Qualified as a Pharmacist - Now What?

Achieving your qualifications. It’s a massive goal ticked off, and something that so many of us work tirelessly towards for years. However, it’s important to keep in mind here that qualifying as a pharmacist won’t immediately land you a dream position; you’ll still need to do a lot of work. In line with this thought, today, we’re taking a look at some of the key things you should be doing and looking into now that you’ve qualified as a pharmacist at last.

What Opportunities Are Available for Newly Qualified Pharmacists?

Following graduation, it’s only natural that you might want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible to find your dream role. However, there are countless things you should consider and opportunities available, and deciding between these can naturally seem a little difficult if you’ve not got a clear career path in mind already. Luckily, the following options might help you decide.

Job Opportunities

Chances are, for the majority of people who have recently qualified as pharmacists, you’ll have started by looking for job opportunities in the pharmacy field.

Now, if you have achieved a foundation training qualification through an employer, it may be worth asking them if they have any employment opportunities; often, businesses providing this training will be happy to take you on once they are qualified, assuming they worked well during the foundation itself.

So, what opportunities are available when looking at the employment route? Well, one of the great things about a pharmacist qualification is that it can open up plenty of awesome roles, which may include the following.

Community pharmacist: One of the most obvious positions for a newly qualified pharmacist to go into is the role of a community pharmacist. Indeed, community pharmacies are relatively numerous, and these will often have the most job openings given the number of pharmacies needed to serve communities.

Hospital pharmacist: While most people will get their medications from a community pharmacy, hospital pharmacies often also play a crucial role in supplying medications. As such, if you have been looking for a role in a busy environment, this could be right for you.

Medical research: Did you know that a pharmacist qualification can potentially open up opportunities within the medical research field, be it as a research scientist or assistant? Naturally, such roles are often hard to achieve; however, they can potentially be very good opportunities if you can win such a position.

Medical sales representative: While we often think of the medical field as being funded, it’s still important to keep in mind that sales are a big part of medical provision and R&D. As such, the role of medical sales representatives is crucial, in particular for medical companies looking to bring new healthcare products to the market.

Industry: Striving for new developments is essential in the medical field, and pharmacologists often play a crucial role in this. Working as part of the drug development and delivery field, pharmacologists are hence incredibly influential in the growth of the medical field.

Educator: One role that many people often overlook when it comes to post-graduation opportunities is that of a teacher, educator, or lecturer. However, depending on the level that you intend to enter into, there are occasionally opportunities to enter into a training and teaching role, which can potentially be worth considering.

Medical writer: Many brands are looking for individuals with knowledge of pharmaceutical or medical fields for copywriting purposes. As such, a role that could make use of your new qualification while branching out a little from the norm is that of a pharmaceutical copywriter, journalist, and the like. These professionals often play a pivotal role in informing other people, be they professionals or customers, about different pharmaceutical products and opportunities.

These are just a few of the potential employed fields you might want to look into as a qualified pharmacist. In addition, it’s worth noting here that there are many other options you could look into, or you could even move away from pharmaceutical roles for a while entirely if you wanted to explore something different. Many employers value interviewees with qualifications, even when they aren’t directly related to the role itself.

Going Self-Employed

Another option you could look into when it comes to post-graduation opportunities is to consider the self-employed route. Indeed, this offers a good way to beat the rat race of interviews and the like; however, try to keep in mind here that you will need capital to do this, so if you haven’t had a chance to save up while studying, this might not be the ideal option for you.

The easiest way to become self-employed after graduating from your pharmaceutical studies is to buy a pharmacy. Of course, there are countless different benefits associated with buying your very own pharmacy business, which may include the following points.

