As well as working as a community or hospital pharmacist, a pharmacy degree can lead to roles within academia, the pharmaceutical industry and with regulatory bodies

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Most pharmacy degrees include placements that give you experience in a range of pharmacy settings. However, it's still good to get your own work experience on top of this to show potential employers that you're enthusiastic and that you can apply your skills in the workplace. It also allows you to develop contacts in your chosen field.

Getting experience in a local pharmacy that gives you exposure to working with prescriptions and drugs is helpful. Many retail pharmacy chains offer summer placement programmes, and some employers will recruit their foundation year trainees from these.

You could also find experience by volunteering in a hospital pharmacy, shadowing pharmacy professionals for a few days or even a few weeks.

There may also be some opportunities to do a placement with a pharmaceutical company, depending on your areas of interest.

You could become a student member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), which provides access to resources, networking opportunities and support throughout your studies.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

The two main areas of pharmacy are:

  • community pharmacy - employers include large retail chains, independent pharmacies, and small or medium-sized chain stores,
  • hospital pharmacy - working for NHS and private hospitals.

However, other typical employers include:

  • GP surgeries or health centres
  • government bodies such as the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
  • pharmaceutical and food and drink companies - working on research and development or in areas such as quality assurance, marketing, sales and management
  • university or research institutions - teaching pharmacy students or undertaking research (as an academic pharmacist).

You could also work for:

  • the armed services - you can work as a military pharmacist for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force
  • veterinary pharmacy practices - working as a veterinary pharmacist for specialist practices, university veterinary schools, the pharmaceutical industry, and government departments and agencies such as the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Once you're a qualified pharmacist you can also work as a locum (temporary replacement) pharmacist, either on a self-employed basis or through an agency.

Find information on employers in healthcare, science and pharmaceuticals and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

A pharmacy degree provides you with subject specific skills, including:

  • thorough knowledge of multiple scientific disciplines such as molecular biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, clinical toxicology and neurophysiology
  • knowledge of facts and theories relating to the discovery, design, development, manufacture and delivery of medicines
  • knowledge of the properties and clinical uses of medicines
  • the ability to understand how and why patients react to the medicines they take
  • production of pharmacy-specific scientific documentation
  • operation of pharmaceutical instrumentation
  • the ability to communicate effectively with patients and other health professionals
  • knowledge of the law and ethical standards relating to the supply of medicines
  • an understanding of individual patient care and issues relating to public health.

You also develop a range of skills that are attractive to employers in other sectors as well. These include:

  • interpersonal and communication skills
  • the ability to work well as part of a team using collective decision making
  • skills in managing and leading teams
  • IT, numeracy and computation skills
  • critical evaluation and research skills
  • problem-solving skills and the ability to think clearly and methodically
  • time management and organisational skills
  • commercial awareness
  • customer service skills.

Further study

Only small numbers of pharmacy graduates go on to further study directly after graduation. This is because many degrees are four years and are then followed by a year of supervised foundation training, as a trainee pharmacist, at an approved training site (although there are some five-year integrated or sandwich degrees that include this foundation year).

Some pharmacy graduates later go on to study for postgraduate certificates and diplomas in pharmacy to help develop their careers further.

If you want a career in academia or scientific research and development, you can study for an MSc or PhD in fields such as pharmacy, prescribing, and drug discovery and development, or in biomedical or chemical sciences.

If you're considering pursuing a career outside of pharmacy, such as in law or journalism, for example, you can undertake a relevant vocational or postgraduate course to provide the necessary skills and knowledge.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in pharmacy.

What do pharmacy graduates do?

83% of pharmacy graduates working in the UK 15 months after graduation are working as pharmacists (80%) or pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants (3%).

DestinationPercentage
Employed63.2
Further study5.3
Working and studying15.3
Unemployed6
Other10.3
Graduate destinations for pharmacy
Type of workPercentage
Health80.5
Clerical, secretarial and adminstrative3.4
Science1.6
Engineering1.2
Other13.3
Types of work entered in the UK

Find out what other graduates are doing after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.

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