The real Pharmacy tech Pay wage!!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I just passed my PTCB exam, and my boss told me I'll get a 40 cent per hour raise! So a CPhT with no experience makes $8.95/hour at Walmart. :sleep:

Members don't see this ad.
 
Thanks. According to my calculator it'll take me 322.5 hours to make up for the cost of the exam, and this is excluding taxes. :thumbup:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thanks. According to my calculator it'll take me 322.5 hours to make up for the cost of the exam, and this is excluding taxes. :thumbup:
How much did you pay for the exam? I thought it cost like $129 to take the PCTB?
 
I have to admit I am psyched about the initials CPhT after my name. I figure most people won't know what it means, so it'll seem somewhat prestigious!
 
I don't know. Myspace? My latest update is "My new name is ___, CPhT. You may not address me as anything else."
 
I don't know. Myspace? My latest update is "My new name is ___, CPhT. You may not address me as anything else."

The first thing I am doing when I become a pharmacist is changing my license to Dr. ____. Hopefully it will serve well if I ever get pulled over. haha
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Possibly. I don't think a police officer would want to engage in a conversation about what medical specialty I belong to. Ill say I am an otolaryngologist and you know he will probably just say, "That's cool."

Or you'll get a cop that isn't an idiot, and he'll call your bluff, then you'll be back-peddling saying you're not actually an M.D., but a pharmacist... eh that's so messy, isn't it?

I have been pulled over a few times (ticketed rarely, usually get pulled over due to "excessive exhaust noise" on my 68) and I've always been asked what my MOS in the military was when I presented my ID. Figured that it'd be much the same...but it wasn't just the police I was referring to. Anyone really... if they ask what you do (Don't you ask people when they call themselves "doctor", "What are you a Doctor in?" - I know I do) and you say, "Well I'm not really a doctor doctor, I'm a pharmacist."

Hm. Just thinking about it... I've been corrected so many times in the pharmacy, "Don't call a pharmacist 'doctor', it gets confusing" and the like.

Personal preference I guess.
 
Possibly. I don't think a police officer would want to engage in a conversation about what medical specialty I belong to. Ill say I am an otolaryngologist and you know he will probably just say, "That's cool."

then when he figures out you're fibbing you'll get a charge of lying to an officer of the law *gasp*

EDIT I didn't see what P4Sci said before I posted that ;)
 
Or you'll get a cop that isn't an idiot, and he'll call your bluff, then you'll be back-peddling saying you're not actually an M.D., but a pharmacist... eh that's so messy, isn't it?

I have been pulled over a few times (ticketed rarely, usually get pulled over due to "excessive exhaust noise" on my 68) and I've always been asked what my MOS in the military was when I presented my ID. Figured that it'd be much the same...but it wasn't just the police I was referring to. Anyone really... if they ask what you do (Don't you ask people when they call themselves "doctor", "What are you a Doctor in?" - I know I do) and you say, "Well I'm not really a doctor doctor, I'm a pharmacist."

Hm. Just thinking about it... I've been corrected so many times in the pharmacy, "Don't call a pharmacist 'doctor', it gets confusing" and the like.

Personal preference I guess.

Messy it would be!

You are right about people asking what type of doctor a person is. I think the people that ask are the ones that are actually familiar with medical specialties and may want to engage in a discussion, otherwise I think the conversation ends after the response, "I practice in ____."

I personally don't care and don't think I will feel a sense of entitlement once I receive my PharmD. Call me Mr. for all I care. I agree with you about the confusion that can arise by addressing a pharmacist as Dr. Most people don't seem to understand. I guess in the health care setting Dr. is synonymous with MD. In the educational setting professors insist on being called Dr. I guess it depends on the environment.

Sorry for going off topic.
 
then when he figures out you're fibbing you'll get a charge of lying to an officer of the law *gasp*

EDIT I didn't see what P4Sci said before I posted that ;)

If we can go through 4 years of pharmacy school, I am pretty sure any one of us could make up some medical jargon and make it believable that are indeed in that specialty.
 
Started at 13.80 with Rite Aid in Northern Ca, no experience.
 
Started at $10 with no experience in northern VA. Now at $10.50 but work most the year in southern VA at school.

My coworkers get paid $13-14 in northern VA store. $9 in southern VA store.

Depends on where you get hired really.
 
I got hired at walmart with no experience for $12/hr. This is in LA
 
My husband works in a Walgreens in eastern Washington state. He had no experience in pharmacy (only job he ever had really was fastfood-supervisor though :p). He externed at Walgreens and they hired him during his extern there. He started at $10.50 an hour with his certification(not ptcb, but still nationally certified). People there wanted him to get Senior Tech but he had to get ptcb for that to happen. So he got the ptcb certification and they bumped him to $12 an hour. When he is done training to become Senior Tech it may bump him up ($14 an hour possibly ...the pharmacist said). He has only been working there full time since April 2009...and it's February 2010 ...so didn't take him long to move up. He's just a great worker :D

He may not stay in the pharmacy world as a career but for now it's looking better than it was. Hopefully Walgreens does yearly raises.
 
