Pharmacy tech pay?

[wolfpackhal]

I have a B.S. from a four year university, took the prereq courses along with my degree (many of which were a part of my degree), took the PCAT, got letters or recommendation, etc. and applied through PharmCAS.

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[Firetyphoon1]

I have a B.S. from a four year university, took the prereq courses along with my degree (many of which were a part of my degree), took the PCAT, got letters or recommendation, etc. and applied through PharmCAS.

wow you make it sound simple nicee, i might have more under the belt in some cases but then who knows admissions are tricky people with unbelievable gpa or pcat scores get it

 

[trailrider400]

I live in MN and started at a cub foods making like 7.35 and hour but told the pharmacy manager I couldn't live on that and got a raise after a few weeks. Certified and <1 year experience I now make 9.50. Hospitals pay much better I got a second job a few months back as a casual tech making 15.50 an hour (although I did volunteer for them for 1 year before that). In general hospitals pay more and there is less of a chance of you getting 'jadded' about the profession. They do tend to not hire techs with no experience AS much but my hospital does quite a bit. I also get an extra dollar or something for night pay and an extra .50 for weekend pay. Good thing payroll doesn't know that I'm only available to work nights and weekends

 

[nateandjenny]

I'm from Oklahoma. I started in a mail order pharmacy in 2005ish as a "pharmacy expiditer" (which is short for this is the worst job you will ever have in your life!) @ $7.25. After three months I took my tech test and was making $ 9.00. When I left there I was making something like $9.40. Then i got a job at a VA for $12.00 with fantastic hours and great state benifits! I make pretty good money for oklahoma. Most of my other tech friends make somewhere around $10. they all work in retail.

 

[1980rachel]

what?!?! 7 dollars an hour?!!? for a 2 yr degree... how much do pharmacy techs make in az hospitals i wonder.. i work in the transport/dispatch dept at a hospital and I make over 12 dollars an hour.. no degree...
i was thinking of finishing my degree and going to school for a pharmacy tech but not if that is all they make!!
you can make more bagging at frys!!

 

[Passion4Sci]

Pharmacy Tech is not a 2 year degree. You can get the CphT by taking an easy test (PTCE) and passing it.

That said, baggers at Fry's have a union (as do those at grocery stores) thus their pay is naturally going to be higher than those without unions.

 

[trailrider400]

Pharmacy Tech is not a 2 year degree. You can get the CphT by taking an easy test (PTCE) and passing it.

That said, baggers at Fry's have a union (as do those at grocery stores) thus their pay is naturally going to be higher than those without unions.

When I started as a pharm tech at a grocery store I had to be in the union and was forced to start at $7.35 an hour. So my experience has been union pay sucks at first but can get better. You have to follow all the rules about pay raises and you are given raises based on hours work, not performance (What a great system!!! ) I think where I work at the grocery store techs top out around $16/hour. So it is better, it just usually takes around 5 years to do it. And I think there is still a 2 year tech degree in my state. But I do know the CC I went to cancelled theirs a few years back because people realized it wasn't necessary.

 

[Passion4Sci]

When I started as a pharm tech at a grocery store I had to be in the union and was forced to start at $7.35 an hour. So my experience has been union pay sucks at first but can get better. You have to follow all the rules about pay raises and you are given raises based on hours work, not performance (What a great system!!! ) I think where I work at the grocery store techs top out around $16/hour. So it is better, it just usually takes around 5 years to do it. And I think there is still a 2 year tech degree in my state. But I do know the CC I went to cancelled theirs a few years back because people realized it wasn't necessary.

I suppose it depends on what state you live in... I have heard that some states do require you actually to get a degree, instead of just requiring the cert., although that sounds like bullocks to me (Since the majority of the job can be OJT'd in a few days, if that).

Pay can vary widely based, of course, on geography. I worked at Raley's when I was 18 and starting pay for a bagger was $13.31. Then after a couple years of earning your stripes at bagging, you were usually offered the chance to move to clerkship or other areas of the store... Which paid dramatically more. The Safeway right down the street from my apartment pays their checkers almost 15 bucks an hour, with zero education. Of course, this IS an expensive area, so that makes sense. 15 bucks an hour here is not the same as it would be in Nebraska, for instance.

