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Pharmaceutical Industry Workers


Overview

Pharmaceutical Industry Workers

Introduction

Pharmaceutical industry workers are involved in many aspects of the development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. Pharmaceutical operators work with machines that perform such functions as filling capsules and inspecting the quality and weight of tablets. Pharmaceutical sales representatives sell and distribute pharmaceutical products and introduce new items to pharmacists, retail stores, and medical practitioners. Approximately 294,250 people are employed in the pharmaceutical and...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$74,890

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Employment Prospects

Good

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Minimum Education Level

High School Diploma
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Experience

Varies by position


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Skills

Business Management
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Personality Traits

Conventional
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Earnings

Because the pharmaceutical industry is a large field, earnings vary tremendously and depend on the worker's position, educational background, and amount of work experience.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the mean annual salary for all pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry workers was $74,890 in May 2018. It also reports the following mean annual earnings for work...

Work Environment

Advertising and sales workers travel considerable distances to hospitals, pharmacies, and physicians' offices. They may go to other cities or even other countries to promote their product line. They do not have a typical 9-to-5 workday. Often they must work around the schedules of busy doctors or work longer hours to meet sales goals.

Administrators work in office environments that are o...

Outlook

As the number of people age 65 and over continues to increase, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow to accommodate medical needs. In addition, technological developments continue to be pursued in many scientific endeavors, including the creation of new drugs for the treatment of such widespread diseases as AIDS and cancer. Employment for sales representatives in the pharmaceutical an...