Top Five Reasons to Become a Pharmacy Technician
Are you looking for a rewarding career that doesn’t require years of education? Are you interested in helping people while earning a decent salary? Are you looking for a job that doesn’t require hours of backbreaking manual labor? A career as a pharmacy technician might be right for you. Below are the top five reasons to pursue a career as a pharmacy technician.
• Pharmacy technicians are part of the booming healthcare field. As the baby boomers steadily reach the age of 65, there is an increased need for young workers in the medical and healthcare field. However, the United States is not only seeing a need for nurses and caregivers. Because of the increased need in pharmaceuticals, there is an increased need for pharmacy technicians. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 52% more pharmacy technicians will be placed in pharmacies and hospitals by 2018.
• You can train to be a pharmacy technician without setting foot in a classroom. In order to become a pharmacy technician you do not need the advanced degrees that a pharmacist needs. To become a certified pharmacy technician, you must pass an exam administered by the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians or the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCE). Once you have passed the 90 multiple choice question exam, you are officially certified. Online resources from both organizations provide sample questions on topics ranging from how to best assist a pharmacist to inventory control systems. You must complete 20 credit hours of coursework every two years through an ACPE-accredited provider to maintain certification.
• Earn a decent salary. In the United States, the average starting salary range for a pharmacy technician ranges from $28,500 to $38,000. Salaries for pharmacy technicians can reach as high as $60,000. The average salary in the United States is approximately $40,000—a pharmacy technician can exceed that salary.3
• Pharmacy technicians perform little manual labor. Although pharmacy technicians might have to occasionally lift a heavy box, expect a minimal amount of manual labor. Pharmacy technicians play a vital role in assisting pharmacists by counting pills and labeling prescription bottles, helping keep records up to date, and entering prescription
information into the computer. Pharmacy technicians also help make sure that patients are not taking a lethal mix of medications. Pharmacists are the ones with the advanced training—therefore pharmacists are the ones ultimately responsible for what combination of medications a patient takes. However, pharmacy technicians play a vital role in helping the public…
• Pharmacy technicians contribute positively to society. Pharmacy technicians make sure that patients get accurate prescriptions in accurate doses. Because of the close relationship between a pharmacist and a pharmacy tech, a patient’s medication is double checked—an essential process in the ever changing and dangerous medical field. Prescriptions can easily be mixed into lethal combinations, and pharmacy technicians help pharmacists make sure that this does not happen. We will all require medications at some point—and pharmacy technicians help make sure we get the proper doses.
Author byline:
Jessica Reedy is a journalism student currently working as an intern for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.