Pharmacy Technicians Job Description

[mikekw5]

im 17 and didnt even graduate yet and im a tech??

[Khandhalha]

@mikekw5 Yeah there's a class available at my high school to become certified but you have to be a senior. But not everyone is 18 before graduation so I'm guessing it's doable in some states.

[iraqibodybuilder]

its not FUCKING FAIR technicans  only earn 8-10 dollars while pharmcist make 40-50 dollars . technicans litterly do all the hard work. fuck this ,

[123nypd]

BOREING!!!!

[urinalturd]

and now they are being replaced with automatic dispensers, hate robots

[UnitedPebbles]

I know a friend who used to work as a tech for $9/hour. It is a dignify job, though as you get to wear office attire and a white coat!

The risk you can run into are having to work with control substance and inventory control of these thing. One pill missing and you are going straight to jail. Other than that, some CVS's pharmacy do required tech to clean rest room. It's a mellow job.

[PhysiologicAli]

Some pharmacists can be assholes as well. I recently got into a quarrel with one because she was acting like a bitch (for no reason) and refusing to give my patients their medication.

[TheHumiliator1000]

FYI hospitals look for people who have years of experience so they don't have to waste time & money to train you. You will most likely start off in retail. Depending on location, you may encounter non-stop calls,type,fax,count,bottle,co­mpound,have insurance problems,rude & yelling customers,unpack,pack,order,be­nd,lift,stand all day,TARs,prior auths,RTS,will call,cashier,clean,pick garbage,roll windows, get yelled at all day long=)

[AdamIntellectual7]

i reeeeeeeeeeally want to be one!! 

[AZstarwatcher]

I would NOT recommend this job. I worked at Caremark and about once a week a pharmacy tech would get fired, usually for mistakes. Everyone thinks it can't happen to me until it happens. I would see them get walked out. They tell you in pharmacy tech school that the pharmacist is responsible for errors. It's NOT true.

[vkoo32]

@AZstarwatcher I have a college degree in Geography. I work as a tech I hate it. So many cocky and bipolar in this industry. As a technician I have the most problems with supervisors of techs and pharmacits and fellow techs. Most pharmacists are cool.

[BunnyHanyou]

how much do they make a year?

[WarrenAch]

@BunnyHanyou Yearly salaries for Technicians vary from place to place.

The most common figures range from 20,000$ to 40,000$/year, they may make more if they specialize in specific field such as Nuclear Pharmacy.

Pharmacists make a lot more, the smalled starting salary in most states is around 85,000$/year + Signing Bonus, after a few years of practice, expect it to rise to 110,000-120,000$/year + Complete Benefit package and Bonus.

[MakeenSH]

Theres more to pharmacy techs then just counting and filling meds..

[star444991]

so how much do pharamcist technians get paid per hour?

[kagemusha168]

@star444991 - In Canada, BC - It's generally $12-$16/hr for a community pharmacy. In hospitals its $22/hr +.  If you're a Tech 3, you'll be close to $25/hr

[ff2paladin]

@star444991

An intern might make around $28-35/hr

[VENUEATHENS]

Hey guys, Im considering a field in some kind of med field, ONLY because of finacial purposes and job security... My interests are in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design... I am wondering what some of you guys chose, happyness or wealth? lolol

[whymytie]

people may be assholes to pharmacist

the golden rule if:

dont fuck with the people who handle your medication

[ZX2ManDave]

Are these people allowed to make up meth on the job?

[1msprissy]

@ZX2ManDave lol heck no we could kill ourselves

[Hamlet137475]

actually you don't need certification all the time, laws vary by states

[courtbrooks]

I work for a hospital and its alot better than retail. I am well respected for my capabilities. The Pharmacists know they need us where in retail you just get yelled at by the public idiots.

[zadryum]

coudln't agree more dude. its much better than retail but you get better compensation and benifits. retail treats you like hell

[Neverender83]

It's a horrible job. I work retail and it's killing my soul.

[mojohookbarb]

can you tell me more. i'm interested in the job. all i see are the pros. would you be able to tell me some of the cons?

[Neverender83]

A major con for me is interacting with the public all day. I'm a little more reserved. One of the other techs I used to work with loves her job and interacting with people all day.

People are sick and in a bad move and take it out on us in the pharmacy all the time. You get used to it, but you lose compassion for people. The corporate overlords at the central offices don't care to much about you either. Not enough staff. Over worked and under paid. I'm glad I left the field..