No need to sit for interviews. Often, after qualifying for your pharmaceutical studies, you will need to book quite a few interviews to land your first job. Indeed, other candidates may have more expertise, so finding a way to help yourself stand out can seem tricky. Fortunately, by going self-employed, you’ll be able to avoid this frustrating process, in turn potentially saving a lot of hassle.
Control over the business. Being able to control how a business runs is often incredibly rewarding for many people. However, it’s not uncommon for staff members to feel overlooked in their firm, which can potentially leave you feeling unhappy with your role. Fortunately, as a business owner, you won’t have to worry about this; since you’ll have control over the business, you will have a lot more freedom to operate the firm in the way that you see fit.
Make a difference in your community. If you have noticed that your community seems to be lacking in amenities, buying a community pharmacy and going self-employed could make a world of difference. Indeed, with pharmacy numbers decreasing year-on-year (currently sitting at around 11,000 across the entirety of England), it’s easy to see why many communities are lacking in pharmacy services. In fact, given that there are around 40,000 villages and towns in England, this means that - on average - each community pharmacy has to serve around four villages. That’s a significant strain on pharmacy services, while also representing a major difficulty for many individuals, especially those with limited mobility or who struggle to travel.
Take the pressure off local GPs. In addition to providing direct support for your local community, going down the self-employed route and opening your community pharmacy can take a great deal of pressure off local GPs. In turn, this can make a significant amount of difference if you have been looking for a way to
Cost of living proof business model. If you’ve always wanted to get into running your own business, starting a community pharmacy might be a good option! These businesses are recession-proof and are generally less impacted by the cost of living, which means that they can be a potentially more stable business model than others that can be impacted significantly by external factors like cost of living.

Looking Into Further Study Opportunities

Thus far, we’ve considered two of the main earning opportunities related to your new pharmacist qualification. However, there is naturally another option you could also pursue: looking into further study opportunities. Indeed, taking your studies further could allow you to develop your knowledge additionally, potentially opening new career opportunities down the line.

Of course, many of the careers themselves will be similar to those available to newly qualified pharmacists; however, you may be able to enter at a higher level. This can potentially make you more competitive if you have been struggling to get your first job so far.

Tips for Winning a Job as a Newly Qualified Pharmacist

If you still think that an employed role might be right for you, there are several tips you could keep in mind to help you stand out as a candidate. Remember, you’ll likely be competing against other people who have more experience than you, so finding a way of stepping outside of the box and showing yourself in the best light possible is crucial.

Get Real World Experience

As a newly qualified pharmacist, one of the main things you’ll need to prove is that you are capable of doing the job well. Indeed, you’ve got the knowledge, but employers may still worry about how you’ll perform in an actual service setting. In line with this thought, getting real-world work experience before applying for jobs could help you prove your abilities and make employers more likely to hire you.

Be Flexible

Flexibility is often very important for many employers, and as a newly qualified pharmacist, being able to offer flexibility is often one of your biggest selling points. Indeed, while this can often be impractical, it can set you apart from the competition as someone who the employer can count on when they need help in an emergency (for example, if another member of the pharmacy team has called in sick last minute).

Accept a Lower Rate of Pay

At the end of the day, as a newly qualified pharmacist, there’s only so much you can do to set yourself apart from more experienced individuals with the same qualifications. In line with this thought, being prepared to accept a lower rate of pay may help sway the employer to choose you. After all, if you can provide the same work for a cheaper rate than someone else, you’ll likely be a very attractive candidate; however, never undercharge for your services. You’ve got bills to pay too, and there needs to be a careful balance between charging your time competitively and simply undervaluing your skills and qualifications.

Understand the Business

Even if you are applying to multiple businesses, take time out to ensure you have understood the specific nature and properties of the business. This simple step can demonstrate passion and eagerness for the job, which can make you stand out from other candidates who may not be as interested and who may have spent less time

Prepare Thoroughly for the Interview

At the end of the day, preparing for an interview is incredibly important. As part of this, make sure you have put time into making yourself presentable and ensuring you arrive at the interview on time. Critically, if your interview is being held remotely, it may also be important to prepare your space for this; ensure the background is neat, and always make sure that your devices are fully charged and ready to hold the interview. After all, few things look more unprofessional than having your phone die in the middle of the interview.

Final Thoughts

There are numerous different opportunities available for pharmacists after qualifying, and keeping these in mind might help you find the right ones for you. However, while it’s easy to begin looking down the traditional route of an employed career, we would also recommend considering the other options available to you, such as starting your self-employed career and buying a community pharmacy. This single decision might just make a world of difference both to your own life and to your local community.