Pharmacy Professionals

How to become a Pharmacist

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 药师

Prepares, dispenses, makes up and tests medicines in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies or research organisations, and shows patients how to use medicines correctly.

Main tasks

Buying and supplying medicines, checking prescriptions and medication orders, and preparing medicines, intravenous infusions and hospital made preparations
Keeping dispensing records
Managing and recording the use of specially controlled medicines
Giving medicines information, advice and education to health staff and the public
Monitoring drug levels in the blood and genetic differences in drug response, and recommending dose changes
Monitoring medicine quality and collecting and reporting side effects and harm from medicines
Taking part in drug treatment on the wards, joining ward rounds, consultations and case discussions and helping treat difficult and critical cases
Taking part in clinical trials of new medicines and safety and effectiveness monitoring after launch, reviewing prescriptions and flagging unusual medication
Carrying out medicine testing, review and inspection, setting and revising standards and monitoring risks

Ways in

University: Pharmacy degrees, Offered by 46 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Pharmacy (1007); Chinese Materia Medica (1008); majors such as Pharmacy, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacy Administration, Pharmaceutical Analysis, Chinese Materia Medica, Chinese Medicinal Resources and Development. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drug Quality and Safety (490206). Vocational major 490206 Drug Quality and Safety (药品质量与安全), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Pharmaceutical Formulation Production.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food and Drug Supervision and Administration (490209). Vocational major 490209 Food and Drug Supervision and Administration (食品药品监督管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Food Compliance Management.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Pharmaceutical Business and Management (490208). Vocational major 490208 Pharmaceutical Business and Management (药品经营与管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Pharmacy (520301). Vocational major 520301 Pharmacy (药学), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Health Professional and Technical Qualification; Pharmaceutical Formulation Production; Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Pharmaceutical Services and Management (290204). Vocational major 290204 Pharmaceutical Services and Management (药事服务与管理), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.
National qualification: Licence to practise: Licensed Pharmacist. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Licensed Pharmacist (执业药师), run by National Medical Products Administration; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.
National qualification: National professional qualification: Health Professional and Technical Qualification. A national qualification that shows your level; it is not required to work. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Health Professional and Technical Qualification (卫生专业技术资格), run by National Health Commission; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥65,600 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥47,400 to CN¥97,300. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,000 and one in ten more than CN¥148,700.
This is the figure for the mid group Health Professionals, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥88,300 a year (2025), middle half CN¥63,360 to CN¥93,600.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Health Professionals holds 1.66% of everyone employed in China; 68.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
50.6% are under 35, 42.5% are 35 to 54 and 6.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Pharmacist?

Ways in include: Pharmacy degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drug Quality and Safety (490206); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food and Drug Supervision and Administration (490209).

How much does a Pharmacist earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥65,600 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Health Professionals. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥88,300 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Pharmacist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026