25 Side Hustles for Pharmacists (& Ways to Make More Money)

As a pharmacist, you’ve worked hard to attain your degree and hone your skills in the field. But you may find that your fixed salary doesn’t provide you with the money you want for things like paying off student loans or saving for a specific goal.

The good news is that there are countless opportunities for pharmacists who want to increase their income through their existing careers or by starting a side hustle.

We’ll cover the best options in this article so you can use your knowledge and experience to reach your financial goals.

How to Make Extra Money as a Pharmacist

Since you already have valuable education and experience, the first place to start is with your existing career. Later, we’ll look at plenty of side hustles, but sometimes the easier option is to simply increase what you make directly through your work as a pharmacist.

1. Pick Up Extra Shifts

Most pharmacists work set hours each week, but you may be able to pick up extra shifts during busy times. You could also investigate opportunities to cover for others needing time off or vacation days. This could mean temporarily becoming a relief pharmacist, which can come with additional pay and allow you to work in different environments.

Working overtime may allow you to make more money than you could make with a side job. You may be able to pick up extra shifts when needed and go back to your normal hours when you don’t need the extra income.

If your employer or your current position doesn’t allow you to pick up extra shifts or work overtime, you may be able to find a part-time job at another pharmacy. Many pharmacies struggle to find qualified workers for evening and weekend shifts, so opportunities may be available.

2. Telepharmacy

Telepharmacy is an emerging field that allows pharmacists to work remotely. This may involve medication counseling and performing drug utilization reviews. And since it’s a remote job, you can work from home around the schedule of your full-time job.

You may be able to find telepharmacy jobs on websites like Indeed and LinkedIn, or you find opportunities through your professional network. FlexJobs is also an excellent resource for remote opportunities.

3. Improve Your Credentials

Whether you want to find a new position or get a raise in your current job, improving your credentials can go a long way. These improved credentials can drastically impact your long-term earning potential, not just a short-term boost.

Thankfully, there are many types of certifications available for pharmacists, including:

• Board Certified Cardiology Pharmacist (BCCP)
• Board Certified Critical Care Pharmacist (BCCCP)
• Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (BCGP)
• Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP)
• Board Certified Pediatric Pharmacy Specialist (BCPPS)

That’s just a small selection. There are many oher possibilities. Find something that interests you and work to become certified.

In this case, your side hustle involves improving your education and qualifications. It won’t improve your income immediately, but it can significantly impact your earning power.

4. Perform Comprehensive Medication Reviews

An easy way to use your knowledge and experience to make extra money is through comprehensive medication reviews. This involves speaking to patients, reviewing their health situation and current medication, and making suggestions.

Aspen RxHealth is the leading platform for this type of work. You can sign up, complete the onboarding process, and work flexible hours to earn money. Generally, the pay is excellent and very convenient since it can be done remotely.

You’ll speak to the patient through the Aspen RxHealth app, and your notes and recommendations are also handled through the app.

5. Get a Higher-Paying Job

Sometimes the most effective way to make more money is to find another job. If your current pay is below average in the industry, you may be able to improve your finances by looking around.

Of course, there are more factors to consider than simply salary when making a job change, but this is an option worth considering.

And if you’ve taken the time to earn a new certification or improve your credentials in another way, your income potential may be significantly higher than your current role allows.

Ways to Expand Your Career

The opportunities in this section may not help you to make more your in your current job, but you can earn extra income on the side while also giving your career a boost. You never know what doors may open in the future.

6. Be Part of an Advisory Board

Pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare-related organizations are always looking for qualified professionals to join their advisory boards. Generally, these positions involve making recommendations and giving advice on products or services.

Not only will you make some extra money, but you’re likely to make very valuable connections. And serving on an advisory board is an excellent experience for your resume.

7. Write a Book or E-book

Writing a book or e-book is an excellent way to showcase your knowledge and experience while making extra money. You may choose to write about any healthcare topic, including your pharmacy specialty.

Anyone can become an author thanks to print-on-demand platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. You don’t need to wait for a publisher to offer you a book deal. You’ll write your book and upload it to Amazon, and they’ll print paperbacks and fulfill orders as sales are made. You can also offer a digital e-book version.

Writing a book or e-book requires a lot of time upfront, but you can make money for years to come with a successful book. And aside from the income, becoming an author may have a significant impact on your career and other opportunities that become available.

8. Speaking or Lecturing

Another way to make extra money is to speak or lecture at conferences and seminars. These engagements typically pay very well, but the details vary. It’s also a great opportunity to build your reputation as an expert in pharmacy-related topics.

You may need to invest some time in developing relationships with conference and seminar planners so they consider you for their events. But this could be another area where earning certification can give you an edge over others.

