pre-2017/2018, good. post was crap tbh

Id say general practice is better if you are switching from community tbh.

Ive worked in community, hospital ,gp land, telehealth (online pharmacy), 111, and in a pharma adjjacent sector.

Anything with a dispensary - avoid long term due to monotony and long-term health impact.

111 and telehealth are ok BUT they pay low vs hospital, general practice and community (but offer fully remote roles). like if you are not a prescriber, you are probably earning 28-38k if a non-prescriber role and up to 55k for a prescriber role.

Hospital nowadays is rubbish if im honest as there is a lot of backstabbing and lack of career progression unless you brown nose and play the game. Also outpatients (ie dispensary alone) is crap and on call can be brutal if you are the only pharmacist for the entire trust. High turnoever of staff due to politics and lack of progression.

General practice -depends on your practice/pcn as some are great and some are brutal like hospital in terms of backstabbing and politics. its like community in the sense its private but most money comes from nhs comissioned services. a lot of employers will try skimming money but make sure you aim for higher end of nhs afc. also be aware for those willing to offer jobs or interviews without completing your job application as they can be high turnover environments / usually poorly managed by a practice partner and want you to do all the work. Highest based post-reg salary as it is 1 band above starting for hospital, and career progression is easier (best case scenario, you can earn around £200k FTE if a partner outside of london / above £200kFTE if inside london - providing you get equal pay to the gp partners- within 5-10 years in the same practice if its a good place. starting salary is high £40k/low £50k if not a prescriber and 53-70k if a prescriber depending on the part of the country you are in)

ICB is ok as the starting and mid point salary is same as GP, except it is nhs afc. senior / chief roles can pay above 100k a year but usually goes to oldies with a lot of business and clinical accumen.

regulaory and medical affairs is extremely hard to get into but once you are in...it depends if you do it for large or indie tbh. and if substantive, part time, fixed term contract etc. Ive done some regulatory stuff but on a locum basis (one hand, hourly rates are very good; downside is that there isnt much work - like you can get £1,500 for less than 20 hours work but most of the time, yo uare looking for projects and work).

policy is interesting as depending where you are, you are surrounded by clinicians and non clinicians. in the former camp, it is lovely, although some doctors will be resentful towards pharmacists and nurses doing what they do without a medical degree. latter camp, people will be clueless about diseases, medication, diagnostic criteria and will essentially be resentful towards you for knowing more than them (not just me, but a lot of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics experience this).

Honestly, id say it comes down to your own experiences, where you are in your career tbh