Pharmacy Student – An Outlook

The medical field is one professional course that is hard to get into and make a career at. Students can look into other medical courses, other than the core courses. Pharmacy is one course that is not just highly respectable but also offers a good and highly-scalable career as well.

Universities like the TERNA Osmanabad has Pharmacy courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. There are even concentrations to choose from.

Why are pharmacy courses so popular among students? To understand that, let us explore the career outlook for a Pharmacy student.

Scope of Pharmacy

When discussing the scope of Pharmacy, there are two aspects to look at. First are the employment options and second is the higher education options. Pharmacy students, luckily, would not face any issues in both regards. There are both job options and also advanced studies for interested students.

Higher Education

Higher education will allow students to learn advanced topics in Pharmacy. Several engineering colleges in Osmanabad offer postgraduate courses besides bachelor’s courses. For a B.Pharm degree holder, the following are the options for higher education.

Certificates and Diplomas: The first option for higher education are short-term courses. Specifically, there are certificates and diploma courses in Pharmacy in several concentrations. These courses are usually a couple of months to one year in duration. These are perfect for learning new skills in Pharmacy and unlocking better job options. Admissions to these courses are also typically on a merit basis.

Masters Degrees: The second option for higher education is to opt for master’s courses. The two-year-long programme is usually offered in specialisations like Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Analysis etc. Completing these degrees will allow candidates to apply to better-paid jobs. Admissions take place through entrance examinations, national or state level.

Pharmacy Jobs

It is a common misconception that pharmacy graduates can only work as Pharmacists. However, that is far from the truth. There are many more job profiles that are open to a Pharmacy students. The top five Pharmacy jobs are as below.

Pharmacist: Pharmacists are people in charge of a pharmacy where they are working at dispensing medications. They will do so by taking prescriptions from patients physicians and doctors. Pharmacists are knowledgeable about different medications, which to use when, what the dosage must be and also the side effects of medications etc. Pharmacists are also taught about different illnesses, symptoms and which medication to prescribe. They are also given the responsibility of managing the operations of the pharmacy, ordering stock, looking over other workers in the pharmacy etc. The average salary for Pharmacists, regardless of the work experience and nature of employment, private or public is INR 2,72,957 PA.

Medical Representative: Medical Representatives typically are hired at pharmaceutical companies to help sell their products. The representatives work at selling the products to doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare experts. This is one role that combines both sales acumen and also business development skills. Individuals in this role must have good communication skills and the ability to persuade people to make purchases along with an ability to identify business opportunities. To better perform their duties, the Medical Representative must understand the medicines in-depth, their side effects etc. Keeping up to date with the latest news about pharmaceuticals and medicines. On average, companies offer Medical Representatives salaries of INR 2,80,000 PA.

Drug Inspector: Drug inspectors are hired in both private and public sector organizations where they will analyse the safety of pharmaceuticals. Drugs and medicines need to be tested at length and worked on to minimise side effects and meet the Government guidelines. This is where the Drug Inspector comes into the picture. They are quality control experts who generally make sure the medicines are safe to be consumed by human beings. The Drug Inspector will also make sure that the manufacturing unit is clean and hygienic. At Government departments, the Drug Inspector will make visits to drug manufacturing units to perform their duties. The salary for this position will vary greatly depending on several factors. In general, one can expect to earn around INR 50,000 to INR 1,40,000 per month.

Clinical Research Associate: Clinical Research Associate is a position that requires people to work in a laboratory setting. They are required to conduct tests and trials on drugs being manufactured. The Clinical Research Associate will identify how effective a said drug is, its side effects, risks and how it benefits people who consume it. The associate is involved in all stages of the trial from the start to the end. They need to make sure the medicines are ready to be sold in the market. Pharmacy students might require a master’s or a doctorate level degree in order to work in this job role. According to online reports, Clinical Research Associates earn around INR 3,60,000 PA.

Pharmaceutical Scientist: The role of a Pharmaceutical Scientist is also a laboratory-based role. They generally do research to find out new drugs or to work on existing ones. Besides developing the new medicines, they will also test these medicines. After making the medicines, they will test them before introducing them to the market. Another part of their job position involves preparing reports on the conducted experiments. Pharmaceutical Scientists must be analytical and methodical in doing their jobs. Besides communication skills and since this is a group job role, interpersonal skills are also necessary. A person with average skills and experience makes an annual salary of INR 3,94,559 PA in this job role.

Salary Range

The average salary for Pharmacists, as mentioned above, is INR 2,72,957 LPA. In terms of years of experience, the entry-level salary, less than one year of experience is INR 2,44,653 PA. The early-career stage is between the years of one to four years of experience when Pharmacists earn around INR 2,47,527 PA. The next stage is mid-career, five to nine years of experience where the average salary is INR 2,99,000 PA.

Graduates from pharmacy colleges in Osmanabad who have between ten to nineteen years of experience or experienced individuals have an average salary of INR 3,09,714 PA. The final stage is where candidates have more than twenty years of experience. These individuals earn around INR 3,93,054 PA.

Gender Wise Salary

Like in any job, there is a pay gap according to the gender of the candidate in the Pharmacy industry as well. As per average figures, the male salary figure is 79.7% while for women, the salary percentage is 20.3%.

Colleges in Osmanabad offering pharmacy courses have students getting employment straight out of college. There are jobs available in both the private and public sectors. Moreover, students who wish to continue their education can also do so with several options in Pharmacy. Refer to the article above for the next placements season.