Prescription for finding a job

Signing bonuses, new cars and six-figure salaries are just some of the perks new pharmacists are commanding.

The spoils are the result of an ongoing nationwide shortage of pharmacists.

According to the National Pharmacist Workforce Study released earlier this year, 41 percent of all male pharmacists are age 55 or older, nearing retirement.

Adding to the problem are a growing number of male and female pharmacists who prefer to work part-time. More than 30 percent of female pharmacists ages 31-50 are working part time, the report said.

Jim Jorgenson, administrative director for pharmacy services at University Health Care and an associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Utah's College of Pharmacy, said there is about a 6 percent increase in new U.S. pharmacy graduates annually, but a 30 percent increase in demand.

"By 2015, the estimate is that we are going to be over 40,000 pharmacists short nationally, and 157,000 short by 2020," Jorgenson said. "We're actually expecting to fill 7.2 billion prescriptions by 2020."

In Utah, there are 64 pharmacists per 100,000 people, lower than the national ratio of 78 per 100,000, according to Gar Elison, director of the Utah Medical Education Council.

Utah's need for pharmacists has companies like Walgreen Co. offering generous bonuses and scholarships for students.

Chris Scalzitti, pharmacy supervisor for Walgreen in Utah, said pharmacy students in the state who agree to work for Walgreen can receive up to $15,000 while still in school. In addition to the scholarships, Scalzitti said, Walgreen offers an attractive signing bonus.

"We do need more pharmacists," Scalzitti said. "We're always hiring. We can never have too many. Our growth out here for the future is just going to be so high because of the new stores that we constantly open. It just creates a constant need for us."

According to Elison, more than two-thirds of Utah pharmacists earn between $80,000 and $120,000 a year.

"Ten years after graduation, if you're not making $130,000, you're the exception," said Elison, who added that the 2006 typical starting salary for Utah pharmacists was $85,000.

"There's lots of places that are offering two-year leases on either a BMW, a Lexus or a Grand Cherokee," Jorgenson said. "We haven't gone that far. When you look at pharmacists' salaries right now, they are the highest starting salaries for any first-year professionals in any profession."

Emily Williams, 27, of Henderson, Nev., was offered a job at Target before graduating in pharmacy in 2005 from the University of Southern Nevada.

"I actually did not get a signing bonus," Williams said. "But I know here right now they've got bonuses up to $35,000."