Average pay for Pharm Tech

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UofAHogs

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I just applied at a local pharmacy for a part-time pharm tech position. Everything sounded good but they sent me a message asking what I would need to be paid. I replied that I am doing it mostly for the experience and I was not sure what the going rate was but maybe somewhere in the range of 10-12/hr. It has been a week and I haven't heard back from them. I didn't really want to upset them but I don't think that is an outragous request.

Just thought this might be the best place to find out. Is that high?
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I can only quote what CVS pays, but you'd be lucky to get $9/hr.
 
I get paid $10.50, but I don't work retail. I'm a compounding technician at a independent pharmacy, which makes things a little different for me.
 
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I receive ~ $15/hour as inpatient tech, although the environment is crazy/disorganized, practically causes me to envy my current retail ippe :(
 
UofAHogs said:
I just applied at a local pharmacy for a part-time pharm tech position. Everything sounded good but they sent me a message asking what I would need to be paid. I replied that I am doing it mostly for the experience and I was not sure what the going rate was but maybe somewhere in the range of 10-12/hr. It has been a week and I haven't heard back from them. I didn't really want to upset them but I don't think that is an outragous request.

Just thought this might be the best place to find out. Is that high?
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Considering that 10-12 per hour is on the low side for pharmacy interns when they're in school, asking that much as a tech could be asking a bit higher than they're probably used to.

I've heard of 8-9 per hour being more common in our state for pharm techs.
 
UofAHogs said:
I just applied at a local pharmacy for a part-time pharm tech position. Everything sounded good but they sent me a message asking what I would need to be paid. I replied that I am doing it mostly for the experience and I was not sure what the going rate was but maybe somewhere in the range of 10-12/hr. It has been a week and I haven't heard back from them. I didn't really want to upset them but I don't think that is an outragous request.

Just thought this might be the best place to find out. Is that high?
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Not if you applied at a hospital. I started out making $15+/hour.
 
I worked in Pennsylvania at a CVS. I got $7.25 starting off and when I got my certification card like a month later I was bumped up to $7.75. All those commercials about a new career are ridiculous. It's bitch work until you get out of undergrad.
 
I'd say your experience level & the employer involved play key roles here. The more experience you've had, the more likely you'll be started off with a higher pay. If you're going to work for, say, a community (non-profit) hospital; expect a lower starting rate than the top hospital at downtown.

I had to volunteer a while before being offered a salaried position of about $9.50/hr at a community hospital...which increases annually by a few dimes. A few of my former co-workers that has advanced to bigger hospitals were started with ~$13; that being the least & ~$16 being the highest so far.

So, your offer is not too bad. If they really want to hire you at a lower rate than what you sent them, they will reply you with a lower-rate offer. You know, the take-it-or-leave-it kind of offer. But I'm speaking in general terms per hospital setting. I don't have any experience with retail yet.
 
Wow, most techs here are getting paid that low?? I'm from California and at Walgreen's they start you off at $14.25 with just the state license. After getting the ptcb national license, they give you a $1 raise. I'm making about $17 hr and have been working part time for the past 5 yrs.
 
Electrode said:
I'd say your experience level & the employer involved play key roles here. The more experience you've had, the more likely you'll be started off with a higher pay. If you're going to work for, say, a community (non-profit) hospital; expect a lower starting rate than the top hospital at downtown.
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That's a good point. I work at a pretty big hospital in Dallas.

It will also depend on the cost of living where the OP lives. They should expect more if they're in NYC or California than if they live in some small town in Kansas.
 
222pharmD said:
Wow, most techs here are getting paid that low?? I'm from California and at Walgreen's they start you off at $14.25 with just the state license. After getting the ptcb national license, they give you a $1 raise. I'm making about $17 hr and have been working part time for the past 5 yrs.
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It's all relative to the area. Cost of living in CA is higher that say PA.
 
10.25 in chicago!!! i'm not certified yet but when i do become certified i get a raise :D but it wont be that much of a raise........
 
Our local hospital (small city, but a good hospital) pays ~$15 for techs, prior to certification. I don't know what the pay is like at community pharmacies, but I doubt the pay and benefits come close to the hospital.
 
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UofAHogs said:
I just applied at a local pharmacy for a part-time pharm tech position. Everything sounded good but they sent me a message asking what I would need to be paid. I replied that I am doing it mostly for the experience and I was not sure what the going rate was but maybe somewhere in the range of 10-12/hr. It has been a week and I haven't heard back from them. I didn't really want to upset them but I don't think that is an outragous request.

Just thought this might be the best place to find out. Is that high?
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depends on the setting...It ranges from $10/hr-$25/hr.
 
Where can you find a tech job that pays $25/hr?
 