If you’re looking for a major boost in exposure within the industry, you can combine speaking with writing. Many speakers have also written and published books. Your books become an excellent marketing tool for your speaking services, and your speaking engagements can help you to sell more books. It’s an ideal fit.

9. Consulting

You may be able to offer your expertise as a consultant. Companies in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries always look for qualified professionals with the experience to help them make decisions or develop products/services.

Many large businesses need people who can provide insight into certain processes or procedures. And again, a certification will likely give you an edge over other applicants.

Consulting is an ideal activity to do on the side because it pays well and can easily be done part-time.

Side Hustles for Pharmacists

The side hustles in this section won’t necessarily help to advance your career, but they will allow you to earn extra income. And most of them will put your existing skills and knowledge to work in one way or another.

You may also be interested in our other articles on side hustles for doctors, side hustles for veterinarians, and side hustles for therapists and psychologists.

10. Tutoring

Tutoring is an excellent way to make extra money, and you can do it on the side without impacting your current job. You may be able to tutor college students, especially pharmacy school students, in subjects like pharmacology, physiology, math, and even anatomy.

You don’t need any special certification or training to become a tutor, assuming you’re finding clients on your own. If you decide to work through a tutoring platform that matches you with students, they may have specific requirements.

To find clients, you can place ads on bulletin boards at colleges or universities in your local area. You can also post on Craigslist.

11. Adjunct Professor

If you’re willing to commit more time and energy, you may be able to teach a course at a local pharmacy school or college as an adjunct professor.

Most adjunct professors teach one or two classes per semester. If you have a typical day job, you may be able to teach an evening class. Teaching online classes is also possible.

The pay for adjunct professors varies depending on where you work, the course you teach, and how many hours you work. But this can be an excellent opportunity for those who want to make more money while sharing their knowledge with the next generation of pharmacists.

12. Medical Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants (VAs) are in high demand. With credentials and experience as a pharmacist, you could specialize in the medical field. You might help healthcare professionals with administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing patient records, and other administrative work.

This is a great way to use your pharmacy skills outside the traditional clinical setting. It also has the potential to pay very well if you’re able to find the right clients and manage multiple projects at once.

13. Create and Sell Printables

If you’re interested in starting an online business, one of the best side hustle opportunities is to create and sell printables. Digital products like planners, organizers, journals, and checklists are extremely popular and relatively easy to create. Best of all, you’ll create the product once, and you can sell it over and over again.

You can use your expertise to create printables related to health and medicine. Here are just a few ideas:

• Medical planners and binders
• Symptom trackers
• Pain trackers
• Medication trackers
• In-case-of-emergency planners
• Medical contact lists

You don’t have to be great at design to create printables that people will love. Tools like Canva make it easy even for non-designers to create printables. And if you don’t want to do the work yourself, you can hire a designer on Fiverr to create them for you.

Etsy is the most popular marketplace to sell printables. You could create an Etsy shop focusing specifically on health and medical printables and downloadable products.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, I recommend the E-Printables course from Gold City Ventures. It’s a thorough course that teaches everything you need to know to make money selling printables on Etsy.

14. Medical Freelance Writing

Writing is another great way to make money online. If you have a knack for writing, you can transition your skills and experience into freelance medical writing. You could write blog posts, articles, white papers, or even e-books related to health and medicine.

Freelance writing offers excellent income potential, especially for credentialed professionals. Very few freelancers have the qualifications of a pharmacist, so you should be able to earn high pay rates for your work.

To find clients, the best place to look is professional networks like LinkedIn and job boards specializing in medical-related work. You could also create a profile on Upwork or Fiverr.

15. Start a Blog

Starting a blog is one of the best ways to make money online. You can earn passive income from ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and other sources. The downside is it requires time and patience. Most new bloggers make very little for the first six months or more. But if you have a long-term focus, the income potential is unlimited.

Of course, having expertise in health and medicine will give your blog an edge over others in the same niche. Choose a topic related to health or pharmacy that you’re passionate about. It could be anything from natural remedies to drug interactions or even advice for other pharmacists who want to make more money.

Once your blog is set up, create content that will be valuable and helpful to your readers. This can include tutorials, reviews, interviews, lifestyle articles, and more.

16. Start a YouTube Channel

Starting a YouTube channel is similar to starting a blog, except that you’ll create video content instead of written content. The monetization possibilities and the need for a long-term focus are similar.

YouTube is one of the best places to make money online, becoming more popular daily. You could create a channel related to health or pharmacy topics that you’re passionate about and start sharing videos with your viewers.

