The Graduate Outcomes Survey, which tracked 48,000 graduates who completed university in 2021, shows pharmacy interns earned a median AUD 52,200 in their first year.
By the third year, median pay had climbed 87 percent to AUD 97,700, outpacing most other disciplines and placing pharmacy among the strongest medium-term earners.
Pharmacy also remains one of the most reliable pathways to full-time work, with more than 90 percent of graduates employed full-time three years after finishing university.
Only dentists, doctors, veterinarians and physiotherapists reported similarly high employment rates.
Strong wage growth
The national data positions pharmacy as a profession with low starting pay but rapid wage acceleration.
While medicine continues to deliver the highest salaries, and IT and law show strong growth, pharmacy’s proportional rise is among the steepest.
Creative arts, communications, architecture, nursing and science graduates remain among the lowest-paid, reinforcing the contrast with pharmacy’s strong medium‑term trajectory.
Students seek stability
National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) President Sebastian Harper said the findings reflect what students are increasingly weighing up as they enter the profession.
“During a time of increased cost of living, pharmacy students are increasingly looking to their profession as a sustainable option for a long-term career,” he said.
“This is evident in the post-internship pay rates reported by this survey.”
“NAPSA has continued to support our members in seeking better opportunities after graduation, including internships that suit their needs and aspirations, and workplaces that adequately remunerate them for their vital work as the most accessible health professionals in Australia.”
