Pharmacist Salary Trends – What Pharmacists Are Getting Paid the Most?
Are pharmacist salaries going down? What kind of pharmacist is getting paid the most in this current pharmacy job market?
Based on comparing pharmacist salary surveys (compiled by Mercer) taken between the spring 2010 and fall 2011 survey edition, pharmacist salaries have increased. Pharmacy managers who manage the day-to-day operations of hospital pharmacies make the most, even compared to retail pharmacy managers.
Hospital staff pharmacists experienced the smallest increase compared to the other pharmacy positions surveyed. Retail pharmacists and hospital retail/outpatient pharmacists seem to have the highest % increase in salary from the previous year, compared to pharmacists in other positions.
A few things to note when interpreting the survey results: salaries are based on 77 organizations participating in the survey and the # of organizations participating in the survey seemed to have decreased from spring 2010’s pharmacist salary survey. The # of organizations participating in the survey who reported hospital staff pharmacist salary surveys decreased in half. Keep in mind that the results were compiled in middle of the year in 2011 for the fall survey publication.
Without doing research on statistical significance and a more detailed analytical comparison from year-to-year, my observations are that the salaries are increasing.
As far as what I’m observing in pharmacist salary trends right now, salaries appear to stay in a similar trend. My projections are that until we make ourselves more valuable (aka make more money for the pharmacy or demonstrate in a hospital setting for example that we save healthcare costs) to warrant an increase in salary, the salaries will stay similar for now.
What about temp pharmacist jobs? Look out for the update on that in an article coming soon.
How do the salary trends affect you, even if you have a job? Use the information to get a raise. Make yourself valuable. It goes back to the basics of any business. The more value you provide to the business (aka pharmacy), the greater asset you will be and you may ask for a raise. Not sure what the best way is to ask for a raise, or to ask for the fairest compensation when you are looking for a new job? Stay tuned in an upcoming article on tips to ask for a raise/fair compensation and get it. You will also find out what pharmacist jobs have more negotiating power.
If you qualify for a recruiter to network on your behalf, use your recruiter to help you negotiate a fair compensation for you. Remember, it’s not all about the salary—it’s the whole package.
Comment below (you can keep it anonymous if you wish) about what you’ve seen with salaries at your workplace.
I’ve included the National Results from the 2010 Spring Edition Pharmacist Salary Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. *Keep in mind that there are absolutely variations geographically & you may be compensated differently due to the depth of role that you have.
2011 Pharmacy Compensation Survey – Fall Edition
National Results
| Pos Code(s) |
Pos Title(s) |
# Orgs | # Obs | $ Hourly Base Pay Wgtd Mean | $ Annualized Base Pay Wgtd Mean* |
| 100 | Pharmacy Team Mgr | 63 | 28,953 | 61.89 | 128.7 |
| 200 | Staff Pharmacist – Retail | 18 | 57,374 | 57.08 | 118.7 |
| 205 | Staff Pharmacist – Hospital | 45 | 3,823 | 53.83 | 112.0 |
| 210 | Staff Pharmacist (Healthcare Retail/Satellite) | 12 | 381 | 54.78 | 113.9 |
| 220 | Staff Pharmacist (Mail-order/Online) | 9 | 2,141 | 53.92 | 112.2 |
| 250 | Clinical Pharmacist | 43 | 898 | 55.41 | 115.3 |
| 270 | Nuclear Pharmacist | 5 | 375 | 55.54 | 115.5 |
| 200 205 210 220 250 270 |
Staff Pharmacist – Retail, Staff Pharmacist – Hospital, Staff Pharmacist (Healthcare Retail/Satellite), Staff Pharmacist (Mail-order/Online), Clinical Pharmacist, Nuclear Pharmacist | 77 | 64,992 | 54.84 | 114.1 |
| 300 | Lead Pharmacy Tech | 52 | 25,231 | 18.60 | 38.7 |
| 310 | Pharmacy Tech | 75 | 122,454 | 15.39 | 32.0 |
| 300 310 |
Lead Pharmacy Tech, Pharmacy Tech | 76 | 147,685 | 15.76 | 32.8 |
*Annualized Weighted Mean reported in thousands.
This data provides reasonable estimates of market rates in the Pharmacy industry. However, many factors contribute to the final determination of pay rates, including company philosophy and the influences of each individual incumbent. For that reason, Mercer, Pharmacy OneSource, and PharmacyWeek suggest that you use multiple resources in the development of a total compensation program.
Pharmacist Job Market Update
Here’s the latest pharmacist job market update:
More job opportunities are opening up for pharmacists, as pharmacies & companies are more interested in hiring, compared to late 2009. Positions are getting filled quickly in areas saturated by pharmacists, especially those that are staff level ones with desired shifts. It is refreshing to see some pharmacies ready to hire and quick to make decisions. Pharmacists are having to beat other pharmacists to the punch, because once a coveted position becomes available, pharmacies are being flooded with applicants.
On the flip side, I am seeing other pharmacies take extra care in waiting for the right pharmacist, more so than in the past. I know one hospital that waited 8 months to find the right critical care pharmacist. The pharmacy director chose not to look at critical care trained residents who had only one year of experience beyond residency, nor critical care pharmacists without a residency. Their minimum requirements were that the pharmacist had to be PGY2 critical care residency-trained and have at least 2 years of critical care experience as a pharmacist. And the pharmacy director was willing to wait for someone who met that criteria and was the right fit.
I know another hospital that has waited months for the right candidate for a clinical coordinator position. They have been waiting for someone who is cream of the crop. Even staff pharmacist roles are not immune to this type of extra selectivity and hiring managers waiting for the right person. One pharmacy in Northern California has had a staff pharmacist opening for a few months. Despite receiving many qualified candidates, they have chosen to hold off on hiring until finding someone who is the perfect candidate.
Clinical specialists that are in high demand are Read more