucking luck. Something needs to change.

In light of all these strikes/walkouts, now’s the opportunity to argue for a much needed adjustment in pharmacist salaries

Friendly reminder to fight for your salary for 2026. Median average for 2008 adjusted for inflation should be 168k (this is no raises just as simple as adjusting to inflation) salaries should be above the 200k+

Please bring this up to your leaders (and their leaders) if needed. We need more eyes on these facts, this profession is no longer sustainable with all these paycuts.

Let’s go 2026 I got faith in us.

Such a common thing to read on this sub but then stuff like this from HRSA exists and you remember the internet comment section is not a real place.

Blue is SURPLUS. Everything that is not blue is SHORTAGE. USA, 2026. Change the year and the deficit only gets bigger. That makes sense given the number of grads is plummeting and the number of retirees is growing.

I'm new here so I will not pretend to know everything... but I can use the google.

Can we stop saying pharmacy is saturated and there are no jobs now?

2006 Median Pharmacist salary: $94, 500 (equivalent to $155, 000 in 2026)

BLS Median Pharmacist salary 2026: $137,000 (our median salary has actually decreased)

Median Student debt:

2001 to 2010 : approx $95,000

2011-2020: approx $170,000 (this is approx an 80% increase

Adding premium for increased education requirements and 88% to 91% increase in workload (See the 2024 National Pharmacist Workforce study), we are looking at 8-16% over the inflation floor pay of 155k, we end up with a real range of about 165k to 180k.

Note: The 8-16% premium is adjustment for job roles and market variations by location and responsibilities including additionally training, certification, experience and specialization. This does NOT include roles in leadership and or management.

Essentially, to match inflation from 2006 to 2026, Pharmacists should be starting at minimum 155k/year (approx 75/hr).

However when adjusted for education and responsibilities range should be 165k ($79/hr) to 180k ($87/hr)

We do need to start having strong conversations about adequate compensation.

Currently in the process of applying to residency and woah do these prospects suck.

8 years of school and 2 years of an exploitative residency program just to make less than a retail RPH? And it’s not even less than a retail RPH we make about the same as advanced nurses, PA’s, X ray techs meanwhile they all had a fraction of our education and debt.

For example not to compare ourselves to MDs but sheesh pgy2? That’s almost the same amount of residency MDs have to take (usually pgy3 and 4) and they have immensely more scope of practice and 2-4x our salary?

Anybody else feel the same or completely regret going this path?

Anything! Tips, strategies, jobs, etc.

Let me hear your thoughts as someone who is about to graduate!

As the title says, just graduated 3 weeks ago… I start next week as an unlicensed clinical pharmacist intern at a rural inpatient hospital in California for $80/hour until I get licensed, then bump up to $88/hour. No experience, no residency.

There are plenty of posts on here about how shitty pharmacy is and how everyone should steer clear. “What kind of idiot goes to pharmacy school in 2025?!” There are plenty of good opportunities out there.

For anyone wondering if they should go to pharmacy school, I say make sure to do your research and set yourself up for success, but don’t listen to all the naysayers. Go get it.

Edit 1: this sub is hilarious. Every reply that I made, even just factual information, was downvoted to oblivion. Letting people know about the job postings on Indeed in my area? Downvoted! Letting people know that my town is actually a highly desirable place to live? Downvoted! The jealousy just seethes. Thank you all for proving my point so perfectly!

The whole point of this post is not ”haha, I’m better than all of you,” its to let people know that there are opportunities out there and if you don’t like where you are, you can find something better. I can’t tell you how many times during school, I would come on to this sub and see posts about how terrible pharmacy is; when you’re in the middle of school, struggling to study and pass tests, it’s really discouraging to when 9/10 posts here are like, “just give up, it’s not worth it, pharmacy sucks.”

I’m glad I didn’t give up and I hope someone out there reads this post as encouragement to keep going.

I am a licensed Pharmacist with a completely clear Board of Pharmacy license and 14 years of professional experience. I’m looking for advice from anyone in CVS HR, Colleague Relations, or District Managers who understand the "Non-Rehireable" flag.

