salary of Pharmacy tech
Started by npp71681
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
thank you daddy 
😴
😴
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Moving/merging to the thread to which this is responding. Please use the reply button within a thread to which you are trying to respond.
FutureRxGal said:
As long as pharmacists are still in demand in the way they are, salaries will be fine. I think that if more pharm schools opened up and these pharmacy schools started taking more and more students, obviously pharmacy chains could fill the need by hiring new graduates versus those who have been in the field for a while and do that for less.
The original poster spelled 'salery' wrongly. This thread may be a joke..
mmm increased supply yes, but also increased demand. More aging baby boomers = more patients.
oh the salaries will probably rise if current conditions prevail.
I wanted to work in a medical/biological field but the money was a draw for me. It would be stupid to work your butt off for four years with no rewards.
edit: and rememeber peebles a few ancedotes does not a good statistic make. Ancedotal evidence. Remember stats?
oh the salaries will probably rise if current conditions prevail.
I wanted to work in a medical/biological field but the money was a draw for me. It would be stupid to work your butt off for four years with no rewards.
edit: and rememeber peebles a few ancedotes does not a good statistic make. Ancedotal evidence. Remember stats?
ok #1 this thread was not a joke... i actually changed the title of the thread to salary and it won't let me change the title of the thread only the title of my post.microbe hunter said:
i am not a spelling major and have never claimed to be
I explained the entire situation and i would appreciate it if you read the entire thing before responding as such
for those of you who think you'll be paid AT LEAST $80K....
HA!
here where there is a pharmacy school.... CHAINS are paying $80K not hospitals... they are lower
i am positively disgusted at all of the people who are in it for the money do you not realize you could KILL someone???
and as far as no patient contact.... retail pharmacists have patient contact every day and most of them contact between 100-800 people a day.
i am honestly scared of what is going to happen with the future of pharmacy with people attending school for the money, convience, and job security.
I edited the title for you. 🙂
Actaully, I think the jump in salaries is not a good thing...think of this
When my dad graduated from pharm school in '75, his first salary was $6.00/hour. I am not kidding! From that, throughout the 80's and early 90's he earned maybe 40K per year. Then the salaries started to jump. Back then, the reason people wanted to go to pharm school is because they wanted to be pharmacists, not because of salaries!! I think the graduates from back then are the good pharmacists because they got into the preofession because they wanted to do the profession.
Also, pharmacy school is NOT easy! I think many of the poeple who are swithcing because of the salaries will be quite surprised during thier schooling to see what it is really like!
Also, sure, my dad makes $120k+ per year. But, since there is quite the shortage, he cannot really ever take vacations, etc. SO, you are making that much, but cannot enjoy it much at all. I don't think that most people realize that anywhere you work right now, hospital, retail, etc you are usually pressured to not take vacations, etc because there just isn't the staff to cover it.
Just a few ideas to think about....
When my dad graduated from pharm school in '75, his first salary was $6.00/hour. I am not kidding! From that, throughout the 80's and early 90's he earned maybe 40K per year. Then the salaries started to jump. Back then, the reason people wanted to go to pharm school is because they wanted to be pharmacists, not because of salaries!! I think the graduates from back then are the good pharmacists because they got into the preofession because they wanted to do the profession.
Also, pharmacy school is NOT easy! I think many of the poeple who are swithcing because of the salaries will be quite surprised during thier schooling to see what it is really like!
Also, sure, my dad makes $120k+ per year. But, since there is quite the shortage, he cannot really ever take vacations, etc. SO, you are making that much, but cannot enjoy it much at all. I don't think that most people realize that anywhere you work right now, hospital, retail, etc you are usually pressured to not take vacations, etc because there just isn't the staff to cover it.
Just a few ideas to think about....
bbmuffin said:
Maybe in Alabama they are not paying as much. Why don't you come down here to South Florida (where there is a huge elderly population)- look at the salaries and then see if there is a decline. I do know what I am talking about- I have a number of friends who are pharmD's here in SoFla. I also work in a hospital with pharmD's.
