benefits of becoming a national certified pharm tech

[cooldudeee123]

hey

what are the benefits of being certified nationally as a pharmacy tech who wants to go into pharmacy school. Also, what study materials are required to take the test. what is the salary per hour...

thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Circuspeanut]

I can only tell you the benefits of being certified from my experience. The motivation for me was, of course, pay raise. I'd been trained as a tech. and worked for 3 years before becoming certified. I was faced with moving to another job and my pay would almost double with a certification (minimum wage start out vs CPht salary). The salaries are different for different pharmacies. Some only offer a small increase, others are more substantial.
I live and work in Kentucky, and I'm sure the salaries vary by city and state so I can't really give you an accurate figure. I suppose the average is somewhere around $8 an hour in my area.
In my last position, before I became certified, my benefits came with service, I received a week of vacation after a year and a 401k. After two years I was eligible for profit sharing and after 3 years I received an extra week of vacation. None of that was dependant on certification. In my current position the only extra benefit of certification is the increased salary (not that I'm not happy with it!).

As far as benefits related to school, achieving a CPht could show your dedication to the field, in that, you care about what you are doing enough to prove you're worth the salary. On the other hand, I have friends who have pharmacy experience, but never certified, and got accepted to various pharmacy schools with no problems.

At any rate, I hope my long-winded response helped answer some of your questions. I'm sure others will have more to add.

 

[Farmercyst]

Just for clarification, there's no such thing as national certification. Each state has their own certification requirements. While the PTCE is the most recognized certification exam, it is not accepted nationwide, and the states that do accept it can have different conditions on what else must be done to complete certification. In terms of benefits, pay is the only one I can think of. I suppose in periods of reduced need, the techs might be the last to be laid off (in terms of cashier/clerks/techs.)

 

[derrickd5]

^^that is true. Even if you have the national certification, in CA you still have to obtain your CA license to be a tech. Which is basically just filling out a form and getting your fingerprints scanned, live scan. Basically its just another opportunity for them to get more money out of us.

I just studied a week from a pharm. tech. review book and took the test. I passed, barely, but hey i still passed.

 

[cooldudeee123]

hey

thanks to all for the replies..

 

[Jack555]

^^that is true. Even if you have the national certification, in CA you still have to obtain your CA license to be a tech. Which is basically just filling out a form and getting your fingerprints scanned, live scan. Basically its just another opportunity for them to get more money out of us.

I just studied a week from a pharm. tech. review book and took the test. I passed, barely, but hey i still passed.

This may be a stupid question but can I become a tech and not get a job? Meaning could I pass the test and then be a tech without a job. I don't really have time for a job but would like to be able to say I'm a tech

 

[greatdeals225]

This may be a stupid question but can I become a tech and not get a job? Meaning could I pass the test and then be a tech without a job. I don't really have time for a job but would like to be able to say I'm a tech

Interviewer: o.. hmm... so I see that you are a tech, where have you worked before?

Jack555: yea, I'm a tech, but I haven't worked in a pharmacy before

Interviewer: o


I don't think you can claim yourself as a tech if you dont have a job. You can say you WERE a tech if you previously had held a job as a tech before.. but not if you were certified but never had a job. A title doesn't really say anything about your dedication/experience, a title + a job says a lot though.

 

[Jack555]

Interviewer: o.. hmm... so I see that you are a tech, where have you worked before?

Jack555: yea, I'm a tech, but I haven't worked in a pharmacy before

Interviewer: o


I don't think you can claim yourself as a tech if you dont have a job. You can say you WERE a tech if you previously had held a job as a tech before.. but not if you were certified but never had a job. A title doesn't really say anything about your dedication/experience, a title + a job says a lot though.

Haha thats what I was thinking. I just figured that if you had the tech title obviously at the very least you knew enough information to get that title. I think I will try to get a tech job at the beginning of next year or this summer.

 

[UCIGUY]

i just get a dollar more an hr

 

[Farmercyst]

Haha thats what I was thinking. I just figured that if you had the tech title obviously at the very least you knew enough information to get that title. I think I will try to get a tech job at the beginning of next year or this summer.

Well it depends on how recenlty you passed the test. There's a place on PharmCAS for certifications, you could put it there, so ADCOMS would see it, but the interview may never bring it up. Therefore somewhat beneficial. In my case I passed 2/9/07 and interviewed 3/17 so the fact I'd never worked in a pharmacy, but passed PTCE could have had an overall positive affect.

Not that I got accepted , but hopefully changed my place on the waitlist (even by one person is good enough for me )

 

[airen]

Well it depends on how recenlty you passed the test. There's a place on PharmCAS for certifications, you could put it there, so ADCOMS would see it, but the interview may never bring it up. Therefore somewhat beneficial. In my case I passed 2/9/07 and interviewed 3/17 so the fact I'd never worked in a pharmacy, but passed PTCE could have had an overall positive affect.

Not that I got accepted , but hopefully changed my place on the waitlist (even by one person is good enough for me )

What did you guys use to study for the exam? I'm interested in taking the exam and thought you needed to go through those pharmacy tech school until I met some people who just took the exam without attending the school or putting in the required hours.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Farmercyst]

What did you guys use to study for the exam? I'm interested in taking the exam and thought you needed to go through those pharmacy tech school until I met some people who just took the exam without attending the school or putting in the required hours.

Thanks for your feedback.

I took classes at CC and used the text book for pharmacy calcs and reviewed my notes in pharmacology.

I think I'll go ahead and move this to Licensure/Exams along with the other PTCE threads, it'll get you looking at the other threads over there I hope.

 

[gtpederson]

Would being certified as a Pharm Tech make it easier to get your foot in the door for some pharmacy volunteer experience? Or even a paid position?

The town in which I live is notorious for a saturation of healthcare volunteers (due to the medical schools nearby I suspect) and volunteer positions in areas other than errand running and giving tours are scarce.

 

[Farmercyst]

Would being certified as a Pharm Tech make it easier to get your foot in the door for some pharmacy volunteer experience? Or even a paid position?

The town in which I live is notorious for a saturation of healthcare volunteers (due to the medical schools nearby I suspect) and volunteer positions in areas other than errand running and giving tours are scarce.

Hard to say for sure. I had a guy in my PChem class that volunteered at a pharmacy at Loma Linda University (which has its own pharmacy program) when they found out he was certified, they offered him a job. Now I'm not saying this is standard practice, but they couldn't have offered him the job if he wasn't certified/licensed (not the same in California, but certification is one of three routes to licensure)