CVS pharm tech certification?

[PharmHopeful3]

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HI everyone! Question for CVS pharm techs. (I tried searching for an answer, but couldnt find anything....)

I've been working at CVS part time since August. They hired me at $7.50/hr, which I accepted without negotiation because I was trying to get some pharm experience to put on my resume. Since then my pay has stayed the same. Also, i think i'm still considered a PSA not a tech. They told me about one tech class (which i went to) and then nothing else. Never heard from that lady or about any other classes. How does CVS tech certification work? We're always really busy and I only work part-time, so I never get a chance to ask the pharmacist.

Now that I'm accepted to pharm school, does that warrant a raise? or even a raise just because I've been there 10 months! I would think even cashiers would get a raise after that long. I hate the thought that with a Bachelor's in Biology, I'm still makin 7.50/hr.

ANYWAY...any CVS experiences or opinions would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[laimyours]

You're talking about the PTCE exam right? If you want to take that exam you need to take to the PIC and he needs to get it authorized. I believe they pay for you to take the test. When you register online you input what company you work for and a authorization code. If they don't pay for it or you don't get approved you can always take it on your own. Once you get the results you show them and they should give you a raise. If you're starting pharmacy school in the fall it might not be worth it for you if you have to pay for it. By the time you get your results you'll only be working as a tech for a month. You might just be better off asking for a raise.

 

[PharmHopeful3]

no, i dont think it's the ptce exam. I think there are classes you take at CVS in order for them to consider you a tech rather than just a pharmacy cashier. Cause i know some of the people in the pharmacy are CVS techs, but not officially tech certified.

 

[ADN1226]

No no, the OP is talking about getting tech certified at CVS - not nationally. I know in NJ they've made the tech class into 3 parts - you'll have to go to these 3 classes - take the exam, and then once you pass, you'll be tech certified. its quite easy - the classes are helpful too. You should ask the lead technician since they're usually in charge of arranging the schedule with the trainer. You shoud see a calendar posted in your store that includes these classes every month from the trainer (same person u did PSA with).

As for the raise... i believe they don't give you a raise after getting tech certified anymore. I started at 8$ and still remain at 8$ even though i do 30hrs/week and have been there for 9months. Now that i'm starting pharm school and will remain working at CVS once a month, i'm looking at the process of becoming an intern but i heard that you won't qualify as one until you've finished your P1 -- this might just be a NJ thing. I'm still looking into this so once i find out, i'll let you know.

maybe you can try asking the other techs to see if they got a raise? it doesn't hurt.

 

[ufpharm]

I am a CPhT from Florida and I work at a CVS. I don't know if it varies from state to state or even between districts but I just got certified in December. I took the PTCB exam. CVS does pay for it and like someone else said before, you can express what company you are employed with and they will then later send you an authorization to test letter. As far as I know, once you've worked at CVS for 6 months and you finished all of those dopey training CDs you are eligible for tech certification. I didn't go to any classes; I just got a study manual that my store manager ordered and studied at home the night before. It's definitely not a hard test, mainly simple calculations. I would definitely study though, especially if you have not had hospital experience (which I had not at that point). If you don't pass it the first time they will not pay for it again.
As far as the raise, I started out at $7.50/hr in August 2006. I don't work at a particularly busy store so it is easy to get to know everyone there. The PIC noticed how hard I worked (especially compared to all of the lazy people) so he gave me a raise to $8.25 the following January. I went up to $9.00 last August when I had been working for a year. I think I'm going to ask for another raise so I can make extra money during the summer since I tend to only work every other weekend because of a busy school schedule. I was hoping to get a raise after becoming certified, but no such luck 🙁
Hope that helped you. If you need anything else, just ask!

 

[KCPharm08]

I've been working with CVS since last September. I had an evaluation at 3 months on request and got a raise. I've completed tech training.. and am CVS tech certified. I could've become nationally and then state certified... but since i just got into pharmacy school, i got changed to intern status after applying through the state board of pharmacy for my state. Oh, and got a really nice raise 🙂. What you need to do is contact your state board of pharmacy. In most states, as soon as you get accepted to pharmacy school, you can change to intern status. Check out your state board of pharmacy's website for information regarding that. If you can't become an intern until after the 1st year of pharm school... which is the case in a lot of states... you need to talk to you the tech trainer (the lady that originally did the classes with you) regarding this. She'll have to observe you and then you have to complete so many random assessments and CDs... it's really easy and shouldn't take long but it's a good amount of things to get through. Also, you should've gotten a 6 month assessment at which you could've gotten a raise... if you didn't for whatever reason, you should be getting a yearly one at which point you should be getting raise. Talk to your district manager or PIC about that. Oh, and even if you do get changed to an intern status, you still have to complete tech training so you should talk to the tech trainer regarding that. If you log into the CVS learnnet system, it'll show you what assessments are still remaining to be completed for PSA, Technician, and Lead Technician... you only need to complete the PSA, and technician. Good luck and I hope all that helped... lol. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[umbpharm]

I was hired at CVS as a PSA in February 2008 at 7.50/hr and haven't had a raise since. I was recently CVS certified as a pharm tech, and am also hoping to get a raise. I'm not sure who to talk to and how to go about asking for a raise because I know that there are many other pharmacies in my area that pay much better. I am awaiting my letters back from pharmacy schools and am hoping when I prove my acceptance and become an intern that I get a serious raise! I'm in my second year of college and am hoping to get in to U of Maryland. My CVS store is extremely busy b/c we are near a CVS warehouse and I am a hardworker, and my pharmacy manager wrote me a really nice recommendation for pharm school. So, I am kind of in the same situation as you?!? I feel like I should be earning more for my time and effort, but I don't know how to go about doing it!