And yes money is important (as is patient care, but the two are seperate). Try working on a limited salary- I realized the pay as a dietitian was not going to cut it living here in South Florida. No matter how much you love your job- if it doesn't allow you to afford to live- you will have to find something else to do. And yes starting off a lot of these kids are interested in the money- they will either learn they love it or hate it once they get into school and really once they start working. Just like me I realized I did not love nutrition. One of my pharmD friends did her BS in nutrition with me and started her MS with me and then changed fields. Another pharmD I know is applying to med school. I am interested in pharmacy... but you will never know how much you enjoy it or hate it till you are working in the field. Same for every job.
Great post...
The author of The 7 habits of highly effective people echos this same concept.
We work for ourselves first, no matter what the company mission, people find motivation from providing for their future.
If people can find motivation through $$, than why can this not be a positive for the profession?
It has most definatley created a larger pool of talented students for pharmacy schools to choose from.
And I would assume that the $$ would also motivate pharmacists to remain professional and dedicated to their professions.
The author of The 7 habits of highly effective people echos this same concept.
We work for ourselves first, no matter what the company mission, people find motivation from providing for their future.
If people can find motivation through $$, than why can this not be a positive for the profession?
It has most definatley created a larger pool of talented students for pharmacy schools to choose from.
And I would assume that the $$ would also motivate pharmacists to remain professional and dedicated to their professions.
bbmuffin said:
Jus because someone has money as one motivation factor does not mean they are more likely to kill a patient than someone who does not have money as a motivation factor.
Well, honestly, do you think dentists absolutely love looking down peoples mouths everyday? Do you think proctologists love giving rectal exams? If they were not rewarded they would not do their jobs for free...at least 99 percent would not.
Money will always be a motivation factor in life. If you pay for four years of professional college you certainly expect to get somehting in return.
bbmuffin said:
That's funny,
I get a $3/hr raise next month as an intern, and both my pharmacist and pharmacy manager have increased $5/hour each in the last year. We're paying staff 47/hr and managers 50/hr... =100,000k+ and a 25k sign on.
frankly I am a little insulted by people who think that money should not be a factor in job choice. I see people working at McDonalds quite frequently. I wonder if they enjoy their job?
not all of us have parents who were pharmacists or grew up knowing we wnated to be pharmacists, so please forgive me for not being an industry insider.
its a snobby attitude
{edit} this is not to the person above me. Its just a general sort of rant. 🙂 I was always interested in science but did not want to end up working at an aquarium touch tank with a degree in marine biology because i felt such a salary would be too low. sometimes you make sacrifices for reality
and the reality is that pharmacists have a highly marketable skill. marketable skill=money and security
not all of us have parents who were pharmacists or grew up knowing we wnated to be pharmacists, so please forgive me for not being an industry insider.
its a snobby attitude
{edit} this is not to the person above me. Its just a general sort of rant. 🙂 I was always interested in science but did not want to end up working at an aquarium touch tank with a degree in marine biology because i felt such a salary would be too low. sometimes you make sacrifices for reality
and the reality is that pharmacists have a highly marketable skill. marketable skill=money and security
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
the problem i have with the people who are solely interested in the money is simple...
I am EXTREMELY concerned about the future of the profession of pharmacy... not the abilities of the people in it but the profession itself.
In my class we have a whole bunch of people (the vast majority) who will gripe to high heaven about what needs to be done to change things... whether it be in a class, a professor's teaching style, or their jobs.
When you say ok that's great! just make me a list of things you would like to change about the class (don't even put your name on it) they refuse.
they won't give solutions or even ideas on how to help solve the problem. their usual response is "i don't know but i don't like it how it is now"
they won't stand up and MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Everyone gripes about apha and yet.... are they involved in the organization? what are they doing to help the situation? are they involved on the local or state levels to prevent pharmacy from going down a path that they don't like? not in my experience
i feel that the vast majority of people who go into it for the money do not actually care about the professon and in the future everyone else will be making decisions for pharmacists instead of pharmacists doing it.
yes salAry does make a difference. i'm not saying it doesn't
pharmacists deserve good salArys (yeah i can't spell that word either).