 

[panzer]

I am wondering if someone in chicago market can give a scoop on how much pharmacy technicians get paid at Meijers.

I heard $8 something some years back, but I hope it went up considering walgreens pays like 9.75.

 

[genesis09]

There are only about 3 Meijers in the Chicago area. Chances of finding anyone who works at one of those stores is low.

 

[astizzy1]

i recently obtained a pharmacy tech job in nyc and my salary is $12.50 an hour, however I did have a year of previous experience at a CVS

 

[Hendlefe]

I make $12.45 after 3 years of working with CVS pharmacy. I started around $10. I'm a tech as well. Working in southern cali. The other people in my phaacy make $16 but with 10+ years of experience. Simply put, pharm tech is a difficult life compared to pharmacist.

 

[jazee81]

I work at CVS. I have a little more than 1 year experiance.I get paid 13.50/hr. I am waiting for the yearly evaluation.

 

[SYPHARMACY]

i make 10/hour as a pharm clerk at rite aid in cali. i am certified but cant find a tech job...

 

[delano2000]

Texas, Retail Pharmacy, No Exp. other than compounding, college degree, I get paid $8.90, yeah, it sucks.

what part of Texas are u in

 

[esweetz]

a year ago I worked at CVS in Boston for $9.50 an hour with no experience, and full training provided.
I just received a job offer from Target and I am state registered, not certified, and I have been offered $12/hr. I think I messed up because in my application I put a salary requirement instead of saying it was negotiable, I wish I was able to negotiate it! oh well.

 

[NYCGuy86]

Yes, I know this is an old thread that's been resurrected, but I just have to say that it's amazing to me that pharm techs make that much less than I do as a patient care associate. As a PCA, I take vital signs, do EKGs, draw blood, clean up patients, assist with ADLs, run errands, etc., and I make just over $19/hr. The knowledge base seems to be so much larger for pharm techs (I'm studying for the PTCE, and there's SO much more to know as a pharm tech than a PCA/clinical tech/etc)! I don't know, I just had to say that, maybe I'm alone on that.

 

[xtsukiyox]

IMHO, I think the PTCE is overboard. A lot of the stuff you have to study you can't even legally use - it's the pharmacist's job. At best, it's a "nice to know."

 

[Incitatus]

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[PharmBoy90]

CVS started me at $9.50 an hour a year and a half ago, and that was because I had experience from working at Walgreens. They were starting everyone else at $9 in my store.

After my training was complete, I got a 50 cent raise so I was upped to $10 an hour, and then another 25 cent raise after I was there for a year. I was making $10.25, but I just got a $2 raise because I was about to quit and leave for Target so they made me an offer to stay. So once my raise goes through, I'll be making $12.25 an hour, which I guess is pretty decent for CVS and only have a few years of experience.

 

[esweetz]

.

 

[dahwsi]

In the hospital, techs don't have to deal with patients in their face or insurance... however, there are about 10 or so different areas that techs are put to work in my hospital (where you get put varies daily and depends on how much experience you have). Some of the different jobs we have are working the stat counter (answering phone calls, looking up patient med profiles, answering nurse & dr questions), working in the IV room (make IVs, pretty much), entering TPN orders, refilling the PYXIS machines, troubleshooting the PYXIS machines, working in the pediatric pharmacy (stat counter/po meds/iv meds), working in one of three different chemo pharmacies, working in OR pharmacy, working in outpatient pharmacy, non-PYXIS med delivery, packaging medications, unloading and shelving the medication delivery order for the day etc...these are each jobs that we have for the whole day- there are many many different things to do and learn as a hospital tech! There are other components of those jobs too, like the previous poster mentioned- exchanging & restocking crash (code) cards, etc. Basically, the more places you can work and the more experience you have, the higher the pay scale. Hope this helps.

This just further solidifies why I want to go into a more clinical setting rather than retail. Though, I am surprised that pharmacists get paid much less in clinical vs retail even though there are so many more obligations upon them!