 

[luckyphooey]

I got a dollar raise for progressing from PSA to Tech-certified, ask them about this on your next evaluation.

 

[Jaded03]

I was recently CVS certified as a pharm tech, and am also hoping to get a raise. I'm not sure who to talk to and how to go about asking for a raise because I know that there are many other pharmacies in my area that pay much better. I am awaiting my letters back from pharmacy schools and am hoping when I prove my acceptance and become an intern that I get a serious raise! I'm in my second year of college and am hoping to get in to U of Maryland. My CVS store is extremely busy b/c we are near a CVS warehouse and I am a hardworker, and my pharmacy manager wrote me a really nice recommendation for pharm school. So, I am kind of in the same situation as you?!? I feel like I should be earning more for my time and effort, but I don't know how to go about doing it!

LoL. I know you're venting, but maybe I can explain how this line of thinking is futile.
1."I was hired at CVS as a PSA in February 2008 at 7.50/hr and haven't had a raise since." Raises are performed annually. They are usually done during the first quarter of the year. You have not work a quarter prior to that "raise-period." Thus, you do not qualify for a raise this year. I joined CVS as a PSA in Sept 2007 and got my license in Jan 2008, so I was lucky enough to get a raise added on to my promotion.

2."I'm not sure who to talk to and how to go about asking for a raise because I know that there are many other pharmacies in my area that pay much better." Welcome to corporate America. Some believe in investing in their workers, others believe in investing in new programs. You happen to be part of the latter. Again, you don't talk to your manager about this unless he/she is clueless on how to do it annually with the evaluations. (Like mine when I got promoted) Your manager must speak with his/her district supervisor for promotions. The raise is his/her annual duty during eval time.

3."I am awaiting my letters back from pharmacy schools and am hoping when I prove my acceptance and become an intern that I get a serious raise!" Getting acceptance doesn't merit you a raise for the aforementioned information. It MAY or maybe not, earn you a free drink (my case) or a cake or something. That's all that is what professionally can be owed to you at CVS. As an intern, you will get a pay raise because you are promoted.

4."I feel like I should be earning more for my time and effort, but I don't know how to go about doing it!" You can't do much. I think I figured out how evaluations work. You can get a 0-4% annual raise. It averages the score you get from your evaluation. If you "meet expectations" you get 2, and 0 or 4 depending if you are below or above expectations. So unless you get ALL above expectations (which I doubt any pharmacy manager will feel like this is true without being scrutinized by their pharmacy supervisor) then you will probably be earning a very small raise at the one year mark.

If you want a secret into getting high pay at CVS. The pharmacy manager determines your INITIAL pay. Once it's set, the raise is very slow to rise as aforementioned. I know a RPh who became a PIC at another store and he gave his NEW clerks 10 an hour. "How else can I ensure they will stay?" He made a point, but see how arbitrary? I didn't contribute to my discussion with my manager when I was promoted, but she dropped words like "bachelor's" and "overachiever" to her district supervisor and I was arbitrarily given 3 dollars above minimum wage.

 

[LostTexan]

I've been with CVS for 3 years. As mentioned before, raises are done yearly and as a previous member stated, are 0-4% of regular pay. Interns are paid more but not until they actually enter pharmacy school- the acceptance letter will not get you the raise. You will get an additional $1/hr raise for each year in pharmacy school (ex $12/hr as a P1 and $15/hr as a P2).
You usually don't get a raise when you get CVS tech certified, my district requires everyone coming in as a PSA to be tech certified w/in 1 year of date of hire. However, you are supposed to get a $1/hr raise once you get nationally certified. Let your store manager know of your intention to become a pharmacist as they will change your status.
Although other chains may pay more, you may want to reconsider leaving them if you have more than a year vested at CVS because you will get credit for the time you've already been there. For example, I have been there for 3 years, if I get into pharmacy school and end up signing w/ CVS after graduating, it will show that I have already been there for 7 years. This results in higher tenure and more vacation. Hope that makes sense!

 

[lalaliving]

I've been working with CVS since last September. I had an evaluation at 3 months on request and got a raise. I've completed tech training.. and am CVS tech certified. I could've become nationally and then state certified... but since i just got into pharmacy school, i got changed to intern status after applying through the state board of pharmacy for my state. Oh, and got a really nice raise 🙂. What you need to do is contact your state board of pharmacy. In most states, as soon as you get accepted to pharmacy school, you can change to intern status. Check out your state board of pharmacy's website for information regarding that. If you can't become an intern until after the 1st year of pharm school... which is the case in a lot of states... you need to talk to you the tech trainer (the lady that originally did the classes with you) regarding this. She'll have to observe you and then you have to complete so many random assessments and CDs... it's really easy and shouldn't take long but it's a good amount of things to get through. Also, you should've gotten a 6 month assessment at which you could've gotten a raise... if you didn't for whatever reason, you should be getting a yearly one at which point you should be getting raise. Talk to your district manager or PIC about that. Oh, and even if you do get changed to an intern status, you still have to complete tech training so you should talk to the tech trainer regarding that. If you log into the CVS learnnet system, it'll show you what assessments are still remaining to be completed for PSA, Technician, and Lead Technician... you only need to complete the PSA, and technician. Good luck and I hope all that helped... lol. Let me know if you have any more questions.

I was wondering how much is the pay for interns once you enter pharmacy school.
THank you!

 

[Tech48]

I'm currently going thru training now.i have to go to 5 classes and 5 ojt and 160 hours before i can take the exam.all within months or sooner.as far as raises i started in Dec at 9 and in February got a raise of 1050..talk to your manager.i do work in florida. Hope this helps.