No one would go through the hell for very little money.
i hope that while in pharmacy school everyone will find something they love.... even if its not pharmacy.
you may be burned out at your job as many are but don't just sit there and complain about it DO SOMETHING.. yes pharmacists are in demand and that is a bargining tool
/rant
The reason salAry is so low here in bham is b/c of the pharmacy school... i'm sure i could find you places in AL with the $100K+...
I am EXTREMELY concerned about the future of the profession of pharmacy... not the abilities of the people in it but the profession itself.
In my class we have a whole bunch of people (the vast majority) who will gripe to high heaven about what needs to be done to change things... whether it be in a class, a professor's teaching style, or their jobs.
When you say ok that's great! just make me a list of things you would like to change about the class (don't even put your name on it) they refuse.
they won't give solutions or even ideas on how to help solve the problem. their usual response is "i don't know but i don't like it how it is now"
they won't stand up and MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Everyone gripes about apha and yet.... are they involved in the organization? what are they doing to help the situation? are they involved on the local or state levels to prevent pharmacy from going down a path that they don't like? not in my experience
i feel that the vast majority of people who go into it for the money do not actually care about the professon and in the future everyone else will be making decisions for pharmacists instead of pharmacists doing it.
yes salAry does make a difference. i'm not saying it doesn't
pharmacists deserve good salArys (yeah i can't spell that word either).
No one would go through the hell for very little money.
i hope that while in pharmacy school everyone will find something they love.... even if its not pharmacy.
you may be burned out at your job as many are but don't just sit there and complain about it DO SOMETHING.. yes pharmacists are in demand and that is a bargining tool
/rant
The reason salAry is so low here in bham is b/c of the pharmacy school... i'm sure i could find you places in AL with the $100K+...
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/...macist&narrowdesc=Healthcare -- Practitioners
Average celery in Bham AL = $90179 per year..
Average celery in Bham AL = $90179 per year..
bbmuffin said:
You make me sound like such a suckling, sucking the teat dry on mother pharmacy. Just remember this, there are people who work in the pharmacy profession and there are people who work for the pharmacy profession. Continue to represent us in APhA and we will continue making our monetary contributions. I will not be a good politician, but I will be a good pharmacist. Don't impose your virtue on me. I got to go change my bib now.
2
28657
bbmuffin said:
In my ethics class our professor asked a bunch of 'yes/no' questions, if our answer was 'yes' we had to stand up. The first question was "Are you in pharmacy for the money?" Of course I stood up, but surprisingly only about 5 out my 130 classmates stood up with me. The next question was "Are you in pharmacy to help people?" After this question, everyone was standing.
My point is I have a problem with people who are ashamed to admit money is a motivator. Money and patient care are NOT mutually exclusive. I've said this before on SDN. But if someone is truly philanthropic - you soley want to help others without monetary reward - Arizona has a large Native American population that needs your help on the reservations.....the pay is probably about $30k/year. You'll have job security and population of people eager and thankful to receive care.
On a side note - As for the other 125 people who didn't stand up when asked if they were in it for the money - I really think they're a bunch of liars.
First off, without any disrespect to BBmuffin, I don't think that we all should immediately come to the conclusion that pharmacist salaries are declining just based on that one case of $65k a year offer. It could be many factors they guy was offered that much: the manager wanted to see what the guy would offer, or he did not really need a pharmacist at that particular store, or maybe as silly as just telling the guy off! Come on, it's just one instance. But if from now on we continually hear similar stories and offers, then I'd start worrying about it.
