If you are reading this, then you are considering pharmacy technician as a career or job for you or somebody you know. In the next few paragraphs I hope to outline the positives and negatives about being a pharmacy technician in today's environment. My hope is to help you decide if being a pharmacy technician is right for you.
Are there jobs right now? One easy way to determine this is to check your local newspaper (print or online) to see if there are any pharmacy tech jobs available. One caution, many hospital pharmacies and retail/community pharmacies post openings on their websites, so check these as well. For instance, I work in a health-system that has about 22 hospitals. We primarily post open technician positions on our company's website and rarely in the local paper. One thing you should know is that pharmacy technician positions are the most available in the summer. This is because people who are using pharmacy tech as a stepping stone either a) are accepted into pharmacy school or b) graduate from college and are now entering a new form of work related to their degree. Either way, these two events happen in the summer. Take home message: it is good to know if you live in an area with a need for pharmacy technicians, but even if you don't, there is always some turnover and if you read on I will help you have the best chance for landing a job when you are done.
How much training is needed? This is not a simple answer. There is currently no national standard for pharmacy technician training. First, check the requirements for your state. Go to my Schools By State page [http://www.pharmacytechnicianhq.com/pharm-tech-schools-by-state] for information on your state to see your requirements for becoming a pharmacy technician. Some state's require a formal approved training program, some require a specific number of actual hours in a pharmacy, and most state's require a national exam (either ExCPT or PTCB). Once you have identified what your state requirements are, you can start planning your education path.
Is the pay going to meet your needs? As I read the national averages, they seem low to me. I have been in multiple states from the east coast to to the west coast and I have seen pretty good wages. In general, you can expect to get some where around $10/hour starting out. The average pay across the United States is about $14/hour. With experience and/or taking on specialized roles, you can expect to top out at around $18-$21/hour. In my hospital pharmacy, I have a few techs in this upper range. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides some pay averages and other related pharmacy tech information that is worth checking out.
Is pharmacy tech a growing career field? Yes, the BLS site projects a 31% increase in jobs for pharmacy technicians over the next 10 years, which is about 3% a year. That is pretty good compared to the general market.
Is pharmacy tech an exciting job? Mostly no, but I have had some seriously exciting and fun days at work. There is a reason I am throwing this in here. I once had a pharmacy technician who was more of an adrenaline junky. When we had traumas come in to the hospital (patients with life threatening conditions arriving by ambulance or helicopter) he would wait for any excuse to go the the Emergency Department to see what he could do to help. This would not be so bad if we did not need him in the pharmacy to help fill new orders, deliver medications, and help answer the phone. So, if you know you love the excitement and need it at work (versus jumping out of perfectly fine airplanes in your free time), then maybe pharmacy technician is not right for you. However, if you like the healthcare field but prefer a position that is not direct patient care, then pharmacy tech might be right up your alley. WARNING: The rest of this paragraph shares a story that may be hard to forget, so read on at your own risk. Early in my career I trained to be a medic. Part of my training involved giving an elderly gentleman an enema. I was instructed to ensure he holds it in for 10 minutes. Needless to say, he didn't, I had a huge mess, and he used a fair amount of profanity during the whole process (I guess you could say it was exciting). Shortly after this vivid experience I decided that pharmacy technician sounded really good!
Are there jobs right now? One easy way to determine this is to check your local newspaper (print or online) to see if there are any pharmacy tech jobs available. One caution, many hospital pharmacies and retail/community pharmacies post openings on their websites, so check these as well. For instance, I work in a health-system that has about 22 hospitals. We primarily post open technician positions on our company's website and rarely in the local paper. One thing you should know is that pharmacy technician positions are the most available in the summer. This is because people who are using pharmacy tech as a stepping stone either a) are accepted into pharmacy school or b) graduate from college and are now entering a new form of work related to their degree. Either way, these two events happen in the summer. Take home message: it is good to know if you live in an area with a need for pharmacy technicians, but even if you don't, there is always some turnover and if you read on I will help you have the best chance for landing a job when you are done.
How much training is needed? This is not a simple answer. There is currently no national standard for pharmacy technician training. First, check the requirements for your state. Go to my Schools By State page [http://www.pharmacytechnicianhq.com/pharm-tech-schools-by-state] for information on your state to see your requirements for becoming a pharmacy technician. Some state's require a formal approved training program, some require a specific number of actual hours in a pharmacy, and most state's require a national exam (either ExCPT or PTCB). Once you have identified what your state requirements are, you can start planning your education path.
Is the pay going to meet your needs? As I read the national averages, they seem low to me. I have been in multiple states from the east coast to to the west coast and I have seen pretty good wages. In general, you can expect to get some where around $10/hour starting out. The average pay across the United States is about $14/hour. With experience and/or taking on specialized roles, you can expect to top out at around $18-$21/hour. In my hospital pharmacy, I have a few techs in this upper range. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides some pay averages and other related pharmacy tech information that is worth checking out.
Is pharmacy tech a growing career field? Yes, the BLS site projects a 31% increase in jobs for pharmacy technicians over the next 10 years, which is about 3% a year. That is pretty good compared to the general market.
Is pharmacy tech an exciting job? Mostly no, but I have had some seriously exciting and fun days at work. There is a reason I am throwing this in here. I once had a pharmacy technician who was more of an adrenaline junky. When we had traumas come in to the hospital (patients with life threatening conditions arriving by ambulance or helicopter) he would wait for any excuse to go the the Emergency Department to see what he could do to help. This would not be so bad if we did not need him in the pharmacy to help fill new orders, deliver medications, and help answer the phone. So, if you know you love the excitement and need it at work (versus jumping out of perfectly fine airplanes in your free time), then maybe pharmacy technician is not right for you. However, if you like the healthcare field but prefer a position that is not direct patient care, then pharmacy tech might be right up your alley. WARNING: The rest of this paragraph shares a story that may be hard to forget, so read on at your own risk. Early in my career I trained to be a medic. Part of my training involved giving an elderly gentleman an enema. I was instructed to ensure he holds it in for 10 minutes. Needless to say, he didn't, I had a huge mess, and he used a fair amount of profanity during the whole process (I guess you could say it was exciting). Shortly after this vivid experience I decided that pharmacy technician sounded really good!
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