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Pharmaceutical Sciences

What Pharmaceutical Sciences Majors Need to Know

Programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Pharmaceutical Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Pharmaceutical Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Pharmaceutical Sciences careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Pharmaceutical Sciences professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Turning Technologies TurningPoint	Multi-media educational software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
TechSmith Snagit	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Electronic health record EHR software	Medical software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates include:

• Prosthetic Aides Teacher
• Occupational Therapy Professor
• Occupational Therapy Aides Teacher
• Obstetrics Teacher
• Gastroenterology Teacher
• Adjunct Instructor
• Medical Assistant Instructor
• Orthopedics Teacher
• Dental Laboratory Technology Teacher
• Gynecology Teacher
• Gastroenterology Professor
• Recreation Therapy Aides Teacher
• Gericare Aide Teacher
• Dietetics Teacher
• Optometry Professor

What Can You Do With a Pharmaceutical Sciences Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	8.9%	$111,314	$90,148–$132,479

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	34.9%
Doctoral degree	25.9%
Post-doctoral training	19.6%
Bachelor’s degree	12.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.2%
Postsecondary certificate	2.6%
Post-master’s certificate	0.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$100,486
4 years	$129,383
5 years	$140,029

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $140,029 — roughly 39% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Pharmaceutical Sciences Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Pharmaceutical Sciences. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	7	1
Doctoral (Research)	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates earn a median of $129,383 four years after completion — roughly 240% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	18,055
Pharmacy	12,167
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, Other	1,079
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy and Cosmetic Sciences	1,000
Pharmaceutics and Drug Design	603
Clinical and Industrial Drug Development	244
Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry	185
Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy	181
Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics	150
Pharmacy Administration and Pharmacy Policy and Regulatory Affairs	150
Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management	84
Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care Pharmacy	20

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.