Personally I feel that going through 4 years of schools and study as hard as pharmacy school requires you to study, and then end up getting paid $65k a year is just really disapointing!!! 👎 That would truly suck! But I guess we'll see 🙁
Personally I feel that going through 4 years of schools and study as hard as pharmacy school requires you to study, and then end up getting paid $65k a year is just really disapointing!!! 👎 That would truly suck! But I guess we'll see 🙁
dgroulx said:
Assman. Get it? From Seinfeld?..eh nevermind.
Starting salary in the Atlanta metro area is 90-95k and the cost of living index here is about 100. Know a couple of UGA grads working for Walgreens starting at 92.5. They ain't complaining. But I do see your point Muffin.
dgroulx said:
what if it was a very confused 89 year old man who kept calling you names the whole time out of sheer anger?
cause i know a few cranky old characters lol
to mr.??? bbmuffin: money is not my only motivating factor. I do want to help people and i have interest in science. But I would be a big fat liar if i said the money meant nothing to me. The prospects of my own beautiful home and decent car means a lot to me.
i am somewhat certain that if you knew you would get minimum wage to work as a pharmacist you would quit school. I know i would. i bet only one person in 1000 would stay in school knowing that.
What area of the country is this? And which chain if you don't mind my asking?jdpharmd? said:
pharmergirl said:
He's in the Phoenix, Arizona area.
I think its interesting when people come into the pharmacy field because they want to help people. I have volunteered in a hospital pharmacy, and a place where they send medicine to nursing homes. From what I noticed, the pharmacists at both these locations had no patient contact and none did their jobs because of their love of healthcare.
Working in a retail setting does allow a good amount of patient contact. I, however, do not consider that patient care. Yes, it is possible to give advice on medication - but that is usually left to the doctor. If one was truely coming into pharmacy in order to help people then they are coming into the wrong field. I don't even believe wanting to help people is a reason for becoming a doctor. A doctor does help diagnose a person, but doesn't a civil engineer improve the lives of everyone in a city by building better roads and freeways, doesn't a software professional help the world by creating programs that increase efficiency. I don't think people would become doctors or pharmacists if they weren't paid so well.
I have always wanted to help people. That was one of my reasons for wanting to do pharmacy. However, it is not being a pharmacist that would allow me to help people, but the salary I receive from it. With the increasing salary, I would be able to donate money to people who need it. I would be able to support my future family and fulfill their every needs. I consider that "helping others".
I am very surprised by the amount of people in the high paying health profession who keep the money to themselves. I really hope that those who want to help others will actually seize the opportunity to help others.
Working in a retail setting does allow a good amount of patient contact. I, however, do not consider that patient care. Yes, it is possible to give advice on medication - but that is usually left to the doctor. If one was truely coming into pharmacy in order to help people then they are coming into the wrong field. I don't even believe wanting to help people is a reason for becoming a doctor. A doctor does help diagnose a person, but doesn't a civil engineer improve the lives of everyone in a city by building better roads and freeways, doesn't a software professional help the world by creating programs that increase efficiency. I don't think people would become doctors or pharmacists if they weren't paid so well.
I have always wanted to help people. That was one of my reasons for wanting to do pharmacy. However, it is not being a pharmacist that would allow me to help people, but the salary I receive from it. With the increasing salary, I would be able to donate money to people who need it. I would be able to support my future family and fulfill their every needs. I consider that "helping others".
I am very surprised by the amount of people in the high paying health profession who keep the money to themselves. I really hope that those who want to help others will actually seize the opportunity to help others.
2
28657
jamboo54 said:
I plan to donate money for the tax break....er I mean to help people. 😛
But I do agree with you, I think the real 'people helpers' are social workers... and I would hate that job.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
aubieRx said:
Its not that pharmacists and doctors don't help people. Its that they don't help people any more than other professions do. Doctors and pharmacists have direct contact with people but that doesn't mean we helped more than others do. For example, my dad is a civil engineer for the state government in charge of designing freeways. A well planned freeway helps people immensely by reducing the amount of time we spend driving which means more time at home with the family.
