Pharmacist

Kevin Johnson
Ms. Miller
English
1-30-13

The job that seems very interesting is becoming a pharmacist. After researching information on pharmacists this is the job path that would be good to go into. A pharmacist is someone who dispenses medications to patients and also gives them advice for safe use. There are a lot of good things about being a pharmacist including earnings, benefits, and job environment. Most pharmacist start their careers as employees at hospitals then move to drug stores. Working as a pharmacist has many benefits which makes it a good career field to pursue. The first aspect to being a good pharmacist is getting good education and being trained. To become a pharmacist you will need at least five years of education after high school. They must also have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Also they will have to pass two exams to become licensed which will lead them to becoming a pharmacist (Occupational handbook 1). A quote made from an article stated “To become pharmacist, you must have at least five years of education beyond high school” (Bonk 3). The training you will need is on the job training and serves an internship. The earnings for a pharmacist depend on your experience. In 2012 the average was $111,570. That means that you will make about $53.64 an hour. The benefits that pharmacist get also depends on their experience level. An article stated, “Self-employed pharmacist must provide their own benefits. Benefits for salaried pharmacists generally include paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, and pension plans” (3). Last is the job outlook. From 2010 to 2020 the number of pharmacist jobs will increase by 25% which is faster than normal. Next are the working conditions for pharmacists. Pharmacist work in clean, pleasant surroundings. Most salaried employees work about 44 hours a week which includes some evening and weekend hours. They will also need to be responsible people who will do careful and detailed work while being on their feet for long periods of time. The working environment that pharmacist are in differ in many ways. Some places they will work are in grocery or drug stores and also in hospitals and clinics. They may work in tight stations with multiple people at the same time. When being an experienced pharmacist you will get more advanced spots which will lead to more money. Advanced placement will depend on these factors location, type of work, business skill, and ambition to be a pharmacist. Moving up in the industry depends on how hard you work. If you work hard it could lead to becoming a government agent. You could also become the manager in a chain owned drugstore, or you could get executive positions. I read an article about how pharmacists deal with healthcare. I learned from it that pharmacist are trained in vast ranges of areas to help you with your health (Gale 1). Some of the things they can help you with are answering questions about side effects on medications and how to use medical devices which include glucose meters and asthma inhalers. They can also work with your doctor to help understand