Pharmacy Technician Pay....

[futurerxguy]

Good afternoon. I am currently a teacher with a Bachelors Degree that is one class short of a Masters Degree in School Counseling. At this point in time, I am strongly considering leaving the teaching profession to further my education. I have a long-term goal of becoming a pharmacist. My intentions are to leave teaching, and become a pharmacy technician somewhere. I will do my counseling internship as well during this time so I can get my School Counseling Degree in addition to completing a pre-pharmacy classes in chemistry and biology. I would like some insight on how much a CPhT makes. I have heard it is somewhere between 11-15 dollars/hour... is this correct? Any insight that could be provided would be greatly appreciated as I begin the next step of my long-term future goal in become a pharmacist. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Shawn

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[rxlynn]

Good afternoon. I am currently a teacher with a Bachelors Degree that is one class short of a Masters Degree in School Counseling. At this point in time, I am strongly considering leaving the teaching profession to further my education. I have a long-term goal of becoming a pharmacist. My intentions are to leave teaching, and become a pharmacy technician somewhere. I will do my counseling internship as well during this time so I can get my School Counseling Degree in addition to completing a pre-pharmacy classes in chemistry and biology. I would like some insight on how much a CPhT makes. I have heard it is somewhere between 11-15 dollars/hour... is this correct?

It depends on what market and what state you are in. I have a bachelors and masters - pharmacy will be a second career for me, and when I started as a tech I got $9.50, and I was specifically told that it would have been lower for someone with no experience, except that they considered that I had the degrees. I got my CPhT after the first year, and now I am at the top end of your quoted figures, but I have > 5 years experience now. So, my general guess is that you would have a hard time finding a position to start at $11 with no pharmacy experience.

 

[calrx]

I recently accepted an offer from Target to be a Pharmacy Technician for $10.65/hour. I am not certified, but my soon-to-be boss is very encouraging of getting me certified as soon as possible. Once I become certified he said that my pay will increase to around $12/hour. After I've been there for a few months I will be reviewed for potential raises. While I was searching for a job, I was offered positions at Kinney Drugs ($7.50/hour), Rite Aid ($8-$8.50/hour), and Eckerd ($8/hour). By far, Target pays the best for uncertified technicians. These rates may very well fluctuate depending on the region of the country you work in. In general, I wouldn’t expect to make any more than $8/hour if you are uncertified and have no previous pharmacy experience. My advice would be to apply to as many different companies as possible; you will walk away with a good sense of who pays the most.

 

[pAwSN]

Depends what state you are in. Hospital techs definitely make more, but mostly you have to work full time. I know in california most retail start you around 8-9, but it can range depending on experience and up to $15 in some places.

 

[futurerxguy]

Thank you all for your quick responses. For me, pay is not the most important, but having an idea is very important. My goal is to make close to what I am making now with teaching.... which is around 820/month. I know that taking a small loss now is definately worth it in the future with going into pharmacy... but as we know... it is important to try to stay afloat as well. I hope to be a CPhT by the end of the summer, and I intend on working full-time while taking additional pre-pharmacy classes for the next year or so. In high school, I did take chem and apchem .... A's and B's.... if only I had considered pharmacy then instead of now lol. Of course, I do have to say, having a counseling background (even if it is school counseling) should help me in the future when applying to pharmacy school... considering pharmacists are now counseling patients more.

I do have another question I would like you all to think about if you could... I was going to take College Chem. 1 and 2 over the summer.... yeah, am nutz lol. My question, is it in my best interest to do this or do you think I may miss out on important concepts that would be discussed more during a semester long course? I know the class itself will be much harder in the summer, but at the same time, I would like to get as much done as soon as possible so maybe I could apply to medical school next year. Any thoughts here?

Thanks again for your responses!

FutureRxGuy