Career Opportunities for Majors in Pharmacy

Introduction

Pharmacy is a health profession concerned with assuming responsibility for the outcomes of drug therapy in patients, the compounding and dispensing of medications, and the generation and transmission of knowledge about the proper selection and use of drugs and their effects on humans. While everyone is familiar with the community pharmacist, career opportunities also exist with the pharmaceutical industry, hospital pharmacies, government agencies, and educational organizations, as well as in nursing homes, HMOs, clinics, home health care, and nuclear pharmacies.

A 6-year Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD), an advanced professional degree, is offered and is currently the standard degree required for licensure in the United States. This degree is conferred after study in chemical biology, clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice and administration, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, and structured clinical experiences. The pharmacy faculty also offer graduate degrees of MS and PhD in chemical biology, pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics and industrial pharmacy, pharmacology, and toxicology.

A Sample of Related Occupations

Chief Pharmacist	Market Researcher	Quality Control Inspector
Clinical Pharmacist	Medical Science Liaison	Radiopharmacist
Clinical Researcher	Nuclear Pharmacist	Scientific Researcher
Drug Information Specialist	Pharmaceutical Sales Rep.	Staff Pharmacist
Hospital Pharmacist	Pharmacy Technician	Technical Writer
Licensed Pharmacist	Public Relations Specialist

Types of Employers

Private & Nonprofit Organizations
Clinical Research Organizations	Health Care Products Manufacturers	Nursing Homes
Community Pharmacies	Health Maintenance Organizations	Pharmaceutical Companies
Educational Institutions	Home Infusion Companies	Research Foundations
Health Care Clinics	Hospitals	Testing Labs

Government Agencies
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry	Department of Health and Human Services	National Institutes of Health
Alcohol, Drug Abuse & Mental Health Admin.	Drug Enforcement Administration	Peace Corps
Armed Forces	Food and Drug Administration	U.S. Public Health Service
Bureau of Prisons	Health Resources & Services Administration	Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Service
Centers for Disease Control	Indian Health Service

Jobs Obtained by Rutgers Graduates

First Jobs of Recent Graduates
Community Pharmacist, Independent Pharmacy	Process Pharmacist, Ortho Pharmaceuticals
Pharmacist, Thrift Drug	Professional Affairs Pharmacist, Schering Plough
Pharmacy Resident, Princeton Medical Center	Staff Pharmacist, U.S. Air Force
Pharmacy Resident, RWJ University Hospital

Jobs of Experienced Alumni
Account Supervisor, Lally, McFarland & Pantello (MBA)	Manager, Medical Affairs, Sankyo Pharmaceuticals
Assoc. Dir. of Clinical Research, Regeneron Pharmaceutical	Networking Planning & Operations, BASF Corporation
Assoc. Dir. of Pharmacy Affairs, USFDA	Pharmaceuticals Manager, Scientific Services, Hoechst-Roussel
Assoc. Director, Celgene Corp. (MBA)	Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator, St. Clare's Hospital
Assoc. Director, Clinical Operations, Celgene Corp.	Product Director, Ortho Biotech (MBA)
Asst. Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Butler University	Regional Business Director, Ortho Biotech
Asst. Professor, Rutgers University	Sr. Business Manager, Pfizer (MBA)
Attorney, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer (JD)	Sr. Global Project Manager, Sanofi-Aventis (MBA)
Dir. of Pharmacy, Kennedy Memorial Hospital	Sr. Product Manager, Warner Lambert Consumer Health Products (MBA)
Director, Business Development, Kos Pharmaceuticals (MBA)	Sr. Research Fellow, Merck & Co.
Director, Drug Information Center	Sr. Systems Analyst, SMS
Environmental Counsel, Thomas & Betts (JD)	Staff Pharmacist, St. Peter's Medical Center
Manager, Ciba Geigy Corporation	Team Leader, New Product Development, GlaxoSmithKline
Manager, Clinical Studies, J&J

Graduate Schools Attended

Harvard Business School, MBA	University of North Carolina, MBA
Rutgers Business School, MBA

Additionally, you may:

Explore the career paths of RU Alumni Career Network mentors.
Go to the Rutgers Online Career Planning Site to explore your interests, skills and values. Use the program for either: High School Students | College Students.
Explore Rutgers University academic department information related to this major.
See the Occupational Outlook Handbook for additional career information.
Pick up your "Career Opportunities" handouts at any New Brunswick Career Services office.

Still Have Questions? Ask a Career Counselor.