And I know someone who has been a tech for 3 years and makes less than 10 bucks an hour. Veyep, your range = fail
 
UofAHogs said:
Where can you find a tech job that pays $25/hr?
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Kaiser (one example)... If you can make TPNs and mix IVs, make chemotherpy drugs...It sounds scary TPN,IV,Chemo... But you follow protocol and you will be trained really well and it is totally duable.

Legacy (another example) you can be an inpatient pharmacy tech and better pay if you do graveyard shifts.
 
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crazybob said:
Considering that 10-12 per hour is on the low side for pharmacy interns when they're in school, asking that much as a tech could be asking a bit higher than they're probably used to.

I've heard of 8-9 per hour being more common in our state for pharm techs.
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Legacy pays their interns little bit over $30/hr starting their second year in pharmacy school!
 
Walgreens was $10 w/out certification, $11 after I got it. $12 now, not sure if being there two years or being a PD1 got me that. Word on the street is it goes up to $16 once you get your intern license
 
gtpederson said:
Walgreens was $10 w/out certification, $11 after I got it. $12 now, not sure if being there two years or being a PD1 got me that. Word on the street is it goes up to $16 once you get your intern license
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That's true my friend was working at walgreens in summer of 2010 and was getting about $16/hr!
 
I made $11.50/hr working at CVS and I make $15/hr working at a mail order pharmacy here in Southern Cali.

I haven't met a tech around here making less than $11.50/hr, but I'm sure it's different across the country.
 
I get paid $8/hr for doing everything but I'm designated only as a "Pharmacy Sales Associate", even though I've been through all of CVS's training, including its tech class.
Basically, I do everything techs do(drop-off, inventory, pick-up, production, drive-thru). I just recently asked for a raise only to be denied by Regional Pharm. Manager. They only give raises after you've been there for 1yr, and national certification does not equivocate higher pay.:rolleyes:
Ridiculous! I'd rather work at a mall and watch my nails dry then.
 
Walmart Pharmacy in Arizona

Pharmacy Sales Associate (stocks OTC drugs): $7.65/hour

Uncertified Pharmacy Technician: $8.55/hour

Certified Pharmacy Technician: $10.30/hour

$0.25/hour raise every year
Raise caps after about six years, I believe.
 
I make $16.50 inpatient hospital in a medium sized city regional medical center in Minnesota. They also pay shift differentials also adding almost $2.00 an hour on top of your base. You must become certified in a year within hire and they pay for it and you get a 50 cent raise too.

I have a friend who started at $7 an hour at Walgreen's in a smaller city.
 
I work a independent compounding pharmacy in San Antonio, Texas and I get $12/hr and its only because I asked after they said asking for $8.00/hr did no justice to myself. I have a few classmates that work in Target, HEB, and Hospitals they earn $10.50/hr, $8-$10/hr, & $12-$16/hr respectively.
 
hospital starting pay (with no experience) -$20
walgreens starting (with no experience) - $18

it is just really hard to find one.
 
Depends where you work. At CVS I got 11/hr, but at an independent pharmacy I got 15/hr.
 
I make ~62k / year (after travel bonus) as a corporate pharmacy auditor (I've been a certified tech 8 years). This is in the low end because I live in central california. Pharmacy auditors in socal and norcal make 80-90k/year on average. Just gotta carve your niche, and have the ambition to do something unique.
 
Houston TX

Certified.

Started at CVS with no experience at $10 per hour. An "exceeds expectations" on my annual review put me in line for a "3%" (aka 3 cent) raise, but it ended up not mattering as I was hired by a sister hospital of the hospital I volunteered at (for 4 hours a week for 1 year) at $15.50 an hour plus $2.50 night shift differential. No hospital experience other than volunteering and no IV certification (having only 1 day off for 1 full year paid off!!). Resigned at CVS.

After 90 day probation period at hospital, was rehired part-time (~12 hours a week) at CVS for $10.50 (though I demanded $12.00 an hour).
 
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RXAuditor said:
I make ~62k / year (after travel bonus) as a corporate pharmacy auditor (I've been a certified tech 8 years). This is in the low end because I live in central california. Pharmacy auditors in socal and norcal make 80-90k/year on average. Just gotta carve your niche, and have the ambition to do something unique.
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This is really interesting -- how did you get into pharmacy auditing?
 
RXAuditor said:
I make ~62k / year (after travel bonus) as a corporate pharmacy auditor (I've been a certified tech 8 years). This is in the low end because I live in central california. Pharmacy auditors in socal and norcal make 80-90k/year on average. Just gotta carve your niche, and have the ambition to do something unique.
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Dang, you must really hate it or somethin', because tossing $30/hr for 3-4 years is a huge opportunity cost to earn a Pharm.D when you just said that you can, in your actual career field, if you moved somewhere else (obviously not just that easy, but you could certainly do it in a few years over time if you tried hard enough and networked etc etc) make $80,000-$90,000 (nearly what an RPh will make...) seems like an unwise financial decision.

