What is pharmacy? What does a pharmacist actually do? According to an article by Mary Bonk, she states that “pharmacists are public health professionals who specialize in the science of drugs” (Bonk, Pharmacists 1). Most anyone who has ever been sick or gone to a doctor’s office has dealt with pharmacists at one point in time. There are many different branches of pharmacy work. Some work hands on with the patients; others deal with packaging and dispensing medicine doses and some work more with the scientific aspect of the job such as actually making the medicine, and much more! Pharmacology offers various amounts of different jobs within the field and would be a very beneficial job to have.
Depending on the branch of pharmacy work one goes into, there are different amounts of education that are required to be completed. According to Mary Bonk, “To become a pharmacist, you must have at least five years of education beyond high school. In most cases you can go to any accredited college that offers the appropriate courses for your first or second year and then transfer to a college of pharmacy” (1). Also, in another article, Bonk states that “Many companies prefer to hire people who have attended a college or technical institute for two years… For some jobs, employers prefer to hire people who have a bachelor’s degree in one of the biological sciences” (Bonk, Pharmaceutical 2). Although this may sound like a lot of school, the more training and education a student receives will help them in the end. In the same article, Bonk states that a bachelors degree (four years) is only required for full time pharmacists, unlike a pharmaceutical technician which only requires an associates degree (two years). Some of the best colleges for this field of work include University of California, University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota and the University of Texas in Austin. To begin preparing as a student this field requires a stable science and chemistry base of core classes. If a high school student proves to be talented in their science classes, it is a possibility that they would enjoy pharmacy. To prepare, one could take more upper level science courses and gain a better understanding and foundation of what they want to pursue as a career further in life.
In addition, after a student figures out the college and branch of pharmacology work that they want to pursue, actually thinking about how to find a job after college may be intimidating. But thankfully there are many helpful resources they can use. According to Mary Bonk, “If you graduate from a two year program at a college or technical institute, your school placement office can help you find a job in the drug industry. These companies often list job openings in newspaper classifieds and job banks on the internet” (2). Therefore by using these resources and remaining persistent, students will find it much easier to continue into a job once they leave college. Also, in an interview with Ray Moreno, when he was asked if he had to relocate with his job often he answered by saying “No, not very often considering pharmacies are everywhere and you will more than likely be able to find a job anywhere. It is pretty stable” (Moreno). This makes it a little less stressful knowing that there will always be a job opening somewhere for pharmacy.
Additionally, moving up in ones field of work may take time but with the right education, patience, and persistence it is very possible. There are many other branches of pharmacy other than being just the typical pharmacist. One of these, for example, is a pharmaceutical technician. Pharmaceutical technicians are people who work below pharmacists but it is still a very stable job to have. Most pharmacists will start off as a pharmaceutical technician and by continuing their education move up to become pharmacists. Mary Bonk explains pharmaceutical technicians by stating, “They often assist professionals such as pharmacists, and engineers to put efficient methods of production and testing into practice” (Bonk, Pharmaceutical 1). In most situations these technicians mostly work with computers, delivering medications, working at the front desk and delivering stat orders whenever the pharmacists need them. Pharmaceutical technicians work in the same type of places that the regular pharmacists work at which include, hospitals, doctors’ offices, pediatric Clinique’s, minor emergencies and more.
Generally, a common salary for most in the pharmacy field depends on the various jobs that are available. Mary Bonk states in one of her articles that “Salaries for technicians in the pharmaceutical industry vary depending on education, experience, location, and the kind of job... In 2004 the median hourly wage of biological technicians was $15.97, and chemical technicians earned a median hourly income of $18.35” (3). Their wages include paid holidays, vacations, health insurance, and also retirement plans! Although they vary, salaries like these are guaranteed even for students just out of college. This can be extremely helpful for newly married couples that are just coming out of college to get a stable start in life and a great financial foundation.
Also, a pharmacist must undergo a specific amount of training once he or she is accepted for a job position. Once one gets hired out of college with their degree, they also have to further their training in their work place. Training time can differ from the different branches of pharmacy that one goes into. The amount of time can range from just a few weeks to a few months. According to Mary Bonk, she states that “All states require pharmacists to be licensed before they can practice. You need to graduate from an approved college of pharmacy and pass a state licensing board examination. You must also serve an internship or have practical experience under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist” (Bonk, Pharmacist 1). This just shows that even once a student leaves college, a few more steps and training are still required to become a full time pharmacist. When asked what training was required for him to become a pharmacist, Ray Moreno from Walgreens in Saginaw stated that “I had to graduate from pharmacy school. For my job I had to have a degree, but depending on where you end up working, you may or may not have to have a degree. I also had to pass a state test. The tests vary from which state you live in and what they require, I took the national register. Also most pharmacists start as pharmacy technicians and move up in their position from there to become pharmacists. I was a pharmacy tech, and interned in different places until I got to where I am now”. Although it sounds like a lot of work, he later explained the rewards of the job, such as, helping patients on a daily basis and having a well-paying stable job to depend on.
Therefore, pharmacy is a great branch of work to go into because it is stable and creates amazing opportunities to grow and learn while having a great paying job. Albert Kowalski also states that “todays occupational health care professional is not only responsible for the health of the employee but also may be involved with company medical policies and benefits” (1).This statement proves shows that pharmacists are also entitled to great health care benefits. Pharmacy can also be an extremely rewarding job because it is all about helping the patients and getting people the assistance and medication that they need. If anyone is thinking about going into the pharmaceutical work it is a good idea to research it sooner in their educational career in order to get a good head start and foundation for the future.
Works Cited
Bonk, Mary, Ed. "Pharmaceutical Technician." Career Information Center. 9th ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.
Bonk, Mary, Ed. "Pharmacist." Career Information Center. 9th ed. Vol. 7. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.
Kowalski, Albert A. "Health in the Workplace." Career Information Center. Ed. Mary Bonk. 9th ed. Vol. 13: Employment Trends and Master Index. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 32-40. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.
Moreno, Ray. Walgreens. Personal interview. 16 Oct. 2012.