There are lots of opportunities to make money on YouTube, including ads, sponsorships, affiliate commissions, and product sales. This can be a great way to earn some extra income while doing something you love.

17. Start a Podcast

Here’s another content-creating opportunity, but this one focuses on audio content (although many podcasts are now offering video versions as well).

Starting a podcast is similar to starting a blog or YouTube channel regarding the need for long-term focus and dedication. But it can be much less intense than creating video content, so if you’re not ready to make videos yet, this could be a good option.

You can monetize your podcast with ads, sponsorships, affiliate commissions, and product sales. And like blogging or YouTube, having expertise in healthcare or pharmacy topics will give you an edge in attracting sponsors and other opportunities.

18. Create Online Courses

Online education is a booming industry. It’s expected to be worth $325 billion in 2025 (source)

As an online course creator, you can leverage your knowledge and experience while reaching a large audience of potential customers. It’s one of the best online business models available right now.

You could create courses on topics related to health and medicine, such as drug interactions, natural remedies, or even courses for pharmacists looking to make more money.

You can sell your online courses on popular platforms like Skillshare or use Teachable to create your own website and start selling directly to customers.

19. Transcription

If you have some typing skills, working part-time as a transcriptionist could be an ideal way to make extra money. You could use your existing knowledge and experience to work as a medical transcriptionist.

Medical transcriptionists are responsible for transcribing medical records and other audio files. It requires a high level of accuracy and knowledge of medical terminology, which you already have as a pharmacist.

There are lots of companies and platforms that offer transcription jobs, or you could choose to work on an independent basis. Working independently will require more effort on your part when it comes to finding clients, but it offers better income potential.

20. Paid Medical Surveys

You can make extra money by taking paid medical surveys as a medical professional. Several companies conduct surveys and pay doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals for their insight.

Of course, you can also take general online surveys through sites like:

• Swagbucks
• InboxDollars
• Rakuten Insight

These surveys won’t pay nearly as much as the medical surveys, but they’re available any time.

21. Lead Continuing Education Sessions

As a pharmacist, you have the experience and knowledge to lead continuing education (CE) sessions. Pharmacists in most states are required to get CE credits each year, so qualified professionals are always needed to facilitate these sessions.

Working with these accredited providers would be a great way to start. Each state has its own regulations regarding CE, so it’s worth taking the time to research the guidelines for your state.

22. Become an Expert Witness

If you have a lot of experience as a pharmacist, you may be able to make good money working as an expert witness. This work involves providing testimony in court cases regarding pharmaceuticals or pharmacy practice.

It can be very rewarding and lucrative if you’re willing to put in the effort and do your research. Of course, this typically isn’t the most consistent gig. Work will be available at times and not available at others.

Companies like SEAK and Round Table Group can help you to find opportunities to work as an expert witness.

23. Answer Questions Online

If you have some free time, JustAnswer could be a great way to make money from your expertise. JustAnswer is an online platform where people can pay to get expert answers to their questions.

Pharmacists who sign up as JustAnswer Experts can get paid to offer advice on drug interactions, treatment options, and more. The work is extremely flexible and can be done from home around your work schedule.

According to JustAnswer, experts earn an average of $2,000 to $7,000 per month.

24. Investing

This side hustle doesn’t involve using your medical expertise or training, but it can be an excellent way to improve your long-term finances.

Investing has become a popular side hustle over the past few years. Apps like Public, Webull, and Moomoo have made investing in the stock market far more practical and accessible for the average person.

You’ll have the opportunity to earn extra money from your trades and gain valuable experience that helps you manage your investments going forward.

Aside from stocks, you could also invest in real estate. Fundrise is one of the most popular platforms for passive real estate investing.

25. Play Games

And finally, if you’re looking for a way to make a little extra money while also releasing stress from your full-time job, you can make money by playing games on your mobile device. There are a growing number of apps that pay you to play games.

If you already play games on your phone, why not get paid to do it? Most platforms allow you to earn cash or your choice of gift cards. Some of the most popular apps include:

• Bubble Cash (for iOS, for Samsung)
• Bingo Bling (for iOS)
• PCH+ (for iOS, for Android)
• Cash Giraffe (for Android)

You’re not going to get rich with these apps unless you get really lucky and hit a jackpot, but it can be a fun way to earn some extra cash or rewards in your spare time.

Final Thoughts on Side Hustles for Pharmacists

As we’ve seen, there are plenty of side hustles for pharmacists. Whether you’re looking for a way to supplement your income or just have some extra spending money, these ideas can help you achieve that goal.

By taking the time to research and explore these options, you’ll be able to find something that works for your lifestyle and financial needs. With dedication and hard work, any one of these side hustles could turn into a profitable venture.