You're obviously a sharp tack so I am just curious how the math is working for you on that with lost wages + debt when you already make pretty damn good money, for a little extra work, make even better money with no crazy ass debt?
 
I made $9/hr at CVS as a PSA - "pharmacy service associate" - and then as a certified tech, didn't get a raise to $10/hr that had been mentioned for becoming certified. Generally hospitals and specialty pharmacies (i.e. long-term care/nursing home) pay more - I made $12/hr in long-term care and about $15 in the hospital pharmacy. In hospital pharmacies, it seems pay ranges from $14-20/hr depending on the exact nature of the position (i.e., chemo, IV, midnight will make more than other shifts). The benefits are also FAR better than in retail.

Needless to say, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island doesn't work very well in Virginia. If I had my current insurance when I ended up having to visit an ER while on vacation in New Jersey, I wouldn't have the $1,500 in medical bills that resulted.
 
My health benefits at the hospital far outweight anything I have ever had. It just depends on what hospital you work for.
 
rxlea said:
My health benefits at the hospital far outweight anything I have ever had. It just depends on what hospital you work for.
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Agreed :thumbup: Sometimes, when an hourly rate seems to be somewhat on a low end, the benefits package as a whole do compensate for it....just sometimes.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Dang, you must really hate it or somethin', because tossing $30/hr for 3-4 years is a huge opportunity cost to earn a Pharm.D when you just said that you can, in your actual career field, if you moved somewhere else (obviously not just that easy, but you could certainly do it in a few years over time if you tried hard enough and networked etc etc) make $80,000-$90,000 (nearly what an RPh will make...) seems like an unwise financial decision.

You're obviously a sharp tack so I am just curious how the math is working for you on that with lost wages + debt when you already make pretty damn good money, for a little extra work, make even better money with no crazy ass debt?
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I assume this dude has a higher corporate position with double that pay waiting for him when he completes his PharmD and/or MBA.

Or I guess money isn't everything for him....
 
$18+ and I know someone who makes like $20 but we've both been techs for 5 years
:) Gotta love California
 
RXAuditor said:
I make ~62k / year (after travel bonus) as a corporate pharmacy auditor (I've been a certified tech 8 years). This is in the low end because I live in central california. Pharmacy auditors in socal and norcal make 80-90k/year on average. Just gotta carve your niche, and have the ambition to do something unique.
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We retail techs are not too fond of you when you come visit... hehehee:p
 
tech experience 3 years. PRN position at a hospital doing tech IV work, which is everything to chemo/tpn preps. 19.25/hr plus weekend diff.
 
RXAuditor said:
I make ~62k / year (after travel bonus) as a corporate pharmacy auditor (I've been a certified tech 8 years). This is in the low end because I live in central california. Pharmacy auditors in socal and norcal make 80-90k/year on average. Just gotta carve your niche, and have the ambition to do something unique.
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You have an evil job. Your like the guy at the insurance company that denies people life saving operations.

Dr writes for two vials of insulin. Turns out to be 32 day supply and it rejects. Tech changes to 30 day supply. Pt actually only refills it every 40 days. Yet, you come in and deny all 6 claims a year later because the pharmacy should have filled 1 vial for 16 days.
I believe that's a low class move on insurance part, and you are evil for supporting that.

You should have to call all the pts and tell them they can only get 50 test strips instead of 100 because dr wrote test 3 times a day even though the rx says 100.
 
Started as a cashier at CVS making 7.50 then they decided to train me for an open pharm. tech position for 7.75 but I declined :thumbdown:

this was before I decided I wanted to be a pharmacist
 
I'm making about $12 an hour at Rite-Aid, but we got union fees!
 
The bottom line really is where you are. In a large city in Virginia I started out at $8, and 3 years later am almost at the $9 mark at CVS. I am state certified, and am extremely happy with my 14 cent raise every 6 months :rolleyes:

I am however going to pharmacy school in the fall, so luckily I only relied on this job to pay my utilities and other extra expenses and I had educational loans for all other costs.
 
I live in California, and am currently working at an independent veterinary compounding pharmacy. I am nationally certified, and am making $12.50/hr. Since being accepted to pharm school they have been giving me research projects too, which I actually prefer to compounding..
 
4 Years at the company : 2 Years in the pharmacy

12$ an hour + Benefits/stock options/dividends

1$ more per hour on sundays :)

The 12$ includes CPhT pay salary : My max is 13.50 (part-time)

Area : Florida

Edit... started @ 8$ 4 years ago
 
Retail around here is 15-16 I believe.

Hospitals are more... I get $21.00 at my hospital and I would say 18 is about the average at hospitals (from what I have seen/heard).

When I started in retail pharmacy in 2004, I started at 8.50. Mail order bumped me to 14 and then when I moved into hospital, I got bumped up pretty quickly.
 
.
 
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