A degree in pharmacology provides a solid grounding in scientific knowledge and opens up opportunities in a range of careers

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Academic researcher
• Analytical chemist
• Biomedical scientist
• Clinical research associate
• Clinial scientist, biochemistry
• Clinical scientist, immunology
• Medicinal chemist
• Pharmacologist
• Research scientist (life sciences)
• Research scientist (medical)

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Higher education lecturer
• Medical sales representative
• Medical science liaison
• Neuroscientist
• Patent attorney
• Regulatory affairs officer
• Science writer
• Toxicologist

Work experience

Getting relevant work experience helps you develop a network of useful contacts and demonstrates your interest and commitment to employers. Build up your experience as a laboratory assistant or through vacation studentships at your place of study and through work shadowing.

Some pharmacology degree programmes offer a placement year and you may be able to find a placement in an industrial, commercial or research environment - the research and development laboratory of a pharmaceutical company or a non-lab based placement in a pharmaceutical-related field, for example. Search the websites of pharmaceutical companies for details of sandwich placements.

You could also find work, or offer to volunteer, in a pharmacy or chemist.

Typical employers

A pharmacology degree offers prospects for research careers in academia, industry, the scientific civil service and hospitals. You can work in the product management side of the industry or in areas such as marketing and medical information, acting as the link between pharmaceutical companies and doctors and patients.

Britain is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and invests large sums in research and development (R&D). As well as initial drug discovery, expertise in pharmacology can also be used in areas such as:

• clinical trials
• manufacturing
• regulatory affairs
• patenting
• sales and marketing
• IT
• finance
• scientific writing.

Common employers of pharmacology graduates include:

• Civil Service
• Department of Health and Social Care
• Intellectual Property Office (IPO)
• National Health Service (NHS)
• pharmaceutical and biotech companies
• universities.

Skills for your CV

A pharmacology degree provides an understanding of medications, their sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutic uses. You explore drug interactions in biological systems, the formulation and operation of clinical trials, drug regulation and the marketing of pharmaceuticals.

You also develop key transferable skills during your degree, which include:

• oral and written communication skills
• the ability to design, retrieve, handle and interpret complex data
• critical analytical and problem-solving abilities
• good organisational skills
• the ability to work without supervision and use your own initiative
• decision-making skills
• time management
• knowledge of safety
• teamwork.