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This is Your Job on Drugs: A Pharmacy Technician Career

By Kate McIntyre
Learning & Life Columnist

While pharmacists face seven years of schooling after high school before they can fill their first prescription, pharmacy technicians can be on the job after only one or two years of career training. Pharmacy assistants are pharmacists' right-hand men and women. They count pills, fill prescription bottles, make labels, and serve customers. As pharmacies implement new technologies, such as robotic pill counters, pharmacy technicians help everyone adapt to these changes.

Pharmacy Technicians' Hours and Salaries

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, seven out of 10 pharmacy technicians work in retail pharmacies. Two out of 10 have jobs in hospitals. The remaining pharmacy technicians work for Internet companies, drug wholesalers, and the U.S. government. Most pharmacy technicians work regular hours, similar to pharmacists. Those who work at 24-hour pharmacies might have to work evenings, weekends, and holidays. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that pharmacy technicians make $11.37 per hour on average. Pharmacy technicians who work at medical and surgical hospitals make a bit more, about $12.93 per hour.

Getting the Right Training

To get started in your career as a pharmacy technician, you should consider entering a training program offered by a vocational school, community college, online education program, or hospital. You will receive training in medicine names and uses, calculating doses, and pharmacy law and ethics. At the completion of the program, you will earn a certificate, diploma, or associate's degree. You'll also have the option of taking the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination, which is given by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. When you pass the examination, you will be a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), a credential that makes you very attractive to employers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment of pharmacy technicians is expected to grow much faster than average through 2014. The abundance of job opportunities in this healthcare field means that pharmacy assistants with good training should enjoy excellent job security.

Sources:

• "Pharmacy Technicians," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

About the Author
Kate McIntyre, a fiction writer in Portland, Oregon, holds an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Oregon State University.

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