Personality traits and career preferences of pharmacy students: a cross-sectional study at Kuwait University

Pharmacy careers extend across hospital, community (private sector), ambulatory (polyclinic), industry, regulatory, and academic-research domains. This study examines how personality traits relate to pharmacy students’ preferences across these career areas at Kuwait University, with the aim of informing program-level advising, targeted exposure, and workforce planning. We ran a cross-sectional survey from February to May 2025 with undergraduate pharmacy students at Kuwait University. The online questionnaire asked about students’ backgrounds, academic details, career interests across five pharmacy fields, what influences their choices, and their personality traits using a brief, well-known tool (the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, TIPI). We looked for patterns in what drives career preferences and then used those patterns, along with personality scores and student characteristics, to see which factors are linked with interest in each career area. A total of 199 students completed the survey (response rate: 47.2%). Hospital pharmacy was the most popular choice (83.9%). On personality, students scored highest on conscientiousness, followed by openness to experience and agreeableness. When we examined the combined effects of different factors, age, agreeableness, external expectations (e.g., from family or society), and academic programme stood out. Looking at specific career areas, interest in hospital pharmacy was higher among students with greater certainty about their career plans, higher GPAs, and higher agreeableness. Interest in industrial pharmacy was more likely among older students, those who felt stronger external expectations, and those who chose pharmacy as their first-choice major. Age also mattered for preferences for community pharmacy and academic/research careers. We did not identify any clear predictors for preferring polyclinic pharmacy. Pharmacy students’ career preferences in Kuwait reflect a mix of who they are (their personality), how confident they feel academically, their stage of life, and the expectations around them. Career guidance that takes personality into account, and gives students meaningful exposure to less familiar career paths, may help them make more informed choices and support national healthcare needs. Ultimately, incorporating personality-informed guidance may lead to a more motivated, better-aligned future pharmacy workforce.