Pharmacists dispense drugs and medicaments in hospitals and pharmacies and advise on and participate in the development and testing of new drugs, compounds and therapies. They counsel on the proper use and adverse effects of drugs and medicines.
Also calledDispensing chemistCommunity pharmacistHospital pharmacistPharmacy managerConsultant pharmacistChemistand 20 more titles
Recruitment from abroad. 90 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Iran, Spain, Malaysia, ranking it 105th of 313. Home Office
Who does it
ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
94%hold a degree
65%women
Age of pharmacists
Age profile of pharmacists
n/p
38%!
23%!
20%!
9.9%!
n/p
16–2425–3435–4445–5455–6465+
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publishShow as table
16–24
Not published
25–34
38% (small sample)
35–44
23% (small sample)
45–54
20% (small sample)
55–64
9.9% (small sample)
65+
Not published
Highest qualification
Highest qualification held by pharmacists
Degree or equivalent94%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!3.3%
GCSEs or equivalent!2.8%
!Small sample: treat with cautionShow as table
Degree or equivalent
94%
Higher education below degree
Not published
A levels or equivalent
3.3% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent
2.8% (small sample)
Main employers: dispensing chemist in specialised stores (39%), hospital activities (19%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (11%), other human health activities (9.6%).
How to get in
Hold a degree
94%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work
Routes in
You can get into this job through a university course.
University
To become a pharmacist, you'll need to complete a master's of pharmacy (MPharm) degree, approved by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) which takes 4 years.
You'll then need to complete the pharmacist foundation training programme which takes 1 year.
If you do not have the qualifications to get onto a master's of pharmacy degree, you could do a pharmacy foundation degree which takes 2 years.
You could then take a job as a pharmacy assistant or pharmacy technician and apply to join the master's degree in its second year.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including chemistry
What you’ll need
pass background checks
Registration and professional bodies
Registration
you'll need to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Further information
You can find out more about becoming a pharmacist from Health Careers and the Royal College of Pharmacy.
Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for pharmacist. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The work
ONS · ESCO · O*NET
Typical tasks
prepares or directs the preparation of prescribed medicaments in liquid, powder, tablet, ointment or other form following prescriptions issued by medical doctors and other health professionals
advises health professionals on the selection and appropriate use of medicines
highlights a drug’s potential side effects, identifies harmful interactions with other drugs and assesses the suitability of treatments for patients with particular health conditions
checks that recommended doses are not being exceeded and that instructions are understood by patients
maintains prescription files and records issue of narcotics, poisons and other habit-forming drugs
liaises with other professionals regarding the development, manufacturing and testing of drugs
tests and analyses drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength
ensures that drugs and medicaments are in good supply and are stored properly
Skills
accept own accountability
adhere to organisational guidelines
advise on healthcare users' informed consent
apply context specific clinical competences
apply health sciences
apply organisational techniques
check information on prescriptions
communicate effectively in healthcare
communicate with customers
comply with legislation related to health care
comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
contribute to continuity of health care
contribute to public health campaigns
counsel healthcare users on medicines
Knowledge
analytical chemistry
applied therapeutics related to medicines
biological chemistry
botany
human anatomy
hygiene in a health care setting
inorganic chemistry
Suits people who like
Organising and following procedures
Helping and caring for people
Outlook
DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health professionals, a group of 24 jobs that includes pharmacists.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 310,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.
This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.
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