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3,340 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
1,416 Master's Degrees Annually
#11 in Popularity
$123,670 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree 14,696
Bachelor’s Degree 2,649
Master’s Degree 1,604
Graduate Certificate 338
Basic Certificate 84
Associate Degree 22
Undergraduate Certificate 7

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, pharmacy majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Pharmacy Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Skills for Pharmacy Majors

When studying pharmacy, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Pharmacy Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a pharmacy student include the following:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with pharmacy:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Marketing Managers 10.1% $134,290
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 13.4% $84,810
Pharmacists 5.6% $126,120
Sales Managers 7.5% $124,220

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

2,649 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
65% Percent Women
40% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 11th most popular in the country with 3,340 students graduating with a bachelor’s in pharmacy in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 65% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of pharmacy majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 549
Black or African American 206
Hispanic or Latino 178
White 1,355
International Students 165
Other Races/Ethnicities 196

Geographic Diversity

Pharmacy appeals to people across the globe. About 6.2% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • India
  • China
  • South Korea
  • Canada
  • Saudi Arabia

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $122,320 to $140,320 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to pharmacy. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a <nil> Major  ( 122320 to 140320 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with pharmacy require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to pharmacy have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 0.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 0.4%
Some College Courses 1.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 3.3%
Bachelor’s Degree 28.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 4.6%
Master’s Degree 17.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 0.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 12.7%
Doctoral Degree 19.2%
Post-Doctoral Training 12.2%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 2 1
Certificate (2-4 Years) 1 0
Associate’s Degree 12 2
Bachelor’s Degree 35 14
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 167 21
Post-Master’s 13 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 121 1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 144 5
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 1 0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a pharmacy grad is $123,670 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 210% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,675,400 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to pharmacy.

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 319,502
Health & Medical Administrative Services 88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339
Allied Health Professions 83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 83,587
Public Health 41,651
Health Sciences & Services 36,762
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 30,594
Mental & Social Health Services 30,331
Medicine 29,089
Dental Support Services 26,024
Communication Sciences 23,558
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,622
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,605
Other Health Professions 7,676
Dentistry 6,771
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 6,113
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 4,980
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,434
Chiropractic 2,881
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,163
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 1,818
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,796
Optometry 1,746
Medical Science 1,051
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 817
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 452
Alternative Medical Support Services 140
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 89

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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