Salaries and Stress Stagnate: 2019 Pharmacy Salary Survey Results

Every year, Drug Topics® asks pharmacists about their job experiences. In particular, we’re interested in what pharmacists are interested in: what’s the payment like for a pharmacist’s expertise, and how stressful is the job overall? 

As in previous years, we found that pharmacists are well paid, but also stressed out. So what’s stressing you out? The over 1,100 pharmacists Drug Topics® surveyed cited everything from vaccination quotas to DIR fees to new USP regulations as their biggest concerns. While fewer pharmacists said that their stress levels increased at work this year compared to 2018, the number was still high: 61.08%.

As far as salary goes, pharmacists are largely making close to what they made last year (see Base Annual Salary). Looking at the beginning of the decade, however, the 2010 survey showed that the average salary was lower, with the majority (62.5%) reporting salaries in the $100,000-130,000 range. In 2019, nearly 40% made that amount, while nearly 50% said  they make over that $130,000 mark.

High stress levels aside, pharmacists are still, overall, fairly satisfied with their jobs. More than twice as many (18%) said they were “extremely satisfied” with their job compared to those who said they were “extremely dissatisfied” (9%) and the majority said they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied.” On top of this, just 22% of pharmacists were looking for a new position in the next 12 months.

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