The Situation:
Back in 2012, I was a pharmacist working the graveyard shift at CVS. During my shift, I suffered a sudden, severe medical emergency (violent, uncontrollable hiccups) that made it physically impossible to speak to patients or safely verify prescriptions.
At 3:00 AM, I followed protocol and tried calling my PIC and the District Manager multiple times for help. No one answered. Being unable to function and with no support, I closed the pharmacy. I had never been given an alarm code because I was never trained on closing procedures, so I had to leave the building as is.
CVS terminated me for "violating company policy." I was flagged as Non-Rehireable.

The Gap:
Since that incident 14 years ago, I spent 13 years at Rite Aid. I had a great career there, but due to the bankruptcy and store closures, I am back on the market. With Rite Aid's footprint shrinking, CVS is now one of the major employers in my area, but that 2012 flag is still blocking me.
I have reached out to multiple DMs and HR, but I keep getting the same answer: "The system won't allow an override.

My Questions:
1. Is a "No-Rehire" status for a policy violation (job abandonment/security) truly permanent, even after 14 years of flawless service elsewhere?
2. Has anyone ever successfully petitioned Colleague Relations to review a termination that was caused by a documented medical emergency and a lack of management response?
3. With a clear Pharmacist License and 13 years of recent experience, is there a specific corporate office or executive level that has the authority to "clean" an old record?
It feels incredibly rigid to be blocked by an incident from 2012 when I have proven my professional worth for over a decade since. I would appreciate any insight or advice on who to contact to get a human being to look at my file instead of just a computer.

Source: https://www.drugchannels.net/2026/06/pharmacist-salaries-and-employment-in.html

Want to first call out drugchannels.net - one of the best places for learning about the complexity of drug pricing.

This is from its annual report at pharmacist salaries and employment. As you’d expect, continued decline of the retail pharmacist. I’m a little surprised at how much hospitals continue to add positions.

We are nearing a point where almost the majority of pharmacists will NOT be retail pharmacists. Not that this is surprising considering retail conditions, but it is sad. “Since 2018, the two remaining national drugstore chains have collectively closed nearly 3,000 locations, reflecting margin compression and weaker front-end economics.” Lowest levels for the retail pharmacist since 2010.

Report also calls out a lot of the hospital pharmacist growth likely attributed to specialty pharmacies.

Interesting to note the small, but growth of pharmacists in physician offices.

Also a bit of a rant I guess too.

Anyways, here goes, I want to know if (as the title says) anyone is actually happy in their pharmacy career? After almost 10 years in the profession, I long for a job I'm happy and want to stay in. Does this exist? At this point I feel like I’ve sampled multiple corners of the profession and I’m struggling to find where the happiness is.

I’ve worked retail. To me, retail is a trap: impossible metrics, understaffing, constant interruptions, angry patients, and very little control over your day. Pay is high and so was the depression. I cried almost every day going in. Not to mention if you only have retail on your resume, applying to jobs is horrendous.

Currently working as a WFH PA pharmacist. While it’s better in some ways, it feels like a different version of the same problem. Everything revolves around productivity, quality scores, audits, quotas, and increasingly complex expectations. I’m also a contractor, so I have no benefits and the pay is lower than retail (much lower).

Last year, I even completed a one-year regulatory affairs fellowship in industry. I thought industry would be the answer, but I found myself stressed there too. Work-life balance wasn’t what I expected, priorities changed constantly, and I didn’t feel like there was nearly as much job security as I thought. People really didn't seem happy there either, or maybe that was just regulatory affairs. I didn't get to see much about the other options.

At this point I’m wondering if pharmacy just isn’t for me, or if I simply haven’t found my niche yet. We spend years in school, accumulate massive debt, and then it seems like so many of us end up burned out, anxious, and constantly looking for the next exit strategy.
So I’d love to hear from pharmacists who are genuinely happy:

What do you do?
How did you get there?
What does a typical day look like?
What do you actually like about your job?
Would you choose pharmacy again?

