salary of Pharmacy tech

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ZpackSux said:
???? How do you figure? Why would only a prison hire you? Can you not get a job at a non-prison pharmacy?
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It's called a nightmare for a reason, hon. It's not supposed to be realistic. :p
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SmilesCali 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
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ZpackSux said:
Talk to chain recruiters and ask.. how much is the starting pay in OC vs Sacramento vs San Diego vs Fresno... etc.

Susanville Prison system was payin $90 per hour... and there are a few places in northern cal at $60+
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I agree Northern Cali does pay more. And in OC, pharmacists don't get paid as much because there are more pharmacists who would like to work there due to the nicer locations. Supply and demand. When supply exceeds demand, salaries fall!
 
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bananaface said:
It's called a nightmare for a reason, hon. It's not supposed to be realistic. :p

I'd be too freaked out to work there.
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Actually one of the pharmacists at the store I work at does 7on/7off and then during his week off, he works at a prison part-time. He doesn't have any contact with the prisoners and I'm sure he gets paid a lot too.
 
GaPharmGirl09 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?
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25k sign on in arizona and 30k sign on in fresno , bakersfield and other boonies of the west coast. i am sure its the same in georgia. ask recruiters around there.
 
bananaface said:
It's called a nightmare for a reason, hon. It's not supposed to be realistic. :p

I'd be too freaked out to work there.
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why would you freak out, they probably would not pay attention to you anyway. You're not their type.
 
I had the most dreadful nightmare last night too. I dreamed h. clinton became president and within 2 years we were all doomed to be government workers for the rest of our lives.

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
 
ZpackSux said:
Talk to chain recruiters and ask.. how much is the starting pay in OC vs Sacramento vs San Diego vs Fresno... etc.

Susanville Prison system was payin $90 per hour... and there are a few places in northern cal at $60+
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Thanks for the info! I will keep that in mind when I graduate (if I graduate! :) ) I still love the OC especially Dana Point and Monarch Beach!
 
Not all boonies pay more!! Maybe in some urban areas the salary is falling.. but not all. In the burbs of Chicago, you can make around 100,000... you aren't going to find those high salaries anywhere around rural Illinois. I work in a rural pharmacy.. and we aren't pulling in lots of money.. so why should a pharmacist in rural America make tons of money?

Trust me, most rural areas.. may give you incentives like cars and sign on bonuses... but not the big bucks you see in the Chicago area.
 
aubieRx said:
I had the most dreadful nightmare last night too. I dreamed h. clinton became president and within 2 years we were all doomed to be government workers for the rest of our lives.

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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I'll take it! Have you seen the government benefits?! And it's pretty good job security too. :p
 
sarahjth said:
Not all boonies pay more!! Maybe in some urban areas the salary is falling.. but not all. In the burbs of Chicago, you can make around 100,000... you aren't going to find those high salaries anywhere around rural Illinois. I work in a rural pharmacy.. and we aren't pulling in lots of money.. so why should a pharmacist in rural America make tons of money?

Trust me, most rural areas.. may give you incentives like cars and sign on bonuses... but not the big bucks you see in the Chicago area.
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Rural IL and Chicago do not represent the entire nation. I recruited for 3 different states in the South, Southwest, and West.. In the hard to recruit rural areas, only way to recruit was to pay more. Most new grads just aren't likely to go to Needles, CA to work... They wanna be near Newport Beach..Laguna...Dana Point...etc.
 
sarahjth said:
Not all boonies pay more!! Maybe in some urban areas the salary is falling.. but not all. In the burbs of Chicago, you can make around 100,000... you aren't going to find those high salaries anywhere around rural Illinois. I work in a rural pharmacy.. and we aren't pulling in lots of money.. so why should a pharmacist in rural America make tons of money?

Trust me, most rural areas.. may give you incentives like cars and sign on bonuses... but not the big bucks you see in the Chicago area.
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That's actually incorrect...

There are places in rural IL that pay $175K including bonus
 
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bananaface said:
Sooo. I think we can concluded that salaries vary by area and you just have to check your areas of interest out on your own. :laugh:
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Really?! :eek: :laugh:
 
bananaface said:
Sooo. I think we can concluded that salaries vary by area and you just have to check your areas of interest out on your own. :laugh:
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Hmmm... can you elaborate?
 
bbmuffin said:
That's actually incorrect...

There are places in rural IL that pay $175K including bonus
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I'd like to know where? Because I highly doubt it...
 
BBmuffin why do you post about "Decline in salary" (which is completely unfounded and incorrect) then offer these ridiculous claims of 175k/year in Illinois?

It's funny how both of your wrongs contradicted themselves.
 
Requiem said:
BBmuffin why do you post about "Decline in salary" (which is completely unfounded and incorrect) then offer these ridiculous claims of 175k/year in Illinois?

