Pharmacists aren't in any danger of sliding out of their cushy berth on the middle-class express, as their income keeps heading
in the right direction. But the latest biennial Drug Topics survey suggests that pharmacy's "little salary engine that could" may be losing some steam.
In the heady days of 2002, when prescription volume just kept soaring and desperate employers were throwing buckets full of
signing-bonus cash in front of would-be hires, pharmacists' base salaries jumped nearly $11,000 from our survey in 2000. By
2004, pharmacists' average base salary was about $7,000 higher than two years earlier, but last year that increase slowed
to $5,204.
The average annual base salary of all 910 respondents to our on-line survey was $94,927. Retail pharmacists averaged $92,291,
while their institutional brethren pulled down an average of $97,545. Pharmacists in retail earned $47 per hour, compared
with the $49 per hour institutional pharmacists were paid.
Pharmacists in our survey worked an average of 40.94 hours per week, down just a tick from 41 hours in 2004. Retailers put
in an average of 39.55 hours, compared with 42.20 for institutional clock-punchers last year. But 2.1% of retail pharmacists
and 3.9% in the institutional setting worked more than 60 hours. Another sign that increases are slowing is the amount of extra income pharmacists took home. For example, only 50% of our
respondents received additional pay from sources such as bonuses and profit-sharing, compared with 88% whose bosses handed
out bonuses in our 2000 survey. Spread across the entire respondent pool, the average amount was $6,420, down from $6,814
worth of bonuses and overtime in our 2004 survey. All our institutional pharmacists took home an average of $5,551 last year,
compared with $6,239 for toilers in the retail vineyard.
Fewer pharmacists expect to receive a raise this year, as only 81% of our respondents think their pay checks will be fatter,
compared with 87% two years ago. The average expected raise is 3.4%, not much above the cost of living. Next year's anticipated
raises are a continuation of a downward trend for what pharmacists actually received. They banked an average raise of 3.8%
in 2006, compared with 4.9% in 2004 and 7% in 2002.
It should be noted that this year's survey was conducted differently from those of years past. Instead of our usual paper-based
mailed survey, we switched to an on-line format. In addition, some questions were eliminated and others were added, so it's
not always possible to make direct comparisons between the results this time around and the past.
How does your salary compare with other R.Ph.s in your area?
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For instance, past surveys did not break out salary data for full-time and part-time pharmacists. This year our researchers
decided to put data from full-time employee pharmacists under the microscope to bring into focus the wages of the average
working stiffs putting in a full week, which comprised 82% of our respondents. The number-crunching revealed that the full-timers
had salaries that topped six figures, with an average base pay of $102,336. The part-timers averaged $55,589.
Fair is fair
The majority of our respondents (71%) believe that their salary is average or above average compared with other pharmacists
in their area. In fact, 14% think their pay is better than that of their peers, while 58% figure it's average. On the other
hand, 23% think they're getting the short end of the salary stick and 5% don't know which way the salary winds are blowing
across their area.
Drug Topics archives are now available on ModernMedicine.com, a new online resource designed to meet the evolving needs of physicians.