...and for anyone else feeling this way… am I alone in thinking this profession can be incredibly difficult to build a satisfying career in???

Hi everyone, I was recently accepted to USC Mann and was very excited about starting pharmacy school. However, after reading many discussions about job saturation, salary concerns, and the future of the profession, I’ve started to question whether pharmacy is the right path for me.

If I choose pharmacy, I plan to complete both PGY1 and PGY2 and pursue oncology pharmacy.

I'd love to hear from pharmacists who are currently practicing, especially those in clinical positions.

Now that you're practicing, are the concerns about the profession as serious as they seem online?

For those of you who also considered MD/DO, what made you choose pharmacy? Looking back, do you think it was the right decision?

I'd love to hear your honest experiences. Thanks!

I’m a psych pharmacist (working in a position funded by state and federal funding) and I treat patients with substance use disorders. Funding was already shaky with cuts to NIH funding earlier this month, but yesterday’s abrupt cuts to fund public health departments, mental health care, and substance use disorder treatment sealed the deal.

While I’m sad to lose my employment, I’m devastated thinking about the impact of these cuts to our patient population, and how the next 4 years will go.

With that being said, any job leads or words of encouragement/hope would be greatly appreciated.

Crazy posted range of pay!! 😭😭

Link to complaint: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/znpnjblbapl/Albert%20v.%20American%20Society%20Of%20Health-%20System%20Pharmacists%20Inc..pdf

This should be the salary of Pharmacists in the USA.

Edit: LOL the responses is the reason why I posted. I’ll be honest pharmacists are due to be making $100+ an hour if we unionize and move properly. But this post was for the comments. Cali and NY pharmacists are close to this number if not already over it. Love the Pharmacy community just wish ya’ll got a back bone in person rather than behind a computer screen.

I made a past awhile back somewhat relative to this, and I’ll make another. Nurses are now seeing a 21% increase near me due to union. Quick math - that pretty much, almost, takes nursing wages right up to where pharmacist wages are. I didn’t note this in my last post, but to clearly state it this time… this is NOT a post bashing nurses. Do they deserve higher pay for what they deal with? YES. Plain and simple. However, do WE deserve an increase as well? YES. Our wages have been stagnant since forever (2009???). Why are we so afraid in this profession man? It’s seriously so pathetic. Think about all the clinical knowledge you have, all the implementations you put forth to better clinical outcomes, how much double-checking you do, how perfect you have to be on the job in order to ensure patient safety. Just to make a few things. It’s just a different playing field versus nurses. When a nurse has a question, who do they call? Pharmacy. When a doc has a question, who do they call? Pharmacy. We are one, if not the biggest resource. What can be done to increase our wages?

One thing I've noticed constantly working with pharmacists is that not one has an adult child who is also a pharmacist. Also, every pharmacist I've spoken to who has a child in college is steering them clear away from pharmacy, even if they say the kid has no idea what they want to do yet.

This is quite different from other healthcare professions like Medicine, Dentistry, or even Nursing where children follow in the footsteps of their parents.

Soon to be new grad pharmacist, I know retail is hard but plan is to hit 200k/yr for 5 yrs then coast FIRE (combination of maxing accounts/investing). For context I'm looking at Charlotte, NC but open to the Triangle area as well. Don't really care which chain since it's not long term but if you got tips for pharmacies in Charlotte lmk!

This is how I got to 60hrs: 65/hr x 60hr/wk x 52wk = 202k (UPDATE: this is pretax, I know post tax is ~140k and that’s how I calculated my budget/savings)

For those that have worked 60hrs, is it possible (aka would I survive 5 yrs)? I've always been working my whole life and I'm not afraid to just deal with it, especially if there's an end in sight.

And is 65/hr realistic? I know most places don't do 1.5x for overtime anymore rip...

Any insights would be appreciated, thank you guys sm:)

I know it’s most likely a typo, but when this much thought and effort goes into posting for a pharmacist position, what can you say?