I quit a retail job a few years ago at $10/hr. Shortly after minimum wage was raised so someone might make more now. Currently, in a hospital, I get $15/hr with a 4.5% raise each year plus health, life and dental insurance(free) as well as 200% matching retirement. My salary ends up being only about 65% of my total compensation so the overall deal is pretty nice. I have certainly considered making a career out of it as many of my co-workers have. It'd be hard to find something better with only a high school diploma. Also, I did just recently get my certification though sadly the only raise I get is that I get to keep my job. Not too shabby... This is all in the midwest.
 
The first thing I am doing when I become a pharmacist is changing my license to Dr. ____. Hopefully it will serve well if I ever get pulled over. haha

If I were a cop, I'll just say, "Good, you have enough money to pay this ticket, Doctor", and eat my donut
 
LOL you all need to be happy...i work at riteaid and I make minimum wage, $7.40. But, since ive been there over a year though i got a 13 cent raise!!!! Luckily im only doing it for the experience and it paid off.
 
Makes you feel bad for the ones who aren't just doing it as pre-pharmacy students. The lifers at my store hit a pretty low ceiling and stay there.

definitely, I started out at $10.50 in a retail chain pharmacy. What is sad, however, are the other members of the store (maintenance/janitor) making $6.00 an hour and work 3x harder (physically) than I do. It makes me really appreciative of my cognitive ability and parental guidance that allowed me to achieve better things, *and hopefully RPh*. Although, I do work with fellow technicians who are the laziest and most unprofessional people I've encountered. It really chaps my ass... haha
 
Makes you feel bad for the ones who aren't just doing it as pre-pharmacy students. The lifers at my store hit a pretty low ceiling and stay there.
Why should a tech get paid more anyway. It takes little skill and training and there are plenty of people willing to do the job for less so my opinion is if you want to make more money, invest in yourself and sacrafice to acheive more. I respect people who work hard to provide for their family, but it might be worth it to take a few steps back to get on a path that will lead to more success.
 
I make close to $16 an hour at the hospital I work for. It's my first tech job, too. I was under the impression that retail techs got paid more, but after reading this thread I'm surprised to learn that's not the case.
 
Makes you feel bad for the ones who aren't just doing it as pre-pharmacy students. The lifers at my store hit a pretty low ceiling and stay there.

i felt like that too until i ran into a few lifers that are on total power trips and now i don't feel so bad anymore. you can have your lousy power over more $ :p
 
Austin, TX $10 / hr at CVS. My friend at HEB makes $12 / hr. CVS makes me do stuff that makes me angry. I want to know how HEB works.
 
I work as a clinical tech. at a hospital. My base pay is $18.72/hr plus I work graves and weekends so I get an extra $1.50/hr on top of my base pay. Hospital definitely pays better.
 
I work as a clinical tech. at a hospital. My base pay is $18.72/hr plus I work graves and weekends so I get an extra $1.50/hr on top of my base pay. Hospital definitely pays better.

Wow, that is very nice. I had a job offer at a local hospital for $15/hr starting. I turned it down, because I enjoy my retail job way too much, plus I can't beat the flexibility.
 
Wow, that is very nice. I had a job offer at a local hospital for $15/hr starting. I turned it down, because I enjoy my retail job way too much, plus I can't beat the flexibility.

My schedule is very flexible because we have about 10 other clinical techs. It's not bad, but I enjoyed retail too and miss all the regulars who I became friends with.
 
Why should a tech get paid more anyway. It takes little skill and training and there are plenty of people willing to do the job for less so my opinion is if you want to make more money, invest in yourself and sacrafice to acheive more. I respect people who work hard to provide for their family, but it might be worth it to take a few steps back to get on a path that will lead to more success.

I think these people would use your own logic against you? You say these people shouldnt earn a dime more, but what makes a pharmacist so worthy of their 125K salary, plus pretty nice benefits. Retail pharmacist stand around and put pills in bottles, just like techs. Yes it takes six years of college, but the pay goes from 20k a year, some with few benefits, to 125k a year with plenty of benefits. That is 7.5 fold with benefits. I'm not saying pharmacist don't deserve their salary, but I don't think a pharmacist should comment on their future co-workers not deserving any more money.


In my opinion I think there are few if any reliable, trustworthy, American workers that would do the job longer term for less.

I've been on many work trips to very poor areas with my church. The one person we helped out was a pharm tec in WV. She was a single mom, two kids, dead beat non-existant husband, probably made twelvish dollars an hour. If you saw how they lived, I bet you may change your mind.
 
Last edited:
I work as a clinical tech. at a hospital. My base pay is $18.72/hr plus I work graves and weekends so I get an extra $1.50/hr on top of my base pay. Hospital definitely pays better.
wow, where are you a tech at, in cali or new york making those wages?? that's a lot!
 
$14 per hour at a hospital pharmacy in northern NJ, we get lunch breaks too (muahahah)
 
I started at $15.25 per hour without any prior pharmacy tech experience. It was at a large mail order pharmacy in AZ.
 
Currently I'm at 13.75 at Target in Buffalo, started at 10.25 in 2007. Supposedly getting a raise sometime soon too!
 
wow, where are you a tech at, in cali or new york making those wages?? that's a lot!

:) I live in WA state. It is pretty expensive to live here, but retail does not pay nearly as well.
 
Top