• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Pharmacy Salary (1 Viewer)

Safraaz

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
381
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2018
Owning a sucessful pharmacy can earn huge amounts - some products can be marked up as high as 700% and still get sales. A pharmacist doesn't earn much because they are over-supplied.

My sister is now fully qualified - not sure exactly how much she earns (could be around $25) - approximately 60k/pa.

Before being fully qualified, it was a bit under $23/hr.
Did she graduate last year? I reckon 60K for a grad. is a decent salary for starters as even engineers start on abt 50-80k, dentist at around 80k and G.P's at around 60k as well.
So I guess its alright for a pharmacy grad. You dnt earn $100000+ after you graduate, it takes experience over time.
 
Last edited:

golgo13

Alchemist
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
304
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Just saying even when the cutoff goes down, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone still passes the course LOL, it just means there's less demand for it than previous years, in which case the market may or may not be less saturated. I would however agree that the market at this point in time is saturated, however i think everyone is kind of tunnel visioned that pharmacy degree = community pharmacy, which is not the case. The degree essentially is also equivalent to medicinal chemistry you can work in industry, but you have perks that medicinal chemist don't
 

Safraaz

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
381
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2018
Just saying even when the cutoff goes down, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone still passes the course LOL, it just means there's less demand for it than previous years, in which case the market may or may not be less saturated. I would however agree that the market at this point in time is saturated, however i think everyone is kind of tunnel visioned that pharmacy degree = community pharmacy, which is not the case. The degree essentially is also equivalent to medicinal chemistry you can work in industry, but you have perks that medicinal chemist don't[/QUOT

Hmm... what did you mean when you said "Just saying even when the cutoff goes down, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone still passes the course".
I understand that many ppl will get the desired cut-off to get into the course, but is it very diffcult to maintain good grades in the course? Lets say around a gpa of 6! and do many ppl end up dropping the course because of its diffculty?
Also, how diffcult is the maths side of the course?
I'm assuming you are doing B. Pharmacy right?
 

golgo13

Alchemist
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
304
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Yeh i do pharm what i mean is, that the course was built for at 90+ atar cohort (no disrespect to people in the 80's), like the idea everyone is under is that cutoff is lower = demand is lower which isn't really the case cause i'm with a almost 300+ cohort, what i'm trying to say, but how many of them remain from the original cohort by the end. For first year, maybe lets say 70% a really hypothetical estimate, that brings you down to about 210, progressively and from here on out everything is a must pass basically as everything 2nd year is 3rd year pre-req and the same goes for 4th year. So lets say you get worst case scenario 10% further shaving so that leave you about 190 by the time you hit 3rd year. At this stage some are considering med and gamsat and lets shave it a bit more because of the pre-req and must pass. Your cohort can potentially slim down to about 50% of the original start

For the second part i'm not sure about the GPA conversion with WAM, but you will need to work for at least a 75 wam. If you did ext1 maths you'll be fine, ext2 is prolly better, 2u should be ok, general is a world of pain
 

Dr_Fresh

U MAD??
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
1,524
Location
Adrenal Cortex
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
you will find that is the case with almost all degrees, but you will find that theres a million reasons for why people dont stay in the same cohort. and pretty sure it wasn't "built" for 90+ atar students as the cutoff was in the 80s, rose to the 90s cuz of demand and then back down to the 80s after the oversupply.
 

brent012

Webmaster
Webmaster
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
5,291
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
you will find that is the case with almost all degrees
+1. Computer Science for example, that went from almost high 90s ten years ago to barely above 90. Doesn't mean the students scraping in now will find it difficult.
 

