Objectives: To investigate the underlying factor structure of respondents' work profiles that were created using the 48 items in the Career Pathway Evaluation Program, 2007 Pharmacist and Pharmaceutical Scientist Profile Survey, and use the resulting factors to describe the 26 different work categories listed in the survey.
Methods: Exploratory factor analysis was used to describe the underlying structures (factors) that best represented respondents' work profiles. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to describe the 26 different work categories listed in the survey.
Results: Ten underlying factors were identified for the respondents' work profiles. A description of these factors among the 26 different respondent categories revealed variation among the categories that can be useful for describing the career categories in the American Pharmacists Association Career Pathway Evaluation Program.
Conclusions: Variations in work settings among various pharmacy careers were identified. The profiles constructed in this study could be helpful to individuals as they consider various career paths and choose elective coursework or experiential sites during their pharmacy education.
Keywords: career; pharmaceutical scientist; pharmacist; work profile.