Wage for Pharm Techs

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YBD2.JH

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What is the starting hourly wage for a pharm tech who is nationally certified and who is not certified at all?

How does the salary differ between Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Eckerd? Do you get paid more by working at mom and pop pharmacy stores?

If you have more experience, do you get paid more? Because I think holding a bachelor's degree doesn't affect wage?
 
YBD2.JH said:
What is the starting hourly wage for a pharm tech who is nationally certified and who is not certified at all?

How does the salary differ between Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Eckerd? Do you get paid more by working at mom and pop pharmacy stores?

If you have more experience, do you get paid more? Because I think holding a bachelor's degree doesn't affect wage?
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Depends on the region. I get paid 18.25 per hour at walgreens with national certification and 3 years experience. I'm in CA.
 
wow. im a lead tech at cvs, nationally certified last yr and been there for 4 yrs and i make a whopping $9.04. im in pa btw.
 
Im also at CVS just started out making $7.25/hour.
 
I am starting to work at Walgreens in VA. They offered $9.75/hr but it will increase when I become licensed to $10/hr. It seems that Walgreens tend to pay more than other retail pharmacies? Suppose my pay offer isn't so bad after all, despite a college degree.
 
YBD2.JH said:
I am starting to work at Walgreens in VA. They offered $9.75/hr but it will increase when I become licensed to $10/hr. It seems that Walgreens tend to pay more than other retail pharmacies? Suppose my pay offer isn't so bad after all, despite a college degree.
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Yeah I think Walgreens and CVS pay around the same, but its just dependent on where you live. Obviously someone working in IN is going to earn less than someone living in CA.
 
CVS in Southwest VA...started at 6.50 6 summers ago. Got a raise every summer I came back. Got my national license after 2 summers and I got 8.00. I was up to 9.00 last summer, but got 10 when I got my acceptance letter to pharm school. I can't complain about the wages too much though...they let me come back every summer. I just call them right before I come back from school and they put me in the schedule. The even let me work 40+ hours a week, no questions asked, all summer.
 
I work in a mom and pop pharmacy in KY and I started out a $7/hr three years ago, but now I'm up to $9.50, but I work part time. I think the full time get $13-15 here, depending on experience and certification.
 
No experience (other than volunteering in hospital pharmacies), no certification/license, I do have my BS (but it wouldn't matter if I didn't have one): $15+/hour at a hospital 😀
 
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senzabee said:
No experience (other than volunteering in hospital pharmacies), no certification/license, I do have my BS (but it wouldn't matter if I didn't have one): $15+/hour at a hospital 😀
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What state?
 
gimpsd said:
Depends on the region. I get paid 18.25 per hour at walgreens with national certification and 3 years experience. I'm in CA.
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thats about right. Wal-Marts here in northern california pay around 25/hr. I work in a hospital and make about 16.60/hr. but I think california's cost of living eats up most of my paycheck. anyway so it doesn't realy matter.
 
Hartig Drug (midwestern chain) hires techs with no experience starting at $10/hr and raises to $11/hr once certified.
 
I just started at a CVS in Texas and they started me at $9/hr but will be more once I finish my training and stuff (company training stuff)
 
Im in Oklahoma, am certified and make 12/hour. I've seen people make 15+/hour though. (I'm still trying to find that job.)
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Kroger techs make $5.75/hour in West by God Virginia. We're the poorest state in the country, so the cost of living reflects this. With minimum wage, you can actually buy a house.
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Mobile home or a trailer really isn't a house..
 
All my techs are PTCB certified and registered with Texas State Board of Pharmacy. I start them at $12 per hour and goes up to $22 per hour.

IV Certified PRN techs start at $15 per hour and we do the IV certification for free.. while the technician is on clock. On the average, techs are at $14 to $16 per hour.. my Purchasing Tech is at about $18 and my QA tech is at $20.
 
That's really not bad looking. 39 thousand would buy a one bedroom shack here. 😉
 
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39K wouldn't buy you an outhouse in CA - but....I'm not sure outhouses are legal here anymore 😕 !
 
Median household income is $27k/year. How could a hundred thousand dollar house market survive? My mobile home only cost me $10k. Ha. Interestingly, this is also the only reason I would consider staying in WV. I could live like a king because pharmacists still make $90-100k.
 
how do you become "national certified pharm. tech"??

I know for a regular certification you just have to pass the test for the state.
 
Anyonw knows how much a Walgreens Pharm Tech in Southern CA earns an hour?
 
I work at Eckerd-Brooks in MA and got started at $9. Up to $9.25 with a year + experience.. waiting for my 2nd year annual raise in couple months. Just got nationally certified and still waiting for my raise.
 
I started at eckerds in tn making $5.95/hr. when i got certified they bumped me to $6.50/hr. I got offered 9.50/hr starting at walgreens right next door and eckerd then offered me $9/hr and said that was all they could pay (this was before Brooks bought them out, so i'm not sure how that will effect anything). I got raises pretty quickly at walgreens, after 4 years there making $16.75 an hour, and about to get another 50 cent raise in October. This is in TN, and from what I have seen pay is a little lower here.
 
i didnt think a house anywhere in the country would cost 40k. Where i'm from houses are 250k on average. I'm thinking a smart thing to do would be to buy a house or two for 60k and put it up for rent.
 
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