Pharmaceutical Industry Workers

Because the pharmaceutical industry is a large field, earnings vary tremendously and depend on the worker's position, educational background, and amount of work experience.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the mean annual salary for all pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry workers was $87,170 in May 2023. The mean annual salary for workers in all careers was $65,470. It also reports the following mean annual earnings for workers by specialty:

• sales managers: $181,360
• medical scientists: $118,830
• sales representatives-wholesale and manufacturing: $112,780
• biochemists and biophysicists: $109,270
• biomedical engineers: $107,220
• first-line supervisors of production and operating workers: $80,510
• chemical plant and system operators: $54,490
• chemical processing machine setters, operators, and tenders: $50,450
• crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers: $47,960
• material moving workers: $44,090
• packaging and filling machine operators and tenders: $43,160

Full-time workers, regardless of their work specialty, receive paid vacations, medical and dental insurance, paid sick and personal days, pension plans, and life insurance. Some workers may also be offered profit-sharing, savings plans, and reimbursement for job-related education.