I am truly not aware of the prospect of pharmacy. Previously, I have no intention to choose pharmacy because of my mindset that it is mostly administrative work and it's not as challenging as engineer.

The salary for pharmacy really dumbfound me. Are you guys really sure that pharmacy pay is this attractive? I am engineer but work in oil and gas setor to earn the equivalent. If this is true, I think I'm working twice the risk to get the same salary..

Here's my experience working as a Human Resource Generalist in a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Firstly, you need to have qualification recognised by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia. You should have undergone pre-registration training for a year (minimum requirement) that is recognized by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia. These criteria must be accredited by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

In addition, you are required to pass the Pharmacy Forensic / Jurisprudence Examination. Complete your housemanship for three years of compulsory government service as a fully registered pharmacist.

The starting monthly salary of a Provisionally Registered Pharmacist (PRP) is approximately RM2,700. Please keep in mind that it is an estimation based on my experience in Human Resource Management.

However, it is known that many PRPs are earning more than what I have written above because of additional allowances. For example: Certificate Allowances (CA), Hazard Allowances (HA), Attendance Allowances (AA), Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), so on and so forth. After adding all these mumbo jumbos, yours truly can rake in about RM5,000 to RM6,000 per month.

An advice for those who wants to venture into pharmacy. It definitely add to your value if you have Inventory Management (IM) knowledge and skills. If you have this as an added value skill set, I'm sure you are very well in demand compared to those graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy.

Heck it! If you are into healthcare industry, do consider to take a course to become a Radiologist. It's pretty square one with being a Registered Pharmacist.

Regards, Joey

i think it is a bit low

heard now govn can earn like 7-8K as pharmacist

private can earn 10-15K

not sure but my cousin bro is a pharm, 3 yrs only but getting more than 10K working in shah alam

Here's my experience working as a Human Resource Generalist in a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Firstly, you need to have qualification recognised by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia. You should have undergone pre-registration training for a year (minimum requirement) that is recognized by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia. These criteria must be accredited by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

In addition, you are required to pass the Pharmacy Forensic / Jurisprudence Examination. Complete your housemanship for three years of compulsory government service as a fully registered pharmacist.

The starting monthly salary of a Provisionally Registered Pharmacist (PRP) is approximately RM2,700. Please keep in mind that it is an estimation based on my experience in Human Resource Management.

However, it is known that many PRPs are earning more than what I have written above because of additional allowances. For example: Certificate Allowances (CA), Hazard Allowances (HA), Attendance Allowances (AA), Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), so on and so forth. After adding all these mumbo jumbos, yours truly can rake in about RM5,000 to RM6,000 per month.

An advice for those who wants to venture into pharmacy. It definitely add to your value if you have Inventory Management (IM) knowledge and skills. If you have this as an added value skill set, I'm sure you are very well in demand compared to those graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy.

Heck it! If you are into healthcare industry, do consider to take a course to become a Radiologist. It's pretty square one with being a Registered Pharmacist.

Regards, Joey

inventory management? as in wat?

also, i am wondering, does the company like pharmaniaga or pfizer look at your result if you going for industry pharmacist?

i read that demand of pharmacist outstrip the supply in msia nowadays. However, when i asked some of my friends, they mentioned that the gov hospital in west coast malaysia is pretty much saturated with pharmacist nowadays.. is that true?

looks like the salary is going higher and higher

my bro just got a promotion and his salary now is 15k ++
damn... i should have stdied this...

goodness fresh grad pay is the same as mine and even a little higher... worked for 4 years 2 in manufacturing 2 in O&G as procurement exec.. still so low... now in GLC ... sigh...

5-6k a month as a PRP? Seriously  ?! My senior told me that her current wages as a PRP (West Malaysia) are only 3.4k a month inclusive of allowances. If you're working in East Malaysia then maybe around 4k.

By the way how do you specialise as a pharmacist? Am interested in eventually specialising as an anti-microbial pharmacist.
Won't be surprised. The whole world and their little siblings are studying pharmacy now x_x .
Well I read somewhere on this forum that a neurosurgeon can command a monthly salary of 300k++. Should have done medicine then. FML.

there are many master degrees offered by public unis for you to further study.

well, out of 50 neurosurgeons i think only 1 or 2 will make it to that level.

at this time of day, with the oversupplying of doctors..i doubt you can reach that level in 15 years. (if u don't know, specialising takes a pretty darn long time)

Either way apparently doctors on average still get paid more than pharmacists .

Oh so the Pharmacy Board/Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society doesn't offer such courses then . Have to shell out more money .

yea. plus the extra extra extra workload and stressload for that few hundred ringgit(ok maybe more) 

but you have to be clear, being a pharmacist is not your way to riches  although u can earn a decent living. if u wanna be a millionaire by 30, might as well be an entrepreneur and start your business, or go banking? 

nope, they are just a regulatory body la. 

if your results are good in degree, there's always high chances that you being offered to do masters for free. 

No I mean the RPSGB in UK do offer some courses for continuing pharmacy education (if I remember correctly) so I assumed that the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society will do the same too but so far all I've seen under their continuing pharmacy education section are talks and seminars .

That's what I thought too initially (about docs earning slightly more but having a lot more work) but now when I hear everyone saying that doctors earn so much more..... . However the hell they have to go through before getting to that level...mmmm...

Lol. I just graduated la dear. Starting my pre reg this October and my results were decent but nothing fancy (no first class honours + top of the class + a bunch of other fancy awards) so I don't think I can get a scholarship to do Masters that easily >_< .

hahahaha...which idiot will tell you the sad story of a doctor who can't even see one patient a day to make ends meet? sure all tell you the glamorous story one mar. 

err...wait till u start to work then u will be grateful why u r a pharmacist, when u see those housemen.

for one, you will be working in full air conditioned rooms while the docs have to slog out in only-fans working environment.

u get to sit on the chair for at least 1 full hour, they don't.

want me to add? 

Lol I guess it depends on where you're working as well. My senior who's doing her pre-reg constantly b1tches about how horrible life as a PRP is while another senior who did her pre-reg in the pharmacy bureau claims that working life is super chilled and easy.

Hopefully I won't be posted to somewhere stressful XD.

no matter won how also won be as taxing as a doctor la.

some how i find it quite boring to an extent 

if u get posted to surgical wards then should be fun though.

My cousin who is a pharmacist just recently attended a Watson Pharmacy Career talk.

Starting salary for Fresh Grad is a basic = RM 6K, RM 7,500 if two years experience or more.

Store Manager = RM 10,500.00

Latest insider info.

Sucks you did not take pharmacy eh?

Xuzen

I think for your pre reg year you'll go to all the wards on a rotation basis. After that I'm not sure but I think they'll probably assign you to a particular department. According to my senior apparently the outpatient department is the worst and the most boring, just sit there dispensing prescriptions like a robot xP .

Fresh grad 0_0 ? Don't you have to work for the govt for 4 years first? Or by fresh grad do you mean someone who's just finished their 4 years of government service XD ?

ahaha...yea..that's why i said it could be boring...   surgical wards could be fun though..more cases..although i hope to get out of gov hospital as soon as possible
yea i think he meant that..

rm10k seems alot..

but i think that's the pinnacle..  

My cousin got RM 5,000 pay after working less than 2 years,  but the thing is that he spent hundreds and thousands of $$$ studying in ireland... No idea why he's back, shud have stayed back.