[1msprissy]

@mojohookbarb omg i can tell u a book worth of cons i started in retail HATED it.. the insurance issues, folks altering scripts and trying to con u out of more lortab and other narcotics, having to deal with rude a** folks people thinkin they supposed to get freakin speacial treatment even though it may be like 100 folks ahead of them! uggh i can go on but i have to tell u bout my hospital experience oops i may be running out of space : (

[skip0318]

@1msprissy tell us about your hospital experience because thats what i wanna do when i get out of pharmacy school.

[1msprissy]

@skip0318 1st r u in school to b a pharmacist or tech....im a tech right now ...there are diffrent type jobs i may be assigned to do for ex we have iv tech, fillers, floor runners, packagers,a person that works the front window(i hate that job) acudose techs(med machines) narcotic tech, and an inventory tech...im trained to do all except the narcs. and we have three shifts of course cuz the hospital does not close so neither does the pharmacy...usually we get there between 530 and 7...

[1msprissy]

@skip0318 cont...and the job ur assigned for that day is what u do all day there is no rotating....basically we fill orders of course but we have to do it for several hundred folks uggh not fun sometimes epecially if the computers go down....at the hospital tech dont have to do order entry we did in retail at my job we only deal with doctors and nurses so no outside folks which is good (sometimes). i do light compounding cuz sometimes its cheaper for some things to be made rather than buy......

[1msprissy]

@1msprissy cont again.......we also make iv's which i really like to do..before i got trained i was really scared bout going in that room but now thats the only place i want to be sometimes oh yeah u get stuck but u gotta be careful to avoid those 19g needles. ive been stuck in all of my fingers lol but i was not laughing when i got stuck...i hope this gives u a clue of what goes on if u want to now more please feel free to ask i dont mind at all : )

[y0ung1s]

uhh so what dose the pharmasist do ? just curious

[HookerBooker69]

legally the pharmacist has the "education" to get the state license needed to be able to SELL the drugs.

so walgreens and taget CANNOT sell it if they'res no pharmacist.

[y0ung1s]

really? so let me get this straight the one who gose to university to become the pharmasist gets paid like 90k a year to work a cash register, and the ones who go to community college to be a pharmasist slave get paid like 30k even tho there doing all the work?

what a weird world we live in eh

[bizichyld]

The schools train pharmacists to be clinicians overqualified for retail jobs. You have to pay the price to attract the workers. Believe me, Walgreens would love to keep the techs and cut out the pharmacists.

[alec850]

Pharmacists Require usually 8 years of education, they must understand the chemical properties of pills, and how they interact with patients. Pharmacy techs need to know how to count. What's weird is that most pharm techs don't even need to be certified.

[ff2paladin]

@alec850 actually, 6 is the minimum as many people go into the 4 year pharmacy program after only 2 years of college (I don't particularly agree with this, but it happens as much as 40% of the time)

[paconot]

I believe the State laws require a Pharmacist to dispense drugs under any setting.

[paconot]

Yes, but true for all professional jobs. The RN's do all of the patient care and documentation, but the physician just signs the patient's orders. Much of which is a repetitious protocol in specific wards like maternity.

[cope]

are they drug screened often?

[HookerBooker69]

yes

[grevicci]

This is comment 2 of 2. Please read comment 1 before reading this one] Continuing on...Compare what I earn with what a pharmacist earns (starting at $50-$55/hr) this is at least 2.5 times more what I make; so in the long run it would be most beneficial to spend the time going through pharmacy school to become a pharmacist. I enjoy my job and it does make it nicer when you work with nice pharmacists. In conclusion: Teching is nice but aim higher if you can.

[deco101]

im personally debating wheither or not to get straight into pharmacy or take a longer path of becomeing a pharmacy tech then continuing my schooling to be become a pharmacist ..... i was just wondering what your advice would be and also i was wondering if finding a part time job as a tech would be difficult in order to allow me to continue my schooling

[grevicci]

Hi, (Comment#1 read first)

When I attempted to get into pharmacy, and was accepted but later dropped out after my first year, I found that the information that I had gleaned as a pharmacy technician was extremely beneficial. Because I had a knowledge of "pharmacy" things in general-I could also see what a pharmacist did and learn as much as I could from them. Now, on the other hand, if you can get in to pharmacy school the first time around and you don't have trouble memorizing large chunks...

