Pharmacy Technician Salary

A Highly Sought Out Profession – Pharmacy Technician

Jobs in pharmacies are some of the most wanted occupations. Working in very clean conditions, helping people, being respected and all this for a big salary is a dream that many young people have. One of the most popular professions is a pharmacy technician. This job implies helping pharmacist to prepare prescriptions. In the beginning other duties may be aiding customers, restocking the shelves, operating the cash registers and answering the telephone. A pharmacy technician can work for pharmacies, hospitals, schools, sports teams, government and non-profit organizations.

• Duties of a Pharmacy Technician

A pharmacy technician salary may vary depending on several factors like experience, location, type of pharmacy and, nonetheless, education. So, if you want to earn more, you need more than a high school diploma or job training. An education program of pharmacy technician can help you with that. Two of the most popular schools in this area are the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians and the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. Also, if you have additional skills and carry out more than one duty, you may gain some extra money for your salary. In your search for a bigger salary you must also be careful for what type of institution you are working. Universities, colleges and schools offer lower salaries. Instead, if you work in a hospital, a federal government or a non-profit organization you may have a higher wage. Experience is a must when we’re talking about salaries. The more experience you have, the bigger the earnings.

• Average salary of a pharmacy technician

Taking all these points into consideration, let’s see how big can a pharmacy technician salary be? Average, he can earn about $13.32 per hour. The highest wage is $18.98 per hour and the lowest one is $9.27. A pharmacy technician without any experience earns between $19,000 and $25,000 every year. Once the experience grows, the salary follows and can reach $30,000 annually. But it doesn’t stop here. A very experienced pharmacy technician, with more than 10 years seniority, can gain $40,000 per annum.  Also, a certified technician can have a higher wage that, usually, reaches the already mentioned salaries. You must know that a pharmacy technician salary increases once a year and it depends on the experience and the skills of the employee.

• Employment opportunities

As stated before, a pharmacy technician salary depends on where he’s working. Small, neighborhood pharmacies offer lower salaries. Hospitals and clinics that have attached pharmacies can afford to pay bigger rates. Regarding career opportunities you must know that, unfortunately, there are few advancement options. For a promotion you must have very good qualifications in education and also follow additional higher programs for becoming a pharmacist. The maximum you can reach in a pharmacy, after seven years of work, is having a supervisor position. For this you must be in a multi-technician pharmacy. The salary for this position can reach $40,000 or $50,000. It is dependent on your abilities and the type of pharmacy. Despite this disadvantage, the pharmacy technician salary can attract you to follow this profession.