Side note: Those states who have higher or lower pay rates for techs ( e.g.Florida vs Texas) also is strongly associated with the cost of living at each state. So $15 in one state is like $7 in another. I've been a tech for a few years now and just got a raise to $14. Regardless, I don't think we get paid enough for the jobs that we do.

Strike anyone?

 

[lauradiddle]

Yes, I know this is an old thread that's been resurrected, but I just have to say that it's amazing to me that pharm techs make that much less than I do as a patient care associate. As a PCA, I take vital signs, do EKGs, draw blood, clean up patients, assist with ADLs, run errands, etc., and I make just over $19/hr. The knowledge base seems to be so much larger for pharm techs (I'm studying for the PTCE, and there's SO much more to know as a pharm tech than a PCA/clinical tech/etc)! I don't know, I just had to say that, maybe I'm alone on that.

I know this is a late reply, but I saw you live in NYC, and I would think that makes a big difference. Pharm techs there might make a lot more than they do in most other places due to the high cost of living there. In Texas, the cost of living is a lot lower, and at the hospital where I used to work the PCAs only got paid around $10/hr, whereas I was making over $16/hr as a pharmacy tech.

 

[AlPacino]

At the company I work for, technicians make $21.50.

 

[esweetz]

At the company I work for, technicians make $21.50.

what company is that?

 

[Hien]

hi;
I wonder how can somebody ask for a pharm tech. job without any experience? I'm volunteering at a pharmacy right now and one of the head technician tells me that it's hard to get a job w/o experience and she suggests me to be a clerk first. What do you think? Please give me advice, thanx

 

[AlPacino]

what company is that?

Costco

hi;
I wonder how can somebody ask for a pharm tech. job without any experience? I'm volunteering at a pharmacy right now and one of the head technician tells me that it's hard to get a job w/o experience and she suggests me to be a clerk first. What do you think? Please give me advice, thanx

My first pharmacy tech job at CVS was back in 2006 when my only work experience was my first job ever at a Burger King. So that would be a no for me. However that was 6 years ago, and the job market is not the same.

 

[jenniferawrrr]

hi;
I wonder how can somebody ask for a pharm tech. job without any experience? I'm volunteering at a pharmacy right now and one of the head technician tells me that it's hard to get a job w/o experience and she suggests me to be a clerk first. What do you think? Please give me advice, thanx

I was able to get a tech job without experience. I just happened to come in at the right time when they needed people. I suggest talking to the pharmacist personally after you completed an application online and introduce yourself to them. It also helps to get certified with the PTCB and/or your state.

 

[JonPrePharmD]

I make $8.60. Originally got the job for pharmacy experience. Now that I've been accepted to school, I don't [really] need it, but I can't go without a paycheck so I'm keeping it for the summer. I absolutely hate my pay based on how busy the pharmacy is and the fact that only one tech and one pharmacist works at a time.

 

[Hien]

I do have my license(brand new) and want to make use of it. It's just pretty hard to find a position available now. I asked several pharmacies and got a big "no." I will look for more but honestly, I feel dejected a little.

 

[NYCGuy86]

I know this is a late reply, but I saw you live in NYC, and I would think that makes a big difference. Pharm techs there might make a lot more than they do in most other places due to the high cost of living there. In Texas, the cost of living is a lot lower, and at the hospital where I used to work the PCAs only got paid around $10/hr, whereas I was making over $16/hr as a pharmacy tech.

Thanks yeah that is true. At the hospital I work at, I talked to two different pharm techs, and one said they start out at $18, while the other said they start out at $22.

 

[smercer]

Do not forget that sometimes you can work your way up. I was able to get a job working in the hospital cafe right after I got out of HS. I worked there for about 2.5years waiting for a position to open in the pharmacy. Luckily for me I was able to get in no problem without being certified or having any experience. The main thing is that a lot of places like hospitals will give first dibbs on interviews to people already employed by the hospital. Even if you are not in the specific department.

The main thing I can say is DO NOT waste money on Pharmacy Tech school. You just end up paying a bunch of money to learn a few terms that anyone can look up online. You are 100% better off getting a BS in chem/bio.