About imagining what it would be like with no pharmacists or doctors....
imagine what it would be like with no janitors who let us live in a sanitary world. Imagine the mount of disease that would spread if we didn't have janitors...Yet the people who want to "help other" aren't becoming janitors.
Don't get me wrong here...I'm just playing devils advocate. My point is that people can't claim that they are becoming pharmacists or doctors ONLY based on wanting to help people.
When I went for my interviews I was asked why I wanted to be a pharmacist. I told them that one of the reasons was wanting to help people. But I added that I wanted to be a pharmacist because it offers a good lifestyle (aka high income), job security, and wide opportunities. The interviewers seemed interested in my response and asked further questions about that. I got into both of the schools I applied to (UofArizona and MWG). When going to interviews don't be afraid of telling the truth with a little bit of sugar coating. 🙂
aubieRx said:
Its not that pharmacists and doctors don't help people. Its that they don't help people any more than other professions do. Doctors and pharmacists have direct contact with people but that doesn't mean we helped more than others do. For example, my dad is a civil engineer for the state government in charge of designing freeways. A well planned freeway helps people immensely by reducing the amount of time we spend driving which means more time at home with the family.
About imagining what it would be like with no pharmacists or doctors....
imagine what it would be like with no janitors who let us live in a sanitary world. Imagine the mount of disease that would spread if we didn't have janitors...Yet the people who want to "help other" aren't becoming janitors.
Don't get me wrong here...I'm just playing devils advocate.
My point is that people can't claim that they are becoming pharmacists or doctors ONLY based on wanting to help people.When I went for my interviews I was asked why I wanted to be a pharmacist. I told them that one of the reasons was wanting to help people. But I added that I wanted to be a pharmacist because it offers a good lifestyle (aka high income), job security, and wide opportunities. The interviewers seemed interested in my response and asked further questions about that. I got into both of the schools I applied to (UofArizona and MWG). When going to interviews don't be afraid of telling the truth with a little bit of sugar coating. 🙂
I just wanted to throw this out.. smaller pharmacies in smaller areas pay less. I mean it's pure logic. Less to do = less money. My boss, a pharmacist of 40 some years, was offered a job for 65,000 to work in a small town. The town was in rural Illinois and had about 13000 people. This was at Walgreens and they offered a Cadillac.
There is always going to be high paying pharmacist job offers! You just have to look around... I am not saying that all rural places pay less, I am just saying a smaller Walgreens in rural America isn't going to pay as much as a huge pharmacy in a very busy, urban area. But everyone already knows that.
Maybe I am being arnery here, but I think this thread is a little premature. I think he just put this up to get all the greedy pharmacist wanna-bes to a disappear. "Money, that's what they want... a whole lotta money!"
There is always going to be high paying pharmacist job offers! You just have to look around... I am not saying that all rural places pay less, I am just saying a smaller Walgreens in rural America isn't going to pay as much as a huge pharmacy in a very busy, urban area. But everyone already knows that.
Maybe I am being arnery here, but I think this thread is a little premature. I think he just put this up to get all the greedy pharmacist wanna-bes to a disappear. "Money, that's what they want... a whole lotta money!"jamboo54 said:
according to this logic we should get down on our knees and thank grass for for being a helpful member of the natural ecosystem and food chain which sustains us all.
hehe, but I see what you are saying.
perhaps people who say they go into medicine to help people really mean they feel they are helping people in a "specific way". After all, a person's body is their most prized possession and someone who helps them care for it is helping them more intimately than someone who builds a freeway.
sarahjth said:I just wanted to throw this out.. smaller pharmacies in smaller areas pay less. I mean it's pure logic. Less to do = less money. My boss, a pharmacist of 40 some years, was offered a job for 65,000 to work in a small town. The town was in rural Illinois and had about 13000 people. This was at Walgreens and they offered a Cadillac.
