Earnings of workers in the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry are higher than the average for all manufacturing industries. In 2002, production or nonsupervisory workers in this industry averaged $777 a week, while those in all manufacturing industries averaged $619 a week.
Some employees work in plants that operate around the clock-three shifts a day, 7 days a week. In most plants, workers receive extra pay when assigned to the second or third shift. Because drug production is subject to little seasonal variation, work is steady.