Alexis Texas

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
629
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
bahahahaha i basically make that working at a shitty retail store
lol yep i work in a gym and get $22 and free gym membership and i prett much do nothing and have nothing to worry about as soon as walk out the door.

pharmacy graduates are a dime a dozen. I know so many who bailed and went in to post grad med.

also OP what do you mean by graduate? do you mean first year out or a pharmacy student in a graduate position i.e. the last year of their degree that is spent working in community or hospital pharmacy? then it will depend on the place of employment. at my old work grads were on 25 but they said some of their friends in community were on 16/hour lol fuck
 

Safraaz

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
381
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2018
Yeh i do pharm what i mean is, that the course was built for at 90+ atar cohort (no disrespect to people in the 80's), like the idea everyone is under is that cutoff is lower = demand is lower which isn't really the case cause i'm with a almost 300+ cohort, what i'm trying to say, but how many of them remain from the original cohort by the end. For first year, maybe lets say 70% a really hypothetical estimate, that brings you down to about 210, progressively and from here on out everything is a must pass basically as everything 2nd year is 3rd year pre-req and the same goes for 4th year. So lets say you get worst case scenario 10% further shaving so that leave you about 190 by the time you hit 3rd year. At this stage some are considering med and gamsat and lets shave it a bit more because of the pre-req and must pass. Your cohort can potentially slim down to about 50% of the original start

For the second part i'm not sure about the GPA conversion with WAM, but you will need to work for at least a 75 wam. If you did ext1 maths you'll be fine, ext2 is prolly better, 2u should be ok, general is a world of pain
So you are basically saying that the course "was" designed for 90+ atar ppl and the huge dropout rate of students indicates the diffculty of the course which is not suited to ppl with 80's atar. Btw I was considering the course mainly because I'm passionate about doing the course and love studying biology and chemistry (I absolutely hate maths XD). I only did 2 unit maths and barely passed the HSC with a low 60's mark. What I want to know is how diffcult the maths side of the course is? Will I have to study a seperate maths unit in the course or is the maths part of the course all chemical maths (stuff in chemistry)?
tbh I did plan to study medicine, but since that hope is lost! there is absolutely nothing else that interests me other than Pharmacy. Do you think I can cope with the maths side of the course? or any recommendations that I should consider!
 
Last edited:

Drifting95

Should i change my DP?
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Messages
3,160
Location
Point Piper
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
once upon a time there were a bunch of asians who didnt get into med and thought pharmacy was pretty close and the next best option. all of them signed up to do pharmacy and drove the requirements right up (cutoffs for pharmacy were in the mid 90s at one point). all asians graduated and realised there werent enough jobs to go around. word spread amongst the asian community and asians now turn to law, commerce, physio, optom etc etc. lucky for them also, the government decided to open up 5 new medical schools so the new generation of asians can now all study medicine. the cutoff for pharmacy drops to mid 80s.
lol
 

Dr_Fresh

U MAD??
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
1,524
Location
Adrenal Cortex
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
So you are basically saying that the course "was" designed for 90+ atar ppl and the huge dropout rate of students indicates the diffculty of the course which is not suited to ppl with 80's atar. Btw I was considering the course mainly because I'm passionate about doing the course and love studying biology and chemistry (I absolutely hate maths XD). I only did 2 unit maths and barely passed the HSC with a low 60's mark. What I want to know is how diffcult the maths side of the course is? Will I have to study a seperate maths unit in the course or is the maths part of the course all chemical maths (stuff in chemistry)?
tbh I did plan to study medicine, but since that hope is lost! there is absolutely nothing else that interests me other than Pharmacy. Do you think I can cope with the maths side of the course? or any recommendations that I should consider!
i never said drop out. there are A LOT of people who take time off study to travel, work, irl issues etc etc. you're assuming that everyone who doesnt finish in 4 years either failed or dropped out.
 

Drongoski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,255
Gender
Male
HSC
N/A
From my observations,my guess is that the future for Pharmacy grads is bleak (I hope I'm wrong!). With big discount chains like Chemist Warehouse, I think most of the suburban chemists are struggling. Years ago, margins were good, so even if your turnover(volume of business) were so so, you can still survive because of your good (profit) margins. Now with cut throat competition, margins and turnover have shrunk. When you run a retail business, unless you own your premises, you sign up for a lease (maybe 5yr + 5 yr) - even if your business is struggling, you can't just walk away - you have full rent to pay for residual period of lease (lots of money) etc. If you work for a Pharmacy, your boss can't pay you well if he is not making good money!
 
Last edited:

Safraaz

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
381
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2018
So best option is to reject pharmacy and do something that has better job prospects like physio or radiography?
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top