There is always going to be high paying pharmacist job offers! You just have to look around... I am not saying that all rural places pay less, I am just saying a smaller Walgreens in rural America isn't going to pay as much as a huge pharmacy in a very busy, urban area. But everyone already knows that.
you have it the other way around. 😉
in the real world, high paying pharm jobs are in the boonies and "ultra-urban" areas where no one wants to live or go. trust me. i am getting offers now.
ccpbruin said:
That's what I've heard, too. Which, BTW, makes me happy! I like little towns! What types of offers (pay + incentives) to work in these little towns...and where are they?
sarahjth said:I just wanted to throw this out.. smaller pharmacies in smaller areas pay less. I mean it's pure logic. Less to do = less money. My boss, a pharmacist of 40 some years, was offered a job for 65,000 to work in a small town. The town was in rural Illinois and had about 13000 people. This was at Walgreens and they offered a Cadillac.
There is always going to be high paying pharmacist job offers! You just have to look around... I am not saying that all rural places pay less, I am just saying a smaller Walgreens in rural America isn't going to pay as much as a huge pharmacy in a very busy, urban area. But everyone already knows that.
Hmm... actually it's the opposite.. Small Rural area is considered "hard to hire area." These are the places where they pay outrageous amounts of money..
Orange County CA...one of the most populated and expensive place to live.. pharmacist pay is significantly less than Rural Northern Cal..
OK, I will admit it. I looked into several factors while choosing pharmacy. 1. Money, 2. flexible schedules, 3. Money, 4. Helping myself, 5. Money, 6. Money, 7. Money, 8. Free time, etc. etc. 128,583,589. Helping others.
If people want to save the world, go join the red cross and help others. If you want to live in the world, pick a well paying occupation that will support you and yours for the next few decades without the threat of getting layed off.
I would love to say I am in it to help others #1, but when I wake up each morning and see a wife and three kids that need to eat and be provided for, I admit I am in it for me and my family much more than any patient. Guess what, I don't feel a bit bad about it.
If people want to save the world, go join the red cross and help others. If you want to live in the world, pick a well paying occupation that will support you and yours for the next few decades without the threat of getting layed off.
I would love to say I am in it to help others #1, but when I wake up each morning and see a wife and three kids that need to eat and be provided for, I admit I am in it for me and my family much more than any patient. Guess what, I don't feel a bit bad about it.
bbmuffin said:
I understand your reservations but I think that its very premature (and a bit Trollish) to scream that "the sky is falling!!!" because of one example. In addition, Im not sure if youre being altogether honest (at least with yourself) by saying what you said in your quote. Youre telling me that you'll sacrifice 4+ years of your life and accrue 10's of 1000's of $$ in debt to make 65G's a year??? 😕
P.S. I know that you are definitely NOT a troll. I meant no offense by it, but it is feeding into those guys mindset.
I know that the outlying areas here pay a little less than Seattle itself at the retail level. I'm not sure about hospital at all though.kellia said:
*gloom gloom*
its allllllllllllll about yourself baby. Sure you care for other people now and then but when it comes down to the nitty gritty 99 percent of us are in it for ourselves.
and with good reason cause you are the only person you are guranteed to be with for the rest of eternity. **
which is perfectly wretched at times. I'm thinking about having parts of my brain sealed off so I can't annoy myself anymore 😀
** unless we form a collective after daeth
boy that would suck
its allllllllllllll about yourself baby. Sure you care for other people now and then but when it comes down to the nitty gritty 99 percent of us are in it for ourselves.
and with good reason cause you are the only person you are guranteed to be with for the rest of eternity. **
which is perfectly wretched at times. I'm thinking about having parts of my brain sealed off so I can't annoy myself anymore 😀
** unless we form a collective after daeth
boy that would suck
ZpackSux said:
Really Orange County pays less? How much less? I was hoping to move there after graduation. It is so expensive there. Do you know where I can find out more on what areas pay more compared to others? Thank you in advance 🙂
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
R2_D2 said:
I loved my rotation at the Department of Corrections. It's too bad that they're not hiring now. But when they have an opening....
