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Pharmacists

ANZSCO ID 2515

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
42,500
Future Growth
9%
Weekly Earnings
$1,980
Full-Time Share
65%
Female Share
62%
Average age
34
About this data

Summary

Pharmacists ensure safe and quality use of medicines, and optimise health outcomes by contributing to selecting, prescribing, monitoring and evaluating medicine therapy, and researching, testing and developing pharmaceuticals and medical products.

Tasks

  • receiving prescriptions, checking patients' medicine histories, and ensuring optimal dosage and methods of administration and drug compatibility before dispensing

  • preparing or supervising the preparation and labelling of liquid medicines, ointments, powders, tablets and other medications to fill prescriptions

  • advising prescribers on drug incompatibility and contra-indications

  • reviewing and monitoring the medicine therapy of individual patients, and assessing the effectiveness of the total medicine therapy

  • maintaining prescription files and recording issue of narcotics, poisons and habit-forming drugs

  • storing and preserving vaccines, serums and other drugs subject to deterioration

  • supplying non-prescription medicines, and diagnostic and therapeutic aids

  • supervising and coordinating the work of Pharmacy Technicians, pharmacy interns and Pharmacy Sales Assistants

  • conducting research to develop and improve pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and related chemical products

  • conferring with Chemists, Engineering Professionals and other professionals about manufacturing techniques and ingredients

  • testing and analysing drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength in relation to specified standards

  • developing standards for drugs used in pharmaceuticals

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
2515 Pharmacists This occupation is Current selected
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Analytical
  • Administrative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow strongly
  • is likely to reach 37,700 by 2026.

    • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
9%
(or 3,100 jobs)
From
34,600
in 2021
To
37,700
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 21,200
2012 22,500
2013 20,600
2014 35,600
2015 24,400
2016 29,600
2017 27,100
2018 36,000
2019 25,900
2020 35,200
2021 34,600
2026 37,700

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 68% of people employed as Pharmacists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is similar to the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 43 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,980 per week, this is much higher than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,924
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $2,548

    Median hourly earnings are $52, this is more than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Pharmacists All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,980 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.

Industries

Main industries

1
Retail Trade
70.3%
2
Health Care and Social Assistance
21.9%
3
Manufacturing
2.7%
4
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
2.2%
5
Other industries
3.0%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

29.3% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

26.8% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.3% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.9% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.8% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.4% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.7% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.8% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Pharmacists All Jobs Average
NSW 29.3 31.6
VIC 26.8 25.6
QLD 20.3 20.0
SA 7.9 7.0
WA 10.8 10.8
TAS 2.4 2.0
NT 0.7 1.0
ACT 1.8 1.9


  • Around 70% of Pharmacists live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
34
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
62%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Pharmacists is 34 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 62% of the workforce. This is 14 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Pharmacists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.8 5.0
20-24 10.2 9.3
25-34 40.0 22.9
35-44 22.2 22.0
45-54 13.6 21.6
55-59 5.8 9.0
60-64 3.6 6.0
65 and Over 3.8 4.2
Median Age 34 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A bachelor degree in pharmacy is needed to work as a Pharmacist. Some workers have a postgraduate qualification.

Registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Pharmacists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 19.5 10.1
Bachelor degree 74.6 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.7 21.1
Year 12 4.0 18.1
Year 11 0.2 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.4 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.

Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Pharmacists who can connect with others, provide good customer service and have good communication skills.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 70%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 63%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 61%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 61%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 59%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 57%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 55%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 54%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 54%

    Science

    Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

  • 54%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 54%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 52%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 52%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 50%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 50%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 50%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 48%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 43%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 43%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 72%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 67%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 66%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 65%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 62%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 58%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 57%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 54%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 54%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 53%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 51%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 49%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 49%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 41%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 37%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 36%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 28%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 27%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 27%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 21%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 68%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 66%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 66%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 66%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 64%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 59%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 59%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 59%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 55%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 54%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 52%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 52%

    Working with numbers

    Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

  • 50%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 45%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

  • 43%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 43%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 43%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 82%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 81%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 80%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 71%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 69%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 68%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 67%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 67%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 67%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 66%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 66%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 65%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 65%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 60%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 58%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 58%

    Managing payments and orders

    Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.

  • 58%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 58%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 56%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 54%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 76%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 62%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 48%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 38%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 19%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.

  • 81%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 76%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 71%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 67%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 67%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 67%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:

  • 100%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 100%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 99%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 99%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 98%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 96%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 96%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 95%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 95%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 94%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

  • 91%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 90%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 90%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 89%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 87%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 87%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 84%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 84%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 84%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 81%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-1051.00 - Pharmacists.

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