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Average
Salary & Job Outlook
Pharmacy Technician Median wages (2005)
$11.73 hourly
U.S. Minimum wage (2005)
$5.15 hourly
The median hourly pay rate for pharmacy techs is $11.73.
The scale varies from $9.09 at the low end and $16.61 at the
high end. Earning a Certified Pharmacy Technician designation
can increase your earnings. Additionally, shift differential
for working nights, weekends and holidays can boost your pay. Many
pharmacies are open 24 hours, seven days a week.
As with the medical field in general, the demand for pharmacy
techs is expected to grow much faster than the average over the
next decade because of the development of new drugs and the large
aging population in the United States. |
What
is a pharmacy technician?
Pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists in providing
patients with medication and other health care products.
Duties may include receiving and verifying prescriptions,
preparing medication for clients through mixing,
counting pills and labeling bottles.
Pharmacy technicians also work in patient care facilities.
They are responsible for reading patient charts,
then preparing the medication, verifying the prescription
and delivering it to the patient.
What are other common tasks for a pharmacy
technician?
- Patient paperwork
- Aiding in insurance claims
- Checking inventory
- Stocking medications
Several paths exist to become a pharmacy tech. It
is possible to learn on the job, but employers prefer
pharmacy techs who have formal training and certification. Coursework
for formal training includes medical and pharmaceutical
terminology, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacy
recordkeeping, pharmaceutical techniques and pharmacy
law and ethics. An internship may be part of
the training. Depending on the school attended
and state employed in, a diploma, certificate or
associates degree would be awarded. |
