How do you find a Pharmacy Technician Job in Illinois as a pre-pharm student??

[hy01]

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I just graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Economics but took most of the pre-pharmacy coursework. I am preparing my PCAT exam and planning to apply during next year (2006) and was hoping to find a job as pharmacy technician in the meanwhile. I am located in Illinois and was wondering how I am supposed to go about doing this. I read a bunch of stuff from this site and still confused about the whole process. Some people from this site seemed to have found jobs just by calling up various pharmacies around the neighborhood... Does this work in Illinois as well? Am I supposed to be just calling up pharmacies around the area and ask for a job or do I need to have the pharmacy technician license first? If i need the license, how do I go about studying it (can i do it on my own?) (what kind of books should i get?) and where do I go to apply for the licensing exam? I know I am asking a lot of dumb questions.. but I am just so confused..Northwestern doesn't really have a good pre-pharmacy program or counseling.. sigh....
thank you so much for the help!!!!!! =)

 

[ultracet]

check with your state board
i believe prior to working as a tech in IL you have to be licensed
that is not the same as certified

 

[freshbeatschris]

I just got a job with Walgreens in the burbs of Chicago. I called up the District Pharmacy Hiring Manager. If you decide to try and get into Walgreen's, don't bother the individual pharmacies, call the district hiring manager. Timing is everything. I hit it right as kids were going back to school and got a call the next day. I was hired within a few weeks.

You do need to be licensed, which requires 40 bucks and a high school diploma. Walgreen's reimbursed me for this.

Then, if you want to become certified, most pharmacies will pay for you to take the test and you should get a wage increase if you pass. Walgreens actually holds classes that I get paid to attend and they will pay for the test fee and pay my hourly wage for taking the test. They also provide the books to study for the test.

Good luck with your search. I'll be cutting my hours dramatically next semester, so if you want my position, it's all yours.

 

[ButlerPharm.D.]

Illinois independently licenses technicians so you will have to go to http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/apply/forms/PH-T.pdf and print off and send in the forms along with a $40 check. You can work for 60 days on copies of the papers you have sent in, after that you have to have the state issued license to continue to work. If you're planning on applying/attending Pharmacy school I would suggest that you at least have some pharmacy experience. Best of luck.

 

[linhle515]

hey,
can you tell me where you work at? I just read your post and I am interested in a pharm tech job..if you can, please let me know how you got the number for the district hiring maneger..let me know ASAP..thanks a bunch.. where do you attend pharm school?

Lynn

 

[hy01]

Thank you so much for your reply! It really gives me hope that I will be able to find a job soon. But I was wondering how do you find out the numnber for the distric pharmacy hiring manager? I have been searching online everywhere but couldn't come across that information. Thanks for your help again! By the way, which suburbs of Illinois do you work in?

I just got a job with Walgreens in the burbs of Chicago. I called up the District Pharmacy Hiring Manager. If you decide to try and get into Walgreen's, don't bother the individual pharmacies, call the district hiring manager. Timing is everything. I hit it right as kids were going back to school and got a call the next day. I was hired within a few weeks.

You do need to be licensed, which requires 40 bucks and a high school diploma. Walgreen's reimbursed me for this.

Then, if you want to become certified, most pharmacies will pay for you to take the test and you should get a wage increase if you pass. Walgreens actually holds classes that I get paid to attend and they will pay for the test fee and pay my hourly wage for taking the test. They also provide the books to study for the test.

Good luck with your search. I'll be cutting my hours dramatically next semester, so if you want my position, it's all yours.

 

[No Doctor]

I got a job in a hospital inpatient pharmacy because the hospital had job postings on their website. I applied over the internet and got a call back in a few days, and started 2 weeks after I applied. Lots of hospitals have job postings on their website, and if you have a college degree you should be overqualified for the job. I didn't have the license prior to working there, but I had applied for it. I don't think I am going to take the certifcation test, but if I did I get a .50 an hour raise. Like someone else had said, it was just the right timing...lots of people leaving, need people quick.