[grevicci]

Hi again(comment#2 read after #1)

... of material, then you may do just fine in pharmacy school. But like, I say, when I went into pharmacy school I already had a knowledge of drugs, the brand-generics, compounding, chemotherapy, and the list goes on. I didn't have trouble with many of my classes. I fizzled out because I lost motivation, but I regret that. And mind you, some of the best pharmacists that I have ever worked with were once pharmacy technicians-just don't get in the tech "rut."

[esca8652]

@grevicci, that fucking sux dude, what happened, you don't like learning about drugs?

[1azbernie]

i would become a tech, that makes you marketable, experienced for a future job, and maybe the employer will provide some of you school fees with benefits.

[esca8652]

@deco101, hell most empoyers don't require you to be certified prior to employment.

[grevicci]

Please read this comment first [comment 1 of 2] I have been a pharmacy tech since 1991. I worked about 15 years in Colorado and currently reside and work in Orange County California. With my experience and after my next raise in about two more months, I'll be making a little over $20.00/hr. My advice to anyone considering the pharmacy technician job is it would be a great stepping stone to become a pharmacist. Any pharmacy experience would help if going into pharmacy school.

[KingQuias]

how much do pharmacy technician get paid?

[HookerBooker69]

if you work for federal $30 (california).

[scooterinnc84]

I saw another video that you said you worked for Walgreens, that's cool! I have some questions.

[scooterinnc84]

I just applied for a pharm tech position at Walgreens. Is the pay pretty good for people who are not certified? Do they pay for your training and to take the PTCB test? I have 8 years experience as a veterinary assistant, so I have dealt with medications. I have taken some medical courses at a community college, but I am tired of going to school. What is it like working at Walgreens and what is the interview like? Do I have a good chance at being hired? I live in NC.

[paconot]

Well I can tell you that the pay spread for technicians and pharmacist is at least 40 grand a year so if you can invest 4 more years of school while working it would be worth the effort. After all you will eventually be required to get certified in most states. And you will be doing the same work as a pharmacist if working in the hospital.

[corrrtnee]

Hooray for techs! [:

I definitely agree with terrijane61-- not nearly enough money! c[:

[mottigga]

I'm in pharmacy school and I must say that I really appreciate the technicians I intern with! They really allow me to practice all the clinical knowledge I gain each day so I can spend more time with patients.

[moeali777]

how much money do they get?? yearly

[terrijane61]

Not nearly enough, my friend. Not NEARLY enough!

[elien240]

agreed :\

[porkchop1verizon]

now i feel better!but all the doctors i know work on the street corners! must be volunteers or somthing! think i'll find out whos on call!later!

[aLKoLiKKeDi]

I have a friend, she's very successfully a pharmacy technician. Thanks for the info this jobs.

[Jinger67]

Thank you for your nice comment :)

[Jinger67]

Yes this is a very stressful job ! You can not make any mistakes, and the general public has no idea how much work we all do behind the counter. You must be 100% accurate and focused at all times.

You can NOT have a "bad day" on this job.

-A pharmacy tech.

[terrijane61]

Jinger67,

Indeed, no room for bad days for us! And the general public definitely has no idea how much work and brain power it takes to do this job. My biggest gripe-Third Party billing, rejections, prior authorization required, all the "joys" of insurance. But, keeps it interesting and the days just fly by. Love my job!

[gamekillanyc]

hey jinger67 i want to become a pharmacy tech do you have any advice for this future pharmacy tech?

[gyanstabwai]

i want to become a pharmacy tech do you have any advice for this future pharmacy tech? how good i have to be n mathematics--those it really have lot o fraction--am good on add,subt,multi,divi--cuz, am trynna school for it n January..But i trully don't wanna spend my money for none--if u wanna give more info i'll send u my email or #

[terrijane61]

Great video! I love being a Pharmacy Technician, and I highly recommend this career choice for anyone who enjoys a highly stimulating and Type "A" job. Lots of stress and pressure, but it is worth it. We are a vital and much needed asset to the Pharmacist.

[candleoflife]

TERR, I can't believe it, I have been searching for this song and video for month's!!!! All kidding aside, I see how important your job is. I take medications, so I know how stressful it must be, you can't make mistakes when it comes to mixing up medications. I hope they compensate you well... Thanks Terr

[porkchop1verizon]

tj61! yeah! and i had to be a mechanic!

[terrijane61]

pork,

Hey? How else are the Technicians and Pharmacists gonna get to work? We need you guys to keep our vehicles running! Your job is extremely important and your services are of the utmost necessity! We appreciate you!!!!