It's funny how both of your wrongs contradicted themselves.
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how can you accuse me of being wrong twice? i have posted facts about three differenct locations.

there is a Wal Mart in IL that pays 125K and then their PIC gets a 50K bonus every year b/c of the # of scripts they fill. it is in hell hole IL yes i do know this is a fact because i have spoken with the PIC (not so ridiculous when you break it down like that now is it??)

there are also pharmacies in cities (chains and retail) that are only paying 65K (how is that unfounded and incorrect? and i do know it to be a fact)

and even though the avg. in bham is 90K the people right out of school make 80K that work for walgreens. (again i do know this to be a fact)

i honestly think there will be a decline in salaries and i do think that is evidenced by the fact that there are places in the country that can afford to only offer 65K

yes there are areas and pharmacies no one wants to work that will have to offer big bucks to draw people in.


you all can think what you will.. i find it amusing that everyone gets so riled up about all of it.

after all... there are a lot of people on here who realize... yes it all depends on what you do and where you are and don't really care about this thread but to have fun in it.
 
I also know a pharmacist who was making 65K last year. She was Indian and Eckerd sponsored her into the country. They did that a lot, especially with Nigerian pharmacists. The American's all made more money.
 
dgroulx said:
I also know a pharmacist who was making 65K last year. She was Indian and Eckerd sponsored her into the country. They did that a lot, especially with Nigerian pharmacists. The American's all made more money.
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It's a coup when you could get people to work for less...
 
bananaface said:
It costs the company a chunk of change to sponsor. I doubt that amount made up for the discrepancy though.
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I think it only take some thousand dollars to sponsor the visa, but it's possible that they settled the deal b/c some people would rather die than go back to where they are from...and I think 65K is actually pretty high compared to other professions. It's all about the visa, some people can do anything for it.
 
bbmuffin said:
there is a Wal Mart in IL that pays 125K and then their PIC gets a 50K bonus every year b/c of the # of scripts they fill. it is in hell hole IL yes i do know this is a fact because i have spoken with the PIC.
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So where is this Hell hole? Hoopeston? Cairo?
 
jmhousem said:
So where is this Hell hole? Hoopeston? Cairo?
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Who gives out this information, "This Illinois Hole-in-the-Wall Sheds $125k.. yadda yadda.."? Just curious. :laugh:
 
sarahjth said:
Who gives out this information, "This Illinois Hole-in-the-Wall Sheds $125k.. yadda yadda.."? Just curious. :laugh:
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Hey, why not give out this info? (If you don't want the job yourself, I mean.) Bypass the recruiters. Share info that could be useful to people getting offers from similar employers. Help those looking for a job find a suitable employer, and vice versa. These places are clearly hungry for a pharmacist, and many pharmacists are looking for a job like this. What's the harm?
 
BBmuffin- You definately contradicted yourself. First, you make the claim that salary is on the decline then later, you adamantly claimed that you can make 125,000$ a year somewhere in IL. This may be true but it weakens your initial claim. I think you are only worried about the supplus of pharmacists and how that would affect your career/salary. I dont have a problem with that but you seriously need to stop acting like you truly care about the profession.

I do not have a problem with people who are in the profession for the money and lifestyle. The only thing that ultimately matters to me is their ability to do well in the profession. For example, if your dad needs heart surgery, does it matter that his surgeon is doing it for the money? The only thing that matters to me is his surgeon ability to do the job right!

Lets be honest here. A lot of people go into pharmacy because it offers a good lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with that. I am one of the few that likes retails but to be honest, the money is good as well. I also like making IV bags so maybe nuclear pharmacy would be good for me as well.
 
jmhousem said:
Hey, why not give out this info? (If you don't want the job yourself, I mean.) Bypass the recruiters. Share info that could be useful to people getting offers from similar employers. Help those looking for a job find a suitable employer, and vice versa. These places are clearly hungry for a pharmacist, and many pharmacists are looking for a job like this. What's the harm?
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I wanted the source, that's all.
 
oops wrong topic...
 
sarahjth said:
I wanted the source, that's all.
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Sorry, I thought you meant something like, "Who in their right mind would divulge that info?" It's a good question: bbmuffin, who is your source?
 
JAMMAN said:
This thread makes me feel glad that I went to medical school...
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What a coincidence! We're all glad that you went to medical school, too! :smuggrin:
 
If you visit www.pharmacymanpower.com they have a state-by-state map of the pharmacist shortage. All the states are rated from 1-5 on the scale, with 5="High demand: difficult to fill open positions". Those with 5s will pay the most, with 1s will pay the least. This may account for the higher pay in some states over others.

Also, www.pharmacyonesource.com has a state by state salary survey here:
http://www.pharmacyonesource.com/members/surveys/salary/fall2004/default.asp?article_id=4207

Says Montana is the lowest at $35.69 an hour, California at the highest with $49.01 per hour on average.
 
meg said:
If you visit www.pharmacymanpower.com they have a state-by-state map of the pharmacist shortage. All the states are rated from 1-5 on the scale, with 5="High demand: difficult to fill open positions". Those with 5s will pay the most, with 1s will pay the least. This may account for the higher pay in some states over others.

Also, www.pharmacyonesource.com has a state by state salary survey here:
http://www.pharmacyonesource.com/members/surveys/salary/fall2004/default.asp?article_id=4207

Says Montana is the lowest at $35.69 an hour, California at the highest with $49.01 per hour on average.
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Wow, that's really interesting! Thanks!
 
meg said:
If you visit www.pharmacymanpower.com they have a state-by-state map of the pharmacist shortage. All the states are rated from 1-5 on the scale, with 5="High demand: difficult to fill open positions". Those with 5s will pay the most, with 1s will pay the least. This may account for the higher pay in some states over others.

Also, www.pharmacyonesource.com has a state by state salary survey here:
http://www.pharmacyonesource.com/members/surveys/salary/fall2004/default.asp?article_id=4207

Says Montana is the lowest at $35.69 an hour, California at the highest with $49.01 per hour on average.
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Great site! Thanks so much. Looks like demand is still high in most places.
 
I have seen a thread about this not too long ago, but I can't find it.
So I am asking again...
What are some of the differences between Technician's salary, working conditions, hr flexibility, advancement, etc... between Hospital vs Retail.
And what does per diem mean? Daytime?
Thank you!
 
usi said:
I have seen a thread about this not too long ago, but I can't find it.
So I am asking again...
What are some of the differences between Technician's salary, working conditions, hr flexibility, advancement, etc... between Hospital vs Retail.
And what does per diem mean? Daytime?
Thank you!
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Last time I checked....tech hourly rate was similar here in N. CA between hospital & retail.....approx $13-20/hr. I know some who make more, but that is a special arrangement usually. The range is dependent upon experience, practice setting, and hours scheduled. Working conditions vary a lot between hospital & retail. Within retail, you are usually in one pharmacy (you can visually see what that looks like - can be small & slow, can be large & busy) You also, usually work with fewer people, so if you have a personality issue with one other person....its hard to distanace yourself from it. Within hospital, there are lots of working conditions. Obviously, you might work within the pharmacy itself...this physically can be large or small - I've worked both. But...how busy it is ususally depends upon the time of day. Daytime shifts are generally busier than nighttime - as in more people around (however, the actual workload of a nighttshift can be heavy). But, within a hospital, there are other places to actually work...can be the OR pharmacy, one of the pharmacy satelites, the cleanroom, the area designated for ordering & unpacking & storing excess supplies - lots of areas. Also, in my experience, there is lots more staff - probably triple or quadruple the number for retail. Thats for a number of reasons: hospital pharmacies cover at least 2 shifts (7A-midnight) and some are 24 hrs, hospital pharmacies are open 365 days a year usually, hospital pharmacy staffs include all the administrative support which for retail if often located at central corporate settings. For a small, independent retail pharmacy - often the owner takes on all the administrative stuff. For advancement...my experience is there is very little advancement for technicians (pharmacists too for that matter...) unless you go into a large institution like Kaiser. Sometimes there are different levels of technicians based on seniority, sometimes those techs who do sterile compounding are paid a bit more, but for the most part, unless you want to go to pharmacy school, there is not too much advancement. This is my local area - things may be different in other parts of the country. Hr. flexibility usually is the big sticking point. For retail - you usually work 9-5, 9-6, 10-7, 11-8...something like that, unless you work a a 24 hr pharmacy. For hospitals, the shifts are usually 7-3:30, 6-2:30, 8-4:30, 2-10:30, 3-11:30....you get the idea. The less senior you are, the worse your schedule is. Remeber, most every pharmacy is open weekends, so working every other weekend for me has been the norm (for years and years and years!). Per diem means per day. As it relates to pharmacy - it means you are usually hired on a daily basis. The employer has no responsibility to schedule you a certain # of hours, usually gives you no benefits, but your hourly compensation is higher. Often new employees start this way - it gives you both a chance to try each other out without lots of committment, however, I know lots of per diem pharmacists who just don't want the committment, so thats how they work. Hope this helps!
 
Thank you
 
Hey, I am a hospital pharm tech in AR, and I currently make 9.78 an hour. This is considered good for the region, because certification is not required in AR. Most starting salaries for retail here are between 6.25-8.00 dollars an hour. I work 10 hour days, four days a week. We are a specialty hospital (heart), so we only have an inpatient pharmacy. We are open from 6AM-10PM M-F, and 7AM -5:30PM on the weekends. The techs do whatever needs to be done (fill machines, make IVs, etc.). I love working at a hospital. Best thing, we don't have to mess with the insurance people... :D
 
i recently got a job as a pharmacy clerk starting at $9/hr., is this a good, and what's everyone starting salary like........
 
What exactly do you do? Organize prepscriptions or something?
 
djg06 said:
What exactly do you do? Organize prepscriptions or something?
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help the pharmacist around, cashiering, customer service, orders.......
 
I think its a fine starting salary, Id do it.
 
djg06 said:
I think its a fine starting salary, Id do it.
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thanks for your response.....im planning to take the ptcb in november so hopefully everything goes well and i pass the test and be certified already....:D
 
I only make $8...but I am just doing it for the experience. I had no tech experience before. She could have told me min wage and I would have accepted. I have another job that pays more, so that helps.
 
That is a cashier wage....if you willing to become a certified pharm. tech...your wage could get up to $15/hr. :thumbup:
 
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