The number of pharmacy schools is steadily increasing, but what about the number of pharmacy jobs? The job market is very different than it was 10 years ago; there is no longer a pharmacist shortage. Since there aren’t as many incentives to join retail pharmacy as before, students have started exploring other career paths for pharmacists. Students say they are not receiving enough information about industry, so why is there increasing interest in it?

In a recent survey, almost 50% of student pharmacists indicated that the reason they are potentially interested in the biopharmaceutical industry is to discover areas of pharmacy other than the conventional retail and hospital pharmacy they are exposed to in school. This may either be due to an interest in finding out more about something unfamiliar or a desire to explore a different career path because they do not see themselves working in a hospital or retail setting.

17% of students surveyed indicated that they want to help discover new medications and 16% of students want the ability to help patients in different way. In a hospital or retail setting, there is a limited radius of patients a pharmacist can impact. In industry, the potential to help patients extends to a global level. 13% of students see the industry as a source of job and financial security.

The “other” category (5%) included reponses like self-satisfaction, growth, research opportunities, and the ability to help patients on a global level while merging business and research and development into one career.

The robust PharmD curriculum prepares pharmacy graduates well for traditional pharmacy roles. But the PharmD degree is also very versatile and allows pharmacists to venture into many non traditional roles as well, including industry. Accordingly, some students appear to be eager to pursue a multidimensional career, rather than just the clinical aspects of pharmacy. This bodes will for the biopharmaceutical industry, since it is represents one of the best ways for a pharmacist to apply his/her skills and knowledge outside of the traditional pharmacy setting.

Authored by Nikole Shpilfogel, MCPHS University-Boston PharmD Class of 2017, with contributions from Professor Bernard Tyrrell, MCPHS University-Boston, and James Alexander, Executive Director of IPhO