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Pharmacist

Stable

Healthcare

Dispenses medication and advises on drug use in hospitals, community pharmacies and industry. Requires Pharmacy Board Malaysia registration and compulsory service for public-sector graduates; owning a community pharmacy raises mid-career pay.

PharmacyScienceNursing

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

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

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • PIC
  • Pharm D
  • Druggist
  • Apothecary
  • Pharmacist
  • Pharmacists
  • Prescriptionist
  • Radiopharmacist
  • Float Pharmacist
  • Pharmacy Resident

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationDoctoral degree

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Medicine and Dentistry93%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Mathematics90%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Customer and Personal Service83%
  • English Language83%

    English

  • Chemistry82%

    Chemistry

  • Biology79%

    BiologyAdditional Science

Skills to build

EmpathyCalm under pressureTeamwork

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

29%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.13%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

On Malaysia's official shortage list

TalentCorp and ILMIA's Critical Occupations List — evidence of a real hiring shortage in Malaysia right now.

Pharmacists · Shortage indicators met: 6/11

Pay in the private market

Monthly pay from fresh grad to mid-career, from the salary guide cited on this page.

Entry

Private
RM3,000 – RM3,800

Mid-career

Private
RM5,000 – RM8,000

Government pay isn't shown: we haven't yet sourced the SSPA civil-service salary tables, and we won't estimate them.

Job demand outlook

Stable

Steady, reliable demand: a consistent number of openings.

Your readiness

How your current SPM subjects line up with this career.

Add your SPM grades to see how ready you are for this career.

Add my grades

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Pharmacists

Source: Indeed Malaysia · as of Jan 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:Indeed Malaysia

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue