Technician Salary

[Prepharm1214]

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I work for one of the big 3 and am frustrated by the pay structure for technicians where it practically makes hiring dependable people impossible. For our district I'm allowed to hire in at $8.65 per hour (50 cent raise upon certification in 6 months) when there are fast food restaurants, dollar stores, gas stations etc with signs displayed offering nearly a dollar more an hour. Corporate refuses to budge and any attempts to raise this rate is met with "they don't sound like the right fit for our team". The result of this is months of being short staffed although the store is in good shape, low volume, and fairly relaxed atmosphere compared to other stores in our district.

I had a technician with experience from a competitor apply who currently makes 12$/hr, I asked corporate if they could match or accommodate this due to experience and was told the most they were willing to offer was 10.25$. Nevertheless this person dropped out of the application process after.

We do get some applications although nearly all have frenetic job histories and even they remove themself from the hiring process when salary is discussed. What staffing options are there when salary is subpar and higher ups are close minded? As stated store is fine for now but tensions are mounting as the rest of staff has been in overdrive for a few months carrying the load while being short staffed.

 

[rxboy1996]

That's tough. I def think the starting pay for technician certified or not should at least be around $10 since I consider this to be an advanced job compared to being a cashier or something. Are there any good cashiers or people that work in the store part of your employer? It might be easier to get someone on board if they are internal and already making less than what a technician would start at. Maybe call around to other stores in the area?

 

[allantois]

You gotta find some pre-pharm students willing to work for experience

 

[owlegrad]

That is so crazy low. I wish the techs where I worked could see how good they actually have it!

 

[Kharak]

Some perspective of U.S. government pharmacy technician positions:

Indian Health Service Techs start out low at about the GS4 paygrade, about $14/hr.

Veterans Affairs Techs usually can be hired at the GS5/6 paygrade, about $18-19/hr.

Civilian Air Force Techs can be hired at GS8 paygrade, about $28/hr. (If they were a super tech)

Just go to usajobs.gov and input pharm tech and your location into the search, expand the radius to 200 miles and call corporate and explain these are the going rate pay offers your prospective employee are entertaining and they need to come close to that to get help. 😉

 

[Momus]

Socal CVS pays their tech dirt cheap $12 and up, with very few making 15-16/hr. I suspect Walgreen pays them the same crappy wages. Riteaid pays their tech $20/hr minimum since they are union.

Tech in hospital makes a good $5, in some cases, $10 more than retail.

You can't retain talent if you pay minimum wages. Who likes to get yelled at for sh1t pay? I'd go flip a burger before I work as a tech for CVS.

 

[Sine Cura]

That seems... rather low for southern California

WM in my area was $14.10 and $15.55 for non-certified and certified respectively. No experience. So you can be a total noob who just took PTCB and start at $15.55

 

[SoylentGreen]

Some of the wages described here are absurdly low for a stressful job that requires that you know some stuff and not be an idiot, and has no perks. At least at a fast food restaurant you probably get discounted or free food.

For bottom of the barrel pay you should expect to find bottom of the barrel workers, and a lot of turnover, unless you can find prepharmers looking for letters of recommendation. If you have managers who refuse to accept reality, that's corporate pharmacy.

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

Yep. I got hired in at 8.25 in Louisville because I had cashier experience but the starting pay was 7.35 (it's low due to techs not having to be certified in KY). Meanwhile Chik-fil-A down the street started off at 10/hr with no wait for 2 background checks.

Hiring students will give you people willing to work hard, especially on nights and weekends. When my manager asked, I would email my schools pre-health profession counselor so that she could send a mass email to all her students. Most schools have a Director of Career Counsel and Placement or something close you could email.

 

[steveysmith54]

An undergrad student is good to have on your roster as a perdiem but issues there too... you may get one when they are in your third or fourth year of undergrad. By the time that they are fully trained, they will be off to pharmacy school. If the school is local, maybe you can keep them as an intern... they are great at being a fill in person on weekends, holidays, evenings... typically more motivated and have better attitude than a traditional tech..., however, they don't typically replace a full time person that's core member of your staff

 

[Momus]

That seems... rather low for southern California

WM in my area was $14.10 and $15.55 for non-certified and certified respectively. No experience. So you can be a total noob who just took PTCB and start at $15.55

Didn't say they pay high. Dirt cheap bottom of the barrel.

I know HR pushes low wage all time. A tech made $18 previously at mail order with 2 yrs exp, going to retail, HR told me, hire her at $12.50. She didn't take the job. Not just one company, all the retails in socal do this sh1t.

Yep. I got hired in at 8.25 in Louisville because I had cashier experience but the starting pay was 7.35 (it's low due to techs not having to be certified in KY). Meanwhile Chik-fil-A down the street started off at 10/hr with no wait for 2 background checks.

Hiring students will give you people willing to work hard, especially on nights and weekends. When my manager asked, I would email my schools pre-health profession counselor so that she could send a mass email to all her students. Most schools have a Director of Career Counsel and Placement or something close you could email.

I never see unhappy burger flippers/cashiers at chickfila.

 

[allantois]

An undergrad student is good to have on your roster as a perdiem but issues there too... you may get one when they are in your third or fourth year of undergrad. By the time that they are fully trained, they will be off to pharmacy school. If the school is local, maybe you can keep them as an intern... they are great at being a fill in person on weekends, holidays, evenings... typically more motivated and have better attitude than a traditional tech..., however, they don't typically replace a full time person that's core member of your staff

You can’t have your pie and eat it too.

 

[DrVader]

I work for one of the big 3 and am frustrated by the pay structure for technicians where it practically makes hiring dependable people impossible. For our district I'm allowed to hire in at $8.65 per hour (50 cent raise upon certification in 6 months) when there are fast food restaurants, dollar stores, gas stations etc with signs displayed offering nearly a dollar more an hour. Corporate refuses to budge and any attempts to raise this rate is met with "they don't sound like the right fit for our team". The result of this is months of being short staffed although the store is in good shape, low volume, and fairly relaxed atmosphere compared to other stores in our district.

I had a technician with experience from a competitor apply who currently makes 12$/hr, I asked corporate if they could match or accommodate this due to experience and was told the most they were willing to offer was 10.25$. Nevertheless this person dropped out of the application process after.

We do get some applications although nearly all have frenetic job histories and even they remove themself from the hiring process when salary is discussed. What staffing options are there when salary is subpar and higher ups are close minded? As stated store is fine for now but tensions are mounting as the rest of staff has been in overdrive for a few months carrying the load while being short staffed.

I make 12/hr and I work for CVS, it isn't nearly enough money to put up with the crap. I tell new techs to work for the company for a year, get their PTCB and then apply for the hospitals. The real money in the hospitals and LTC. They make can meet between 15 to 18/hr. The big three know they have high turn over rates, that is why they don't invest.

 

[owlegrad]

I make 12/hr and I work for CVS, it isn't nearly enough money to put up with the crap. I tell new techs to work for the company for a year, get their PTCB and then apply for the hospitals. The real money in the hospitals and LTC. They make can meet between 15 to 18/hr. The big three know they have high turn over rates, that is why they don't invest.

Nearly all my techs bitch all day about how poorly they are paid. I invite them to apply to CVS and see how much much (little) they would be paid there!

 

[elitehacker1337]

Why do techs get paid so poorly?

You actually need a license and cert to be a tech unlike other min wage jobs.

You do actually get minimum wage in your state right?

 

[radio frequency]

Tech pay at the chains really is horrible. Anybody who is any good leaves for better pay and lower stress, and you can hardly blame them.

 

[DrVader]

Why do techs get paid so poorly?

You actually need a license and cert to be a tech unlike other min wage jobs.

You do actually get minimum wage in your state right?

In my state, are you need to get a tech in training lic is 25 dollars. After you work for the company for a month or two you can get a license. There is no barrier to entry.

 

[Sine Cura]

Hiring dependable people is fairly challenging as most people just cannot adapt to what is required of chain retail and that's without considering the relatively crappy pay. Sometimes you can tell who can at least be average and have some integrity and show up for work but sometimes you pick badly. Then you are forced to get rid of them and the cycle goes on and on.

Certification is such a low bar as well. Any idiot can pass PTCB. Licensure, well at least it theoretically screens those with sketchy history

CVS seemed more amenable to letting managers hire a bunch of noobs and give the ones who can eventually hack it hours and the ones who can't hack it no hours and long-time dead weight fewer hours or crappy shifts. For whatever reasons WM won't let me do that

The "right fit" for chain retail according to "corporate" is masochists who want to be paid relatively crap wages so you aren't going to find a lot of winners with that criteria

 

[GrapePropel]

I work for one of the big 3 and am frustrated by the pay structure for technicians where it practically makes hiring dependable people impossible. For our district I'm allowed to hire in at $8.65 per hour (50 cent raise upon certification in 6 months) when there are fast food restaurants, dollar stores, gas stations etc with signs displayed offering nearly a dollar more an hour. Corporate refuses to budge and any attempts to raise this rate is met with "they don't sound like the right fit for our team". The result of this is months of being short staffed although the store is in good shape, low volume, and fairly relaxed atmosphere compared to other stores in our district.

I had a technician with experience from a competitor apply who currently makes 12$/hr, I asked corporate if they could match or accommodate this due to experience and was told the most they were willing to offer was 10.25$. Nevertheless this person dropped out of the application process after.

We do get some applications although nearly all have frenetic job histories and even they remove themself from the hiring process when salary is discussed. What staffing options are there when salary is subpar and higher ups are close minded? As stated store is fine for now but tensions are mounting as the rest of staff has been in overdrive for a few months carrying the load while being short staffed.

Dude just treat your Techs really nice. A lot of people value respect and friendship/bonding over money. If your store isn't paying well you have to make it up to them in the relationship you have with them. Buy your techs pizza once a month to keep moral up.

 

[GrapePropel]

Hiring dependable people is fairly challenging as most people just cannot adapt to what is required of chain retail and that's without considering the relatively crappy pay. Sometimes you can tell who can at least be average and have some integrity and show up for work but sometimes you pick badly. Then you are forced to get rid of them and the cycle goes on and on.

Certification is such a low bar as well. Any idiot can pass PTCB. Licensure, well at least it theoretically screens those with sketchy history

CVS seemed more amenable to letting managers hire a bunch of noobs and give the ones who can eventually hack it hours and the ones who can't hack it no hours and long-time dead weight fewer hours or crappy shifts. For whatever reasons WM won't let me do that

The "right fit" for chain retail according to "corporate" is masochists who want to be paid relatively crap wages so you aren't going to find a lot of winners with that criteria

Wm is trying to avoid a lawsuit. most of the 'dead weight' tends to disproportionately be older people. An age discrimination lawsuit is very expensive.

 

[BlackDiamond277]

I started at Wags uncertified with zero tech experience at $10.50/hr. I never realized techs in other places got paid so poorly

 

[6GodPharm]

Theres a range where you can hire without approval at CVS. $12.50-$15.50/hr without approval. If no experience you get 12.50 if you do have some I start to up it. Inventory specialist get even more and lead tech are a little over $20/hr here.

 

[Truthspeaker]

Technicians have always gotten the short end of the stick even in hospital pharmacy. Over 10 years ago, the girls bringing food trays to patients made more than hospital pharmacy techs. The situation today? Still the same.

 

[vinny808]

And robots will end up replacing many techs in the future. I knew a DM who was trying to get a few technicians with 30 plus years to retire because of the nice retirement package. We saw right through that. They just didn't want to pay them their high salary and 5 weeks vacation. Yeah corporate doesn't give a **** about us.

 

[Thankyou2017]

Socal CVS pays their tech dirt cheap $12 and up, .......Riteaid pays their tech $20/hr minimum since they are union.

I am relaying message from Rite Aid Pharmacy District Manager of Socal area: Sorry, Rite Aid in Southern California pays $20 dollars per hour MAXIMUM, not minimum. Please don't flood Rite Aid with application yet.

 

[DrVader]

Technicians have always gotten the short end of the stick even in hospital pharmacy. Over 10 years ago, the girls bringing food trays to patients made more than hospital pharmacy techs. The situation today? Still the same.

Tech need to form a union and the state need to require some real cert. As long as the big 3 can hire anyone off the street, techs will always get the short end of the stick.

 

[Momus]

I am relaying message from Rite Aid Pharmacy District Manager of Socal area: Sorry, Rite Aid in Southern California pays $20 dollars per hour MAXIMUM, not minimum. Please don't flood Rite Aid with application yet.

Ask him, how many techs get $20/hr?

 

[Pretzyum]

Dude just treat your Techs really nice. A lot of people value respect and friendship/bonding over money. If your store isn't paying well you have to make it up to them in the relationship you have with them. Buy your techs pizza once a month to keep moral up.

And how is that fair to us? I understand treating ur techs nicely but thst should be an option not an obligation, OP is frstrauted that the corp structure is set up so us “buying them pizza” is a necessity. Corps purposely low ball the pays for techs and us pharmacists have to “make up the difference”

 

[GrapePropel]

And how is that fair to us? I understand treating ur techs nicely but thst should be an option not an obligation, OP is frstrauted that the corp structure is set up so us “buying them pizza” is a necessity. Corps purposely low ball the pays for techs and us pharmacists have to “make up the difference”

They pay us enough to afford pizza once a month. Do you realize how cheap pizza is? If you wanna have a crappy team feel free to treat them like crap. Corp doesn't care about paying more money. Why would they? there only focus is profit. If they are getting warm bodies at the market rate of 9 bucks an hour why should they pay more?

 

[Digsbe]

When I started as a tech in 2011 I made the lowest minimum wage possible at the time, $7.25. Raises were either 1, 2, or 3% based on performance review. My PIC told us all that corporate would not allow for a 3% raise and discouraged them from doing so so $0.14 per hour was all we got. However, if you became CPhT you did get a pay bump to $10.50 an hour. I think a pay range of $12-20 an hour would be acceptable, definitely not minimum wage though.

 

[PangoPillPusher]

Dude just treat your Techs really nice. A lot of people value respect and friendship/bonding over money. If your store isn't paying well you have to make it up to them in the relationship you have with them. Buy your techs pizza once a month to keep moral up.

Because pizza once a month pays the bills? While it's nice to treat everyone, especially when it's balls to the wall chaos and so busy no one can even think about getting food, that doesn't replace cold hard cash in the bank.

I think we would have better retention rates if we started off with better wages, benefits and vacation time. My company offers 3 weeks vacation, 4 personal days, and 4 health and wellness days after 1 year of service. After 6 months you are eligible for 1 week and part of your personal time. But the starting wage is crap, and department hours rarely support another full time person. Time off is great, but if you have to work 2 pt jobs then it's not that great. These companies need to get it together.

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[Amphetamine Salts]

working as a technician in a retail pharmacy is really a brutal job. I'm not going to bash heavily on the people that do it because the techs I work with are great. but let's be honest, being a pharmacy technician at retail sucks massively. you're getting overworked, constantly moving and doing things, and you don't even get paid reasonably for the work! it amazes me why people still even work as a pharmacy tech. and I'm not surprised that turnover is so high. it seems like the type of job that you do for a year or two and then get out as soon as a better opportunity comes along. no dedication, no growth. one does not live off of a pharmacy technician salary. a pharmacy tech is not a viable long term career. it's like the temporary job that you do until you build up your resources and are able to get the hell out. pay is like what, $10/hour? man, tough stuff. I really think people need to treat themselves better. you shouldn't be working for any less than $20-30/hour to be honest. only reason to work for less is: required for school or temporary while you work towards something better on the side. if you're just planning to be a pharm tech for the rest of your life without any plans or direction for something better down the road, you're making a mistake. also, I really don't think hospital techs are much better either. I'm assuming the rate is $18-20, maybe a bit more. $20-30/hour is liveable to be honest. that's like below middle class at 41k/yr. not terrible, but you can have a fulfilling life with that. ultimately though I think people working in these jobs really should hustle because they don't have to live in crap and be overworked for low pay for the rest of their lives

 

[PangoPillPusher]

working as a technician in a retail pharmacy is really a brutal job. I'm not going to bash heavily on the people that do it because the techs I work with are great. but let's be honest, being a pharmacy technician at retail sucks massively. you're getting overworked, constantly moving and doing things, and you don't even get paid reasonably for the work! it amazes me why people still even work as a pharmacy tech. and I'm not surprised that turnover is so high. it seems like the type of job that you do for a year or two and then get out as soon as a better opportunity comes along. no dedication, no growth. one does not live off of a pharmacy technician salary. a pharmacy tech is not a viable long term career. it's like the temporary job that you do until you build up your resources and are able to get the hell out. pay is like what, $10/hour? man, tough stuff. I really think people need to treat themselves better. you shouldn't be working for any less than $20-30/hour to be honest. only reason to work for less is: required for school or temporary while you work towards something better on the side. if you're just planning to be a pharm tech for the rest of your life without any plans or direction for something better down the road, you're making a mistake. also, I really don't think hospital techs are much better either. I'm assuming the rate is $18-20, maybe a bit more. $20-30/hour is liveable to be honest. that's like below middle class at 41k/yr. not terrible, but you can have a fulfilling life with that. ultimately though I think people working in these jobs really should hustle because they don't have to live in crap and be overworked for low pay for the rest of their lives

Ah-hem. Lead pharm tech here. I make over $22/hr....in retail! I own a nice home, a 2017 Jeep, my student loans that I had have been paid off for many years, meanwhile the new grads I see are struggling. Hard.

I had thought about going to pharmacy school, even started the whole process...but my situation is actually much better where I'm currently at. I work one weekend a month, close one night a week, and have a set schedule. That goes for all of my technicians actually. That's a lot better than my pharmacists schedule is.

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[doubletwenty]

I consider myself lucky. Got hired at costco pharmacy with no experience and starting pay was $17.50/hour. After a year, it raised up to $21/hour. My colleagues and the pharmacists tell me how lucky I am to not work at places like CVS and Walgreens. In addition, they already gave me benefits like 401K and I don't even know how to use it right besides that I'm contributing around 3% from my monthly paycheck.

 

[trailerpark]

I consider myself lucky. Got hired at costco pharmacy with no experience and starting pay was $17.50/hour. After a year, it raised up to $21/hour. My colleagues and the pharmacists tell me how lucky I am to not work at places like CVS and Walgreens. In addition, they already gave me benefits like 401K and I don't even know how to use it right besides that I'm contributing around 3% from my monthly paycheck.

Cosco does monthly paychecks!? Seems like a disaster for people who live paycheck to paycheck aka a ton of people.

 

[doubletwenty]

Lol my bad. I did not see that error. We get biweekly paychecks.

 

[Kevin.Mero]

Check out our site at PharmacyWeek. We have 13k+ jobs for pharmacists, students, interns and techs. Techs pay is really going up on the health-system side. We're seeing West Coast paying $20+ ph and Tech 3's are getting up to $74k+. Techs wages, in some isolated cases, is beginning to pass that of Pharmacists!!

 

[T14dan]

Dude just treat your Techs really nice. A lot of people value respect and friendship/bonding over money. If your store isn't paying well you have to make it up to them in the relationship you have with them. Buy your techs pizza once a month to keep moral up.

Can confirm. Am a tech, applying to pharmacy school. Manager bought us food for tech appreciation day. Made everyone happy