We suspect the abilities needed for a career in pharmacy are about the same worldwide. They include excellent skills in science and mathematics, and the ability to communicate and work well with people.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics also suggests that a pharmacist needs to have good feet! Many pharmacists stand all day at work.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: There were almost two hundred seventy thousand pharmacists in the United States in two thousand eight. That is the most recent year for which numbers are available.

In some parts of the country, the average yearly pay for a pharmacist was almost one hundred thousand dollars. Many pharmacists work forty hours a week. But some have longer workdays. And some jobs require working at night or on weekends and holidays.

BOB DOUGHTY: A pharmacist in America is often called a druggist. Many druggists work in community pharmacies or food stores. They provide patients with prescription medicines from their doctors. Pharmacists guide patients in how to take these drugs.

Many pharmacists advise people about general health issues, like diet or exercise. Pharmacists help patients guard against dangerous drug reactions by keeping records of the drugs ordered for them by several doctors.

Pharmacists in hospitals prepare medicines and advise doctors on the choice and effects of drugs. They also plan and watch over patients’ drug regimens -- the systematic plans for how medicine is to be administered.