How To Raise Your Pharmacy Technician Salary The Smart Way
If you're looking at an allied health service career that doesn't require extensive training, would you consider the area of pharmaceuticals? Would you be satisfied with the average pharmacy technician salary? Or are you willing to do what it takes to get the pharmacy technician salary that will fit your needs?
Challenges of the job
A pharmacy technician does the work of pharmacists, but do not have the formal education. This means you fill out prescriptions, measuring, weighing and counting tablets or capsules, labeling bottles and updating medical records. Depending on the needs of the pharmacy you work in, you may also be called upon to haul and move around boxes, climb ladders to fix shelves and replenish stock.
The size of the pharmacy you work for determines if you will be on your feet and behind the counter most of the time handling clients' needs or not. Pharmacies open for 24 hours can also require the pharmacy technician to report to work at odd hours. Tasks also include customer service, answering telephone calls or even manning the cashier.
For your efforts and even without formal training and certification you can expect an average starting salary of $19,000. The good news is there are ways to increase your pharmacy technician salary to make your chosen career a fulfilling one. 1. Get formal training
It still boils down to a question of formal training and education. Yes, you can be accepted as pharmacy tech with just a high school diploma or its GED equivalent and simply learn on-the-job. But remember, you always have an advantage if you studied before taking on the work.
The pharmacy technician course curriculum includes chemistry, mathematics, statistics, drug interaction, pharmaceutical calculations, label preparation and prescriptions. You also learn about symptoms of illnesses and diseases and the drugs used to treat them. Some programs include internship to give students an actual feel for the work involved.
A certificate or diploma program that can be completed in a year or less, or better yet, an associate degree at the minimum will already raise your qualifications and correspondingly, the salary you can earn. Without formal training, you may be earning an hourly rate of $9.00 or more, but you can definitely increase your income once you have the education to back you up. If physically going to school is not convenient you can always opt to do your pharmacy technician training online. 2. Be certified
Even with a one year diploma program for pharmacy technicians, you already qualify for certification. This entails passing the exam administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board or the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians.
While not all states or employers require certification, it is another plus for a prospective employee to have this as a guarantee that they are more than qualified for the job. If you are eyeing work at a hospital or bigger facility, you definitely have a better shot at a position with a certification. And this certification will boost your pharmacy technician salary.
3. Experience is key to advancement
It goes without saying the more experience you have in your work, the more competent and skilled you become. Experience breeds expertise. And expertise rarely goes unnoticed in giving rewards.
As a new certified pharmacy technician, you can earn $25,000 annually in the first few years. Keep at the job and you'll be hitting the $30,000 mark, just by continually demonstrating dedication to your work. With many years of experience, your pharmacy technician's salary could reach $40,000.
If you hang in their long enough, it's possible to be making an hourly rate of $17 to $18. The pay scale for pharmacy technicians is quite broad, but there are many factors that influence these, including the facility you work for (hospitals, retail pharmacies, government, schools or non-profit organizations), the size of the pharmacy and any further studies you may have.
Even with a slowdown in the economy, most careers in the health care industry are holding on and wages in these fields are better than most. You just have to be smart to get the pharmacy technician salary that will suit you.
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