In 2013, total spending on US medicine has increased to $329.2 billion from $319.1 billion in 2012, marking a recovery in US pharmaceutical market, according to a recent study, Medicine Use and Shifting Costs of Healthcare: A Review of the Use of Medicines in the United States, by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Information.
In terms of career development, in 2012 Hoosier Hot 50 jobs list produced by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, careers in pharmacy ranks eighth on the list.
The list, which ranks jobs based on expected wage and demand in 2020, is compiled using information based on Indiana’s occupational projections and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey
According to the survey, the number of positions for pharmacists is expected to grow 2.5% each year through 2020, for an increase of about 163 healthcare jobs each year. More than 1,600 jobs will be added through 2020. The average salary for pharmacists is $110,053.
Compared with 10 years ago, pharmacists’ job responsibilities have moved from primarily filling prescriptions to more clinical activities. Nowadays, retail pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens and Kroger offer many services such as immunizations, health screenings, medication management therapy and more.
For job seekers with doctor’s degree in pharmacy, there are many career opportunities:
Retail: People usually start from a retail pharmacist, then can choose to become a pharmacy manager, coordinator or progress up through the ranks of merchandising or operational leadership;
Industry: There are many industry career opportunities in companies such as Eli Lilly.
Pharmaceutical Sales: In 2012, the sales of Top 5 pharmaceutical companies in the US was more than 90 billion U.S. dollars, which is more than one third of the total spending on medicines in the US. As the whole industry is growing, there will more opportunities in the pharmaceutical sales area.
