It is, but as
@PimTac correctly pointed out - it is a very different type of work and the number of available hospital positions is also miniscule compared to retail chains.
Take a browse on the r/pharmacy sub and you'll read about the issues. I have a few contacts in this field and they're all in agreement - hours, very poor staffing practices and the market is just plain saturated.
Fair, but does paying ~$300k in tuition (on top of undergrad) to earn $40-$70/hr make any sense?
pharmacy.pacific.edu
The national company that I work for....has a 12% salary differential between super-low cost of living areas (e.g. Dakotas) and high cost of living areas. Our salary structures are very well validated by both internal and external industry sources. So, the arguments about CA (and major metropolitan areas) being on their own planet (from a COL standpoint) is not exactly accurate, IMO.
Also, at the $200K income level for an individual, your take-home (with typical 401K and medical deductions), is probably around $10K/mo. A decent bit of money, but not exactly upper middle class anymore.
Anyway, as mentioned earlier, pharmacists are decently compensated, but their current market salaries do not make sense for the required educational investment. Spending $200-$300K to earn $40-$70/hr doesn't really add up. PT's are a similar situation. There's a reason why many smart folks interested in healthcare are flocking to the RN, PA, NP and RT pathways.
Might want to poke around the r/pharmacy sub a bit. This thread is an example:
I have numerous friends who recently entered the field and their comments match those. The field has simply become saturated in recent years and it is very difficult to find employment now.