Your Career as a Pharmacy Tech
Who are those people on the elevated platforms inside drug stores–and why don’t they stand on the same floor level as the rest of us? Here’s a hint: They’re not all pharmacists. Some of them are the pharmacist’s right-hand man (or woman)–a person known as a pharmacy technician. It’s an attractive career, not because you literally have people “looking up” to you, but because pharmacy techs receive a decent wage and are highly in demand. Let’s examine just who the pharmacy tech is.
Pharmacy Tech Overview
A pharmacy technician’s primary responsibility is to help the pharmacist prepare prescription medicines, perform administrative duties and provide customer services. They receive prescription requests, count pills, and label bottles. Generally it’s another person known as a pharmacy aide who does things such as answering phones, operating cash registers and stocking shelves, although it’s not unheard of for the tech to pitch in on these tasks when necessary or where the organization does not have aides. It’s not the norm, however.
Pharmacy technician job opportunities are expected to be good, especially for those with certification or previous work experience.
Many technicians and aides work evenings, weekends, and holidays.
About 75 percent of jobs were in a retail setting.
Some pharmacy techs work in hospitals, nursing homes, or other assisted-living facilities. At these places, the tech will have additional duties, possibly including the preparation of sterile solutions and the delivery of medications to physicians and nurses. They’re also sometimes called upon to record details about a prescribed medicine onto a patient’s profile. The pharmacy tech is always to refer questions about drugs, prescriptions and other health matters to the pharmacist.
More comprehensive career information at Wikipedia
Job Outlook and Career Path
In 2008, there were more than 326,000 pharmacy tech jobs in the United States alone, with 3/4 of these jobs in a retail setting. It’s expected that there will be an astounding 25 percent increase of pharmacy tech jobs by 2018. This is primarily because as the population ages, more people will begin taking prescription drugs. The median hourly wage for the pharmacy technician is a respectable $13.32, with those on the higher end making more than $14 an hour. Although legally, there’s no national standard required for the pharmacy technician, technicians prefer applicants with previous experience, or formal training and certification. Formal training usually takes between three and 12 months and is available through community colleges, hospitals, the military and vocational schools.
It’s an exciting job for those with an interest in medicine but does not want to pursue a medical degree. Best of all, there’s job security because of the high demand for the pharmacy tech.
