Occupation Summary

Pharmacists

O*NET 29-1051.00

Description:

Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.

Annual Wages:
$134,882.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 16.87%.
Education Level:
Doctoral Degree. According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Public Service, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

  1. Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
  2. Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
  3. Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
  4. Order and purchase pharmaceutical supplies, medical supplies, or drugs, maintaining stock and storing and handling it properly.
  5. Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
  6. Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
  7. Advise customers on the selection of medication brands, medical equipment, or healthcare supplies.
  8. Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regimens, providing advice on drug applications or characteristics.
  9. Compound and dispense medications as prescribed by doctors and dentists, by calculating, weighing, measuring, and mixing ingredients, or oversee these activities.
  10. Refer patients to other health professionals or agencies when appropriate.
  11. Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.
  12. Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, to ensure quality, security, and proper disposal.
  13. Manage pharmacy operations, hiring or supervising staff, performing administrative duties, or buying or selling non-pharmaceutical merchandise.
  14. Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy.
  15. Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
  16. Teach pharmacy students serving as interns in preparation for their graduation or licensure.
  17. Publish educational information for other pharmacists, doctors, or patients.
  18. Offer health promotion or prevention activities, such as training people to use blood pressure devices or diabetes monitors.
  19. Contact insurance companies to resolve billing issues.
  20. Update or troubleshoot pharmacy information databases.

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National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Pharmacists employed Annual Growth Rate
Health and personal care retailers 42 -0.49
General medical and surgical hospitals 25.2 1.53
Outpatient care centers 2.3 2.01
Offices of physicians 2.1 0.70


Labor Market Information


2024 Statewide average hourly wage $64.85
2024 National average hourly wage $65.97
2022 National employment 334,200
2022 Texas employment 23,059
Texas projected employment by 2032 26,948
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2032 1,312




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
92.80%
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
89.80%
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
83.20%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
83.20%
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
82.20%
Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
79.00%
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
74.20%
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
67.40%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
66.80%
Administrative
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
66.00%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
80.00%
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
80.00%
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
80.00%
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
77.60%
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
77.60%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
77.60%
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
75.00%
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
72.40%
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
72.40%
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
72.40%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
85.00%
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
82.40%
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
82.40%
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
80.00%
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
80.00%
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
77.60%
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
77.60%
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
77.60%
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
77.60%
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
75.00%


  • Documenting/Recording Information
    -- Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    -- Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    -- Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    -- Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Getting Information
    -- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Other Activities


  • Recognition
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
  • Support
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.



Tools

Ampoule filling equipment: Ampoule filling machines;

Bar code reader equipment: Barcode scanning/prescription tracking systems;

Binocular light compound microscopes: Binocular light compound microscopes;

Calibration weights or weight sets: Metric weights;

Electronic blood pressure units: Electronic blood pressure monitors;

Electronic toploading balances: Electronic toploading balances;

Filling or sealing auger dose machines: Sealing machines;

Fume hoods or cupboards: Radiochemical fume hood and filter systems;

Geiger counters: Geiger-Muller counters;

Glucose monitors or meters: Glucometers;

Hemacytometer sets: Hemacytometers;

Hypodermic needle: Needles;

Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits: Intravenous IV therapy equipment;

Label making machines: Label-making machines;

Laboratory balances: Torsion balances;

Laboratory graduated cylinders: Metric graduates;

Laminar flow cabinets or stations: Laminar flow hoods; Horizontal air flow laminar hoods; Vertical air flow laminar hoods;

Liquid scintillation counters: Multiple channel well scintillation counters; Single channel well scintillation counters;

Medical radiation dosimeters: Radionucleide dose calibrators;

Medical radiological shielding freestanding or portable screens or curtains: Radiation shields for syringes and vials; Lead transport shields;

Medical radiological shielding wall or ceiling or floor installed panels: Lead shielded drawing stations;

Medical syringes without needle: Syringes;

Medication or pill dispensers: Medication pulling/dispensing systems;

Mercury blood pressure units: Manual blood pressure equipment;

Ostomy starter kits: Ostomy products;

Oxygen therapy delivery system products: Oxygen therapy equipment;

Patient care beds for general use: Hospital beds;

Personal computers: Personal computers;

Pestle or mortars: Mortars; Pestles;

Pharmaceutical filters or ultra filters: Filters for glass containers/ampoules;

Radiation detectors: Area survey meters;

Sterile or aseptic processing or filling machines: Automated drug dispensing equipment;

Tablet computers: Tablet computers;

Tablet counters: Capsule counters;

Wheelchairs: Wheelchairs;


Technology

Accounting software: Insurance claim processing software;

Analytical or scientific software: TPNassist; TTP LabTech comPOUND;

Calendar and scheduling software: Multitask software;

Cloud-based data access and sharing software: Microsoft SharePoint;

Computer based training software: Freedom MedTEACH;

Data base user interface and query software: Healthprolink MedAtlas; Computer records systems; Recordkeeping software;

Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook;

Internet browser software: Web browser software;

Inventory management software: Pyxis MedStation software;

Label making software: RxKinetics UD Labels for Windows; Label-making software;

Medical software: MEDITECH software; eClinicalWorks EHR software; Epic Systems;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint;

Spreadsheet software: Spreadsheet software; Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word; Word processing software;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Pharmacists include:
  • 29-1229.01 Allergists and Immunologists
  • 29-1141.04 Clinical Nurse Specialists
  • 29-1214.00 Emergency Medicine Physicians
  • 29-1215.00 Family Medicine Physicians
  • 29-1216.00 General Internal Medicine Physicians
  • 29-1229.02 Hospitalists
  • 29-1171.00 Nurse Practitioners
  • 29-1221.00 Pediatricians, General
  • 29-1071.00 Physician Assistants
  • 29-1229.05 Preventive Medicine Physicians


Sources of Additional Information
  • For more information about pharmacists, visit: American College of Clinical Pharmacy
  • American Pharmacists Association
  • American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
  • National Association of Chain Drug Stores
  • For information on pharmacy as a career, preprofessional and professional requirements, programs offered by colleges of pharmacy, and student financial aid, visit: American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
  • For more information about accredited Doctor of Pharmacy programs, visit: Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
  • For more information about certification options, visit: Board of Pharmacy Specialties
  • Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education
  • CareerOneStop

  • For a career video on pharmacists, visit: Pharmacists
  • Pharmacists

  • Contact Texas Workforce Commission
    Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
    Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

    ** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.